Sunday, 11 April 2010

Julio Escalona // The Rights of Mother Earth is the way forward for humanity


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Published: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Bylined to: Julio Escalona
Julio Escalona // The Rights of Mother Earth is the way forward for humanity
Venezuela's Adjunct Ambassador to the United Nations, Julio Escalona writes: The recognition of the Rights of Mother Earth is the way forward for humanity to break with a civilization founded on a right of an anthropocentric character set up on the basis of predominance of reason (converting nature into an object), private property, the State above society.
Nature is an essential source of altruistic love: giving without expecting anything in return. Light, air, water, unlimited fruit always available. Scarcity is usually provoked by human action.
It is the example of cooperation, interdependence and complementarity ... it is false that nature is a model of war for survival.
Nature has a right to life; not be poisoned by agro-toxics; to be recognized as a source of life, life itself, and not as a natural recourse, as merchandise. That in turn will allow the human to free itself of its condition as a human resource, merchandise. It means that there cannot be liberation of humanity without liberation of nature.
Nature carries out its duties rigorously every day. They are written in the universe's memory, of each cell. Nature does not need a norm to force it to obey. It is therefore a model of autonomous morality, which, one day, when the human being is freed, will be what characterizes humanity. It is different from the heterogeneous morality that requires norms and external control.
The Declaration of Mother Earth's Rights has its roots in the cosmovision of aboriginal peoples.
In Venezuela, the leaders are Yukpa and Bari indians incarnated in Chief Sabino Romero and Lusbi Portillo. In Copenhagen, it was expressed through the voices of Presidents Chavez and Evo. From Bolivia comes the voice of indigenous peoples and the Bolivian government headed by President Evo convoking a people's summit in Cochabamba. This summit will try to put a brake on the excesses which, as a result of Copenhagen, leaders of the North have been committing and consequently, try to make sure global warming does not go above 1.5%.
On the contrary, we will be confronting a planetary disaster.
Finally, Leonardo Boff and Miguel D'Escoto have drawn up a declaration that has been proposed for debate.
H.E. Ambassador Julio Escalona is Venezuela's Adjunct Ambassador to the United Nations in New York.  He holds degrees in economics, geopolitics and environmental issues, and is a former director of the School of Economics at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) in Caracas and head of its department of human development. He is a professor of economics, general economic history, economic education in Latin America, contemporary Marxism and contemporary social problems.  He has coordinated research seminars on economic integration, local economies and local development, and alternative technologies and has been a participant and guest lecturer at seminars, forums, academic institutions in Peru, Brazil, Japan, Paris, Mexico and Venezuela.
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