Community voices against neo-extractivist projects. An analysis of the discourses surrounding fracking in La Huasteca Potosina, Mexico
(2021) HEKM51 20211Human Ecology
- Abstract
- In 2013, the previous Mexican federal government passed a constitutional reform of the energy sector that set the grounds for the use of fracking at a national scale. Less than two years later, a strategic policy document was published, mapping a whole set of areas whose deposits require the use of fracking to be exploited. Part of these endangered areas are located in the region of La Huasteca Potosina. This threat triggered a very large social mobilization in the region that brought together indigenous communities and civil society organizations, and which has so far succeeded at halting those projects. This qualitative case study analyses the conflict generated by the threat of said fracking projects in La Huasteca Potosina. It first... (More)
- In 2013, the previous Mexican federal government passed a constitutional reform of the energy sector that set the grounds for the use of fracking at a national scale. Less than two years later, a strategic policy document was published, mapping a whole set of areas whose deposits require the use of fracking to be exploited. Part of these endangered areas are located in the region of La Huasteca Potosina. This threat triggered a very large social mobilization in the region that brought together indigenous communities and civil society organizations, and which has so far succeeded at halting those projects. This qualitative case study analyses the conflict generated by the threat of said fracking projects in La Huasteca Potosina. It first seeks to shed light on the logics behind the use of fracking by the Federal government, then tries to understand the way the anti-fracking movement is discursively resisting these projects. Finally, it attempts to connect the experiences of struggle of the participants to larger social processes. The study does this through three different methods, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a policy analysis. The findings reveal that the Federal government justifies its actions by imperatives of energy security and national prosperity. Its strategy allegedly proposes a longterm view for the country, but instead gives evidence of an alarming intensification of the fossil fuel energy model that is currently compromising the future. This directly clashes with the vision that the actors involved in the movement presented. Indeed, although fracking was a catalyst for the mobilization in La Huasteca Potosina, indigenous communities seem to be fighting more largely for the respect of their own vision of development. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9040441
- author
- Solis Patino, Paulina LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- HEKM51 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Neo-extractivism, fracking, ecological distribution conflicts, social resistance, discourses, indigenous territories, decoloniality, Mexico
- language
- English
- id
- 9040441
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-28 12:27:23
- date last changed
- 2021-06-28 12:27:23
@misc{9040441,
abstract = {{In 2013, the previous Mexican federal government passed a constitutional reform of the energy sector that set the grounds for the use of fracking at a national scale. Less than two years later, a strategic policy document was published, mapping a whole set of areas whose deposits require the use of fracking to be exploited. Part of these endangered areas are located in the region of La Huasteca Potosina. This threat triggered a very large social mobilization in the region that brought together indigenous communities and civil society organizations, and which has so far succeeded at halting those projects. This qualitative case study analyses the conflict generated by the threat of said fracking projects in La Huasteca Potosina. It first seeks to shed light on the logics behind the use of fracking by the Federal government, then tries to understand the way the anti-fracking movement is discursively resisting these projects. Finally, it attempts to connect the experiences of struggle of the participants to larger social processes. The study does this through three different methods, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and a policy analysis. The findings reveal that the Federal government justifies its actions by imperatives of energy security and national prosperity. Its strategy allegedly proposes a longterm view for the country, but instead gives evidence of an alarming intensification of the fossil fuel energy model that is currently compromising the future. This directly clashes with the vision that the actors involved in the movement presented. Indeed, although fracking was a catalyst for the mobilization in La Huasteca Potosina, indigenous communities seem to be fighting more largely for the respect of their own vision of development.}},
author = {{Solis Patino, Paulina}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Community voices against neo-extractivist projects. An analysis of the discourses surrounding fracking in La Huasteca Potosina, Mexico}},
year = {{2021}},
}