Is It Really Different This Time?: The political ecology of Bolivia's state-led lithium industrialization for post-carbon futures

Dominant discourses on sustainable development seldom question the mode of production enabling so-called green technologies—that is, the capitalist mode of production. An honest historiography of capitalism sheds light on its indispensable features: it requires the cheapening of nature and of labor. The destructive socio-ecological costs attributed to the historical development of the global North have long been borne by the global South. The production of so-called green technology risks replicating this dynamic; therefore, it is essential to engage with it critically. This hypothesis is grounded in a political ecology framework to analyze the political and socio-ecological dynamics behind lithium[1] extraction in Bolivia[2]. Using a blend of academic papers, reports, and interviews I have conducted, I focus on a) the anticipated socio-ecological impacts of lithium extraction, b) the political economy of contemporary Bolivia, which contextualizes c) the governance/politics of lithium extraction on the local and global level. The Bolivian state’s effort to exercise its sovereignty and develop its economy through a “100% state-led lithium industrialization” has faced challenges, which re-inscribe Bolivia’s subordinate position in the world-system. Furthermore, between anticipated ecological impacts and unequal revenue distribution, local communities may be at the verge of accumulation by dispossession. 

[1] Lithium is an indispensable element for battery technologies, which are necessary for electric vehicles and renewable energy. 

[2] Bolivia is a) one of the poorest nations in Latin America, b) an eco-socialist state claiming to break from its subordinate position in the global capitalist system while protecting nature and being a climate leader.