Analysing (In)Justice in the Interplay of Urbanisation and Transport: The Case of Agrarian Extractivism in the Region of Urabá in Colombia
und | 30. Juni 2021
Online veröffentlicht: 30. Juni 2021
Seitenbereich: 35 - 61
Eingereicht: 17. Dez. 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2021-0011
Schlüsselwörter
© 2021 Maritza Toro López et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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Agrarian extractivist actors, their techno-political frames and (in)justices.
| Dominant extractivist regime | Systemic conflicts | |
|---|---|---|
| Actors and relevant social groups |
Spanish colony Rubber companies (Goodyear) Vegetable ivory companies (German companies) Marine transport companies (Pacific Steam Navigation Co. and Pacific Railroad Co.) Banana companies (Banacol, Uniban, Augura, etc) Port concession of Colombia Port areas in Urabá Local political institutions of Urabá Colombian government U.S. Government ANI (Asociación Nacional de Insfraestructura) PIO SAS (Puertos, Inversions y Obras S.A.) Landlord's militias Colombia's Ministry of Transport Freight transport companies Paramilitary groups |
Indigenous groups Rural peasant communities (local banana producers) Low-income groups Rural day labourers (colonos) UFCO employees Self-defence communities Political parties (Socialist Revolutionary Party, Communist Party and UNIR) Guerilla groups |
| Techno-political frames |
Developmental model oriented to maximising productivity, profits and efficiency of banana production Harvests of banana companies tend to have little or no processing. Governmental regulations related to mineral and oil extraction rather than to agricultural extraction UFCO territorial control systems of getting lands Agricultural landscapes revealed a huge potentiality, mainly for foreign companies Transport infrastructures planned and built focusing on the performance of the transport systems related to agro-extractivism without thinking of needs of inhabitants Ineffective land reforms due to corruption within government institutions Government of Colombia de-emphasised land reform and shifted focus to rural development through agribusiness. Law 200 (eviction of tenant farmers indiscriminately) Transport infrastructures as crucial instruments in the context of rapid economic globalisation Military violence (pre-existing power structure approved by the state) |
Developmental model is not being driven by principles of social and environmental well-being Little job creation for local comunities by banana companies as the harvests produced do not require much processing Societal fragmentation Rural peasants migration to agro-extractivist areas in search of better opportunities, since they were suffering huge challenges related to unemployment and lack of basic services in their rural areas Local population without an income and more likely to rely on informal, survivalist strategies Exclusion of low class population from the qualities and benefits of urban life. Urban inequity and rise to high concentrations of poverty |
| Urban, rural and transport (in)justices |
Almost all transport infrastructures and heavy machinery are related to banana production Traditional planning refrained from coordinating existing urban, transport and traffic dynamics In harvesting period families arrived and settled in private properties in temporary shelters Urban and transport planning was based on providing a better connection of the agro-extractivist region with Medellín and the main production and consumption centres of the country Transport infrastructures that support export-oriented industries Road insfrastructure (4-lane design, targeted mode and type of transport, trajectory, materiality, required size of investment, etc) |
Urban fragmentation related to the social division of labour Inadequate provision of public services Fundamental changes related to excessive population growth rates Excessive use of available resources, in particular water resources Mobilisation of entire groups of families along the rivers and mountains of the region, establishing new urban and rural settlements Migrant influx led to an embryonic market for informal settlements in urban areas Planning and design of transport infrastructural projects propagate an unfair distribution of accessibility Changes to the rural landscape (areas accommodated different human behaviours and activities for land-use practices) Rural peasants lacking sufficient basic services provoked a constant migration of its population to the agricultural lands Small farms were replaced by large-scale agro-extractivist infrastructures (illegally appropriation) Urban clusters became concentrations of unplanned settlements Urban settlements located in protected areas and areas risking flooding Transport infrastructures contributing to the increase of traffic congestion in urban areas and excessive demand for the capacity of the road Overcrowded concentration of informal commercial activities along the highway Urban areas became a transit zone |