Resistance In Retrospect: The Multi-Temporality Of Extractivism In The Amazon

Amazonian communities take various political positions in relation to extractivism. These positions are influenced by previous histories of encounter and conflict with the state, extractive companies, and mestizo society. However, much of the research on extractivism suffers from presentiment. In this article, I examine the multi-temporality of conflicts and negotiations in territories with extractive activities through an ethnographic case study in northern Ecuador. I explore the uprising of an indigenous community against an oil company, during which community members invoked different historical moments: the rubber era; the expansion of institutionalized education in the region; and more recent experiences of urban migration. These multiple moments of the longue duree of the colonization of the northern Amazon shaped the aspirations of this community to resist and then negotiate with the oil company and the state, and in turn obtain an urban development project as a form of compensation. Understanding how the past influences conflicts and negotiations over extractivism requires attention to those historical moments that give meaning to the present.