The Public Debate over Mining in Colombia: The Role of Experts in Social-Environmental

Abstract

This essay pretends to explore the fact that certain expert groups have become key influencers in the debate over mining in Colombia. To this end, it focuses on one of the issues of this controversy, which is part of the great debate: the publication of the book Mineria en Colombia: fundamentos para superar el modelo extractivista published in 2013. This work analyzes it and tries to show that, in regards to mining, expertises (geology, engineering, economics, law, sociology and even popular wisdom) are an integral part of the debate, and it also considers the fact that no public issue is separated from the production and use of knowledge.