The inhabited “deserts”. Local communities and lithium in Catamarca, Argentina

Abstract

There is a certain association that can be drawn between the discourses and imaginaries that founded the historical episode that we know as "The desert campaign", in the second half of the nineteenth century and in the territory that includes the current Argentine territory, and certain discourses and imaginaries that promote the exploitation of lithium in our days in this same country.  This association is proposed based on some statements referred to in a national university at the beginning of 2023 in the framework of a discussion in relation to the issue of lithium in the province of Catamarca (Argentina). From there, this article aims to review the current situation of this province in relation to this issue and the positions taken in relation to it by local communities. Although the issue of lithium and its repercussions on local populations have already been studied in previous works, they addressed the problem in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, in northern Argentina. What is presented on this occasion means some first reflections based on anthropological fieldwork begun this year in the aforementioned province of Catamarca in northwestern Argentina, specifically, in the Fiambalá valley region.