Beyond development: socio-environmental movement in La0n America Harald Waxenecker Department of Environmental Studies May 14, 2024 Faculty of Social Studies Masaryk University Everyday revolu,ons: Horizontalism and autonomy in Argen,na “Rupture needs to be understood as a break in ways of doing things, as a shi@ in people’s imagina,ons from which new social rela,onships emerge… …that are autonomous from forms of ins,tu,onal power.” Each No is a flame of dignity, a crack in the rule of capital. Each No is a running away, a flight from the rule of capital. No is the star,ng point of all hope. But it is not enough. Dignity cannot be given. This is the cry of the piqueteros (the unemployed) and recuperated workplace movements. People who were le@ on the margins of society have decided to take that margin and make it the center. They are crea,ng dignity in where and who they are. ‘Horizontalidad’, ‘horizontality’, ‘horizontalism’, ‘commons’, ‘flat spaces of communica,on’, ‘from below and to the le@’, ‘where the heart resides’ – all are words and expressions that have come to embody the social rela,onships and principles of organiza,on in many of the new autonomous social movements throughout the world. “…horizontalidad in par,cular, as something that is both a ‘tool and a goal’, reflec,ng that full par,cipa,on of equals cannot happen yet since society is not equal…” Everyday revolu,ons: Horizontalism and autonomy in Argen,na • Ac,ve listening • Always trying to reach consensus • Autonomous forms of decision making • Liberatory rela,onships • Freedom • Open par,cipa,on and non-hierarchy • Flat planes of communica,on • Crea,on of alterna,ve means of exchange and value • Radical democracy, direct democracy, popular power • ‘Occupy, resist, produce’ Is horizontalism possible or is it just wishful thinking? Everyday revolu,ons: Horizontalism and autonomy in Argen,na Madres de Plaza de Mayo (abril 1977) h[ps://lavaca.org/notas/historia-madres-de-plaza-de-mayo/ The Take h[ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-DSu8RPJt8 Minute 5:00 – 8:30 (introduc,on) Minute 17:58 – 23:45 (Zanon) Beyond development: socio-environmental movement in La0n America La#n America La#n America? de Arte Precolombino, M. C. (2021). Culturas de América Precolombina: Andes Centrales. Enseñanza Media. hAps://bibliotecadigital.mineduc.cl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12365/17208/Culturas-de-America- Precolombina-Andes-Centrales.-Educacion-Media.pdf Abya-Yala Azteca Olmeca Maya Inca Mapuche Aymara Montes Rojas, M. (2017). El Tratamiento informa:vo de la infogra>a cien@fica de prensa. Universidad Pompeu Fabra. Barcelona, España. Can,no planisphere 1502 hKps://www.worldatlas.com/geography/la:n-american-countries.html La9n America and Caribbean Time line 1492 Christopher Columbus = colonial era 1810 / 1821 Independency = forma>on of the na>on states = liberal dictatorships 19th to 20th century: Dictatorships and wars 1980s: = democracy, peace and liberalism = (neo)liberal pacifica>on / third wave of democra>za>on ’invisible’ layers… UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 2 Mesoamerica UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 2 = garífuna = lenca = miskitu UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 2 Pacific coast = embera UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 2 Andes = quechua = aimara UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 1 Orinoco river UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 1 Amazonas in Brazil UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 1 Chaco = guaraní UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 2 Patagonia UNICEF & FUNPROEIB Andes (2009). Atlas SociolingüísBco de pueblos indígneas en América LaBna, Tomo 1 ECLAC, 2020 hKps://twiKer.com/cepal_onu/status/1292536157457260546?s=20&t=AT0maflBFPj4rynp8COZXw Indigenous people “There are mul9ple perspec9ves that all share the idea of decolonisa9on. For example, there is an integral environmental perspec9ve that emphasises the idea of a good life; an indigenous, communitarian perspec9ve; an eco-feminist perspec9ve with a focus on the care economy and the struggle against patriarchy; and an ecoterritorial posi9on linked to the social movements that have developed a poli9cal grammar based on the ideas of environmental jus9ce, common goods, territory, food sovereignty and the good life.” (Svampa, 2012: 64) Victor Toledo (La Jornada, 5 August 2014) asserts that the indigenous agrarian Mesoamerican civiliza>on survives and persists: “These indigenous popula>ons are the principle opponents to the industrial civiliza>on model.” Indigenous agriculture and agroforestry are major sources of La>n America environmentalism.