The discourses surrounding the lithium deal, between the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and the Chinese consortium CBC.
Author
Michelsen, Christine Bjerre Madsen
Term
4. term
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-09-15
Pages
53
Abstract
This thesis examines how Bolivia’s government talks about the environmental side of lithium mining and how other actors present it during a press conference on 23 January at the presidential palace in La Paz. Using critical discourse analysis—an approach that studies how language frames problems and solutions—and guided by interpretivism and social constructivism, the study analyzes a transcript of the event (translated by the author; Spanish and English versions are included as appendices). The press conference announced a business agreement between the Bolivian state and the Chinese consortium CBC to industrialize lithium in the Uyuni and Coipasa salt flats. For context, it recalls an earlier, failed attempt under President Evo Morales with the German company ACI Systems, which collapsed after protests. Findings show that President Luis Arce and other speakers deploy several discourses to build support: nationalism (linking lithium to Bolivian identity and a future as a lithium-producing nation); development and socialism (promising social benefits from lithium revenues); and economics (portraying mining as profitable, boosted by the green transition and electric vehicles). A globalization discourse frames the project as not only improving living standards but also helping fight climate change. Strikingly, a water discourse is absent, even though lithium extraction is highly water dependent. This omission appears deliberate, given that water—along with royalties, transparency, and participation—was central to the COMCIPO protest campaign that ended the previous industrialization attempt.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan Bolivias regering taler om de miljømæssige sider af lithiumudvinding, og hvordan andre aktører præsenterer emnet under en pressekonference den 23. januar i præsidentpaladset i La Paz. Med kritisk diskursanalyse—en metode der ser på, hvordan sprog former problemer og løsninger—og med et fortolkende, socialkonstruktivistisk udgangspunkt analyseres en udskrift af begivenheden (oversat af forfatteren; spansk og engelsk findes som bilag). Pressekonferencen offentliggjorde en aftale mellem den bolivianske stat og det kinesiske konsortium CBC om at industrialisere lithium i saltfladerne Uyuni og Coipasa. Som baggrund nævnes et tidligere, mislykket forsøg under Evo Morales med den tyske virksomhed ACI Systems, der kuldsejlede efter protester. Resultaterne viser, at præsident Luis Arce og andre talere bruger flere diskurser for at skabe opbakning: nationalisme (knytter lithium til boliviansk identitet og en fremtid som lithiumproducerende nation); udvikling og socialisme (lover samfundsmæssige gevinster af indtægterne); samt økonomi (fremstiller udvinding som profitabel, drevet af den grønne omstilling og elbiler). En globaliseringsdiskurs rammesætter projektet som ikke kun et løft i levestandard, men også et bidrag til at bekæmpe klimaforandringer. Bemærkelsesværdigt er vanddiskursen fraværende, selv om lithiumudvinding er stærkt vandafhængig. Dette fravalg synes bevidst, da vand—sammen med royalties, gennemsigtighed og deltagelse—var centralt i COMCIPOs protestkampagne, der standsede det tidligere forsøg på industrialisering.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]