Amalia Leguizamón

Amalia Leguizamón is Associate Professor of Sociology. She is also a core faculty member at the Stone Center for Latin American Studies and a member of the Environmental Studies Faculty Advisory Committee.

Research Interests

Dr. Leguizamón’s research work encompasses the political economy of the environment, with a regional focus on Latin America. She investigates the power dynamics that fuel development projects in the region and their uneven impact on society and the environment. Her book, Seeds of Power: Environmental Injustice and Genetically Modified Soybeans in Argentina (Duke University Press, 2020) tells the story of Argentina’s swift agrarian transformation based on the early adoption and intensive implementation of genetically modified soybeans. Dr. Leguizamón explores why Argentines largely support GM soy despite the widespread damage it creates. She reveals how the state, agribusiness, and their allies in the media and sciences deploy narratives of economic redistribution, scientific expertise, and national identity as a way to create compliance among the country’s most vulnerable rural residents. In this way, Leguizamón demonstrates that GM soy operates as a tool of power to obtain consent, legitimate injustice, and quell potential dissent in the face of environmental and social violence.

Selected Publications

Leguizamón, Amalia. 2020. Seeds of Power: Environmental Injustice and Genetically Modified Soybeans in Argentina. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Leguizamón, Amalia. 2019. “The Gendered Dimensions of Resource Extractivism in Argentina’s Soy Boom.” Latin American Perspectives 46 (2): 199–216.

Leguizamón, Amalia. 2016. “Disappearing Nature? Agribusiness, Biotechnology, and Distance in Argentine Soybean Production.” Journal of Peasant Studies 43 (2): 313¬–330.

Leguizamón, Amalia. 2016. “Environmental Injustice in Argentina: Struggles Against Genetically Modified Soy.” Journal of Agrarian Change 16 (4): 684–692.

Leguizamón, Amalia. 2014. “Modifying Argentina: GM Soy and Socio-Environmental Change.” Geoforum 53: 149–160.