Photo: Argentinian President Macri makes offering to Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Argentina has reportedly the most European population of South American, but Indigenous communities are still present and spiritually important.
When Evo Morales was president of Bolivia he signed a law declaring that Pachamama, or Mother Earth, was a person whose rights needed protecting. That was a rejection of Western Roman Catholic civilization, both its spiritual and legal foundations.
Bolivian newscasters started wearing Indigenous clothing. For his efforts, Morales was removed from power and forced to flee the country.
Morales was simply acknowledging that the people of Bolivia embodied the civilization that was there before the Spanish. For his efforts, Morales was forced to flee for his life.
“Civilizations” are bigger and longer-lasting than countries. For example, the European Union conceives itself as a union of different countries forming a larger European Civilization.
Empires rise and fall, but the survivors remain with much of their spirituality and lifeways intact.
Are BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) of the US and Latin America part of “Western Civilization?”Or do we constitute our own civilizations?
For President Morales, the answer was “yes.” And for that reason, he had to flee for his life.
Seems he was onto something.
