(Scales of state intervention and production of space in Neuquen’s hydrocarbon-producing cities since the late twentieth century)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the production of space in the context of the re escalation of state intervention. It focuses on how hydrocarbon extraction and the production of space have been intertwined in two case studies within the province of Neuquén: Añelo and Rincón de los Sauces. The reescalation of intervention is linked to state decentralization and the development of a hydrocarbon exploitation model based on land concessions to national and foreign actors since the 1990s. This meant the creation of a fourth scale of intervention in the production of space (the one related to international companies, which was added to the national, provincial, and local ones) and the reconfiguration of the scopes and boundaries of the preexisting ones. The sources of this investigation are official national, provincial, and local documents, which are triangulated with information extracted from personal and journalistic interviews with key informants (state agents, local citizens, and members of organizations). The conclusions point out that the process of appropriation of oil profits is linked to the production of space, as well as how the latter relates to the (re)production of urban inequalities and the emergence of territorial conflicts.