[Leer en español]

In western, relatively high income countries, environmentalists are often – perhaps mistakenly, perhaps appropriately – assumed to be middle class professionals. Environmental issues and environment-centred organisations are seen as benevolent causes, attract widespread interest and support and are associated with a growth of interest in sustainable lifestyles. The increasing development of middle class fractions and the growth of what may be termed the new middle classes have been accompanied by and are associated with a concern with ‘otherness’ which includes an interest in minority cultures, religion, ethnicity and, arguably most significant, a concern with environment and ecology.

Such a trend can also be seen in the growth of environmentalism in low income countries of the global south. But a more conspicuous trend is for environmental causes to be represented by the campesino population, a population certainly not associated with the new middle classes of the western world. It is campesinos whose land and resources are coveted by transnational corporations and it is they who suffer the losses caused by the associated development projects. It is campesinos who face up to the threats to their environment and resources and who stand in the way of the bulldozers, tractors and lorries of the companies which aim to profit from their environment.

The following short article uses reports in Guatemala’s daily newspapers ‘Nuestro Diario’ and ‘Prensa Libre’ and from Martin Mowforth’s own experience of events at the time. It illustrates the significance of the campesino movement to struggles which can be defined as environmental.

Guatemala paralyzed by campesino road blocks

On Wednesday 11^th May much of Guatemala was paralyzed by road blocks set up by campesino groups demanding, among other things, the nationalisation of the electrical energy supply in the country. From the early hours of the day, thousands of people were mobilised to block the country’s main roads. In total nineteen major highways were affected by the road blocks which in some cases lasted up to 9 hours.

The blockages were organised principally by CODECA (the Committee of Campesino Development), although three other organisations were also involved.

The demands of the campesino groups included the following.

• The end to tax subsidies for large companies
• Denunciation and punishment for corrupt deputies in the National Congress
• Renationalisation of services and commons that have been privatised in the country
• A minimum of 15% of cultivable land in the country should be destined for the cultivation of basic grains for the sake of food security
• The prohibition of the expropriation and diverting of the rivers, lakes and other  sources of water by private companies
• The beginning of the process of creating a People’s Constituent Assembly made up of representatives of communities.

Neftalí López, a CODECA representative, indicated that “If we don’t get positive replies, above all from President Jimmy Morales, we’ll take to the streets again.”

A delegation of the campesinos were received by the Congress President, Mario Taracena, who offered to set up working technical groups to analyse each demand.

Ambientalismo y el Movimiento Campesinado

En los países ricos del mundo occidental, a menudo se asumen que los ambientalistas sean miembros de la clase media y profesionales – tal vez en error, tal vez apropiadamente. Los temas ambientales y las organizaciones ambientalistas se ven como causas benévolas, atrayendo interés extendido y apoyo amplio y se asocian con un crecimiento de interés en estilos de vida sostenibles. El desarrollo creciendo de las fracciones de la media clase y el crecimiento de las así llamadas nuevas clases medias han sido acompañado por y se asocian con una preocupación con ‘alteridad’ que incluye un interés en las culturas minoritarias, religión, etnicidad y, podría decirse, la cosa la más significativa, una preocupación con el medio ambiente y la ecología.

También se puede ver tal tendencia en el crecimiento del ambientalismo en los paises de bajos ingresos del Sur – los países en vía del desarrollo. Sin embargo, una tendencia más clara es la representación de las causas ambientales por la populación campesina, una populación no asociada con las nuevas clases medias del mundo occidental. Son las tierras y los recursos de los campesinos que son buscado por las corporaciones transnacionales y son los campesinos que sufren las pérdidas causado por los proyectos de desarrollo. Son los campesinos que enfrentan a las amenazas a sus medios ambientes y sus recursos y los que se interponen en el camino de las excavadoras, los tractores y camiones de las compañías que intentan hacer ganancias del medio ambiente.

