Exit, Dismissal, Engagement: Understanding Extractivist Firm Behavior in Latin America

“Multinational companies are deeply involved in extractive activities in Latin America, where economies dependent on mining revenues have long welcomed their investment. This is especially true given the rise in commodity prices, increasing demand from emerging economies such as China, and the turn toward green technologies, with the concomitant need for minerals and metals such as lithium, copper, and cobalt. At the same time, communities impacted by these mines have become increasingly resistant to them, bolstered and supported by international actors and norms in Europe and North America, as well as stronger domestic environmental and justice institutions often modeled on trans-Atlantic partners. European countries and the EU have toughened due diligence requirements on their own companies to protect fragile environments and vulnerable populations in Latin America. In this paper, we research the behavior of one mining company across two Latin American countries in the face of social resistance, finding that the strength of domestic institutions and the capacity of civil society to litigate have an important effect on company decisions and actions.”

Exit, Dismissal, Engagement: Understanding Extractivist Firm Behavior in Latin America

         By Mark Aspinwall and Pedro Canales Hernández – Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas