Representations of Extractive Industries in Selected Fiction from Bolivia and Peru

The extractive industry is crucial to the economies of many countries in Latin America, particularly Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. Whereas the study of this economic sector in the context of Latin America is well established in academia, cultural manifestations related to the exploitation of natural resources have not been sufficiently explored. This thesis examines the literary representations of extractive industries in two Bolivian and two Peruvian examples of fiction: Aluvión de fuego (1935) by Oscar Cerruto, Canchamina (1956) co-written by Víctor Hugo Villegas and Mario Guzmán Aspiazu, José María Arguedas’ novel Todas las sangres (1964) and ¿Quién mató a Palomino Molero? (1986) by Mario Vargas Llosa. The focus on Bolivia and Peru is partly because these two countries share much in common: they base their economy on the development of extractive industries, they are characterised by the presence of the Andes and they have a high degree of cultural and social heterogeneity since they include different social, cultural and ethnic identities. Nevertheless, in spite of these similarities, they are distinctive from each other because of notable differences related to history, economy, social configuration and literature. Bearing this in mind, this study uses a comparative approach in order to show how the interpretation and the conceptualisation of extractive industries is culturally constructed and changes in these two countries. The thesis is composed of four chapters, each of which is based on the close reading of a single text. Its ultimate aim will be to discuss in which way and to what extent these novels contribute to the construction of extractive industry discourses in Bolivia and in Peru and engage with broader issues related to the expansion of extractive industries.