Indigenous Resurgence, Identity Politics, and the Anticommodification of Nature

The Chilean Water Market and the Atacameño People

Bibliographic Data

ID3775321
AuthorsM Prieto (0000-0003-4262-3786, University of Tarapacá, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume112
Issue2
Pages487-504
Publication date2022-02-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of the American Association of Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2469-4452 • E-ISSN: 2469-4460
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/24694452.2021.1937036
OpenAlexW3194120097
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited44

What is “uncooperative” about the commodification of nature? This article argues that critical understandings of neoliberal environmental governance must contend with complex processes of identity formation and mobilization. Drawing on an analysis of water rights formalization in Chile, widely seen as the most radical case of water commodification in the world, this article demonstrates how Indigenous identity works to subvert the processes and politics of commodifying water. A growing body of recent literature (mainly in the Andes) has emphasized the relationship between water control and Indigenous resurgence, stressing how indigeneity can disrupt neoliberalism. Following this approach, and through analyzing oral testimonies from Atacameño people, I highlight the Atacameños’ agency throughout the implementation of the Chilean water model in the Atacama Desert. By studying the Atacameños’ perceptions of the intimate relationship between water, power, and identity politics in their desert homeland, I conclude that the Chilean water model, rather than posing a threat to a genuine identity, has allowed for the articulation of a legitimate Indigenous positionality for the purpose of retaining a collective hydraulic property. The results provide a more comprehensive understanding of the contradictions of the Chilean case and the role of identity politics within the commodification of natural processes

Ethnology · Geography · Identity politics · Indigenous · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Law · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Ecology

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