Abstract

OROZCO MARTINEZ, Yuriria  and  RODRIGUEZ GAMEZ, Liz Ileana. Controversies to Mining Risk in the Sonora River, Mexico. Región y sociedad [online]. 2020, vol.32, e1319.  Epub Mar 10, 2021. ISSN 2448-4849.  https://doi.org/10.22198/rys2020/32/1319.

The objective of this research is to carry out an analysis of the perception of vulnerabilities from multiple points of view, considering the positions expressed by different actors (e.g. authorities, activists, civil associations, social organizations, scholars, and people) about mining risk in Sonora River, Mexico. A qualitative methodology is used to examine the experts and people’s discourse, collected through interviews and from a social mapping workshop with local activists. The results show controversies among the actors, related to political, social, economic, physical, technical, and environmental vulnerabilities, as well as indifferences and similarities on ideological and cultural vulnerabilities. Technological risks assessment is frequently politicized, since it involves many interests and values; therefore, the proposal here is that the participation of both, experts and people concerned, must be ensured in these discussions. One of this research limitation is that the selected experts profile did not include scientists, but those who Funtowicz and Ravetz call professional consultancy experts.

Keywords : risk; perception; vulnerability; mining; Sonora River; discourse analysis.