Mining Collapse: Life and labour on the Cerro Rico de Potosí

This dissertation analyzes the relationship between small-scale miners (called cooperatives) and a transnational mining company (Manquiri) as they work alongside one another in the nearly 500-year-old mines in Potosí, Bolivia.I argue that traditional smallscale miners are undergoing a process of dispossession as the metabolic relationships required by the capitalocene continue to accelerate on the mountain.As miners struggle to maintain autonomy from capital over their workspaces and lifeworlds, the historic mountain, their means of subsistence and so much more, is crumbling around them.I interrogate claims against the sector as the one responsible for the mountain ś demise, and demonstrate that, in the context of ecological collapse, small-scale cooperative miners' resistance to being subsumed by predatory capitalist relations of production, sheds light on the kinds of post-capitalist ecological labour we need.This dissertation is the product of many years of work and reflection that began long before my official enrollment and there are many people to whom I owe my gratitude.Early on during my years in Cochabamba I had the pleasure of getting to know Don Augusto Leon Ayma, an underground miner from Llallagua who authored a memoir about his experiences during the widespread layoffs at the State-run company in 1985, along with other short novels about mine life in the camp.His work, largely unedited, is remarkable in its detail.With Vladimir Díaz we spent many afternoons with Augusto and his wife Hortencia recording his life history.Those afternoons in Cochabamba were fundamental in spurring my interest in the privatization of the mines in Bolivia, but specifically the experience of cooperative miners during that period, since Augusto was one of the few miners who had experience from the cooperative sector to the unionized workforce.I am so grateful for his political orientation about the broader systems of exploitation, and the time and energy he and Hortensia invested in our intellectual development.If it weren't for his encouragement, I likely never would have embarked on this journey.I am indebted to the hard-working families in Potosí, Bolivia who welcomed me into their homes with such kindness.I am forever grateful to Mama Cristina Montes and her large family: Grover, Wilson and Piringallo helped me start to navigate the enormous mountain and built up my confidence and vocabulary so I could stumble my way around many mines on the mountain; Gina Quinchu and her girls Amber and Nicol helped with v that too and so much more-I will be forever humbled by her determination and dedication to her family; finally Carmen, Martiza, Susana, and Lulu all worked hard so that their brothers could be away from home at the mines, and Grovercito, Milenka, Cristinita, Zuliam all made me laugh, taught me some Quechua, and helped me learn what it's like to be a little person in the city.I am grateful for the patience, guidance, and constant jostling I received from Rambo and his remarkable family, Norma, Mary, Chela and Oscar.This work wouldn't have had the scope it does if it were not for Chela's brilliant work as a research assistant, accompanying me on the frigid Potosino mornings to literally over a hundred mines which we would not have survived were it not for Norma's cooking and Oscar's cookies and endless curiosity.Silvio and Valeria challenged all my assumptions about marital partnerships and hard work and opened their mine and their hearts to me.Silvo taught me so much about mine work that it is his voice I hear when reflecting on this dissertation.Their brilliant daughter Juana also helped with research assistance.Enrique answered all my calls, took me to see the many sides of the commodity chain in Potosí, and reminded me of how important it was to take time off work for family.Finally, Veronica and Abigail, and Efrain and Julia from Big Deal Tours also provided insights into miner family life and what it means to belong to multigenerational mining families.Veronica was especially important for providing research assistance with the long-form interviews with former-COMIBOL workers since her incredibly generous father, Dionicio, was a rank-and-file worker at the company.All these men, women, and their families and so many more, helped me confront my own assumptions and biases and grow as a researcher and a person.vi My friends at the Archivo Nacional de la COMIBOL in El Alto answered all my doubtlessly annoying questions and went out of their way to ensure I had access to all the archival documents I needed.Edgar "Huracan" Ramirez, the director of the archive at the time and himself a former unionized miner of the Empresa Minera Unificada de Potosí, and one of the most memorable leaders of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) welcomed me into his archive and his home with eagerness, sharing hours of personal anecdotes, but also in true COMIBOL miner form, debating with me about communism and socialism.His knowledge of global world history, economics, poetry, and literature was astounding but also pointed to the unique moment that Bolivia's unionized miners' movement lived in the twentieth century.Rocio, Puma and Esteffi helped me navigate the boxes of documentation they put in front of me, but also kept me warm in the frozen archive by sharing snacks and taking me on walks through the Feria 16 de Julio.In La Paz I am grateful for Vladimir Poma's insight into the inner-workings of the government's mining bureaucracy and to Pablo Poveda and Neyer Nogales for their openness in sharing data and debating.Don Pedro Mariobo and Nely Mamani also provided important insight into the situation of cooperative miners in the rest of Potosí and graciously let me accompany them to visit other cooperative mining centres in the department.Finally, my comrades at the Sindicato Mixto de Trabajadores Mineros de San Cristóbal, Fannor, Ninfa, Raul, and Henry were extremely important in giving me perspective on the industry in practice in Bolivia.Their struggles against their company as well as the Bolivian government to push back against the overwhelming sense of control and discipline Sumitomo exercised over their autonomy were eye-opening and provided vii important perspective against the backdrop of cooperative mining.Fannor's quinoa and Ninfa's charque were also always a welcome addition to my pantry.My partner Vladimir Díaz Cuellar has accompanied me throughout this long journey and helped me conceptualize the project long before it became official.He taught me how to research and be humble, shared his passion for Bolivian literature, and challenged and pushed me to ask more questions.During my maternity leave and after returning to work full-time he took on the bulk of caring for and parenting Eleanor so that I could finish.Eleanor supported my long days distracted or away from her as I struggled to write.My parents, Sandra and Chris, have

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