Social movements are central actors in the struggle against colonial capitalism. This scholar-activist study responds to the explicit need of a social movement demanding the cancellation of public external debt by exploring the ways in which that same debt drives the destruction of the Colombian Amazon.
Debt and deforestation are important issues with significant ecological, social, and political resonance; they are recognised by social movements and academics around the world. However, the connection between them is understudied and undertheorised. This study presents a mixed-method case study based on semi-structured interviews and extensive desk-based research. Seven mechanisms are described through which Colombia’s public external debt drives the destruction of the Colombian Amazon; two are direct – including debt-based investment in roads – and five are indirect.
It is established that a vicious cycle between public external debt and deforestation exists in the Colombian Amazon. It is also argued that public external debt should be considered a piece of ‘colonial debris’ which the Colombian state has to transcend in order to stop the region’s destruction. In its praxis and research proposals, this study presents a call to academia to embrace scholar-activism.
There are many reasons to push for total unconditional debt cancellation – from the struggle against patriarchy (Yahaya, 2021), to that for self-determination (Jubilee South Manifesto, 1998), to that for reparations in the context of ecological and colonial debts (Pacto Ecosocial e Intercultural del Sur, 2023) – but stopping deforestation is rarely cited as one of them.
This is because the connection between debt and deforestation, one of the primary issues facing the Amazon biome, is understudied and undertheorised. The extensive literature on deforestation regularly fails to explore function of debt (Busch & Ferretti-Gallon, 2023), while the extensive literature on debt is – although fairly well linked with fossil fuels (Woolfenden, 2023b) and social issues (Kentikelenis & Stubbs, 2023) – rarely connected to deforestation. Thus, there is an important gap in understanding which, given the strategic context and objectives of social movements over the coming years, would be helpful to fill. In addition, the limited qualitative and quantitative evidence which does exist suggests that this is a connection which merits attention (Cavallero & Gago, 2021; Kahn & McDonald, 1994; Shandra et al., 2008).
Thus, the findings of this work should be of use to stakeholders and political leaders involved in debt activism, of interest to scholars of deforestation, and of importance to broader social and climate justice activists. It is the author’s hope that the distinction between the categories of activist and scholar dissolves as we struggle together towards liberation from colonial capitalism.
The destruction of non-human nature, especially in tropical forests, is a foundational feature of today’s polycrisis (Jayasuriya, 2023). Debt cancellation is a tangible and achievable objective, aligned with the root causes of that polycrisis and commensurate with its scale. It may seem ambitious, but through activism, we create hope (Loach, 2023).
The full research is available in English. A briefing is also available, in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
