INDIFFERENCE, CONTAMINATION AND CONTINUITY IN THE EXERCISE OF POWER: RATIONAL CHOICE AND NEOINSTITUTIONALISM IN THE CORDON INDUSTRIAL (SANTA FE, ARGENTINA)

Abstract

This article is a brief approximation to the knowledge of a singular reality characterised by the pollution caused by different companies located in an area of 589 km2 known as Cordón Industrial Gran Rosario (province of Santa Fe, Argentina). It combines the almost uninterrupted permanence of different local authorities and confirmed measurements of air pollutants in two of the main cities, Puerto General San Martin and San Lorenzo, as well as multiple complaints in judicial instances for irregularities by various companies from other localities that make up the Cordon, whose main relevance lies in its outlet to the Paraná River, a source of maritime transport.
Therefore, this phenomenon is analysed from two theoretical contributions of Political Science: the Theory of Rational Choice, which supports the interest of people as their preferences when making decisions, as well as the search for rents as possible priorities; and on the other hand, Neo-institutionalism, institutions as pillars of politics, which refers to the state, legislature, legal forms, rules or procedures adopted by political relations. Finally, the corollary of this analysis is marked by the apparent contradiction between citizens’ decisions to elect authorities who exercise power for more than two constitutional periods, who in turn become instruments for the continued survival of polluting companies that threaten the individual and societal health of all the cities of the Industrial Cordon studied, and ultimately, the consequent ineffectiveness of the institutions that form part of the government organisations as a control body.