Wealth, Poverty and Sustainable Development

An analysis of the underlying causes of environment destruction debunks the idea that the poor are the principal cause of environmental degradation in present-day societies. The paper also identifies some of the major areas of economic theory and institutional biases in market economies that generate obstacles to the 'proper' functioning of markets. As a result, even the more advanced prescriptions of modern environmental economics are incapable of explaining the deepening of social and economic polarization and the worsening of the environmental conditions in which poor people must exist. The paper ends with a proposal for overcoming this growing crisis through local participation and action.political ecology; sustainability; polarization; heterodox economics; development alternatives

Water management strategies in urban Mexico: Limitations of the privatization debate

Water management provides a critical lens onto the development process. For the last several centuries, improvements in clean water and sanitation have contributed to better health and increased life expectancies. Currently, however, developing countries seem unable to make much progress in bringing these benefits of development to significant sectors of their citizens. Water coverage is incomplete and water is of uneven quality. Just as serious, however, are the environmental impacts of water extraction, untreated sewage disposal, and the depletion of water sources through excessive withdrawals and pollution. In this research report, we present a framework for the analysis of the social appropriation of water based upon the concept of the New Culture of Water. Using that framework, we review the Mexican water sector in light of a set of original case studies. Although privatization might have some role to play in improving the performance of certain functions of water management agencies, it has clearly not proved superior to the public agencies we review. More importantly, however, the privatization solution has proved incapable of tackling the very serious problems of environmental destruction and the over-exploitation of finite water sources that plague the country. Our review of water management in Mexico, therefore, sheds light on some of the contradictions of a development process that is far from sustainable.Water management; Mexico; New Culture of Water; Privatization

La Capacidad Social en Torno al Agua

La gestion de l’eau en milieu urbain reflète l’incapacité des autorités à garantir une qualité adéquate et une qualité de service tout en protégeant les écosystèmes autour duquel ils dépendent. Ce problème est exacerbé par la réticence officielle d’encourager ou de permettre la participation sociale dans la discussion pour la gestion et la supervision des services publics. L’analyse est basée sur le cadre de la Nouvelle culture de l’eau et conclut que les problèmes à identifier sont délibérément créé comme étant une stratégie pour placer l’eau aux services des élites et aux capitaux internationaux en sacrifiant les besoins sociaux de bases. Cette approche soulève les conflits sociaux et les problèmes environnementaux.Urban water management in Mexico reflects the authorities’ inability to guarantee an adequate quantity and quality of service while also protecting the ecosystems on which they depend. This problem is exacerbated by the official reluctance to encourage or even to permit social participation in the discussion of management and supervision of public services. The analysis is based on the framework of the New Culture of Water and concludes that the problems that are identified are deliberately created as part of a strategy to place water at the service of the elites and international capital while sacrificing basic social needs. This management approach is heightening social conflict and environmental problems.La gestión del agua urbana en México refleja la incapacidad de las autoridades para garantizar un servicio adecuado y accesible de agua urbana, así como de proteger los ecosistemas de los cuales se depende. A esto se suma una renuencia oficial para alentar o incluso permitir la participación social en la discusión de la vigilancia y gestión de los servicios públicos. El análisis parte del marco teórico de la Nueva Cultura del Agua y concluye que estos problemas son creados deliberadamente como parte de una estrategia para poner el agua al servicio de las élites y el capital internacional a expensas de las necesidades sociales más apremiantes. Esta dinámica agudiza los conflictos sociales y los problemas ambientales

Session 1 : Common as alternative for the future (II) : Community revolutionary subject and social transformation

On Day 5 (17 June 2018), in the session of “Common as Alternative for the Future (II)”, David BARKIN (Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico) delivered a lecture on Community Revolutionary Subject and Social Transformation. The video is produced by Global University for Sustainability, 2018

