Mining Expansion and Social Change in the Andes

The current cycle of economic and geographical mining expansion has created the conditions for significant social transformations in the Andes. The development of several megaprojects in new mining zones has connected Andean communities to global dynamics in the context of negotiation and conflicts for the access to local resources. These developments have certainly altered the ways rural communities understand nature and development,

triggering several processes of change that in turn have laid the foundation for the production and/or exacerbation of socio-ecological inequalities.

Prof. Dr. Gerardo Damonte is a Principal Researcher at the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. He is also a Fellow of desigualdades.net.