Expansion of the agribusiness, biofuel and dispossession in the Gran Chaco

Abstract

The expansion of industrial agriculture in Argentina, occurring since the mid-nineties, generated profound changes in territories. The agribusiness increase acquired new dynamism after the collapse of the convertibility, in the framework of a neo-developmentism narrative. In this context, in December 2009, a biofuel production plant -based on soybeans generated in the region- was inaugurated in the southwest of Santiago del Estero. The production of biofuels in the NOA is an icon of the tendency to intensify production and the commodification of agrifood systems in the Gran Chaco. The article explores the relationship between public policies, development narratives and territorial transformations derived from the advance of agribusiness in Santiago del Estero since the intervention of 2004 to the present, in order to discern the challenges in terms of social and environmental justice. Socioeconomic and political processes at national, regional and local level will be analyzed with a systemic perspective, complementing quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The focus will be placed on material and symbolic dimensions of such processes.