{"id":135547,"date":"2010-02-27T16:11:46","date_gmt":"2010-02-27T15:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/?p=135547"},"modified":"2010-02-27T16:11:46","modified_gmt":"2010-02-27T15:11:46","slug":"el-fracaso-del-libre-comercio-y-la-contrarrevolucion-agraria-africana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/2010\/02\/27\/135547","title":{"rendered":"El Fracaso del Libre Comercio y la Contrarrevoluci\u00f3n Agraria Africana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cualquiera que tenga dos dedos de frente, y atesore un poco de objetividad, no podr\u00e1 negar la falacia de los valedores de la globalizaci\u00f3n econ\u00f3mica, cuando defienden que la econom\u00eda del libre comercio es capaz de autoregularse. M\u00e1s bien nos encontramos sufriendo los efectos opuestos: un descontrol atroz que favorece a los m\u00e1s ricos, fomenta la corrupci\u00f3n y genera hambre en el mundo. \u00c1frica es el caso m\u00e1s paradigm\u00e1tico, a la par que dram\u00e1tico. Un estudio recientemente publicado por el PNAs constata <\/strong><\/span>lo evidente. El libre mercado y la prometida revoluci\u00f3n tecnol\u00f3gica de la agricultura, basada en una biotecnolog\u00eda servil a los intereses de la agroindustria, subsumen a los ciudadanos de los pa\u00edses pobres en la m\u00e1s absoluta miseria<\/strong><\/span>, como la noticia que ofrecemos en este post expone con toda crudeza, claridad y contundencia. \u00c1frica, pasa hoy m\u00e1s hambre que nunca. Sus paup\u00e9rrimas infraestructuras (falta de carreteras, alejamiento de los mercados, agua potable), carencia de formaci\u00f3n del campesinado con vistas a absorber, incorporar y manejar las nuevas tecnolog\u00edas, y las habituales corrupciones gubernamentales, hacen volver la vista hacia las d\u00e9cadas precedentes, en donde la agricultura tradicional y los mercados locales, al menos permit\u00edan que las hambrunas fueran menos frecuentes e intensas<\/span><\/strong>. De hecho, los Estados y regiones que las han mantenido padecen actualmente menos desastres humanitarios, seg\u00fan nos informan los expertos.<\/p>\n

\"pobreza-y-hambre-en-africa.<\/p>\n

Las miserias del capitalismo en \u00c1frica. Fuente: Caputo children\u2019s fund <\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

La denominada crisis alimentaria de 2008 tan solo fue el detonante de una bomba de relojer\u00eda que iba a estallar tarde o temprano. Hace unos d\u00edas, le\u00eda que a principios de la d\u00e9cada de 1990, tan solo Espa\u00f1a comenz\u00f3 a superar el PIB de todo el continente africano. \u00a1Incre\u00edble!, pero al parecer cierto. Imag\u00ednense producir para vender en mercados a cientos o miles de kil\u00f3metros de \u00a0distancia, sin carreteras, sin coches, sobre suelos generalmente pobres y sin a penas fertilizaci\u00f3n, sin contar con una cr\u00f3nica escasez (por lo general) de recursos h\u00eddricos.<\/p>\n

Parece ser que casi todos los occidentales olvidamos que las tenencias de las tierras de los pueblos ind\u00edgenas, carecen en la mayor\u00eda de los casos de legalidad para sus gobernantes. No suele haber papeles que atestig\u00fcen la propiedad en manos de sus leg\u00edtimos propietarios. Por estas razones, no es infrecuente que, aqu\u00ed y en Latinoam\u00e9rica, los gobiernos sin escr\u00fapulos expulsen a los pobres campesinos de sus terrazgos para otorg\u00e1rselos a terratenientes y\/o multinacionales. El desamparo de la poblaci\u00f3n es total. La pobreza generada en \u00c1frica tras intentar incorporarla al libre mercado ha devenido en un \u00e9xodo de los m\u00e1s desheredados a las inseguras urbes, hacin\u00e1ndose en condiciones infrahumanas e insalubres.<\/p>\n

