Latin American perspectives on slow disasters

Purpose This forum article discusses the concept of slow disasters from Latin America, presenting different perspectives and experiences of practical research using this notion. It discusses the extent to which a focus on the “slow” temporality of disasters advances our understanding of socio-environmental processes in the region. Design/methodology/approach The article emerges from a pilot project to explore the relevance of temporality to analyse socio-environmental injustices in Latin America, which was followed by a panel organised at the 2023 NEEDS Conference in Enschede, The Netherlands, where four panellists presented first hand research experiences with the concept of slow disasters. Findings The article presents myriad usages of slow disasters and related concepts in Latin America and includes empirical cases from Peru, Chile and Argentina, highlighting different critical dimensions of their temporalities. It shows the analytical power of slow disaster to help understand disasters as gradual processes of normalisation of environmental injustices and vulnerabilities due to the slower pace of visible material impact to affected groups and their continuous adaptation to their exposure to it. The article reflects on the potential use of this concept by Latin American scholars and contributes to applications in other regional contexts. Originality/value The paper adds a conceptual discussion on the notion of slow disasters as reflected from different Latin American geographies. The paper contributes to ongoing strands of postcolonial disaster studies, departing from empirically grounded conceptualisations of disaster by Latin American scholars and promoting a constructive dialogue with academic debates dominated by the Anglophone scholarly literature.