El breve artículo siguiente se aprovecha de informes en los periódicos guatemaltecos ‘Nuestro Diario’ y ‘Prense Libre’ y de la experiencia de los eventos en el momento de Martin Mowforth. Ilustra el significado del movimiento campesino para las luchas definido como luchas ambientales.

Paralizan el País

Amenazan con más bloqueos

Desde tempranas horas, miles de personas fueron movilizadas para bloquear las principales rutas del país, exigiendo al Estado respetar las propuestas hechas a la población.

El Comité de Desarrollo Campesino (CODECA) fue el organizador de la movilización que exigía a las autoridades pago de salarios atrasados, nacionalización de la energía eléctrica, anulación de los subsidios tributarios a las grandes empresas, castigar el apropiamiento y desvío de ríos, lagos y fuentes de agua por parte de las empresas privadas.

El Zarco (Retalhuleu), Patulul (Suchitepéquez), El Boquerón y Taxisco (Santa Rosa), La Ruidosa (Izabal), Cuatro Caminos (Totonicapán), Nahualá y Las Trampas (Sololá), Cubilgüitz y Fray Bartolomé (Alta Verapaz) y Pajapita (San Marcos) fueron algunos de los puntos más afectados.

Estudiantes, trabajadores e inclusive pacientes de hospitales tuvieron que esperar horas para poder cruzar las rutas.

Los manifestantes fueron recibidos por el presidente del Congreso, Mario Taracena, quien los ofreció efectuar mesas técnicas para analizar cada petición.

“Si no tenemos respuestas positivas, sobre todo del presidente Jimmy Morales, volveremos a salir a las carreteras”, señaló Neftalí López, representante de CODECA.

[Leer en español]

In western, relatively high income countries, environmentalists are often – perhaps mistakenly, perhaps appropriately – assumed to be middle class professionals. Environmental issues and environment-centred organisations are seen as benevolent causes, attract widespread interest and support and are associated with a growth of interest in sustainable lifestyles. The increasing development of middle class fractions and the growth of what may be termed the new middle classes have been accompanied by and are associated with a concern with ‘otherness’ which includes an interest in minority cultures, religion, ethnicity and, arguably most significant, a concern with environment and ecology.

Such a trend can also be seen in the growth of environmentalism in low income countries of the global south. But a more conspicuous trend is for environmental causes to be represented by the campesino population, a population certainly not associated with the new middle classes of the western world. It is campesinos whose land and resources are coveted by transnational corporations and it is they who suffer the losses caused by the associated development projects. It is campesinos who face up to the threats to their environment and resources and who stand in the way of the bulldozers, tractors and lorries of the companies which aim to profit from their environment.

The following short article uses reports in Guatemala’s daily newspapers ‘Nuestro Diario’ and ‘Prensa Libre’ and from Martin Mowforth’s own experience of events at the time. It illustrates the significance of the campesino movement to struggles which can be defined as environmental.

Guatemala paralyzed by campesino road blocks

On Wednesday 11^th May much of Guatemala was paralyzed by road blocks set up by campesino groups demanding, among other things, the nationalisation of the electrical energy supply in the country. From the early hours of the day, thousands of people were mobilised to block the country’s main roads. In total nineteen major highways were affected by the road blocks which in some cases lasted up to 9 hours.

The blockages were organised principally by CODECA (the Committee of Campesino Development), although three other organisations were also involved.

The demands of the campesino groups included the following.

• The end to tax subsidies for large companies
• Denunciation and punishment for corrupt deputies in the National Congress
• Renationalisation of services and commons that have been privatised in the country
• A minimum of 15% of cultivable land in the country should be destined for the cultivation of basic grains for the sake of food security
• The prohibition of the expropriation and diverting of the rivers, lakes and other sources of water by private companies
• The beginning of the process of creating a People’s Constituent Assembly made up of representatives of communities.

Neftalí López, a CODECA representative, indicated that “If we don’t get positive replies, above all from President Jimmy Morales, we’ll take to the streets again.”

A delegation of the campesinos were received by the Congress President, Mario Taracena, who offered to set up working technical groups to analyse each demand.

