RENTIER STATES, NEO-EXTRACTIVISM AND TERRITORIAL RIGHTS: THE ORINOCO AND AMAZONIAN REGIONS OF VENEZUELA

Abstract

The territorial conflicts over the control of lands and natural resources have been a constant in Latin American histoy. At the beginning of the 21st century, however, new processes of rural territorial transformation are taking place in the continent. The main objective of the paper is to generate a theoretical and research agenda focused in the analysis of these processes. In the first part the theoretical arguments which have emerged in the literature to distinguish the policies identified as extractivism during the 20th century are analyzed in contrast to the emergence during the 21st century of those labelled as neo-extractivism. In the second part, based on a human rights approach, the emergence and consolidation of neo-extractivism in Venezuela is analyzed, ideologically conceived as an unavoidable strategy for achieving economic growth in countries rich in natural resourcesIn the third part, the processes which have given origin to neo-extractivism in Venezuela are considered, whereas the fourth part focuses on Orinoco and Amazonian regions, and particularly their impacts on the indigenous territories. Finally, in the conclusions some lessons are derived from the case study, with the objective of proposing new agendas of public policies to overcome neo-extractivism..