Megaproyectos en Centroamérica: dilemas, discursos, debates
Megaprojects in Central America: Dilemmas, Discourses, Debates
Contributor(s): Katarzyna Dembicz (Editor)
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies, Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: megaprojects; Central America; development dilemmas; tourism; hydroelectric plants; gold mining
Summary/Abstract: This book presents a comprehensive historical and political analysis of the largest and most significant megaprojects in tourism, energy, and mining in the context of the development and modernization process in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. At the same time, it describes the methods of implementation of these infrastructure projects and their socio-environmental impacts. It is characterized by a comprehensive, trans-sectoral and comparative approach that includes political, geostrategic, economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions. The interdisciplinary nature of the research perspectives is closely related to the diversity of authors who are members of the research group funded by the National Science Center (https://dissonance.wn.uw.edu.pl/). The presence of geographers, political scientists, sociologists, economists, and those with research experience in international relations, anthropology, and environmental protection allowed for the sharing of experiences and practices around cross-cutting and cross-thematic issues.
- E-ISBN-13: 978-83-235-6100-2
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-83-235-6092-0
- Page Count: 324
- Publication Year: 2023
- Language: Spanish
DE MEGA A META
DE MEGA A META
(From Mega to Meta)
- Author(s):Paweł Wiechetek
- Language:Spanish
- Subject(s):Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
- Page Range:15-107
- No. of Pages:93
- Keywords:megaprojects; infrastructure; Central America; Panama Canal; Inter-American Highway; large dams; “world-system”
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter proposes a reinterpretation of the history of Central America through the lens of infrastructure megaprojects. It is time-transcending, intercultural and transdisciplinary look that connects the apparently heterogeneous elements: the temporality of the “Long Count” and the “Short Count”; the “lifeworlds” and the “world-system”; The North- and Latin American cultural perspective; the fields of technology, politics, and literature. The cases of the Panama Canal, the Inter-American Highway and the large dams illustrate how megaprojects exceed their physical structure and their immediate functions, extending to an entire assembly of the “world-system” (the geopolitics of extractivism, finance, logistics, etc.). Currently, a transition from the “MEGA” to the “META” dimension of the projects is being observed. Infrastructure is presented as a “constitution” of globalization processes, where water, land, energy, air, and digital environments produce new space-time connections.
EL DESARROLLO REGIONAL DE AMÉRICA CENTRAL
EL DESARROLLO REGIONAL DE AMÉRICA CENTRAL
(Regional development of Central America)
- Author(s):Mirosława Czerny, Katarzyna Dembicz
- Language:Spanish
- Subject(s):Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
- Page Range:108-144
- No. of Pages:37
- Keywords:regional development; Mexico; Central America
- Summary/Abstract:Different plans that integrate the vision of a regional development (national and supranational) are essential for the proper and coordinated administrative, economic and social management of any territory. The centralist forces were always the most opposed to this process, especially in Central America. The objective of this chapter is to present the experiences of the Central American countries in this field, in order to create a broad historical overview and reference for the next case studies analyzed in this book, dedicated to the hydroelectric, mining and tourism megaprojects. Large infrastructures, as we will see, are an immanent part of land management and regional development plans.
OPORTUNIDADES Y DESAFÍOS DEL SECTOR ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA CENTRAL
OPORTUNIDADES Y DESAFÍOS DEL SECTOR ENERGÉTICO EN AMÉRICA CENTRAL
(Opportunities and challenges of the energy sector in Central America)
- Author(s):José Rodrigo Rojas M., Katarzyna Dembicz
- Language:Spanish
- Subject(s):Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
- Page Range:145-183
- No. of Pages:39
- Keywords:hydroelectric plants; SIEPAC; Barro Blanco; Reventazón
- Summary/Abstract:Central America over the last century has experienced a profound transformation of the energy sector, choosing to develop electricity production based on renewable sources. This policy led to the diversification of sources, to a process of regional integration in order to strengthen the electrical grid system, but also to construct large hydroelectric plants, which are not indifferent to the society and environment. Using two different cases (Reventazón and Barro Blanco hydropower plants), the authors of this chapter will show the effects of the construction of these mega infrastructures, making references to the Central American reality and the challenges faced by the countries of this region.
