Valorización de la naturaleza y disputa por el territorio en la Provincia de Santa Cruz

Abstract

From the beginnings of European colonization, the history of Patagonia is the history of the occupation for the valorization of its rich natural resources in the soil, subsoil and its extensive coastline. Settled first in the exploitation of sheep, after oil, gas and coal and fishing recently, metal mining and international tourism, the territories of the provinces of Santa Cruz, Chubut and Tierra del Fuego like their peers across the Andes of Aysen and Magallanes regions, are resource-rich areas. For the putting in value of territories by capital, requires two basic conditions: the existence of natural resources and the presence of work force, which, depending on the activity, may or may not be present. In some cases, it is necessary to adapt these spaces with facilities and infrastructure, attracting workers of different qualifications and government presence in a double process of geographical expansion and accumulation by dispossession to ensure recovery of the capital in general. In these territories, peripherals from the spatial point of view, each individual valorization process required a combination of appropriation habilitation and organization specific territory.

In the present article aims, first, to present concise historical processes for the valorization of nature of the region and then analyze the current status of the process in the territory and the resulting conflicts. In a second part, taking into account the global trends of high demand for natural resources, will present the most likely future scenarios worsen if the current extractive rentier model.