Indigenous mobilization and territorial ordering in the Amazon

Bibliographic Data

ID5719692
AuthorsAna Watson (0000-0002-3140-4660, University of Calgary, corresponding author), Moisés Arce (0000-0003-1535-2132, Tulane University)
Year2024
Volume108
Pages103013
Publication date2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0962-6298 • E-ISSN: 1873-5096
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.103013
OpenAlexW4389008749
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited48

The paper examines the creation of the district of Megantoni, home to vast reserves of natural gas currently exploited by the Camisea project, as an example of recent territorial ordering in Peru. We focus on the political conditions that enable communities to renegotiate potential advantages from existing extractive projects. We emphasize the politicization of collective identities as central for advancing the claims of diverse ethnic groups, while drawing attention to the conflation of contextual factors that made the mobilization of Indigenous communities for the creation of their own district more likely. These factors are related to Camisea's sustainable energy discourse, domestic security threats linked to political violence and drug-trafficking, and a political discourse based on social inclusion. The paper demonstrates the varied uses of territorial ordering outside resistance in the context of resource extraction. It also shows that Indigenous identity can be politicized for cooperation among diverse ethnic groups, and in this way, advance their territorial project and secure access to benefits from existing projects

Amazon rainforest · Collective identity · Ethnic group · Geography · Indigenous · Mobilization · Natural resource · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Gender Studies · Indigenous Cultures and History · Law · Mining and Resource Management

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