Resisting Enclosure
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ii Resisting Enclosure: The emergence of ethno-ecological governance in a comparative study of the constitutions of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia Vernon I Tava LLM Thesis The University of Auckland 2010 iii ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the Bolivarian Alliance (ALBA) with comparative case studies on Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. These three countries were among the first to which the ʻWashington Consensusʼ of neoliberal globalisation was applied. Examining what the indigenous and environmental movements that formed in resistance to this globalisation mean for the evolution of new forms of ecological governance. This paper will trace the emergence of a counter- hegemonic, ʻethno-ecologicalʼ form of law and governance with its origins in grassroots agrarian movements. As these movements gained in momentum and formed alliances across local, regional, national, and global levels, they drew on their indigenous cultural traditions and cosmology to articulate a holistic and ecocentric worldview which views planetary nature not as ʻnatural resourcesʼ but as a Mother Earth deity. A process of constitutional transformation by way of constituent assemblies led to the incorporation of indigenous holistic and ecocentric conceptions such as ʻliving wellʼ/ sumak kawsay / suma qamaña and ʻRights of Natureʼ into the constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador. The global alliances formed in this process of constitutional transformation and their axial concerns with a global enclosure of the commons offer a glimpse of a trans-civilisational shared vision preparing the ground for a coherent global constitutionalism. Keywords: ethno-ecological, ecological governance, Latin America, ALBA, counter-hegemonic globalisation, subaltern cosmopolitan legality, enclosures, commons, Pachamama, living well, sumak kawsay, suma qamaña, vivir bien, buen vivir, constitutional transformation. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I dedicate this thesis to my parents, Victoria and Ivan. Their constant support, encouragement and keen intellectual contestation have served as an inspiration to me throughout my life. I also wish to thank Professor Klaus Bosselmann for his comments, encouragement and wisdom. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ......................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 – GLOBALISATIONS .................................... 9 2.1 Hegemonic Neoliberal Globalisation .......................................................... 9 2.1.1 Neoliberal Governmentality ................................................................. 9 2.2 Neoliberal Hegemony ............................................................................... 12 2.3 Counter-Hegemonic Globalisation ........................................................... 14 2.3.1 Neoliberal Governance ...................................................................... 14 2.3.1.1 A crisis of legitimacy ................................................................... 14 2.3.1.2 Governability ............................................................................... 15 2.3.1.3 Governance ................................................................................ 15 2.4. Northern Anthropocentric Dualism .......................................................... 16 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 3 – ENCLOSURE OF THE COMMONS ......... 18 3.1 A Global Enclosure Movement ................................................................. 18 3.1.1 Enclosures ......................................................................................... 18 3.2 A Protective Counter-Movement – The ʻembeddednessʼ of markets in society ............................................................................................................ 19 3.3 Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons ..................................................... 20 3.3.1 The Tragedy of the Commons ........................................................... 20 3.4 An Alternative: Common Pool Resources Governance ........................... 22 3.4.1 Governing the Commons ................................................................... 22 3.4.1.1 The Market .................................................................................. 23 3.4.1.2 Leviathan .................................................................................... 23 3.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 4 – MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE ................. 26 4.1 Reform from above or Transformation from below? ................................ 26 4.1.1 Exclusion of Indigenous Peoples – Agrarian and Rights Struggles ... 26 4.1.2 Global Social Justice and Environmental Movements – Global Commons ................................................................................................... 27 4.2 Cosmopolitan Legality ............................................................................. 27 4.2.1 The Idea of Cosmopolitanism ............................................................ 27 4.2.1.1 Subaltern Cosmopolitan Legality ................................................ 29 4.3 Global Constitutionalism .......................................................................... 30 4.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER 5 - EMERGING ETHNO-ECOLOGICAL CONSTITUTIONAL TRENDS IN LATIN AMERICA ......... 33 5.1. Rights of Nature ...................................................................................... 33 5.2 The ʻPlurinational and Interculturalʼ State – Transcending the Westphalian Nation-state .................................................................................................... 35 5.2.1 Plurinationality ................................................................................... 35 5.2.2 Interculturality .................................................................................... 36 5.3 ʻLiving Wellʼ: The incorporation of the indigenous Cosmovisión .............. 36 5.3.1 “Living Well” or “Living Better”? ......................................................... 36 5.3.1.1 Relationality ................................................................................ 38 5.3.1.2 Communality - Return to the Commons ...................................... 38 vi 5.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 6 – REGIONAL INTEGRATION ..................... 40 6.1 The Bolívarian Alliance ............................................................................ 40 6.2 Resistance to Empire – The Move to Earth Community .......................... 41 6.3 The Principles of ALBA ............................................................................ 42 6.3.1 Governing Principles of the ALBA ..................................................... 42 6.4 Counter-Hegemonic Regional Integration ................................................ 44 6.5 ALBA as a Multilevel Entity ...................................................................... 45 6.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER 7 - CASE STUDY: VENEZUELA .................... 47 7.1 Local / Indigenous .................................................................................... 47 7.2 The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 1999 .............. 48 7.2.1. Environmental Rights ....................................................................... 48 7.2.2 Indigenous Rights .............................................................................. 49 7.3 Significant Initiatives Enacted Since the Constitution ............................... 51 7.3.1 Law on Biological Diversity 2000 ....................................................... 51 7.3.2 Land Reform Law 2001 ..................................................................... 51 7.3.3 Law for Integrated Agricultural Health 2008 ...................................... 51 7.3.4 Government-Initiated Environmental ʻMissionsʼ ................................ 52 7.3.4.1 Misión Arbol – ʻTree Missionʼ ..................................................... 52 7.3.4.2 Misión Energía – ʻEnergy Missionʼ .............................................. 52 7.3.4.3 Urban Organoponic Gardens ...................................................... 52 7.4 Global ....................................................................................................... 52 7.5 Extractive Model of Development ............................................................ 53 7.5.1 Regional Integration .......................................................................... 53 7.5.2 Orinoco Project .................................................................................. 53 7.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER 8 – CASE STUDY: ECUADOR ....................... 55 8.1 Local / Indigenous .................................................................................... 55 8.1.1 Ecologismo Popular ........................................................................... 55 8.2 The ʻPluri-Nationalʼ Constitution of Ecuador 2008 ................................... 55 8.2.1 The Constitution ................................................................................ 55 8.2.2 Rights of Nature ................................................................................