Phosphate Mining and Labour in Western Sahara - Dynamics of the Fosbucraa Rent (1969-1975)

Abstract

Phosphate mining is a key issue in the modern history of both Western Sahara and Morocco. Until 1975 it also affected Spain, as Western Sahara's phosphates were exploited during the colonial period. In the early 1970s, phosphate mining generated super-profits. The Spanish state was the sole owner of the Bucraa deposit and used its ephemeral but significant super profits for two purposes: to subsidize the Spanish fertilizer industry and, for political reasons, to inflate spending in the Saharan budgets. However, Fosbucraa's profit maximization and the "development" of the Sahara quickly came into contradiction. The company employed relatively few workers and discriminated against them. Meanwhile, the multiplier effects of Fosbucraa's investment were rapidly changing the Saharawi way of life. A traditional nomadic society was becoming a peripheral society, dependent on jobs, subsidies and scholarships. The result of these two contradictions resulted in a social blockade: a model of accumulation incompatible with the expectations of young workers, technicians and students. The industrial conflict and anti-colonial action are part of this broader context.