2253 documented that nearly 80% of economic activity and employment depended directly or indirectly on mining, such as in Agustín Codazzi and El Paso (Mendoza & Estrada, 2025). Although there are no official statistics that allow for the direct quantification of migration flows associated with the closure, the literature on mining transitions in Colombia shows that abrupt job losses in enclave economies generate structural pressures toward the out-migration of the economically active population, particularly young people, while households with less mobility remain in the territory (Bez et al., 2023). In Cesar, these pressures have been reinforced by an increase in social conflict, including threats against workers, trade unionists, and social leaders, which contributes to the deterioration of territorial roots and reactive mobility processes, even when these are not statistically measured (Vega-Araújo, 2024). From an economic perspective, the closure of coal mining highlighted the fragility of a highly specialized productive structure dependent on mining. Various sources agree that coal mining came to represent around 50% of the departmental economy and up to 80% in the municipalities of the coal corridor, creating an enclave economy with little productive diversification (NRGI, 2021; Vega-Araújo, 2024). Before the closure, the sector was associated with approximately 12,000 direct jobs and more than 60,000 indirect jobs, reflecting its strong multiplier effect on the regional economy (EITI, 2023). Prodeco's departure meant not only the loss of thousands of jobs, but also a contraction in local demand, affecting trade, services, and municipal finances through reduced royalties and tax revenues (Bae et al. 2024). In the absence of a structural transformation of the productive matrix, this contraction has not been offset by alternative activities of equivalent scale, reinforcing dynamics of informalization, underemployment, and dependence on public transfers (Arond et al., 2025). At the institutional level, the closure of coal mining has exposed the state's structural weaknesses in anticipating, managing, and governing territorial transition processes. The reduction in mining activity resulted in a significant decrease in tax revenues and royalties, affecting the financial capacity of municipal governments to sustain public services, social investment, and local development planning (Bae et al. 2024). This loss of resources occurred in a context of limited institutional capacities, poor intergovernmental coordination, regulatory fragmentation, and the absence of a comprehensive mine closure framework (UPME, 2013). Furthermore, persistent perceptions of administrative weakness, corruption, and limited access to public information have been documented, restricting effective community participation and undermining the legitimacy of decisions related to closure and energy transition (Vega-Araújo et al., 2024). In the Corredor de Vida, participatory risk mapping exercises show that the lack of clear state leadership and binding deliberative mechanisms has led to reactive and fragmented responses, increasing the risk of conflict and further weakening local institutions (UPME, 2023). The practice of mining companies in response to the closure of operations in Cesar has shown limited capacity to ensure a socioeconomic transition, especially in their relationship with stakeholders and in incorporating a long-term territorial vision. In the case of Prodeco/Glencore, deficits in effective participation in the closure process have been documented: the Constitutional Court (T-029 of 2025) ordered the creation of a 'grand roundtable' to ensure the meaningful participation of communities and unions in defining measures associated with the closure plan, currently under review by the ANLA (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025; AIDA, 2025). From a labor perspective, the process was characterized by mass layoffs without systematic policies for retraining or reskilling the workforce, which reinforced a company-worker relationship focused on contractual termination rather than socioeconomic transition (Mohr et al., 2023). At the community level, there are persistent deficits in information, transparency, and participation during the closure, which has limited the construction of territorial agreements and deepened the power asymmetries betwe , companies, communities, and the state (Vega-Araújo et al., 2024). Overall, business practice has favored an operational and administrative exit strategy, without effective coordination with the long-term territorial impacts. In short, the case of Cesar shows that the closure of coal mining occurred in the absence of the minimum conditions for an orderly socioeconomic transition. Gaps in anticipation, governance, and company-territory relations have been identified, converging in a long-term territorial gap, as the closure overlaps with enclave economies without productive diversification or local capacity building. As a result,
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