Paper Short Abstract:

By centering on the pineapple industry, and the special role of the plantation, I aim to dissect the reputed success story of neoliberal agro-extractivism in Central America. I consider the conditions that made this expansion and thus the simultaneous exploitation of nature and labor possible.

Paper Abstract:

Non-traditional horticultural production in Costa Rica was expanded after the 1980s debt crises and must be placed within the context of the neoliberal agrarian transformation in the 1980s and 1990s. These products played a central role in state efforts to transform the export structure from a few primary products to a broader portfolio of agricultural products and high-tech production. Pineapples have since become one of Costa Rica's most important export products. They, and other horticultural products, have been celebrated for creating jobs for the otherwise economically excluded rural population, especially in the country's northern regions. These agro-extractivist enclaves heavily rely on migrant workers, especially from the neighboring Nicaragua.

By centering on the making of the pineapple industry and the unique role of the plantation, I aim to dissect the reputed success story of neoliberal agro-extractivism in Central America. I pay close attention to the economic and political conditions that made this expansion and, thus, the simultaneous exploitation of nature and labor possible. Here, I focus on the plantation to understand the historical continuities of this exploitation and place them into the regional context.

I draw on the results of a first fieldwork conducted in 2023.