Ambientalismo y el Movimiento Campesinado

En los países ricos del mundo occidental, a menudo se asumen que los ambientalistas sean miembros de la clase media y profesionales – tal vez en error, tal vez apropiadamente. Los temas ambientales y las organizaciones ambientalistas se ven como causas benévolas, atrayendo interés extendido y apoyo amplio y se asocian con un crecimiento de interés en estilos de vida sostenibles. El desarrollo creciendo de las fracciones de la media clase y el crecimiento de las así llamadas nuevas clases medias han sido acompañado por y se asocian con una preocupación con ‘alteridad’ que incluye un interés en las culturas minoritarias, religión, etnicidad y, podría decirse, la cosa la más significativa, una preocupación con el medio ambiente y la ecología.

También se puede ver tal tendencia en el crecimiento del ambientalismo en los paises de bajos ingresos del Sur – los países en vía del desarrollo. Sin embargo, una tendencia más clara es la representación de las causas ambientales por la populación campesina, una populación no asociada con las nuevas clases medias del mundo occidental. Son las tierras y los recursos de los campesinos que son buscado por las corporaciones transnacionales y son los campesinos que sufren las pérdidas causado por los proyectos de desarrollo. Son los campesinos que enfrentan a las amenazas a sus medios ambientes y sus recursos y los que se interponen en el camino de las excavadoras, los tractores y camiones de las compañías que intentan hacer ganancias del medio ambiente.

El breve artículo siguiente se aprovecha de informes en los periódicos guatemaltecos ‘Nuestro Diario’ y ‘Prense Libre’ y de la experiencia de los eventos en el momento de Martin Mowforth. Ilustra el significado del movimiento campesino para las luchas definido como luchas ambientales.

Paralizan el País

Amenazan con más bloqueos

Desde tempranas horas, miles de personas fueron movilizadas para bloquear las principales rutas del país, exigiendo al Estado respetar las propuestas hechas a la población.

El Comité de Desarrollo Campesino (CODECA) fue el organizador de la movilización que exigía a las autoridades pago de salarios atrasados, nacionalización de la energía eléctrica, anulación de los subsidios tributarios a las grandes empresas, castigar el apropiamiento y desvío de ríos, lagos y fuentes de agua por parte de las empresas privadas.

El Zarco (Retalhuleu), Patulul (Suchitepéquez), El Boquerón y Taxisco (Santa Rosa), La Ruidosa (Izabal), Cuatro Caminos (Totonicapán), Nahualá y Las Trampas (Sololá), Cubilgüitz y Fray Bartolomé (Alta Verapaz) y Pajapita (San Marcos) fueron algunos de los puntos más afectados.

Estudiantes, trabajadores e inclusive pacientes de hospitales tuvieron que esperar horas para poder cruzar las rutas.

Los manifestantes fueron recibidos por el presidente del Congreso, Mario Taracena, quien los ofreció efectuar mesas técnicas para analizar cada petición.

“Si no tenemos respuestas positivas, sobre todo del presidente Jimmy Morales, volveremos a salir a las carreteras”, señaló Neftalí López, representante de CODECA.

Costa Rica has an environmental reputation that is the envy of many world leaders. There is no doubt that in some respects – its protected areas; its development of locally-based tourism; its zero-carbon aim – it is deserving of all the plaudits it receives. But there is no shortage of other respects for which the country deserves a few brickbats – its high dependence on plantation export crops; its excessive use of toxic pesticides; in some cases its surrender to corporate international tourism developments.

News of several developments of environmental significance during the last few months typify these contradictions. For The Violence of Development website, Martin Mowforth provides a round-up of several items of Costa Rican environmental news from the first six months of 2022.

August 2022

Global Environment Facility (GEF) supports Costa Rica’s transition to an urban green economy

In March 2022 the GEF invested in the project ‘Transitioning to an urban green economy and delivering global environmental benefits’, led by the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Organisation for Tropical Studies, an international organisation with a base in Costa Rica.

