Ecology and the Poor: A Neglected Dimension of Latin American History
Author(s)
Martinez-Alier, Juan
Abstract
Social movements by poor people in Latin America often are also ecological movements, as the struggle for survival frequently contains hidden or explicit ecological components. Where poverty is a result of unequal class relations and also a cause of environmental degradation, sociopolitical movements frequently revolve around access to and conservation of natural resources. In the same vein, resource degradation must be socially perceived in order to generate popular action. The author describes the response to overexploitation of guano and fishmeal in Peru and the history of Andean agriculture since the 1780’s in terms of social-ecological perceptions and action.
