We stand in solidarity with XR Latin America

Esteemed colleagues of XR LATAM, 

We of XR Los Angeles wish to declare our unity with and support for you. We understand your concerns with the name chosen by XR America. Regardless of their initial reasons for choosing this name, their insistence represents a basic misunderstanding of how the world has arrived at this ecological emergency, and a failure to understand the connections between the climate crisis and the racial and economic justice crises. 

Here in the United States we are born into a culture founded on a great illusion, the illusion that the relative wealth of the U.S. is a gift from god that we have earned with our hard work, and deserve because of our supposed democratic system. This myth makes no reference to the exploitative relationships with other parts of the world or with members of our own population, which we have had since the outset, and which continues today. 

Abroad, we acknowledge the United States’ role in perpetuating systems of oppression and environmental exploitation. For example, in Latin America alone, we know the stories of Videla, Pinochet, Fujimori, Somoza, Noriega, Operation Condor, the massacres in El Salvador, and the Chaco War. We know about the world’s first aerial bombardments against Nicaragua, and the suffocating embargo against Cuba. We know about these, and many more. 

For some time now these exploitative policies have come home to roost. The capitalist beast, having already consumed nearly everything outside the U.S., began consuming our own nation, like a snake swallowing its own tail. 

Black, indigenous, and people of color experience the brunt of this consumption. They have had their land stolen, directly or through redlining, and they are disproportionately affected by exposure to toxic environmental pollutants. Further, they are gravely affected by our biased  policing and criminal justice systems. We recognize these injustices and horrors, and we denounce them. 

Our planet will never be free from environmental tyranny until voices of the most vulnerable are heard, honored, and prioritized. XRLA stands with XR LATAM in this belief. We stand with our collaborators in XR across the world, and in the global south specifically. Moreover, we recognize the interconnectedness of all beings throughout the biosphere. In order for this biosphere to heal and thrive, we must prioritize listening and slowing down. We know that the destination of ecological justice will never be reached unless we arrive by way of social, racial, and economic justice, which are one and the same.

We at XRLA acknowledge that black, indigenous, and people of color in the United States are the people who are most vulnerable in the climate crisis, and are also those who take the greatest risks and face the greatest consequences for their resistance: imprisonment, loss of home and country, poisoning, violence, and death. And we also want to honor the labor and sacrifice of the BIPOC communities of South America, particularly the 28 indigenous environmental defenders who were murdered in Latin America in 2019 alone, many who lost their lives as a result of U.S. corporate interests: Emyra Wajãpi, Mirna Suazo, and Milgen Idán Soto Ávilia are just a few of their names.

Just as corporations should not be allowed to determine what restoration means for the environment, those who benefit from the system of white supremacist capitalist colonialism should not be allowed to determine what reparations mean for those who have been most harmed by colonialist violence. As mentioned in your letter, Latin America has been subject to relentless interference, extraction, and exploitation by the United States, and the corporate interests which it serves. Therefore, it is you, XR Latin America, who should determine what is and what is not restorative behavior. Moreover, we acknowledge that to dismiss your written concerns is inherently racist, it is violent and unacceptable.

Please know that we too, are frustrated, angry, and offended. We understand the history of colonialism, and the trauma, violence, and brutality it has caused is still very raw, and is still very present in the land, hearts, and bodies of Latin American people. Our priority in all of this is your  well-being, and the planet’s well-being. We know that these two priorities are ultimately the same. To that end, we will do whatever is necessary to be in a just relationship with you. 

We caution anyone in this struggle to be wary of environmental groups that do not actively call for the inclusion of voices most impacted by climate change. For individuals and groups who would ignore you, the question must be asked, who are they trying to recruit into the environmental movement, and who are they willing to exclude, and why?  

With love and rage,
XRLA