Forum Explores Alternatives from Local Territories Against Global Extractivism and Current Geopolitical Disputes

Original article: Foro busca exponer las alternativas desde los territorios frente al extractivismo global y las actuales disputas geopolíticas

In an international landscape marked by rising geopolitical disputes and a new wave of extractivism driven by economic powers, the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA), in collaboration with the PhD Program in Territory, Space, and Society at the University of Chile and the Latin American Observatory of Globalization, is hosting a forum titled «Global Disputes and Socio-Environmental Crises: Context, Consequences, and Our Alternatives.»

The event will take place on Tuesday, April 14, at 6:30 PM at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU) of the University of Chile, located at Marcoleta 250, Santiago. Admission is free and open to the public, both civic and academic.

«At this crucial moment, the event aims to provide a platform for exchanging information and analysis regarding the trajectory of globalization following U.S. policies towards the world, particularly towards Latin America, with the election of Donald Trump as president,» stated the forum organizers.

In this context, OLCA’s director, Lucio Cuenca, emphasized that «it is fundamental to address the new geopolitical disputes and the use of threats and warfare as instruments by major powers for controlling and accessing energy resources and critical minerals in various regions of the world, with significant impacts on our area.»

The forum will seek to understand the consequences of this scenario on Latin American territories and, importantly, identify concrete alternatives arising from communities in response to the advancement of extractivism.

Featured speakers include prominent figures such as researcher Eduardo Gudynas from Cedib and the Latin American Observatory of Globalization, renowned for his contributions to the post-extractivist debate; journalist and international analyst Raúl Sohr; and Dr. Gloria Baigorrotegui, a philosophy academic from the IDEA Center at the University of Santiago de Chile (Usach).

This initiative is supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Southern Cone (FRL), War on Want, and Tierra Solidaria.

The Citizen