Enclosing the indigenous commons in highland Peru
Enclosing the indigenous commons in highland Peru
Arthur Scarritt
14th July 2015
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Quechua mother and child in the Sacred Valley near Qosqo
(Cusco), Peru. Photo: Thomas Quine via Flickr (CC BY).
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Under the guise of a land-titling project, Peru is breaking up and privatising indigenous common lands across the Andean highlands, writes Arthur Scarritt. While the law provides for communal titling and democratic votes, in practice there's no provision for communities to exercise these rights, and the many are being dispossessed in favour of large, 'efficient' market-oriented producers.
European colonial projects depended on the racialisation of native populations to maintain their economies of plunder.
The belief that indigenous peoples were inherently unable to enjoy the same rights as colonists undergirded colonial civil society and legitimised, in contemporary eyes, brutal exploitation and even genocide.
Europeans from Juan de Matienzo in the 16th century to Mario Vargas Llosa more recently have furthermore argued that these costs were worth paying, as European colonialism brought with it enlightened civilisation. The ends, they have said, justified the means.
More:
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2941164/enclosing_the_indigenous_commons_in_highland_peru.html
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112788302