Pulling water in mining conflicts: Differences and attitudes in Chile and ArgentinaThe last two decades have seen a proliferation of socio-environmental conflicts in relation to the expansion of mining activity in Latin America. In this context water stands out as a central axis and common denominator. The existing academic literature documents the impacts on water generated by mining activity, the social movements that have come in response to such impacts, and the responses of the State to the conflicts that have been Emerged in relation to water resources. What you have received less attention is the consequence construction of the water issue by the actors mobilised in its defence; our objective is to contribute to strengthening the research agenda in this dimension. We address this issue through a comparative study between cases from Chile and Argentina. There we find a variance of discourses related to water: Scarcity, contamination, the infringement of glaciers, and water as a reference for territory. We aim to identify the ‘political productivity’ of these discourses: their role in the conceptualisation of water by political actors, in the strategies of social movements for the defence of water, in the evolution of debates about the use and protection of the resource, and in the formation of public policy to regulate the relationship between water and mining activityResumenThe last two decades have seen a proliferation of socio-environmental conflicts in relation to the expansion of mining activity in Latin America. In this context, water is highlighted as a central and common denominator. The existing academic literature documents the impacts on water caused by mining, the social movements that have emerged in response to these impacts, and the State’s responses to the conflicts that have emerged over water resources. What has received less attention is the disitalical construction of the water problem by the actors mobilised in their defence; our aim is to contribute to strengthening the research agenda in this dimension. We covered this issue through a comparative study between cases from Chile and Argentina. Here we find a variety of water-related narratives: scarcity, pollution, vulnerability of glaciers and water as a central element of the territory. We aim to identify the ‘political productivity’ of these speeches: its role in the conceptualisation of water by political actors, in the strategies of social movements for the protection of water, in the development of debates on the use and protection of resources, and in the formation of public policies to regulate the relationship between water and mining activity.