New Developments in a Neglected Field: Transport and Mobility in Latin American Recent Historiography

BOOTH, RODRIGO; PIGLIA, MELINA

Mobility in History. International Transport Association Yearbook

Éditions Alphil- Pressess Universitaires Suisses

Lugar: Neuchâtel; Año: 2009; p. 159 - 166

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-link:" Car Car"; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:NL; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} span.MsoFootnoteReference {mso-style-noshow:yes; vertical-align:super;} span.CarCar {mso-style-name:" Car Car"; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:"Texto nota pie"; mso-ansi-language:NL; mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;} /* Page Definitions */ @page {mso-footnote-separator:url("file:///C:/Windows/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") fs; mso-footnote-continuation-separator:url("file:///C:/Windows/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") fcs; mso-endnote-separator:url("file:///C:/Windows/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") es; mso-endnote-continuation-separator:url("file:///C:/Windows/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_header.htm") ecs;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The ‘tyranny of extension and distance’ is one of the main challenges faced by the inhabitants of Latin America. The transformation of space has been crucial for the development of a vast and topographically complex territory that stretches for over 20 million of square kilometers. With its material poverty and longstanding difficulties in adopting modern technologies, the development of modern transportation infrastructures for natural resource extraction and societal integration has been an essential component of many of the modernization projects attempted by Latin America countries. Despite its importance in Latin America’s political, economic, and cultural life, transport and mobility have only recently been addressed by the region’s historians. The absence of a solid tradition of research in technology history, which could have enriched ongoing scholarship, accounts partially for the delay. This lacuna also can be seen in the small number of Latin American historians participating in the debates established around institutions such as T2M, SHOT and ICOHTEC. Moreover, as a result of the language barrier, Latin American historians have a low representation in specialized publications. However, these shortcomings do not mean that Latin American academic production in the field is completely absent. Since the 1990s there has been an awakening in Latin American transport and mobility studies. In the first place, this new interest is derived from the renewal of economic and social history, which has allowed the inclusion of new topics, problems, and perspectives in the research agenda, with transport and mobility often serving as explanatory factors. At the same time, the neo-liberal economic reforms adopted by Latin American countries in recent decades have had a substantial impact; economic reforms dismantled the ‘Entrepreneur State’, and promoted the privatization of most of transport systems. Even though the scholarly works in this field have been produced in isolated contexts, it is possible to expect a promising future for the field. Several examples confirm this impression.