Toxicity and Environmental Racism:

Mapuche Resistance against the Boyeco Landfill, La Araucanía, Chile

Abstract

.This article examines the processes of resistanc e and social participation of Mapuc he communities from the
ancestral territory of Boyeco in response to the establishment of the Boyeco Landfill (1992 –2016). The
unilateral and non-c onsultative imposition of the project produced severe and lasting impacts on healt h,
culture, local economies, and the environment. This gave rise to different stages of social and communit y
organization, as well as the use of socio-legal strategies and protest methods to exert political influe nc e ,
mitigate immediate impacts, and demand reparation for the damages caused. Through a qualitat iv e
methodology that includes bibliographic review, the analysis of press, documents produced by the resist i ng
communit ies and oral and written testimonies from Mapuc he leaders, this researc h approac hes Boyeco as a
paradigmatic example of sacrificed territorialities, but also of resilienc e and the fight for environmental and
territorial justice. This paper shows how these experienc es of resistanc e a gainst the commodification and
exploitation of the territory and its inhabitant s —led by Mapuc he communities of Boyeco and other territori e s
affected by similar practices of environm ental racism— have strengt hened community cohesion and their own
forms of organization and protest , which remain active to this day.