“ (Mar7nez-Alier, 2016: 36-37) The rela>onship of indigenous peoples with the forests within their historical territories is fundamental to their subsistence and survival as peoples, since forests enable the reproduc>on of their cultures and provide them with food, medicines and resources for produc>ve ac>vi>es, among other things. Within them, indigenous peoples have developed their own strategies of governance and rela>onship with nature, which are key to the conserva>on of ecosystems to which nonindigenous society has begun to pay great aVen>on in the face of the global climate crisis. ECLAC, 2020 “In Ecuador, the poli9cal debate aUer 2007 has introduced the concept of Sumak Kawsay, Buen Vivir, possibly aUer many hundreds or thousands of years of verbal usage. Sumak Kawsay was converted into a na9onal objec9ve included in the Ecuadorian cons9tu9on of 2008... […] Sumak Kawsay is something similar to a solidary and ecological economy, which had already existed and needed to be recovered. It is a concept related to “postdevelopmentalism”. (Mar7nez-Alier, 2016: 38) = good life Territory Chuimeq’ena’ Totonicapán Gobierno comunal indígena [indigenous communal government] = amaq …is the poli,cal organisa,on to ensure the reproduc,on of social life in the communi,es. …assemblies and indigenous authori,es (rota,ve system): Authori,es obey the assembly, they do not rule themselves. communal governance have at the heart of the struggle the recovery and defence of the concrete and symbolic means for life. self-regula,on, defence and re-appropria,on of the means that guarantee the reproduc,on of life: land, water, forests, roads, cemeteries and many more. Communal work = k’ax k’ol The service is not remunerated; it is the obliga,on that we all have to collaborate in order to sustain life in common. communal government do not func,on outside of capitalism or the state, indeed, they are under a[ack and under permanent siege = island (archipiélagos) Resistance = self-government (autonomy), common land (territory) and k’ax k’ol h"ps://crnno+cias.com/covid-19-48-cantones-exigen-acciones-al-mspas-por-muerte-de-una-persona/ = pueblos indígenas • Historical con,nuity to the pre-invasion and pre-colonial socie,es • Linked to their territories = land recupera,ons • Consider themselves dis,nct from other sectors of socie,es = autonomic demands • Non-dominant sectors of society = figh,ng against violence • Determined to preserve their ethnic iden,ty = strengthening indigenous iden,ty and cosmogony/cosmovision • Their own cultural pa[ern, social ins,tu,ons and legal systems.... • Historic tension between indigenous communi,es and the state = movimiento maya • 1970s: …to raise awareness of the status of indigenous people and to "transport" their poli,cal demands • 1990s: Movimiento Maya may be a movement that deployed a series of struggles for iden,ty and for gaining access to the state. However, if it is read from the perspec,ve of the communal governmental networks, the Mayan Movement can operate as a category of poli,cal leadership of indigenous struggles. Counter-hegemonic environmentalism Mar$nez-Alier et al. (2016: 29) argues that “La$n American environmental ideas are closely connected to its environmental history since the Spanish Conquest, which was characterized by a drama$c drop in popula$on and a series of export booms driven by one commodity aLer another.” hKp://ecologicalregions.info/data/sa/sa_eco1.jpg Ecoregions Amazonas Orinoco Andes Pampas Patagonia Middle American tropical forests Chaco Eastern highlands “The central contradic9on of this commodifica9on lies in the fact that nature is seen as an unlimited resource for socie9es and, precisely for that reason, endangered or even destroyed.” Commodifica9on (marke9za9on) of nature “…nature is treated as a commodity…” [product, good, merchandise…] = current ecological crisis [Brand, Görg & Wissen, 2020] Commodi#es in La#n America? 1 2 3 6 7 8 4 5 coffee rubber henequen cacao banana sugarcane guano salpeter Commodi#es in La#n America? Mar9nez-Alier et al. (2016: 29) argues that “La9n American environmental ideas are closely connected to its environmental history […], which are characterized by […] a series of export booms driven by one commodity aUer another.” All commodi>es (2018-19) Agriculture Energy Mining hKps://unctad.org/topic/commodi:es/state-of-commodity-dependence 21st century “La9n America has recently undergone a passage from the Washington consensus, based on financial valoriza9on, to the commodi9es consensus, based on the large-scale exporta9on of raw materials, such has hydrocarbons (gas and petroleum), metals and minerals (copper, gold, silver, 9n, bauxite, zinc, etc.), agricultural products (corn, soy, and wheat), and biofuels.” “One consequence of the current extrac9vist turn has been the explosion of social-environmental conflicts, visible in the strengthening of ancestral struggles for land by indigenous and campesino movements, as well as the emergence of new forms of mobiliza9on and ci9zen par9cipa9on focused on the defense of the common, biodiversity, and the environment.” [Svampa, 2015] In this context… Counter-hegemonic environmentalist