Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The Politics of Pachamama

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, April 25, 2014

The Politics of Pachamama

Click here to access article by Benjamin Dangl from CounterPunch.

Pachamama, which is translated into English as "Mother Earth", is rooted in Inca religious beliefs as a goddess of fertility. Dangl reviews this affirmation of nature which has informed the rhetoric of many new Latin American governments to find that the concept has not been reflected much in their policies.

I spoke with CONAMAQ indigenous leader Mama Nilda Rojas of her view of the Mining Law. “The Morales government has told us that it ‘will govern by listening to the bases, and that the laws will come from the bottom-up.’” But this is not what happened with the Mining Law, Rojas said, which was created without sufficient input from representatives of communities impacted the most by mining. “This is a law which criminalizes the right to protest. With this law we won’t be able to build road blockades, we won’t be able to march [against mining operations],” she explained. “We’re well aware that it was the same Evo Morales who would participate in marches and road blockades [years ago]. And so how is it that he is taking away this right to protest?”

“This government has given a false discourse on an international level, defending Pachamama, defending Mother Earth,” Rojas explained, while the reality in Bolivia is quite a different story.

Meanwhile, outside of Latin America, governments, activists, and social movements are looking to places like Bolivia and Ecuador as examples for overcoming capitalism and tackling climate change.

This is not really news, but his information gives us much food for thought as to why this scenario is happening in so many places. Is it simply a matter of these leaders becoming co-opted by the old ruling classes?

My immediate answer is that what Dangle describes is happening in Latin America is inevitable as long as the world is menaced by ruling classes armed with superior military and other technologies that can easily overwhelm lessor developed countries. To survive, the latter must rapidly develop their own countries in order to acquire what is needed to fend off their foreign acquisitive enemies.

Still, I'm not satisfied with this. Hopefully, you and others can supply better answers.