A National Law as an Actor\u2013network: How Guatemala\u2019s General Electricity Law of 1996 Shaped the Country\u2019s Environmental Conflicts over Hydroelectricity
This paper uses controversy mapping to study the history of Guatemala\u2019s General Electricity Law (GGEL, 1996). Particular attention is paid to the impact of the GGEL on social conflicts related to hydroelectricity. This article discusses how an array of actors \u2013right\u2013wing political parties and influencers, the \u2018El Ni\uf1o\u2019 Phenomenon, the international wave of neoliberalism and a malfunctioning dam\u2013 coalesced to promote a law intended to modernize Guatemala\u2019s energy market and expand its electrical grid. Twenty years later, GGEL remains a relevant actor in the conflicts around new hydroelectricity projects. However, counter to the intentions of its promoters, this law has helped to fuel controversy. First, it indirectly imposes restrictions on negotiations among project stakeholders by forbidding the sale of energy to third parties; thus, it deprives actors of their strongest bargaining asset. Second, GGEL makes territorial interdependence invisible, shifting the costs and responsibilities from the government and companies to communities. Finally, while other studies have simply portrayed GGEL as a result of neoliberalism, an Actor\u2013network theory (ANT) approach provides a broader picture of its origin and impact by taking into account the GGEL\u2019s role as a non\u2013human actor
