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Ecology and the Poor: A Neglected Dimension of Latin American History

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Joan Martinez-Alier
Joan Martinez-Alier
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics and Economic Historyat the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
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Extract

This Commentary addresses the issue of ecological perception and ecological politics among poor populations, rural and urban. Some social struggles by poor people (and some national struggles by poor countries) can be understood also as ecological struggles. This approach reveals the ecological content, both hidden and explicit, of social movements from the past or present, which have been geared to defend access to natural resources against the advance of the generalised market system, and that have contributed to the conservation of resources to the extent that the market undervalues externalities. Examples are taken mainly from the history of highland and coastal Peru, but this approach is relevant also for the Amazonian region. Some comparisons are made with other countries in Latin America and also with India.

Type
Commentary
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , October 1991 , pp. 621 - 639
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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