Social networks, social capital, and collective action in two rural areas of La Araucania region, Southern Chile, to address problems related to the access to water

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of social networks and social capital as necessary conditions for the emergence of collective action, specifically in rural communities in La Araucanía Region to address problems related to the access to water. Chile, unlike most Latin American countries, has a water distribution and management system based on market principles, in which water is no longer a common good but a private one disconnected from land property, thus depriving small farmers and indigenous peoples from access to the water they have traditionally used. Increasing water conflicts in Chile are not only due to problems associated with scarcity, but because of the model of institutionalized management and restrictions on local collective action that allows the sustainable management of water. Methodologically, surveys were administered and social network analysis was performed. The main results show that social networks have structural characteristics that do not allow the formation of the social capital needed for collective action. However, there are few links with deep characteristics from which it is possible to establish network management and synergistic connections that can transform the structure of the networks, making them more cohesive, thus creating the necessary conditions for the formation of collective action in the study areas.