The project aims at decarbonising the Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica’s capital city, San José, by providing $10.3 million (USD) to invest in the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by the city. The investment will go towards the improvement of public transport, the greening of approximately 2,000 hectares of land and the implementation of an integrated urban planning strategy.

Expanding the electric train network was one of former President Alvarado’s stated aims and although he has now been replaced by Rodrigo Chaves (April 2022 election) it is likely that some of the GEF funds will be used to continue the work which had already been started on this programme.

Other transport improvements stemming from the initiative include the construction of 8 km of bicycle lanes, 3 km of shared paths and pedestrian walkways and 20 km of green sidewalks with improved access.

Visitors to and residents of Costa Rican cities will be aware of the urgent need to improve the transport systems in the country’s cities most of which are known for their poor roads and traffic congestion.

Cocos Island National Park designated a Natural Shark Sanctuary

In April 2022, the Environment Ministry declared the Cocos Island National Park (PNIC) to be a Natural Shark Sanctuary and connected the protected area with the Sweet Gulf (Golfo Dulce) Hammerhead Shark Sanctuary. Along with numerous marine protected areas in the eastern Pacific (including the Galapagos Islands), the PNIC forms part of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor.

These measures extend Costa Rica’s marine protected areas from 2.7 per cent to 30 per cent of the country’s seas. Much of the country’s seas suffer from illegal fishing which especially affects sharks.

The Vice-Minister of Water and Seas, Cynthia Barzuna, noted the “bays and islets in the protected waters of Cocos Island National Park, serve as habitat, nursery and transit for fifteen species of sharks.”

Crocodile feeding in the Tarcoles River

The Tarcoles River is a favourite tourist location for watching crocodiles, but some tour guides have developed the habit of feeding the animals which can be a dangerous activity. Some tourists are even invited to take part in the feeding which is sometimes undertaken at close quarters.

The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) has received several complaints that the feeding continues even though it is known to be illegal. Rafael Gutiérrez, executive director of SINAC, said that “feeding crocodiles exposes the lives of many tourists [to danger], as well as the person who is feeding the animal.”

Particularly where young crocodiles are concerned, the practice is likely to lead to the build-up of a dependence in the animals on food brought for this purpose. Some ecologists have also said that it is likely to lead to disruptions in the ecosystem.

Attacks against the Indigenous peoples of China Kichá

In May 2022, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Calí expressed his concern about recent denunciations of tear gas attacks on and arbitrary detentions of Cabécar Indigenous peoples by the Public Force, essentially the police service of the country.

More than 370 people from 150 organisations signed a petition to the authorities against the violence suffered by Indigenous peoples in their territories. The attacks have included many fires started over 800 hectares of the 1,100 hectare territory. There have even been attempted assassinations as a result of the conflicts between non-indigenous people and the Indigenous who are legally recovering their land.

In March the weekly Costa Rican newspaper, Semanario Universidad, conducted a study which showed that almost all the recovered land had been consumed by fire whereas land belonging to non-indigenous people was almost completely free of any kind of damage.

The police have shown systematic bias against the Indigenous people trying to defend their recovered land.

UNDP warns Costa Rica about its excessive use of pesticides

In May 2022, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) produced a report on the diagnosis of health effects due to the use of pesticides in Costa Rica. The high use of pesticides affects the health and threatens the lives of plantation workers who are regular victims of toxic poisonings.

According to the report:

• Over 65 per cent of poisonings occurred in the agricultural sector, particularly in banana, coffee and pineapple plantations, these three being the country’s main crops.
• Health effects can include: different types of cancer; Parkinson’s disease; male infertility; damage to the cardiovascular and immune systems; damage to the blood, digestive, dermal, respiratory and ophthalmic systems.
• Most of the intoxications were related to diazinon, paraquat, and glyphosate pesticides.
• Between 2010 and 2020, 58 deaths were due to poisoning in the country and these were mainly associated with the use of agrochemicals.

Costa Rica continues to use pesticides that have been eliminated or banned by international organisations and agreements signed by the country. This includes paraquat whose high toxicity is well documented and widely acknowledged.

