Implications of the Biocultural Ethic for Earth Stewardship - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 116

and forms of organization, but all of them suppose consensual deliberation and deci-
sion making processes based on the best available information and arguments
(see Dussel 2003 ). In this sense, a genuine democracy should attend to the concerns
expressed by Chapin et al. ( 2011b ) and other members of the ESA. However, this
type of democratic process is often aborted, and democracy is reduced to a simple
voting mechanism that ends up legitimizing the plutocratic regime (Borrero 2002 ;
Winters 2011a ). We can conclude that rather than by a democratic regime, today we
are governed by a plutocratic regime (Winters 2011b ).
Clarifi cation of language and of a cultural mentality helps to diagnose problems
that limit the implementation of environmental policies. The problem is not democ-
racy, but the plutocratic regime of democracy. Colombian environmental lawyer José
María Borrero, with reference to Latin America, has developed a critical evaluation
of the current status of democracy, the participation of communities, types of dia-
logue, and levels of respect for social and economic differences. In his topic
Imaginación Abolicionista (“Abolitionist Imagination”), Borrero ( 2002 , p. 129)
states that in the collective mindset “political participation is increasingly deceptive,
and becomes a trap.” It gives the impression of broad popular participation, when in
fact decisions are made by small but powerful economic minorities. Borrero ( 2002 ,
p. 130) illustrates this deception with a graffi ti found in the streets of Cali in Colombia
that conjugates the verb “to participate” in the following manner:

Yo participo I participate

Tú participas You participate

Él participa He participates

Ella participa She participates

Nosotros (as)
participamos

We participate

Vosotros (as) participáis You (plural) participate

Ellos deciden They decide

The conclusion of this graffi ti is supported by cases such as the Yasuní
Biosphere Reserve in Ecuador and the confl icts between the U'wa and Occidental
Petroleum (Oxy) in Colombia (see Box 8.2 in this volume). Borrero's criticism is
that democracy has been transformed into mere mechanisms for election and
legitimization of governments. Democracy is reduced to competition among
groups of elites, and citizens are treated as consumers for a political market. The
tradition of citizen participation in Latin America is further discouraged by
“administrative corruption, clientelism, bossism, and the lack of political and
judicial security” (Borrero 2002 , p. 131).
Borrero's conclusion concurs with the analysis developed for Brazil and South
America. Viola and Basso (in this volume [Chap. 24 ] ) caution that “when the pluto-
cratic links reach such unbearable levels that corruption scandals become common,
the resort to populism - another common discourse in the region - does not bring any
relief.” Plutocracy goes hand in hand with short-term thinking focused on quick prof-
its that become more important than the ecological destruction of the Earth and