The eclipse of space paradoxes. A historical view of the Nahuel Huapi National Park

PAULA GABRIELA NÚÑEZ

Doha

Conferencia; LAIC 2016. Liberal Arts International Conference. Crossing Disciplines, Crossing Borders; 2016

Texas A&M University at Qatar

This presentation explores the use of land crossed by the discourses of the constitution and development of the first national park in Latin America, the Nahuel Huapi National Park. It inquires into Argentinean socio-economical values and nationalistic arguments projected in North Patagonian borders, from the 1930s to the 1976, in the XXth century. In this paper we aim to synthesize debates about Patagonian integration and planning, from historical studies of Patagonian development, taking into account the specific dynamics of the protected areas. We found that the interpretation of the Nahuel Huapi landscape reflected the political concern for border control in Argentina?s southern region. But, at the same time, that nature was appreciated per se. These notions show the complex association between biological, social and political arguments, which are mixed with an unequal territorial integration.