Extractive Constitutions: Constitutional Change and Development Paths in Latin America

Under the label “New Latin American Constitutionalism”, scholars have explained the emergence of new constitutions or organic constitutional reforms in the eighties and nineties and, since the 2000s, the constitutions associated with the “Left turn” in the region. Radical constitutional changes, however, have not stopped the expansion of social conflicts associated with internationally-backed extractive and infrastructure projects deemed as crucial for national development. As new processes of constitution building are gaining momentum in the region, it is crucial to investigate the reasons why societies under progressive and neoliberal constitutions suffer from similar conflicts. Drawing on decolonial theory and critically dialoguing with the literature on constitutions and development, the article proposes an analytical scheme to understand the relationship between constitutional arrangements and development in neoliberal and multicultural Peru and Colombia, and post-neoliberal and plurinational Bolivia and Ecuador. The article argues that even though these constitutions possess deep differences at the level of development discourses, strategies, and tools, they share the same development paradigm.