This is a fantastic message given by Evo Morales, the first indigenous Amerindian elected president in South America. It has been edited slightly by Newton Garver. (Original Source: Morales, Evo: The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth; Messages from President Evo Morales Ayma about Pachamama (the Mother Earth) and climate change, 2006-2010. The Ministry of Exterior Relations. 2010) There is of course an element of a politician in his words , but he speaks of some simple and principled ideas that often seem at odds with resource and economy driven policies of the United States. Even if you only read a portion, what are your thoughts? How do you see any part of this being acted on in the world? We, the indigenous people only want to Live Well, not better. Living better is to exploit, to plunder, and to rob, but Living Well is to live in brotherhood. As a consequence of the neoliberal policies of dominating nature, seeking easy earnings, the concentration of wealth in few hands, and the irrational exploitation of natural resources, our Mother Earth is suffering a mortal wound. Sisters and brothers, here are two paths. Either we follow the path to capitalism and death, or we advance down the indigenous path in harmony with nature and life. Ten Commandments to save the Planet, Humanity, and Life. [1] end capitalism, [2] renounce war, [3] free the world from imperialism and colonialism, [4] make water a human right, [5] live in harmony with Mother Earth, using clean and nature-friendly energy, [6] incorporate these points into the UN, [7] make access to basic services a human right, [8] consume only what is necessary, within a framework of food sovereignty, [9] respect cultural and economic diversity, and [10] Living Well. There will only be peace when there is equality across humanity, there will only be peace when there is respect for our identity and respect for the dignity of each people. I do not believe that there can be peace with capitalism, however orderly and moderate it may be. The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth. This 21st Century will be the century of the rights of the Mother Earth and of all living things. First the right to life. . . . Second, the right to regeneration of its biocapacity. . . . Third, the right to clean water, which is the right of Mother Earth to live without contamination. . . .Fourth, the right to harmony and balance with all and among all. . .. Jallalla Pachamama! For the indigenous peoples of the planet, the Mother Earth is life itself. We conceive of the human being as an integral part of nature. We have always felt and practiced a great respect for her. . . . During thousands upon thousands of years, we have coexisted with nature in a constant balance with her and in her. Now-a-days we feel the devastating effects of the transnational neoliberal capitalist system destroying our planet at an increasing pace. . . . Under the logic of the free trade treaties, they try to fracture harmonious human relations with nature. They commercialize the natural resources and the culture of the various peoples. They privatize basic services and even expect to patent life. We have advanced a great deal; for that we can now safely say that the sacrifice of our ancestors was not in vain. We continue on the path of this unstoppable and irreversible process. Nonetheless, we still have before us a long journey. We do not forget that in order to liberate our peoples, we should recognize that the Earth does not belong to us, but rather we belong to the Earth. The Mother Earth, this land which for many is the planet Earth or the environment, but for us in the indigenous movement, we live not only in harmony with human beings but also in harmony with the Mother Earth. The Mother Earth is something sacred, which gives life. Water, natural resources, and oxygen spring from the Mother Earth. / Everybody thinks about the well-being of our people. I want to tell you that if we talk about it and struggle for the well-being of our people, first we have to guarantee the well-being of the Mother Earth. 60-2 [Summary of attacks on him and on Bolivia by the US, including Obama. Issues include confusing coca with cocaine, or putting both in the same package, limitations on private property in Article 54 of the CPE, and trade policies.] Each day we are destroying the future of humanity. It is important to identify what are our enemies and what are the causes of the destruction of the planet Earth, that may later eliminate humanity. ./ I am convinced that capitalism is the worst enemy of humanity. . . /..Capitalism has a set of twins which are the market and war. The market converts life and the earth into commercial goods. When they can no longer sustain this economic model of plundering, exploitation, marginalization, and above all the accumulation of wealth, they appeal to war and the arms race. . . /. If only we asked ourselves, “How much money is spent on the arms race?” We never worry about this situation. Bolivia received only 300 billion dollars in the year 2005, when the hydrocarbons, oil and natural gas, had been privatized and handed over to the multinationals. . . ./ . After modifying the Law of Hydrocarbons and after recovering and nationalizing this natural resource of such importance to my country, Bolivia has received more than 2 billion dollars this year (2007). I feel more convinced that the way of concentrating capital and hoarding riches in a few hands is no solution for humanity and for life itself, and even less so for the poor people who inhabit this planet Earth. I am convinced that war is the industry of death; therefore the arms race is another industry which complements the industry of death. Today, our Mother Earth is ill. . . ./ . In two and a half centuries the so-called “developed” countries have consumed a large part of the fossil fuels created over five million centuries. . . / . Competition and the thirst for profits of the capitalist system are destroying the planet. Under capitalism Mother Earth does not exist; instead there are raw materials. Capitalism is the source of all the asymmetries and imbalances in the world. It generates luxury, ostentation, and waste for a few, while millions in the world die from hunger. At the hands of capitalism everything becomes a commodity: the water, the soil, the human genome, the ancestral cultures, justice, ethics, death … and life itself. Everything, absolutely everything, can be bought and sold under capitalism. And even “climate change” itself has become a business. [A twenty-point program to check climate change, as a proposal to the Copenhagen conference.] Humankind is capable of saving the earth if we recover the principles of solidarity, complementarity, and harmony with nature, in contraposition to the reign of competition, profits, and rampant consumption of natural resources. The use of luxuries deeply saddens me. Luxuries must be eliminated. We must stop the slavery of the Mother Earth. It is not possible that the Mother Earth be a slave to the capitalist countries, and I hope I am not mistaken about this. I repeat again, if we do not end this slavery, forget about life for ourselves and for all people. Just as our black and indigenous brothers were treated as slaves and their rights were not recognized in the past centuries, now our Mother Earth is being treated as if she were a thing without life, which has no rights. The free market for certain products which benefit the transnational corporations is not really a free market. I would say that it is not free because there is no free passage of human beings in the entire world. He who does not serve does not deserve to live. I would say it is even more important to know how to share. To know how to share is to know how to distribute the riches in a fair way between everyone. Long live the revolutionary processes of the world! Jallalla Qullasuya Marka!
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 06:57:33 +0000
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