Bioeconomy, politics, and territory in the peri-urban areas of Buenos Aires

Between the desirable and the possible

Abstract

The Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, as an agroproductive territory, plays a strategic role in ensuring food security for over 15 million people. This region, marked by various structural tensions, has succeeded in engaging with policy, which, through different interventions, sought to mitigate these tensions within the conceptual framework of bioeconomy. In this article, we first analyze the different interpretations of bioeconomy, distinguishing between "Biotechnology and Industrial Bioeconomy" (BEBI) and "Ecological Bioeconomy" (BEE). Subsequently, based on the analysis of secondary sources, expert interviews, and official documents, we examine the role of bioeconomies as sources of narratives and imaginaries that influenced public policies aimed at intervening in the peri-urban areas of the Buenos Aires Province between 2015 and 2024. Finally, we conclude that bioeconomies embody antagonistic meanings, which are manifested in the oscillating nature of Argentine politics, whose territorial implications affect the multidimensional process of shaping peri-urban areas in the province.