At the End of a Cycle of Environmental Protest in Latin America? Toward a Research Agenda on Outcomes and Consequences

ANA MARÍA VARA; DIEGO HURTADO

Toronto

Congreso; XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology; 2018

International Sociological Association

Since the end of the 1990s, and partially as a consequence of the structuralreforms, the commodification of natural resources and the transnationalizationof different sectors of the economy, Latin America is going through a cycle ofenvironmental protest. There have been protests against the introduction ofgenetically modified crops (and the coincidental process of agriculturizationand increasing use of agrochemicals), against different kinds of mining, againstdifferent facilities (electric and gas lines, hazardous and non-hazardous wastedeposits, cell phone antennas), against risky industries (pulp and paper,petrochemical), against gas and oil extraction (especially, but not limited to,against fracking techniques). Social scientists have analyzed these protests fromdifferent perspectives and with different methodologies. In this presentation, weintend to go one step further and explore different approaches to answer somekey questions. Is this cycle of environmental protest at an end? What would be theindicators we should look at to make such diagnosis? What could be the reasonsbehind the demobilization? What are the aspects we should focus on in termsof understanding the outcomes and consequences? From our own empiricalresearch and from a review of the literature, some preliminary observations couldbe: i) the institutional response has been heterogeneous, thus the demobilizationcould be a consequence of exhaustion, institutionalization, cooptation, orrepression in different territories in the region; ii) specialization of differentterritories: countries (and jurisdictions within countries) with more/less mining,more/less agriculture, more/less industrial facilities after this period; iii) learningby different social actors; iv) legal and normative changes: higher regulationin certain areas/activities, new public consultation norms and practices, newrepressive norms and practices; v) new views on science and technology, and onthe role of scientists on technical controversies; vi) process of stigmatization ofcertain economic activities, and of protest and protesters.