The hegemony of infrastructure. Environment, development and the consensus gaps in the Province of Cordoba, Argentina

Abstract

We draw on Gramscian hegemony theory and David Graeber’s theory of value to explore the possibilities of a counter-hegemony to environmental water management in the Argentine province of Córdoba. Conflicts between two opposing positions in the Sierras Chicas area are analyzed. On the one hand, the hegemonic proposals of solutions by means of large and medium-sized infrastructure works to deal with droughts and floods; on the other hand, proposals that emphasize solutions adequate to the bio-physical forms of the hydrological cycle in a mountain environment.

Keywords:
drought and flood management; hegemony and counter-hegemony; infrastructure; development