En otros casos, los corruptos gobernantes venden o permiten explotar las tierras a multinacionales para que exploten sus recursos naturales (petr\u00f3leo, recursos minerales y ahora materia para agrocombustibles) forzando la expulsi\u00f3n de sus moradores hacia un destierro incierto y desconocido en pro de la acumulaci\u00f3n del dinero, as\u00ed obtenido, por golfos y sinverg\u00fcenzas, cuando no ostentadores del doloso cargo de magnicidio.<\/p>\n

Los cient\u00edficos firmantes de la publicaci\u00f3n en el PNAS (ver abajo el resumen), ponen el dedo en la llaga al se\u00f1alar que en realidad \u201cno hay un libre mercado real en nuestra econom\u00eda\u201d. Yo dir\u00eda m\u00e1s, se trata de mera rapi\u00f1a institucionalizada. En consecuencia, plantean que una de las soluciones deviene en retornar a las agriculturas y mercados tradicionales, desglobalizando parte de los territorios afectados<\/strong><\/span>. Deberemos retornar sobre este tema, por cuanto, se trata de una soluci\u00f3n econ\u00f3mica, pero tambi\u00e9n humana y ambiental. Pero no nos enga\u00f1emos las \u201creservas\u201d al estilo latinoamericano son una mera perversi\u00f3n de la propuesta que ya esbozaremos.<\/p>\n

Sin embargo, de nada de esto hablan los colegas biotecn\u00f3logos \u00bfverdad?. Es muy f\u00e1cil sentar c\u00e1tedra desde el laboratorio, ajeno a lo que ocurre en el mundo. Pero de nada de esto nos informan los defensores de los biocombustibles, que con su expansi\u00f3n por el tercer mundo han sido responsables de m\u00e1s destierros, hambrunas, impacto ambiental y p\u00e9rdida de biodiversidad. Pero de nada de esto dicen \u2026.. y uno podr\u00eda seguir ad nauseam<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Juan Jos\u00e9 Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Free Trade Loss of Support Systems Crippling Food Production in Africa<\/a><\/h3>\n

ScienceDaily (Feb. 16, 2010)<\/strong><\/span> \u2014 Despite good intentions, the push to privatize government functions and insistence upon \u00abfree trade\u00bb that is too often unfair has caused declining food production, increased poverty and a hunger crisis for millions of people in many African nations<\/strong><\/strong><\/span>, researchers conclude in a new study.<\/p>\n

Market reforms that began in the mid-1980s and were supposed to aid economic growth have actually backfired in some of the poorest nations in the world<\/strong>, and just in recent years led to multiple food riots<\/strong>, scientists report Feb 15 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.<\/p>\n

\u00abMany of these reforms were designed to make countries more efficient, and<\/strong> seen as a solution to failing schools, hospitals and other infrastructure,\u00bb said Laurence Becker, an associate professor of geosciences at Oregon State University. \u00abBut they sometimes eliminated critical support systems for poor farmers who had no car, no land security<\/strong>, made $1 a day and had their life savings of $600 hidden under a mattress.<\/p>\n

\u00abThese people were then asked to compete with some of the most efficient agricultural systems in the world, and they simply couldn’t do it<\/strong>,\u00bb Becker said. \u00abWith tariff barriers removed, less expensive imported food flooded into countries, some of which at one point were nearly self-sufficient in agriculture. Many people quit farming and abandoned systems that had worked in their cultures for centuries<\/strong>.\u00bb<\/p>\n

These forces h<\/strong>ave undercut food production for 25 years<\/strong>, the researchers concluded. They came to a head in early 2008 when the price of rice — a staple in several African nations — doubled in one year for consumers who spent much of their income solely on food<\/strong>. Food riots, political and economic disruption ensued.<\/p>\n

The study was done by researchers from OSU, the University of California at Los Angeles and Macalester College. It was based on household and market surveys and national production data.<\/p>\n

