Undermining environmental justice? : community-company conflicts with La Colosa gold mine in Cajamarca, Colombia

Abstract: Colombian government pursues an extractive-led development trajectory in which mining is considered as a key factor for reviving the economy. However, while mining has been important in the economic development of some countries, it has also been associated to conflicts, product of its high environmental impact and, in many cases, unequal distribution of benefits. “La Colosa” is a gold open pit mine project proposed in Cajamarca, Colombia which has being highly questioned by scholars, journalists, communities and environmental organizations due to the possible impacts that it can have on the environment. However, social issues have not been thoroughly investigated. Projects of the magnitude of “La Colosa” are known to generate hope to the local population where they are developed, as they can create jobs and improve the infrastructure of the place. Nevertheless, if the expectations about the benefits of mining are not fulfilled, this can lead to growing misunderstandings, mistrust and eventually conflict among local residents and the mining company. Studying the relationship that the company in charge of the project has with the community helps to understand both actors’ interests and needs, which at the same time helps to ameliorate tensions among them. In this study I analyzed the nature of the Student-Company relation, as students are the future decision makers and citizens of the world. I analyzed this relationship through the understanding of the socio-economic and cultural context in which it is developed. This relationship revealed that students are being marginalized in different ways. First of all, students do not have access to objective information, second, their cultural values are not considered, third they are excluded from the decision-making about the extraction of gold in Cajamarca and finally they are being forced into a “reduced mode of being”. The results of this study showed that there is a high possibility that a conflict will be generated as consequence of this marginalization. If the government of Colombia continues fostering mining as an engine of development, it needs to recognize that mining will affect the social and cultural structure of the local communities, and include these impacts in the decision-making processes. The participation of the local community in planning will be important to reduce tension and to create process more accountable for the community.