Presentation short abstract

The research analyzes the socio-environmental implications of lithium mining in the Salar de Atacama, examining public-private strategies and community resistances to Green Sacrifice.

Presentation long abstract

The research analyzes the socio-environmental implications of lithium mining in the Salar de Atacama, in the context of the global expansion of electromobility as a climate change mitigation strategy. From a militant and situated perspective, the study examines public-private strategies aimed at legitimizing lithium extractivism as a necessary and supposedly responsible activity. The methodology combines interviews conducted between 2019 and 2023 with community leaders, farmers, and activists; participatory workshops with Lickanantay communities; document review; social media monitoring; and participation in various events related to lithium extractivism in Chile and other Andean territories. Between 2023 and 2024, action-research methods were used by supporting Indigenous communities in consultation processes related to new mining contracts and the Protected Salt Flats Network in the implementation of the National Lithium Strategy led by the government of Gabriel Boric.

Results show that corporate frameworks based on shared value and associativity fail to resolve the conflict generated by the expansion of companies like Albemarle and SQM. Tensions persist, reflected in social mobilizations and controversial political decisions such as the CODELCO-SQM MoU. At the same time, a sophistication of public-private strategies is observed, aiming to establish a "governance of dispossession" model in territories progressively turned into Green Sacrifice Zones. In response, communities strengthen technical capacities and civil alliances, demanding informed participation. Long-term, sometimes less visible resistances materialize in the persistance of livelihoods based on reciprocity with the land, agriculture, herding, and community water management.