Poner el Cuerpo: Environmental Activism in a Fumigated Town of Argentina

This talk will summarize Daniela's MA thesis experience, where through ethnographic methods she explored some of the ways in which the inhabitants of the rural towns of the central regions of Argentina are affected by, understand, and advocate against the intensive use of agrichemicals that characterizes the agribusiness model implemented in this country since 1996. Although both the affected communities and environmental scientists have provided solid evidence of the harm caused by the toxicity of these agrichemicals, government agencies follow a long tradition of complicity with extractivist projects in the region, ignoring such evidence and emphasizing the “progress” and “development” allegedly provided by agribusiness. At the same time, those who oppose this model face violence in multiple forms: from enduring health problems triggered by these toxic exposures to receiving threats and physical attacks by soybean producers.

Daniela Miranda is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at UBC, and holds a Master in Anthropology degree from the same institution. Her research draws from her fieldwork experience among environmental activists in Argentina, and from her own engagement with social justice activism.