Raw Materials in Transition: Narratives Around Water in the Construction of an Industrialized Spain

Abstract

Abstract: Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, various fascist states in Europe embraced a type of industrial autarky based on the exploitation of natural resources. In these cases, autarky and raw material became two strongly linked concepts. In Spain, from 1939 onward and under the Francoist slogan "produce, produce, and produce," a major autarkic industrialization process was developed defining vast territorial structures. From raw to elaborated materials, the implementation of autarkic policies gave rise to a process of signification of matter based on an anthropocentric vision of nature. In a first stage, this paper analyzes the relationship between the concepts of autarky and raw material, to apply it to the case of the Spanish autarkic industrialization process. In a second stage, the paper observes the case of the use of water as a raw material considered essential for industrialization. For this purpose, it presents two case studies: the first from a perspective based on a territorial analysis, and the second one from a perspective based on the analysis of several aesthetic conditions. Through these cases, the paper examines the connection between the construction of new anthropogenic landscapes and the cultural meanings, both projected and non-projected, associated with the process.