El caso del Proyecto Aratirí de minería a cielo abierto en Uruguayanálisis de una controversia científico-tecnológica
ISSN: 1668-0030, 1850-0013
Year of publication: 2017
Volume: 12
Issue: 36
Pages: 107-137
Type: Article
More publications in: CTS: Revista iberoamericana de ciencia, tecnología y sociedad
Abstract
This paper explores how evidence was treated by the different parties implicated in the Aratirí Project open-cast mining controversy, which has been developing in Uruguay since 2011. Based on the theories about public scientific-technological controversies and the theory of risk framing, press articles and official publications are analyzed with the aim of detecting the different types of scientific-technical arguments at play and identifying the main parties’ approach to the conflict. The findings show that the treatment of the evidence is conditioned by the various contextualizations of the controversy: an economic and technical focus from government and business, and a social-environmental one on the part of the environmentalists. This suggests the existence of a latent conflict, which is related to the different political and economic concepts around the desired development model. This means that the controversy transcends a mere technical debate.