Reconsiderando las alternativas sociales en México rural

Debido a la incapacidad de la integración económica internacional de crear oportunidades para importantes segmentos de la sociedad, muchos mexicanos están buscando formas de forjar sus propias alternativas. Estas estrategias son manifestaciones concretas de la comprensión de que la tendencia “convencional” en la búsqueda de empleo proletario ya no es viable, y que un retorno a las formas tradicionales de cooperación, organizadas en torno a mecanismos para el manejo del ecosistema, podrían ofrecer mayor seguridad y una mejor calidad de vida.Du fait de l’incapacité de l’intégration économique internationale de générer des opportunités pour d’importants segments de la société, de nombreux mexicains cherchent des manières de forger leurs propres alternatives. Ces stratégies correspondent à des manifestations concrètes de la compréhension du fait que la tendance « conventionnelle » dans la recherche de l’emploi prolétaire n’est plus viable, et que le retour aux formes traditionnelles de coopération, organisées autour des mécanismes pour la maîtrise de l’écosystème, pourraient offrir une plus grande sécurité et une meilleure qualité de vie.With the inability of international economic integration to create opportunities for important segments of society, many Mexicans are searching for ways to forge their own alternatives. These strategies are the concrete manifestations of the aknowledgment that the “mainstream” path of the search for proletarian employment is no longer viable, and that a return to traditional forms of cooperation, organized around mechanisms of ecosystem’s management might offer a greater security and a better quality of life

Las Ciencias Sociales en América Latina: ¡Una gran herencia a vencer!

Las nuevas ciencias sociales reconocen su deuda con las comunidades que están forjando alternativas frente a los modelos dominantes del mercado mundial, con sus paradigmas de equilibrio y de crecimiento sostenido. Para su consecución, los propios miembros de estas comunidades se están incorporando como participantes, elaborando nuevas teorías y fortaleciendo sus estrategias para forjar nuevas sociedades y proteger sus ecosistemas.The new social sciences acknowledge their debt to the communities that are building alternatives to the dominant models of the global market, withits paradigms of balance and sustained growth. To achieve them, the members of these communities are joining as participants, developing new theories and strengthening their strategies to forge new partnerships and protect their ecosystems.As novas ciências sociais reconhecem a sua dívida para com as comunidades que estão construindo alternativas para os modelos dominantes do mercado global, com seus paradigmas de equilíbrio e crescimento sustentado. Para alcançá-los, os membros destas comunidades estão a aderir como participantes, elaborando novas teorias e fortalecendo suas estratégias para forjar novas sociedades e proteger os seus ecosistemas

¿Porque Economía Ecológica Radical?

La Economía Ecológica Radical (EER) emergió en México a partir de la interacción con grupos campesinos e indígenas que ejercen estrategias de autonomía política y defensa territorial. La EER reconoce la heterogeneidad de la vida que contrasta con los procesos sociales y económicos uniformes que subyacen en los análisis de la economía neoclásica y el modelo capitalista. Se observan múltiples valoraciones que pueblos y comunidades dan a la Naturaleza y al territorio, con base en sus variadas cosmogonías y cosmologías donde la interconexión de lo humano con lo no-humano es visto como un todo. Estas valoraciones y dinámicas relacionales permiten analizar los problemas visto por la EE, en particular la organización social que promueve diversas configuraciones sociometabólicas para reparar algunas fracturas metabólicas originadas en la expansión de la frontera de las mercancías y los proyectos extractivistas. La EER propone una aproximación metodológica de construcción teórica colaborativa, para identificar y solucionar los problemas socioambientales. Para ello es clave reconocer a un Sujeto Comunitario, quien emerge desde la colectividad, para crear redes, incorporar el ecofeminismo, una ética del cuidado y la sostenibilidad de la vida, construir la autonomía, restaurar los desequilibrios biofísicos, mejorar la calidad de vida y crear sociedades más justas.Radical Ecological Economics (REE) emerged in Mexico as a result of interaction with peasant and indigenous groups implementing strategies of political autonomy and territorial defense. REE recognizes the heterogeneity of lifestyles that contrasts with the uniform social and economic processes that underlie neoclassical economics analysis and the capitalist model. These peoples attach multiple values to Nature and territory, based on their cosmogonies and cosmologies where the interrelation of the human and the non-human is considered to form a unified whole. These values and relational dynamics provide a different framework to analyze the problems addressed by EE, with special emphasis on the social organizations that promote diverse sociometabolic configurations to repair some of the metabolic rifts caused by the expansion of the commodity frontier and extractivist projects. EER proposes a methodological approach of collaborative theoretical construction to identify and solve socio-environmental problems. The Communitarian Subject emerges from the collectivity, to create alliances, incorporate ecofeminism, attend to the ethics of care and the sustainability of life, build autonomy, restore biophysical imbalances, improve the quality of life and create more just societies.A Economia Ecológica Radical (EER) surgiu no México a partir da interação com grupos camponeses e indígenas que exercem estratégias de autonomia política e defesa territorial. A EER reconhece a heterogeneidade da vida que contrasta com os processos sociais e econômicos uniformes que fundamentam as análises da economia neoclássica e do modelo capitalista. Observam-se as múltiplas valorações que os povos e comunidades dão à Natureza e ao território, a partir das suas variadas cosmogonias e cosmologias onde a interligação do humano com o não humano é vista como um todo. Essas avaliações e dinâmicas relacionais permitem analisar os problemas vistos pela EE, em particular a organização social que promove várias configurações sociometabólicas para reparar algumas fraturas metabólicas causadas pela expansão da fronteira mercantil e projetos extrativistas. O EER propõe uma abordagem metodológica de construção teórica colaborativa, para identificar e solucionar problemas socioambientais. Para isso, é fundamental reconhecer um Sujeito Comunitário, que emerge da comunidade, criar redes, incorporar o ecofeminismo, uma ética do cuidado e sustentabilidade da vida, construir autonomia, restaurar desequilíbrios biofísicos, melhorar a qualidade de vida e criar sociedades mais justas

