Sociologies (May 2022)
Desdits « gouvernements progressistes », « chaînes productives », humiliation et monde souterrain dans la Colombie extractive
Abstract
Colombia has been one of the hotspots of the Latin American mineral super-cycle. The State and mining companies have colluded to privilege a model of large-scale corporate mining coherent with three decades of consolidation of a neoliberal sociocultural order. A strong mining sector is coherent with a project obtaining badly needed revenues to fund peace agreements with left-wing guerrillas, sanitary emergency measures and consolidate the state and private capital in regions ridden by violence. All these events and factors are critical in describing “transitional Colombia”. This article analyses this time as a conjuncture, and it does so from the point of view of the sites that are most impacted by the dream of a modern, peaceful country. In the case of gold, contrasting the desires of influential players in the sector, the countries' mineral is mainly extracted by the poor and precarious population or by criminal organisations, which often coerce the former. Managing profitable but conflicting regions has oscillated between the open criminalisation and the more managerial approach during the last decade. The article explores the implications of this latter set of strategies that rely on managing affect in mining communities. Taking as an example the case of Marmato, Caldas, the article will illustrate how Corporate Social Responsibility, 'productive chains', and entrepreneurial programmes operate. Finally, the article concentrates on the lived experiences of everyday techniques of pressure, shaming, and desire, leading to an analysis of the affective regimes of current socio-political conjuncture, crisis, and societal management in Colombia. The article is based on ethnographic research conducted between 2016 and 2018 in Colombia and documentary research.
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