Democracy, a key ingredient to protect the Earth

I was a student at the "Eugenio Garza Sada" high school in this city, Monterrey, when only a handful of young people were discussing: what would a better world look like? I joined the ranks of a movement that sought to promote a real democracy in Mexico, not that democracy where it seemed that elections were just a party to celebrate the candidate chosen by the president in office.

From here I went to live in the Sierra Norte de Puebla to an indigenous community, then to Baja California to study Marine Biology and to the United Kingdom to study my Masters and PhD in Economics and Environment thinking that the struggle for democracy would be just another chapter in my life. But no...

I quickly discovered that defending the right of fishing peoples to fish, of fish farmers to cultivate the sea, of all of us to look at and enjoy the sea and its creatures, the right of all global citizens to live on a planet capable of regulating its temperature, everything, everything has to do with the ways in which we perfect and evolve our democracy.

The recognition I received from Opinion 51 and Bayer atthe Monterrey International Book Fair for my research on how human societies can better incorporate ourselves into the Earth's cycles is summarized in a recent book I published in March 2022, A Sea of Hope. This is a compendium of stories from different parts of the world where citizens have decided with determination that economic development goes hand in hand with caring for ecosystems, and is a faithful testimony that the secret to preserving nature lies precisely in inclusion; in those who decide what is development, what is wellbeing and what is not. In our ability to use collective intelligence to preserve the natural heritage that belongs to all of us.

When I studied in Nuevo León we were the crazy ones, the hippies, those who considered that there could be no economic development without conservation. Today this vision is shared by many citizens who, like those I describe in the book, fight every day to conserve the ecosystems with which they coexist. These citizens, now multiplied throughout the territory, throughout the globe, these citizens are in themselves The Sea of Hope, and to whom I dedicate with much gratitude the recognition and, of course, the published book.

@a_saenzarroyo

The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.

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