The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) and Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (CEDLA) have organized an international workshop to be held on 10 April 2015 on 'The Political Economy of the Extractive Imperative in Latin America: Reducing poverty and inequality vs. ensuring inclusion and sustainability'
This workshop aims to move beyond facile dichotomies to address the political economy of the ‘extractive imperative’ and the tensions it increasingly generates in Latin America.
Specifically, the workshop will engage with these broad sets of questions:
- How effective have these states been in reducing poverty and inequality? How important is the role of extractive industries in their growth performance and in financing social policies? How durable are these policies within the context of fluctuating commodity prices?
- What role do environmental NGOs and activists, who were early supporters of the leaders promising an enhanced role for the state in socioeconomic development, play in this new era? What are the implications for democratic politics of the increased criminalization of environmental activism?
- Where do indigenous and other marginalized communities fit within this political sphere that is dominated by the state and its extractivist imperative? What are the potential cleavages between national poverty reduction strategies and the manifestation of their local impacts? Can meaningful and painstakingly gained indigenous rights – including socio-political inclusion, territorial integrity and the pursuit of alternative approaches to development and well-being – be fostered within the current conjuncture?
Confirmed Speakers include:
- José Antonio Ocampo (Columbia) Keynote: The structural and short-term implications of commodity dependence in Latin America
- Jean Grugel (Sheffield)
- Alfredo Saad Filho (SOAS)
- Eduardo Silva (Tulane)
- Rob Vos (FAO)
- Carlos Zorilla (DECOIN)
For more information, click here.