There are no simple or obvious solutions<\/strong>, Becker said, but developed nations and organizations such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund need to better recognize that approaches which can be effective in more advanced economies don’t readily translate to less developed nations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00abWe don’t suggest that all local producers, such as small farmers, live in some false economy that’s cut off from the rest of the world<\/strong>,\u00bb Becker said.<\/p>\n

\u00abBut at the same time, we have to understand these are often people with little formal education, no extension systems or bank accounts, often no cars or roads<\/strong>,\u00bb he said. \u00abThey can farm land and provide both food and jobs in their countries, but sometimes they need a little help, in forms that will work for them. Some good seeds, good advice, a little fertilizer, a local market for their products<\/strong>.\u00bb<\/p>\n

Many people in African nations, Becker said, farm local land communally, as they have been doing for generations, without title to it or expensive equipment — and have developed systems that may not be advanced, but are functional<\/strong>. They are often not prepared to compete with multinational corporations or sophisticated trade systems<\/strong>. The loss of local agricultural production puts them at the mercy of sudden spikes in food costs around the world<\/strong>. And some of the farmers they compete with in the U.S., East Asia and other nations receive crop supports or subsidies of various types, while they are told they must embrace completely free trade with no assistance.<\/p>\n

\u00abA truly free market does not exist in this world<\/strong>,\u00bb Becker said. \u00abWe don’t have one, but we tell hungry people in Africa that they are supposed to.\u00bb<\/p>\n

This research examined problems in Gambia and Cote d’Ivoire in Western Africa, where problems of this nature have been severe in recent years. It also looked at conditions in Mali, which by contrast has been better able to sustain local food production — because<\/strong> of better roads, a location that makes imported rice more expensive, a cultural commitment to local products and other factors.<\/p>\n

Historically corrupt governments continue to be a problem<\/strong>, the researchers said. \u00abIn many African nations people think of the government as looters, not as helpers or protectors of rights<\/strong>,\u00bb Becker said. \u00abBut despite that, we have to achieve a better balance in governments providing some minimal supports to help local agriculture survive<\/strong>.\u00bb<\/p>\n

An emphasis that began in the 1980s on wider responsibilities for the private sector<\/strong>, the report said, worked to an extent so long as prices for food imports, especially rice, remained cheap. But it steadily caused higher unemployment and an erosion in local food production, which in 2007-08 exploded in a global food crisis, street riots and violence<\/strong>. The sophisticated techniques and cash-crop emphasis of the \u00abGreen Revolution\u00bb may have caused more harm than help in many locations<\/strong>, the study concluded.<\/p>\n

Another issue, they said, was an \u00aburban bias<\/strong>\u00bb in government assistance programs, where the few support systems in place were far more oriented to the needs of city dwellers than their rural counterparts.<\/p>\n

Potential solutions, the researchers concluded, include more diversity of local crops, appropriate tariff barriers to give local producers a reasonable chance, subsidies where appropriate, and the credit systems, road networks, and local mills necessary to process local crops and get them to local markets<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Story Source: Adapted from materials provided by Oregon State University<\/a>, via EurekAlert!<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cualquiera que tenga dos dedos de frente, y atesore un poco de objetividad, no podr\u00e1 negar la falacia de los valedores de la globalizaci\u00f3n econ\u00f3mica, cuando defienden que la econom\u00eda del libre comercio es capaz de autoregularse. M\u00e1s bien nos encontramos sufriendo los efectos opuestos: un descontrol atroz que favorece a los m\u00e1s ricos, fomenta la corrupci\u00f3n y genera hambre en el mundo. \u00c1frica es el caso m\u00e1s paradigm\u00e1tico, a la par que dram\u00e1tico. Un estudio recientemente publicado por el PNAs constata lo evidente. El libre mercado y la prometida revoluci\u00f3n tecnol\u00f3gica de la agricultura, basada en una biotecnolog\u00eda servil\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[591,599,613,615,606],"tags":[46604,1401,46697,1400,1398,46699],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":4}},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135547"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135547"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135550,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135547\/revisions\/135550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrimasd.org\/blogs\/universo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}