Mining, Social Movements and the Rise of China in Latin America

In this article, we analyze the relationship between Chinese mining companies andanti-systemic movements in Latin America, based upon the modern world system theory. We focus on mining activities and offer a historical overview of Chinese companies' general practices and how they change according to the reformulation of China's national interests. Using the OCMAL's mining conflict database, we identified those conflicts in which Chine intervened describing their social and environmental impact, as well as the anti-systemic movements that may arise as a response to the extractive practices. We compared these practices with those of companies from different countries, of a random sample. The results show similar procedures for most mining companies in Latin America regardless of their national origin. We conclude the challenge lying ahead is to build an alternative proposal for the modern world system that moves from a local to a global vision, thus reconciling all internal tensions.