Alternative paths of transformation

ABSTRACT

I suggest in this essay that Latin American societies in movement are currently transcending the democratic framework to engage in autonomous paths to construct their new home, a world in which many worlds can be embraced, as the Zapatistas proposed years ago.

KEYWORDS:

• Autonomy
• conviviality
• insurrection

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Most probably Lula is innocent of the crime for which he is in jail. But he cannot avoid responsibility for the generalized corruption in his government, even if he did not directly take part in it himself.

2 The expression does not have, in my view, an appropriate translation into English. ‘Entramado’ can be translated as framework, but it alludes more to fabric, tapestry, the operation of weaving. ‘Comunitario’ can or cannot be community. A few people can constitute an ‘entramado’; the qualification alludes to the communal spirit of the fabric.

3 In this paragraph I am using expressions used by Marx to allude to communism (Marx & Engels, 1845).

4 Capitalism has been the only mode of production. Neither before nor after should society be organized around producing.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gustavo Esteva

Gustavo Esteva is a grassroots activist and public intellectual. Author of many books and essays, he is a columnist in La Jornada and occasionally in The Guardian. He collaborates with Universidad de la Tierra en Oaxaca and many local, national and international organizations and networks. He lives in a small Zapotec village, in Oaxaca, in the South of Mexico.