The guerrillas or the multinationals?

This is what Manuel and I were wondering as we talked about the guerrilla, natural resources and the possibility of a greater presence of multinationals. Manuel is an artist, a land worker and one of those people who is a pleasure to meet and a pleasure to talk to. Of course, always with a cigarette or a good Colombian coffee in between.

“Guerrillas would be better because as long as there is guerrillas, multinationals will not come in. If multinationals come in, we will be worse off, because with them comes slavery,” says Manuel.

But of course the problem is that the Colombian guerrilla (FARC or ELN, either of them) is very distorted with respect to the guerrilla ideals of other decades. In addition, it is part of the economic interests related to drug trafficking and the natural resources of the region. Some of the inhabitants of southern Colombia prefer “the devil you know to the devil you don’t know,” but many are aware and very clear that this guerrilla no longer represents them: for example, they attack civilian populations, whether indigenous or peasant, without hesitation.

On the other hand, many of them prefer the guerrillas to the paramilitaries. They say that with the guerrillas one can talk and reach an agreement, while with the paramilitaries there is nothing to do, since they defend the interests of the powerful and nothing more. They also know that part of their financing comes from drug trafficking and therefore they will never be an independent guerrilla. Furthermore, in some places, the guerrillas represent law and order and control absolutely everything. Once again we see, as in so many other situations, that the vacuums left by the state are invariably filled by groups that clearly respond to other interests: their own.

But why is there a possibility that multinationals will “enter”?

Apparently, the existence of coltan has been discovered in the central Colombian mountain range and on the border with Venezuela.

What is coltan?

Coltan is a term that arose from the contraction of the names of two valuable minerals: columbite and tantalite. These minerals are essential for the manufacture of the electronic devices that are most used today and on which millions of businesses depend: cell phones, video games, fiber optics, aerospace, magnetic levitation, etc. Some already call it blue gold or mud oil.

These materials are a clear example of the definition of a natural resource. A natural resource is an element of nature that serves to satisfy a human need. Both columbite and tantalite have existed on earth for many years, but only in recent decades have they begun to be considered resources because society has found a use for them. And not just any use, but they can become the most valuable mineral resources. Some countries, such as Venezuela, have already declared them a strategic resource.

Resource Wars: Africa Again

Unfortunately, wars over these minerals were not long in coming. Behind the massacres and ethnic strife in the Congo in recent years is coltan. Congo is the country that holds 80% of the reserves of these minerals, which large multinational companies need. Once again, an African country has become the scene of wars, arms sales and ethnic strife that hide economic interests.

According to Amnesty International, more than 30,000 children have been killed and killed in the Congo in the fights for control of coltan reserves, which are hidden behind ethnic disputes since 1998.

The Open Veins of Latin America (Part 2?)

Not only Colombia and Venezuela claim to have this resource under their feet, but other Latin American countries, such as Bolivia and Brazil, have apparently already discovered its existence. Given this new (new?) scenario, where the so-called “developing” countries possess the natural resources that large multinational companies, managed from the richest countries, need, the inevitable question arises: what will happen to these resources? And to the inhabitants of these countries? Will the exploitation that Galeano describes in his famous book continue? Will it have other nuances? Will the environmental and socioeconomic problems derived from its poor exploitation become more complicated?

We don't know the answers, but we can imagine them. Hopefully, this time, Latin American governments will think more about their people than about their economic interests and the multi-million dollar deals they can reach with multinational companies.

Back in Colombia, rumor has it that the latest problems on the border between this country and Venezuela are caused by coltan. We cannot confirm this, far from it, but we can say that the Colombian farmers we spoke to know what this resource is about and see their “tranquility” threatened.

Another phenomenon that is not new in the Latin American countryside is the substitution of traditional products for others that have short-term benefits. In this case, the substitution of coffee plantations for beans or corn, but mainly for the raising of small livestock, such as chickens. In these processes, the most affected are always the small producers or workers, like Manuel.Other travel stories can be found at Magic on the Road

character, characters, PENINSULAR CHARACTERS, indigenous peoples

The guerrillas or the multinationals?