The Southern Hub. A contribution to the study of infrastructure works and territorial disputes in the North-Patagonian Bi-Oceanic Corridor

Abstract

Over the last decades, transformations in technical macro systems associated to transport and logistics have created a significant territorial impact on Latin American countries in an economy refocusing context. The claim from hegemonic actors to use regional strategic resources, as well as the increase in the demand for commodities have caused the emergence of luminous spaces, i.e. areas densely loaded with infrastructures which are vital for capital accumulation. In this context, the southern region of the American continent gets redefined upon international demand especially for energy and minerals. The analysis at different levels of the main infrastructure corridors, which makes the extraction and circulation of these resources possible, is central to geographic studies in the current context. The main objective of this work is to study the North-Patagonian Bi-Oceanic Corridor and it is based on the following research questions: What infrastructure is fostered and according to which economic development model? The results open up a debate on the ideas of integration and development that underpin infrastructure programs today.