Comment on Nemer Narchi’s Paper on Environmental Destruction

Narchi notes the relatively recent focus on environmental destruction, with some exceptions, in Latin American Perspectives. He divides the trajectory of environmental destruction and reactions to it into two phases. Phase one encompasses the move away from self-sufficiency to a capitalist led emphasis on export crops with concurrent deforestation, erosion of wildlife habitats, and marginalization of the peasantry. Phase two encompasses resistance to the social and environmental destruction caused by this trend of commodity production with emphasis as well on the oppressive situation of dependence on food imports. Notably this is the trajectory also outlined by David Barkin (2015) in his monumental work of collected articles (review forthcoming in LAP). While Narchi pays most attention to Central America, his analysis can be generalized to many countries in Latin America as a whole as is made clear in his exposition.

Narchi cites relatively recent articles from LAP that discuss the metabolic disruptions that cause ecological crises such as the near extinction of the vaquita and the capitalist development of water resources including an aqueduct that displaced the Yaqui people; the repercussions of climate change; and calls for environmental justice. As an exception to “relatively recent articles” are LAP articles on ecofeminism, that have been published since the early 1990s.

Unfortunately, in his consideration of resistance movements, Narchi leaves out references to La Vía Campesina and agroecology as a movement and practice starting in Guatemala and Mexico, then spreading to other Latin American countries and now, around the world. The recently published special issue of LAP, edited by Andrew Smolski and Joana Salém Vasconcelos, fills the gaps in this respect.