Temporalities of infrastructure: An ethnographic study of rural road building, spectral mining, and good living

Abstract

Purpose: We examine how citizens and the state negotiate infrastructure projects using the concept of temporal incongruence. We consider infrastructures in a plural sense, following several projects in Andean, Ecuador, a region known for challenging roads and a history mining exploration and resistance. We set these layered infrastructure projects in the context of the postneoliberal state, an era characterized by the building of unprecedented mega-infrastructure as a way of fostering human wellbeing. Findings: The introduction of the political value, buen vivir (good living) set the stage for the shift in infrastructure temporality by creating a political and economic environment that prioritizes human and ecological well-being. By juxtaposing the state-led approach to infrastructure with people's responses, we tease out temporal incongruence. We found that people's responses to infrastructure projects are closely tied to their ability to meet their immediate needs and ensure the well-being of people and nature. Conclusion: Temporal incongruence is not merely a mismatch of timelines but a site of political contestation, where competing visions of development are negotiated and reimagined. The temporal reorientation towards the present, via buen vivir, calls for scholarly attention to the immediacy of lived experience taking precedence over yet to be delivered future gains.