Manuel Mendez

Postdoctoral research
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Documents
Affiliation actuelle
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV)

Présentation

I am a researcher specializing in the historical geography and political ecology of extractive industries in the Andes, with a focus on the socio-environmental impacts of mining in the Atacama Desert. My work explores how natural resources have been produced and contested from the 19th century to the present, fostering dialogue between history, anthropology, geography, and landscape archaeology.

I received my PhD in History (Université de Rennes 2, France) and Anthropology (Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile) in 2023, following a master's degree in Geography from Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3. I have held teaching and research positions at the University of Tarapacá and the University of Chile, and collaborated with the Danielle Mitterrand–France Libertés Foundation at the United Nations in Geneva on water-related conflicts between Indigenous communities and mining companies.

From 2023 to 2024, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. I am currently leading a FONDECYT Postdoctoral Project (2024–2026) that examines the historical socio-environmental impacts of industrial mining in the Loa River basin, Chile, and the broader Atacama Desert. Alongside this work, I contribute to international research collaborations that compare mining territories in the Andes with other extractive frontiers around the world.

Domaines de recherche

Sciences de l'Homme et Société

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Publications

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Harnessing the flow: Mining, water, and energy in the Loa River basin (Chile, 1879–1956)

Manuel Méndez , Damir Galaz-Mandakovic

Journal of Historical Geography, 2026, 91, pp.134-146. ⟨10.1016/j.jhg.2025.11.013⟩

Article dans une revue hal-05502646v1
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Genealogy of mining territories in the Atacama Desert: The production of modern waterscapes in Tarapacá region, northern Chile (1853–1924)

Manuel Mendez

The Extractive Industries and Society, 2021, 8 (1), pp.111-122. ⟨10.1016/j.exis.2020.05.003⟩

Article dans une revue hal-02932299v1
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Tele-production of miningscapes in the open-pit era: The case of low-grade copper, Bingham Canyon, US and Chuquicamata, Chile (1903–1923)

Manuel Méndez , D. Galaz-Mandakovic , M. Prieto

The Extractive Industries and Society, 2021, 8 (4), pp.100830. ⟨10.1016/j.exis.2020.10.013⟩

Article dans une revue hal-03122747v1

Production of subterranean resources in the Atacama Desert 19th and early 20th century mining/water extraction in The Taltal district, northern Chile

Manuel Méndez , Manuel Prieto , Milton Godoy

Political Geography, 2020, 81, pp.102-194. ⟨10.1016/j.polgeo.2020.102194⟩

Article dans une revue hal-02570380v1
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Territorios hidrosociales en las geografías altoandinas del Norte de Chile: modernización y conflictos en la región de Tarapacá.

Manuel Méndez , Hugo Romero

IdeAs : idées d'Amérique, 2020, Eau et gestion de l'eau dans les Amériques, 15, 28 p. ⟨10.4000/ideas.7512⟩

Article dans une revue hal-02519287v1

Législation néolibérale et privatisation de la nature : L’irréversible assèchement des zones humides andines (nord du Chili)

Manuel Méndez , Hugo Romero

Études rurales, 2019, 203 (1), pp.126-146. ⟨10.4000/etudesrurales.16320⟩

Article dans une revue hal-02282576v1
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“Apenas tenemos el agua suficiente para nuestras máquinas”: Estado, minería y tecnologías hídricas en el desierto de Atacama Taltal, 1870-1930

Milton Godoy Orellana , Manuel Méndez

Caravelle. Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien, 2018, 111, pp.25-40. ⟨10.4000/caravelle.3624⟩

Article dans une revue hal-02507217v1
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Construcción de los territorios altoandinos de Tarapacá, norte de Chile. Reflexión conceptual desde una perspectiva histórica-geográfica

Manuel Méndez , Hugo Romero

Revista Chilena de Antropología, 2018, Capitalismo en el desierto: materialidades, espacios y movimiento, 37, pp.183-196. ⟨10.5354/0719-1472.2018.49495⟩

Article dans une revue hal-02507207v1

Geo-archaeology of miningscapes in the Atacama Desert: The sociomateriality of water during the nitrate mining boom, Tarapacá-Chile (1853-1930)

Manuel Méndez

American Association of Geographers (AAG) 2021 Annual Meeting, Apr 2021, Seattle (Virtual), United States

Communication dans un congrès hal-03222901v1

“Good” and “bad” water. The entanglements of capital, state, and science in the commodification of the Atacama waters, northern Chile (19th and early 20th centuries)

Manuel Méndez

Nuestra América: Justice and Inclusion, Latin American Studies Association, May 2019, Boston, United States

Communication dans un congrès hal-02507416v1

The production of miningscapes in the open-pit era. The case of low-grade copper: Bingham Canyon, U.S.A., and Chuquicamata, Chile (1903-1923)

Manuel Méndez , Damir Galaz-Mandakovic , Manuel Prieto

EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT: PRODUCTION, POLLUTION AND PROTEST FROM A GLOBAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, University of Oxford, Dec 2019, Oxford, United Kingdom

Communication dans un congrès hal-02507433v1

Entanglements of space and time in mining territories of Northern Chile. Theoretical and methodological approaches in the study of water conflicts under the nitrate mining cycle (1853-1925)

Manuel Méndez

American Associations of Geographers (AAG) 2019 Annual Meeting, Apr 2019, Washington, United States

Communication dans un congrès hal-02507378v1

Genealogy of mining territories in the Atacama Desert. The nitrate/water extraction in Tarapacá District ~20°S, Northern Chile (1853-1925)

Manuel Méndez

Socio-Environmental trajectories of mining territories (TRAMIN), Oct 2018, Chambéry, France

Communication dans un congrès hal-01944964v1

Capitalism, state construction and water modernization in the Atacama Desert, north of Chile (XIX century).

Manuel Méndez

Latin American Studies Association 2018, May 2018, Barcelona, Spain

Communication dans un congrès hal-01944955v1

Enlightenment of subterranean resources in the Atacama Desert. The 19th century mining/water extraction in Taltal region, Northern Chile (~25° S).

Manuel Méndez , Milton Godoy Orellana

AAG Annual Meeting, American Association of Geographers, Apr 2018, New Orleans, United States

Communication dans un congrès hal-01944946v1

Explotación del salitre y modernización de los territorios hídricos del Desierto de Atacama (1853-1924): Análisis geo-histórico del conflicto por el agua en el valle de Quisma, norte de Chile.

Manuel Méndez

XIII Reunión de Historiadores de la Minería Latinoamericana, Apr 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Communication dans un congrès hal-01944929v1

Modernización del agua y commodificación. Análisis comparativo de dos conflictos por el agua en el desierto de Atacama: Valle de Quisma 1886 y Pampa Lirima 1981-2008.

Manuel Méndez

II Congreso Latinoamericano de Ecología Política, Nov 2017, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Communication dans un congrès hal-01944926v1