Promises for (an unattainable?) recovery. Bioeconomy imaginaries as a model for socio-productive development in Argentina

BORTZ GABRIELA

Cambridge

Congreso; Second annual Conference on Graduate Research in Science and Technology Studies (GRiSTS); 2021

Harvard University, Program on Science Technology and Society

The COVID-19 pandemic acutely exposed the fragilities of our way of life: inequalities in the access to basic goods (health, food, housing, sanitation), labor precariousness, natural resources depletion, and biodiversity loss, which threaten life systems and our human existence. In developing countries, this became more afflicting. In Argentina, the pandemic disrupted amidst preexisting overlapped crises (economic, social, and environmental), leading to increased poverty rates (over 40%). In a scenario of external debt and lack of economic resources, the agricultural frontier kept expanding over forests and wetlands, and controversial trade agreements and GM releases ?framed as job and income creators-, appeared as solutions amidst alerts of harmful socio-environmental effects. The recollection of a past as a ?world?s barn? collides with a present that does not assure food sovereignty. In this scenario, the term ?bioeconomy?, entered the Argentinian STI policy agenda in the 2010s through an intersectoral coalition, becoming a resonant narrative to face these challenges, today as chronic as acute. This is considered an opportunity, given Argentina?s competitive advantages in biological resources and STI capabilities. It is argued that the adoption of this ?new paradigm? can lead to the development of regional economies taking into account their diversity, contributing to economic and environmental sustainability and social inclusion. Since, multiple policy-convened events attempted to engage the public into a collectively held vision. However, despite its public resonance, an interpretive flexibility of the term remains, as well as linear assumptions on inclusion as spillover effects. Simultaneously, the current socio-productive model, and potential bioeconomy socio-technical pathways as a ?national project?, remain excluded from a broader democratic debate. How is the bioeconomy built in Argentina as a development imaginary and how it performs political pathways? How are development and inequality reduction conceived under this narrative? What visions of possible futures does it pose for a post-pandemic recovery? Through a qualitative analysis, based on documentary analysis and in-depth interviews with key decision-makers, this work analyzes the coproduction of bioeconomy imaginaries in Argentina. Between techno-optimism and disenchantments, it explores envisaged roles for STI towards inclusive and sustainable economies, restoring soils and jobs, and reshaping the national territory.