movements “…are typically connected to land, territory and surrounding natural resources; are non-dominant, minority or face discrimina9on; and have dis9nc9ve social and poli9cal systems, culture and language.” Owen et al., 2023 However, “par9cular tac9cs employed by environmentalists will be closely 9ed to the rela9ve openness of their na9on´s poli9cal system.” [Christen et al., 1998] La9n American dictatorships (first half 20th century) República Dominicana: Rafael Leónidas Trujillo (1930 – 1961) Nicaragua: Dinas_a Somoza (1936 – 1979) Cuba: Fulgencio Ba>sta (1940-44, 1952-59) El Salvador: Maximiliano Hernández Mar_nez (1935 – 1944) Honduras: Tiburcio Carías (1937 – 1949) Guatemala: Jorge Ubico (1931 – 1944) La9n American dictatorships (second half 20th century) Paraguay: Alfredo Stroessner (1954 – 1989) Hai_: François Duvalier (1957 – 1971) Chile: Augusto Pinochet (1973 – 1990) Argen>na: Jorge Rafael Videla (1976 – 1981) Bolivia: Barrientos y Bánzer (1964 – 1978) Uruguay: Bordaberry (1973 – 1976) Perú: Velasco y Morales (1968 – 1980) Ecuador: Junta militar y Rodríguez (1963 – 1976) Guatemala: regimenes militares (1954 – 1985) El Salvador: juntas militares (hasta 1982) Honduras: juntas militares (hasta 1980) 1980s: = democracy, peace and liberalism = (neo)liberal pacifica>on / third wave of democra>za>on hNps://services.eiu.com “This context of conflict directly or indirectly contributes to the judicializa9on of social-environmental struggles and human rights viola9ons, including the murder of ac9vists in some countries.” Svampa, 2015 hXps://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-ac7vists/numbers-lethal-aXacks-against-defenders-2012/ 2015-2019: 232 indigenous leaders and community members murdered (ECLAC, 2020) Popular environmentalism “Influenced by the new ideas of Libera9on Theology and different social movements in the region, a widely shared cri9que of the economic growth models in La9n America would give voice to a popular environmentalism, or the environmentalism of the poor. It drew from the ideas of two important La9n American thinkers.” (Mar7nez-Alier, 2016: 43) “Paulo Freire emphasized social and environmental jus9ce, local knowledge, the morality of poli9cal decisions, and respect for the planet and its diverse habitats. The other thinker with great influence in the debate was the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano. In his 1971 book Open Veins of La1n America (Las Venas Abiertas de América La1na), he presented a ferocious cri9que of the extrac9vist logic throughout all of La9n America’s history.” Leonardo Boff, Ecology: Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor Eduardo Gudynas: post-extrac9vism Maristela Svampa: poli9cal ecology (Mar7nez-Alier, 2016: 43) 21st century “…strengthening of ancestral struggles for land by indigenous and campesino movements, as well as the emergence of new forms of mobiliza>on and ci>zen par>cipa>on focused on the defense of the common, biodiversity, and the environment.” “It is impossible to list all the self-organized na>onal and regional environmental networks in La>n America today.” [Svampa, 2015] = “against” = “moral economy” = ecological debt = biopiracy = water jus8ce = climate jus8ce = food sovereignty = ecocide = living rivers (ríos vivos) = tree planta8ons are not forests = etc. Environmentalism and socio-ambiental conflicts: case studies Case 1: Berta Cáceres Who is Berta Cáceres? 1993: Co-founder of COPINH Na9onal Council of Popular and Indigenous Organiza9ons of Honduras (COPINH) 2009: coup d´etat 2015: Goldman Environmental Prize hXps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR1kwx8b0ms 2016: Berta was assassinated [Korol, 2018] [Lakhani, 2020] [Arenas et al, 2020] In our worldview, we are beings who come from the Earth, from the water, and from corn. The Lenca people are ancestral guardians of the rivers… […] h"ps://seeingthewoods.org/2016/10/06/worldview-berta-caceres/ “Another world is possible...” An9-patriarchal An9-racist An9-neoliberal Bienes comunes[commons] Buen vivir, Sumak Kawsay [good life] [Gudynas & Acosta, 2011] [Gregorčič, 2017] [González et al., 2017] Educa9on: In Berta´s words: "In COPINH we value popular educa9on as a tool for libera9on, for the collec9ve construc9on of thought, of proposals, of ideas. We can make mistakes, but we are there learning and making the effort to recompose it, to learn new things. Learning and relearning, recrea9ng. That is very powerful." (Korol 2018) Learning-in-struggle and learning-while-struggling [Gregorčič, 2017] Nexus local and global reali9es [Irribarren et al., 2022] Educa9on and Transforma9on Paulo Freire, from his first texts to his last "pedagogical leoers", reminded us that educa9on is not enough to transform the world, but without educa9on it would be impossible…” (In Irribarren et al., 2022) “There is no true word that is not at the same 9me a praxis.” (Freire, 2005) In Pascualita´s words: "Words and ac9ons are