Conflictos ambientales y respuestas sociales: el caso de reetnificación de la comunidad de Quillagua

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between environmental problem caused by pollution and pressure of mining companies in the basin of the middle of the river Loa, and the emergence of the indigenous community of Quillagua. This situation shows the emergence of an environmental conflict, reinforced by the legal possibilities and international backing provided by the fact of being indigenous. It is also proposed that ethnicity emerges in the current society as a tool of control and therefore the processes of ethnification or re-ethnification are part of an strategic and instrumental dynamic.