Land Seizure,Dispossession,and Canadian Capital in Honduras

Abstract

While there is a growing literature on the phenomenon of land seizure by agribusiness and extractive industries, and their disastrous social and ecological effects around the world, there is often a shroud of vagueness and mystification about the concrete practices by which extractive companies come to gain access to the land itself. This is especially true since these companies increasingly veil their activities in plausible claims of “social responsibility.” This article documents the strategies by which foreign and especially Canadian capital has been grabbing and maintaining its control over land for mega-developments in Honduras, with an eye to the ways in which different tactics are adapted to each particular context in which they are applied. The purpose is to demonstrate the flexibility and complexity of these strategies and to lay the groundwork for future studies of these concrete practices in order to supplement the existing literature on land seizure.