A Structural Solution: Venezuela Bets on Ecosocialism Against Climate Change

On July 10, President Nicolás Maduro announced from Mérida the launch of the Great Mother Earth Mission Venezuela, a structural policy aimed at addressing the effects of the climate crisis, transforming the country’s relationship with nature, and positioning it at the forefront of ecosocialism.

“The original charter of our country contains the centuries-old thinking of liberator Simón Bolívar regarding environmental preservation, which later became known as ecologism, conservationism, environmentalism, and what we now call ecosocialism,” noted the Venezuelan head of state. “It plays a role in reorganizing the way of life in our country.”

In an exclusive interview with Sputnik, Ricardo Molina, Minister of People’s Power for Ecosocialism, outlines the foundations, objectives, and scope of this mission, while reflecting on the geopolitical, educational, and cultural dimensions of ecosocialism as a new paradigm in Venezuelan public administration.

“The Ministry of the Environment, throughout the Western world, exists to enforce regulations on the relationship between society and nature, to justify attacks on nature,” he warns, referring to the substantial difference between the traditional model and the Venezuelan proposal.

“President Maduro, based on the experience, the track record, and the teachings of Commander Hugo Chávez, took the step of moving the Ministry of the Environment to the Ministry of Ecosocialism. Because we must promote how to continue the search for the full satisfaction of the population’s needs, with a profound respect for nature.”

This transition, the minister says, implies a transformation in the way we conceive environmental policy.

“It’s no longer a matter of this ministry granting a permit to a company … but rather how humans and nature coexist in the most harmonious way,” he asserts.

Molina points out that this new vision requires mainstreaming environmental management into all areas of the state. “One example is healthcare. Where do pharmaceuticals end up after they expire? That has an impact. How should the healthcare sector behave to help correct this? … In our vision, it’s not about that; it’s about how the community gets involved, the people who live in and around the hospital…” Molina emphasizes.

Cornerstones of a great structural mission
The Great Mother Earth Mission was born in the context of an intensification of extreme weather events that have impacted the country in recent years. Faced with this reality, Molina comments that “there was an immediate reaction from the revolutionary government, unlike anywhere else in the world … The river overflowed, swept away some houses, destroyed a road, etc. Government agencies immediately acted, along with the organized community, to begin recovering them and assisting the people.”

However, the great mission is not just a short-term response, but rather a commitment to responses in every sense.

“This great Mother Earth Venezuela mission is designed for that. That’s why [the Venezuelan president] calls it ‘the structural solution’ … for everyone to learn how to better manage their relationship with the environment, with nature,” the minister emphasizes.

The first cornerstone is grassroots organization through the Ecosocialist Councils in each commune. “We are promoting, following his [President Maduro’s] guidance, the formation of ecosocialist councils in each commune,” he notes.

The second cornerstone is “Planting for Life,” which includes an ambitious goal: “We must reach 35 million plants per year by 2028. That is the target we have set, which must then be repeated or maintained year after year. We currently have around five million plants this year,” Molina explains.

This plan isn’t just an institutional task, but a collective one, according to the official. “How do we do it? By getting people to understand the importance of this work. And there will also be paid employment, but voluntary action must be incorporated,” he adds.

The third cornerstone is “Territory for Life,” which involves bringing these plants to strategic locations.  “We have to go to the headwaters of the most affected watersheds, to begin with, prioritizing the territory, so we can work on what is called water seeding.”

Currently, the pilot experience is already underway, says the Minister of People’s Power for Ecosocialism: “In the Venezuelan Andes there is already a plan … They are being carried out on the ground in Táchira, Mérida, Trujillo … to [transfer] more than 20,000 saplings to each state in the area where they were affected,” he emphasizes.

Ecosocialist education
A key element of the mission is the training dimension, Molina emphasizes. “The Environmental Training System is very important; it always has been, but the time has come to make a greater effort,” he says.

This training has two areas: the formal being school and university, and the informal being daily life, family, and community.

“It’s not that they’re introducing a subject called ecosocialism, but rather that, by understanding the principles of ecosocialism, they’re able to mainstream them into all subjects,” says Molina, noting that they’re working in coordination with the Ministry of Higher Education to train professionals in careers such as geography, veterinary medicine, biology, and hydrometeorology.

“The communities themselves encourage training in specific subjects, which will then be developed in the community,” he explains.

Molina asserts that the sixth transformation of the Homeland Plan—ecosocialism, science, and technology—also has an international component.

“Recently, for example, President Maduro included us in the mission led by Minister Julio León Heredia to Algeria, and we were there … where we saw that we have similar achievements and challenges,” he recalls.

That experience allowed us to build a joint work agenda with the Republic of Algeria: “Let’s work, for example, in the areas of nurseries and reforestation … We’re interested in seeing, for example, how they manage to use the little water they have in the most efficient way and how we can leverage those experiences to facilitate the methods we apply here,” Molina comments.

In addition, academic cooperation is being considered: “Exchanging training, such as groups of Algerian students and Venezuelan students going there to study subjects related to ecosocialism,” the official from the South American country points out.

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Constitutional projection
Regarding the national consultation process for a possible constitutional reform, Molina proposes that ecosocialist reflection mainstream this effort.

“Let us all be aware of where we are. What’s happening upstream that could affect my population? Or what are we doing here that affects others downstream?” he reflects.

The minister believes this cultural shift should lead us to “consume what is truly needed,” moving away from the consumerist model. He emphasizes that this process does not negate the rational exploitation of strategic resources.

“No one can deny it: Venezuela is an oil-producing country … We are practically obligated to take advantage of these natural resources, but we are also obligated to raise awareness about how to make the best use of these resources,” he asserts.

Molina also highlights a concrete achievement of the South American nation’s environmental policy. “Venezuela is one of the few countries with negative carbon dioxide emissions. That is, the CO2 we generate is much less than what we capture. Why? Because 62% of our land area is protected areas, and the number is increasing,” he notes.

This negative emissions balance puts the country in an advantageous position. “It’s up to those countries that are conscious of it to contribute to protecting all of humanity … and we have to do it seriously,” he emphasizes.

Structural policy with a vision for the future
In the minister’s words, “no single institution can do it.” Therefore, the Great Mother Earth Mission “transcends a single ministry” and calls upon the state at all levels, but above all, the organized people.

The goal is ambitious: 35 million plants per year, an ecosocialist consciousness rooted from preschool to university, and an active citizenry in protecting the environment.

As Molina summarizes, “we can carry out economic activities with planning, with a healthy connection to nature, and with the best possible use to satisfy needs and ensure continuity and sustainability over time.”

Ecosocialism, from Venezuela, is projected not only as public policy, but as an ethic to confront global ecological collapse from the local level, with the people’s participation, environmental sovereignty, and international cooperation.

 

 

(Sputnik Mundo) by José Negrón Valera

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

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