Shaping a Communitarian Ethos in an Era of Ecological Crisis

In response to the deep social and ecological crisis for which the international community is proving incapable of attenuating, many Peasants and Indigenous peoples in Mexico, and in other parts of the Global South, are transforming their visions of their futures, shaping a new ethos of self-management and conviviality, consistent with a responsible relationship to their territories. From the vantage point of the Global South, these peoples constitute a social and economic force that is altering the social and productive dynamics in many countries, proposing models of organization and building alliances among themselves regionally and internationally to exchange information, develop common strategies, and provide political support. In Mexico, many continue to produce traditional crops, while modifying their techniques to incorporate agroecological experiences from other communities, diversifying output and protecting the environment. Recently, they are enriching local practices with a systematization of their inherited traditions and cosmologies, creating effective models of social, political and environmental organization that lend authority to their claims to be able to manage their territories autonomously. There is a growing body of scientific literature that substantiates this capacity, demonstrating that the collective knowledge of the global networks of local communities is more effective in protecting biodiversity and attending to their own basic needs while improving their quality of life than that of societies more fully integrated into the global economy. In conclusion, we describe how these visions are shaping international networks, defining new channels for collaboration, improving the quality of life for people in these communities, while protecting them from the continuing incursions of capital

Una estrategia para crear nuevos beneficiarios del comercio mundial

International trade is a discriminatory process, accentuatingpolarization within and among nations. After examining the way inwhich integration in the Americas heightens these problems, this paperdescribes an alternative framework for the productive incorporation ofsignificant groups of communities into the global economy. The strategyfor sustainable regional resource management explicitly aims toovercome rural marginalization, contributing to reduce the force ofthe underlying drivers of social conflict. The strategy generallyincludes activities to strengthen three fundamental pillars: autonomy,self-sufficiency and productive diversification. Among the activitiesincluded in such strategies are: ecosystem management, increasedregional production of basic necessities, and productive diversification,creating opportunities for participation in international trade undermore advantageous terms.El comercio internacional es un proceso discriminatorio, que acentúala polarización dentro de y entre las naciones. Después de examinar laforma en la cual la integración en las Américas intensifica estos problemas,este artículo describe un marco alternativo para la inserciónproductiva de grupos importantes de comunidades en la economía global.La estrategia para el manejo sustentable de los recursos regionalesbusca, de manera explícita, superar la marginación rural, contribuyendoa reducir la fuerza de los agentes causales de los conflictossociales. La estrategia incluye actividades para fortalecer tres columnasfundamentales: autonomía, autosuficiencia y diversificación productiva.Entre las actividades incluidas en esas estrategias están elmanejo del ecosistema, el incremento de la producción regional de lasnecesidades básicas y la diversificación productiva, creando oportunidadespara la participación en el mercado mundial bajo condicionesmás ventajosas