Colombia Internacional

Colomb. int. | eISSN 1900-6004 | ISSN 0121-5612

Referendums on mining in Colombia: the conditions in which they are held and their political meanings. The case of La Colosa

No. 93 (2018-01-01)
  • Kristina Dietz
    Freie Universität Berlin (Alemania)
https://doi.org/10.7440/colombiaint93.2018.04

Abstract

This article studies the conditions in which referendums (consultas populares) on mining are held in Colombia and their effects on the democratic political system. It is in the form of a case study of the referendums which arose from local communities' opposition to the La Colosa mining project, in the town of Cajamarca (Tolima). The analysis is based on theoretical approaches to the structure of political opportunity and local mobilization in the context of participatory democracy. The holding of a referendum (or “consultation with the people”) results from short- and long-term political and institutional changes and the use of different mechanisms for spreading opinions. In the same manner, the article points out that such referendums have impacts on the political sphere: they mobilize a large part of the population, influence political agendas and institutional norms and open new opportunities for debate and democratic participation.

Keywords: Colombia, democracy, dissemination (Thesaurus), mining conflicts, structures of political opportunity, referendums (author)

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