very important in the Lenca culture." (Korol 2018) (Méndez, 2018) “The social terrain where modern liberal agency plays out is one that assumes that ra9onality and inten9onality reside uniquely in the human realm. In this sense the interconnectedness between human and non-human lives that mul9ple indigenous cosmologies bring to light cannot be grasped by a sociality that assumes only human inten9onality. Who and what cons9tutes the social in these cosmologies does not necessarily map onto the rigid hierarchy between the human and nonhuman that is the central dichotomy of colonial modernity...” (in Méndez, 2018) Praxis • Recupera9on of land and territories and environmental protec9on • Recupera9on of history and reviving cultures, languages, knowledge and tradi9ons • Autonomous health and educa9onal system • Community radio sta9ons • Programs for women´s rights • Projects for leadership • Educa9onal center = Utopía [Gregorčič, 2017] h[ps://www.ejatlas.org 2010 – 2019: 127 power purchase agreements (PPAs) Waxenecker, 2019 Trial against David Cas9llo (June 2021) 2010: “standard PPA-model” (member of the public regulatory agency) = illegal mechansim of “nature-appropria9on” Waxenecker, 2021 Interna9onal financial structure Centralamerican Bank for Economic Integra9on (CABEI) Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) Finnish Fund for Industrial Coopera9on (FINNFUND) Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas = green investment? = corporate responsibility? = human rights in business? Case 2: Abelino Chub 2021:Trócaire’s Romero Interna9onal Award The Romero award, named in honor of the late Oscar Romero, is given in recogni9on of outstanding Human Rights work by a Trócaire partner. Abelino was wrongfully imprisoned for over two years due to his efforts to defend the land rights of indigenous Guatemalan communi9es before being cleared of all charges. https://www.trocaire.org/news/trocaire-dismayed-by-ongoing-criminalisation-of-abelino-chub-caal/ Abelino Chub Caal https://www.trocaire.org/news/trocaire-dismayed-by-ongoing-criminalisation-of-abelino-chub-caal/ Photo: Plaza Pública Abelino was released from prison in 2019 after spending 813 days behind bars falsely accused of arson and other crimes. Abelino is a member of the Q’eqchi indigenous community and has campaigned against the land dispossession suffered by his community. He was found innocent of all charges in April 2019. Later that year, he was awarded the Trócaire Romero Award for his defence of human rights. Mesoamerica https://www.mineduc.gob.gt/digebi/mapalinguistico.html https://en.mapy.cz/ Common ‘ground’ History 1524 – 1821 Spanish colony 1821 Independence 1871 – 1944 Liberal republic 1944 – 1954 Democra@c revolu@on 1960 – 1996 War 1996 Peace accords = historical asymmetries of power = different ‘mo@va@ons’ (material and symbolic) = changing legal-ins@tu@onal framework Sources • Historical Archive of Central America • Guatemalan Property register Mechanisms: 1920s: compensation for army officers by presidential decree 1970s: paramilitary groups by violent imposition 1990s: cattle farms, drug trafficking, banana and oil palm by regularization (peace accords) Land appropriation? 3570 ha Irregularities = origin + extension Sources • Commercial register Framework / actors: Until 1944: liberal agrarian oligarchy After 1960: military dictatorship After 1990s: ‘laboratory’ of liberal peace-building: democracy, peace and free market Family-business network = 1 family = 53 companies Asymmetric power? Overlap? The family-business network seeks to hide irregularities and contradictions, both historical and contemporary, by a ‘property laundering scheme’. The court declared Abelino innocent and ordered the public prosecutor's office to investigate irregularities in the appropriation of the land, which historically belongs to indigenous communities. https://actionaid.org/stories/2019/criminalisation-confronted References Alberto Arenas, Beth A. Covi", Sally E. Birdsall & Hilary Whitehouse (2020) JEE honors ac+vists who gave their life to protect nature, The Journal of Environmental Educa+on, 51:5, 1-2, DOI: 10.1080/00958964.2020.1833608 Baver, S., & Paravisini-Gebert, L. (2014). HISPANIOLA’S ENVIRONMENTAL STORY: Challenging an Iconic Image. Callaloo, 37(3), 648–661. Brand, U. & Dietz, K., (2014). (Neo-)Extrak+vismus als Entwicklungsop+on? Zu den aktuellen Dynamiken und Widersprüchen rohstoiasierter Entwicklung in Lateinamerika. 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Waxenecker, H. (2019). Redes de poder polí+co-económico en Honduras: un análisis post-golpe. Honduras: Heinrich Böll S+kung Waxenecker, H. (2021). Análisis de la posición de poder de Roberto David Cas+llo Mejía en el entorno empresarial–ins+tucional y su vinculación con la planificación, coordinación y ejecución del asesinato de Berta Cáceres Flores. Honduras: pericia en el Expediente TS/JN-2-48-2020 (juicio contra Roberto David Cas+llo Mejía)