mining
and
hydroelectric
investments,
and
therefore the most tragic outcomes occur when
rural communities refuse to become stakeholders in
what they perceive as the plunder of their
Indigenous lands and resources.
In the sustainable development paradigm, despite
on-going debates and search for alternatives,
economic growth remains a dominant paradigm.
Development theory rests on a binary world in
which subsistence economies are constructed as
“undesirable” and “undignified” (Esteva). In fact,
the ongoing destruction of subsistence economies is
the central element in development. Open-pit
mining is transforming agriculture skills into
deficiencies; commons (water, scenery, forest,
mountains) into resources (hydroelectric, and open
pit
mining);
ignorance;
knowledge
peasants
and
of
biodiversity
Indigenous
into
people’s
autonomy into dependency; self-sufficiency of men
and women into loss of dignity for women and
childrens bodies.
Below you will find an obituary to Berta
Caceres written by Grahame Russell from Rights
Action ([email protected])
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