Abstract

This work applies Amartya Sen's capability approach to the analysis of territorial justice in the relatively isolated Province of Palena in southern Chile. According to the approach, perceptions of territorial justice or injustice involve subjective evaluative judgements based on capabilities that individuals value. The article examines the problems that people consider to be a matter of priority at the local level and understands these as indicators of the capabilities that are deemed relevant. The data are derived from interviews with inhabitants of the province's four districts, meetings with local institutions, and a survey applied to a statistically representative sample. The most widespread problems, such as health care, point to those incapabilities that are judged to be key at the local level. Furthermore, the relevance of certain problems varies according to the socio-economic characteristics of respondents, such as their income levels. Together, this provides insights into a subjective representation of territorial injustice, with a high degree of homogeneity but some variation.