La Guajira in northern Colombia has seen a disproportionate number of roadblocks recently, especially connected to wind park construction sites, staged by people demanding that the state implement economic, social, and physical security improvements. This conflict is an example of local impacts of the global energy transition on historically marginalized people. In this Spotlight we argue that La Guajira is a prime case showing how the energy transition is leveraged to indirectly address the state through private companies.
Author: Martin Gubsch
Martin Gubsch ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeier und Doktorand im Programmbereich „Glokale Verflechtungen“ an der HSFK. In seiner Forschung beschäftigt er sich mit Klimawandel, Umweltbewegungen und Transformationen des ruralen Raumes in Kolumbien. / Martin Gubsch is a doctoral candidate in PRIF’s research department “Glocal Junctions”. His research focuses on climate change, environmental movements and transformations of rural space in Colombia.
Protests against new fracking projects in Colombia
A new fracking initiative has been formalized by the Colombian government in cooperation with the state enterprise Ecopetrol. The first of four exploratory projects will take place in Puerto Wilches, a small community located next to the Magdalena River, one of the largest in Colombia. Fracking has been associated with water pollution, which could lead to severe consequences for local people’s livelihoods and the region as a whole. Social and environmental activists have received death threats and have grown increasingly vulnerable since 2016. Nevertheless, protests have emerged and will likely continue, despite COVID-19 restrictions.
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