Policing Economic Growth: Mining, Protest, and State Discourse in Peru and Argentina
Date
2017
Authors
Taylor, Ariel
Bonner, Michelle D.
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Latin American Research Review
Abstract
Since the 1980s, liberalized and newly stable markets have helped usher in an unprecedented mining boom across the Latin American region. However, despite the fact that this boom contributes to notable economic growth, protests in opposition to the expansion and practices of mining companies have also grown, often with violent results. How protests are policed matters, but more important for democracy is how state actors respond when violence is employed. We examine two instances of police repression of mining protests: one in Cajamarca, Peru, and the other in Catamarca, Argentina. We argue that, despite significant differences in context, there are important similarities in state discourse between countries. In particular, a vocabulary of protester wrongdoing and calls for a remedy of "dialogue" are employed in both cases as a way to facilitate the continuation and expansion of both mining and the repression of protests.
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Citation
Taylor, A. & Bonner, M. D. (2017). Policing economic growth: Mining, protest, and state discourse in Peru and Argentina. Latin American Research Review, 52(1), 3- 17. http://doi.org/10.25222/larr.63