Water supply and climate adaptation project (PAACUME)

In early May 2022, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI / BCIE) loaned $425 million (USD) to Costa Rica to fund the Water Supply Project for the Middle Basin of the Tempisque River and Coastal Communities (PAACUME).

The project is intended to provide the Guanacaste region with water for human consumption, agriculture and tourism for the next 50 years. By providing a new source of water, it is also aimed at re-activating the economic and social development of numerous cantons in the region.

Additionally, it will help people, especially farmers, to adapt to the difficult conditions caused by climate change by providing a permanence of water.

Costa Rica generates more electronic waste than any other Latin American country

According to a report by the Regional Monitor of Electronic Wastes in Latin America, Costa Rica generates the greatest quantity of waste electrical and electronic equipment (known as WEEE in the UK, but as RAEE by its Spanish initials) of the 13 Latin American countries studied. Moreover of the total generated, only 8 per cent is collected for environmental treatment.

The report was published at the end of January 2022 by the United Nations University and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Despite this poor record, Costa Rica is one of only three of the 13 countries studied which had specific legislation relating to the treatment and legal responsibility for RAEE.

And finally …. what the new Costa Rican President thinks of his own country

In Davos, Switzerland in May this year, the new Costa Rican President, Rodrigo Chaves, expounded his views on what problems faced the country, and principal among his concerns were the dreadful state of the rivers and waterways, social inequality and the poor state of public services.

More details of his speech and interviews are given in a separate article in this set of additions to The Violence of Development website.

If development is the primary theme of this book, a second and overlapping theme is that of the environment. All of the human indices briefly discussed in the previous section are also indices which relate to the environment in which humans live. We cannot divorce the two: human development and human environment. When we talk of the quality of the environment, some people refer solely to the natural environment; but the natural environment is also the social environment, the human environment. From my point of view these are the same; they are inter-twined and completely integrated.

Many indicators and examples which reflect the integration of these two issues are illustrated in the substantive chapters of the book. The indicators include measures which relate to pesticide residues, water quality, deforestation rates, biodiversity, CO₂ emissions and similar, and these are given in the appropriate chapters rather than in this introductory chapter. Indicators such as these might normally be understood as measures of the quality of the natural environment, but it seems obvious to me that they are also integral parts of the social and human environment.

Despite this integration of the issues and the need to view developmental and environmental issues in a holistic light, there is still a widespread tendency to treat environmental problems as separate and apart from society. In the western capitalist world, environmentalists themselves are often ridiculed for their supposed divorce from realpolitik and characterised as tree-huggers and as successors to the hippy generation.

The view from right wing circles in Central America, however, is sometimes rather different where those who protest on environmental grounds are viewed as ‘water melons’ – that is, they are green on the outside and red on the inside, alluding to the colour of their politics. This is a hangover from the days when the enemy perceived by the established forces of society (that is oligarchic government and the military forces which protected the oligarchy) was communism. Those who protested during the insurgencies and wars of the second half of last century were simply deemed to be ‘communists’, a label that needed no further explanation to justify repression, violence and assassination. The use of the water melon label is intended to provide the same simple justification for repression against those who today protest against illegal logging, water pollution incidents, open cast mining, campesino displacements and the like. As we shall see in the following chapters, it is no exaggeration to say that the dark forces of the death squads and all they represent and protect are just as active now against the water melons as they were when the enemy was more easily identifiable as communists. If this sounds a little extreme, I refer the reader to several of the text boxes in Chapter 9, especially those headed ‘You couldn’t make it up’.

Such labels would be amusing if they were not seriously used by some of those who perpetrate the violence against a wide range of their fellow citizens, the environmentalists, social activists, trade unionists, journalists, community participants, and many others who seek social and environmental justice. As witnessed by the case studies, those who seek to defend their communities and their environment from damage are usually at the receiving end of the violence whilst those who pursue what are often called ‘development projects’ (especially on their websites) are those who practice violence in pursuit of the profits associated with the project.