petro-violence and the enclosure of the commons in Peru
The ongoing massacre of indigenous peoples in Peru is outrageous (NYT article).
See the following link for pictures from the indigenous movement: http://catapa.be/es/node/335 “This page contains all the pictures taken by our volunteers in Peru of the conflict between the Peruvian government and the Amazon people. Some pictures are shocking.”
This situation exemplifies what historian Peter Linebaugh sees as the enclosure of commons by petroleum corporations and their hand-maidens in state governments, perpetuating three disgusting tendencies:
First, as an aspect of the recent enclosures, planetary woodlands are being destroyed in favor of commercial profit. Second, petroleum
products are substituted as the base commodity of human re-
production and world economic development. Third, indige-
nous people worldwide—commoners all—are expropriated.
Michael Watts has dubbed “petro-violence” the terror, disloca-
tion, separation, poverty, and pollution associated with petro-
leum extraction.
(from Linebaugh’s recent book, The Magna Carta Manifesto: Liberties and Commons for All (amazon) (read the 1st chapter here)) - thanks to Nate for the reference).
