Socio-environmental conflicts in the Metropolitan area of Valparaíso

Abstract

The growing process of urbanization affecting important territories, both in Chile and in Latin America, together with the increase in large energy, extractive and real estate projects, which seek to increase capital and finance the expansion of the global economy, are A constant source of socio-environmental conflicts, where the economic interests of power groups are set against the environmental and cultural interests of citizen groups seeking to protect the resources and natural spaces of the territories they inhabit. so. These conflicts, which occur in the different forms and levels of urbanization that occur in the world, are expressed with some relevance in the Metropolitan Area of ​​Valparaiso, where there are increasingly worrying conditions of environmental degradation and Loss of biodiversity, leading to a significant number of disputes and increasing forms of social polarization. In this article we present the preliminary results of an exploratory study that, from the field of ecological anthropology, addresses some socio-environmental conflicts present today in this metropolitan area, focusing our objective in describing three cases where the interests of the citizens are confronted with the Economic interests of corporate groups. The cases described reflect experiences of social resistance arising from the citizen spaces involved in these conflicts and allow the identification of the contents and practices that favor citizen participation and inclusion in the processes of urban and environmental management of The metropolitan areas of the country.