Tendencies in tension: Resource governance and social contradictions in contemporary Bolivia

This essay provides a textual and political economic examination of recent laws and their implications for mining in Bolivia. On the one hand, the new mining law favors the interests of the mining sector. On the other hand, the proposed law of prior consultation would permit local communities to limit extractive activities, and the law of Mother Earth establishes a philosophical basis for national development “in harmony and equilibrium with Mother Earth.” The contradictory tendencies apparent in these laws emerge from the well-established interests of social groups. The laws may be read as legal and political attempts to reconcile fundamental tensions within Bolivian society and political economy.