The Social and Political Life of Latin American Infrastructures

From houses to roads, infrastructures offer a unique lens through which
to explore social and political change. Serving as an important conduit between
states and citizens, infrastructures provide governments with a powerful tool
to mould subjects and control populations. Yet, at the same time they also give
individuals, communities, and movements a platform to challenge the state and
forge alternative forms of citizenship and politics. Infrastructures therefore
shape social and political relations in unexpected ways and never dutifully
follow the scripts of politicians, bureaucrats, and engineers.

Latin America provides fertile terrain to explore these issues. The
region has been subject to extensive foreign intervention for centuries and
much of its infrastructure has primarily been constructed to benefit colonial
and imperial powers. Yet Latin America has also seen widespread resistance to
colonial-capitalist expansion, and infrastructures have been central to these
diverse struggles. Drawing on recent empirical research, this
cross-disciplinary book demonstrates the value of analysing social and
political change through infrastructure. The authors explore a diverse
range of Latin American infrastructures, from a sparkling new tram network in Ecuador
to a crumbling old nuclear plant in Cuba. Building on the empirical chapters,
the editors demonstrate the value of conceptualising infrastructure as a
relational and experimental process. In addition to making a novel contribution
to global infrastructure debates, the volume offers important new insights into
Latin American history, society, and politics.