| Tin War | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | – October 2006 | ||
| Location | |||
| Parties | |||
| |||
The 2006 Huanuni miners' conflict, commonly referred to a Black October (Spanish: Octubre Negro) or the Tin War (Spanish: Guerra del Estaño),[a] was a
Background
editThe small town of Huanuni lies at an altitude of 3,960 meters above sea level and is situated in the Pantaleón Dalence Province, approximately 50 kilometers from the city of Oruro, in the department of the same name. The town's population, according to statistics from the 2001 census, amounted to 19,428 inhabitants, the vast majority of whom made their livings in the mining industry. The Huanuni mine draws from the neighboring Posokoni hill, which contains Bolivia's largest and richest tin deposits. Despite the area's substantial mineral wealth, Huanuni and the surrounding region remains significantly underdeveloped, lacking most basic public service.[2]
Huanuni's poor living conditions "reflect[ed] the misery of the mineworkers",[2] whose life expectancy dropped to roughly ten years once they started working. Historically, all mineworkers had been state employees contracted by the Bolivian Mining Corporation (COMIBOL) since the company's establishment in 1952. However, by the early 2000s, a drop in demand for world metal and decades of successive neoliberal governments had led to the privatization of large swaths of the previously nationalized mining industry, giving rise to two distinct forms of mining employment.[3] Those who remained employed under COMIBOL were known as salaried or "regular" workers, wage laborers receiving small benefits, represented by the Syndical Federation of Bolivian Mineworkers (FSTMB). The economic crisis of the 1980s significantly reduced their numbers to the point that by 2006, only around 800 mineworkers remained classified under this category.[4][5] In their stead, significant numbers of cooperative laborers began working the Huanuni mine, with their population skyrocketing from 200 in 1995 to over 4,000 by 2006. Cooperative mineworkers were either associates of, employed with, or paid by one of four major cooperatives: K’arazapato, La Salvadora, Libres, and Playa Verde, all under the umbrella of the National Federation of Mining Cooperatives (FENCOMIN). Members collectively owned the ore they mined, which was then sold by the cooperatives to COMIBOL or private corporations.[3][5][6]
Conflict
edithttp://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_5415000/5415330.stm https://elpais.com/internacional/2006/10/06/actualidad/1160085605_850215.html
References
editNotes
edit- ^ The term "Black October" represents an analogy to "Black October" 2003, in which mobilized social sectors deposed then-president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. The term is preferred among Huanuneños, whereas media outlets consistently cite the event as the "Tin War", also making an analogy with the "Water War" of 2000 or the "Gas War" of 2003.[1]
Footnotes
edit- ^ a b Ruiz Arrieta 2008, p. 6
- ^ a b Ruiz Arrieta 2008, p. 3
- ^ a b Howard & Dangl 2006, para. 5
- ^ Howard & Dangl 2006, sec. 4, para. 1
- ^ a b Ruiz Arrieta 2008, p. 5
- ^ Howard & Dangl 2006, sec. 4, para. 1–2
Bibliography
edit- Howard, April; Dangl, Benjamin (2006). "Tin War in Bolivia: Conflict Between Miners Leaves 17 Dead". Upside Down World. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- Ruiz Arrieta, Gloria (2008). "Octubre Negro" en Huanuni, Bolivia: Desaparición de las Cooperativas y Reestructuración de la Empresa Minera Huanuni. Representaciones, Experiencias y Prácticas de los Mineros (PDF) (in Spanish). Posadas: IX Congreso Argentino de Antropología Social. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales – Universidad Nacional de Misiones.
Category:2006 riots Category:2006 in Bolivia Category:October 2006 events in South America Category:Miners' labor disputes [[:Category:]]