MEGAPROYECTOS TURÍSTICOS EN AMÉRICA CENTRAL
MEGAPROYECTOS TURÍSTICOS EN AMÉRICA CENTRAL
(Tourism Megaprojects in Central America)
- Author(s):Katarzyna Dembicz, Mirosława Czerny, Xinia Carrillo Sánchez
- Language:Spanish
- Subject(s):Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
- Page Range:184-229
- No. of Pages:46
- Keywords:tourism; megaprojects; extractivism; Central America; Honduras; Costa Rica; Guanacaste; Garifuna
- Summary/Abstract:The authors of this chapter make a critical analysis of the tourism sector in Central America, taking as an example the cases of the province of Guanacaste in Costa Rica and the coastal area of Bahía de Tela in Honduras. Foreign investments are of our special interest, as large hotel projects have negative impact on natural environment and local communities. The principal goal is to make visible the challenges to be solved, of environmental, social, economic, and political nature. At the same time, we try to show the origins of the social conflicts that these areas present, and that certainly result from the mutual misunderstanding, between the social actors that interact in these spaces and their visions about the future of the areas in which the megaprojects are located.
LA MINERÍA AURÍFER A CENTROAMERICANA
LA MINERÍA AURÍFER A CENTROAMERICANA
(Gold mining in Central America)
- Author(s):Hélène Roux
- Language:Spanish
- Subject(s):Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
- Page Range:230-268
- No. of Pages:39
- Keywords:gold mining; güiriseros; social conflicts; Mina La India; Mina La Libertad; Nicaragua
- Summary/Abstract:Mining in Central America, although not outstanding on a Latin American and global scale, does have a decisive impact on the national and local reality. The importance that the mining sector has acquired in the region in recent years is measured by its dynamic growth, and with it also very negative consequences come into view, both socio-cultural and environmental, of the projects that are already operating as well as those yet to come. This article analyzes the dilemmas and conflicts around the industrial gold mining in Nicaragua, from a historical perspective and based on two different case studies, Mina La India and Mina La Libertad where the population has practiced artisanal mining for decades.
EL DEBATE SOBRE MEGAPROYECTOS MINEROS Y ENERGÉTICOS EN LA PRENSA NACIONAL DE NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA Y PANAMÁ
EL DEBATE SOBRE MEGAPROYECTOS MINEROS Y ENERGÉTICOS EN LA PRENSA NACIONAL DE NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA Y PANAMÁ
(The debate on mining and energy megaprojects in the national press of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama)
- Author(s):Ewelina Biczyńska
- Language:Spanish
- Subject(s):Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
- Page Range:269-317
- No. of Pages:49
- Keywords:development; discourse analysis; megaprojects; press articles; Central America
- Summary/Abstract:Megaprojects are often perceived and executed as a mean to stimulate development. Many Central American countries and their local communities are currently facing large hydroelectric or mining projects, which are supposed to improve the well-being of the population, through the foreign investment they attract and the expected economic growth. The implementation of such mega infrastructures rarely becomes a topic of public debate. Therefore, in order to identify different positions and attitudes towards megaprojects, this chapter proposes a deep analysis of information articles through selected texts from the Central American national press. At the same time, the megaproject is considered to be a metaphor for development and from this perspective the topic of large investments is approached. This chapter presents the results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the articles in the daily press, dedicated to mining and hydroelectric projects in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, taking into account their political-economic contexts, the social actors involved and megaprojects’ image created in journalistic narratives.
CONCLUSIONES
CONCLUSIONES
(Conclusions)
- Author(s):Katarzyna Dembicz
- Language:Spanish
- Subject(s):Regional Geography, Environmental Geography
- Page Range:319-320
- No. of Pages:2
- Keywords:megaprojects; Central America; development dilemmas; tourism; hydroelectric plants; gold mining
- Summary/Abstract:This book presents a comprehensive historical and political analysis of the largest and most significant megaprojects in tourism, energy, and mining in the context of the development and modernization process in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. At the same time, it describes the methods of implementation of these infrastructure projects and their socio-environmental impacts. It is characterized by a comprehensive, trans-sectoral and comparative approach that includes political, geostrategic, economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions. The interdisciplinary nature of the research perspectives is closely related to the diversity of authors who are members of the research group funded by the National Science Center (https://dissonance.wn.uw.edu.pl/). The presence of geographers, political scientists, sociologists, economists, and those with research experience in international relations, anthropology, and environmental protection allowed for the sharing of experiences and practices around cross-cutting and cross-thematic issues.
