The heterogeneity of resistance: differential responses of the population to the Los Rulos thermoelectric project in Chile

Abstract

This article is the result of an investigation with a qualitative approach, carried out in the V Region of Chile, specifically in the province of Marga Marga. The Los Rulos thermoelectric project has been located in this area, which threatens to transform the social dynamics and experiences of inhabiting the territory. In this context, different groups have expressed their opposition to the project. Among them are social movements and small farmers. This study explores the specific elements that separate both visions and systematizes them around six conflict nodes: the role of the State, levels of citizen participation, the experience of living, the definition of the means of production, the characteristics of the expected jobs, vision about nature and the importance of natural resources. The results of the research suggest that, even though both groups position themselves against Los Rulos thermoelectric, they have distinctive specificities regarding the way of guiding territorial transformations. The leaders of social movements propose a territorial transformation focused on development, where the environmental, social and economic are at the same level of importance; while small farmers, orienting themselves to selective growth, continue to superimpose the economic sphere over other elements.