Gustavo Esteva, friend and founder of the GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives, passed away on March 17th 20221). An international encounter was organized by the GTA, Unitierra Oaxaca and Gustavo's partner Nicole Blanc, to honour him and celebrates his life. People from different parts of the world shared about their friendship with Gustavo, both in person and online.
The event was facilitated by Mauricio del Villar (Mexico), and the invited list of speakers included: Aldo Zanchetta (Italy); Amy Lee (China); Arturo Escobar (Colombia); Arturo Guerrero (Mexico) ; Ashish Kothari (India); Catherine Marielle (Mexico); Catherine Walsh (Ecuador); Dana Stuchul (USA); David Barkin (USA); Edgardo Garcia (Mexico); Fernando Soberanes (Mexico); Franco Augusto (Argentina); Frederique Apfel-Marglin (?); Grimaldo Rengifo (Peru); Jaime Martinez Luna (Mexico); John Holloway (Mexico); Juan Jose Consejo (Mexico); Lau Kin Chi (China); Manolo Callahan (USA); Marcos Leyva (Mexico); Marcos Sandoval (Mexico) ; Martina Kaller (Austria); Meliton Bautista (Mexico); Miriam Lang (Ecuador); Patricia Botero (Colombia); Raul Zibechi (Urugay); Sergio Beltran (Mexico); Thomas Wallgren (USA); Vandana Shiva (India); Vasna Ramasar (South Africa) ; Wendy Juarez (Mexico); Wolfgang Sachs (Austria); Xochitl Leyva (Mexico)
The simultaneous translation in Spanish and English were provided with amazing collaboration of Pablo Ayala and Sergio Beltran.
Celebration video recording, with the speaker's participation
Fandango music section, with the participation of Colectivo Musiquero Tapacamino.
Here we collected some of the public interventions, such as articles and interviews, where Gustavo refered and explained the idea of the GTA.
The Global TapestryThe weaving of networks of Alternatives of AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them., an initiative that was made public in May 2019, aims to identify and link initiatives that challenge the dominant system at local, regional and national levels, encouraging mutual learning, solidarity, and political articulation. It intends to contribute to the formation of a critical mass of initiatives that are rebuilding everywhere collective life under new principles.
Source: New Political Horizons: Beyond The “Democratic” Nation-State (2019)
Another topic I'd like to talk to you about is what you're doing with the global fabric of alternatives, this search for new worlds in different groups, in different experiences. Could you tell me a little bit about that?
I think it's worth commenting on how it came about. We started a little over three years ago, Arturo Escobar and I were in Colombia, in the Valle del Cauca, and we were visiting some groups that had invited us… really amazing… collective groups that were challenging the dominant regime in different ways and doing so in a very interesting way. Arturo and I then discussed whether it would be worthwhile documenting these experiences and sharing them with others so that they could inspire other groups and they could learn from each other. While we were there we decided to adopt the name “Crianza mutua” (mutual upbringing), which is an expression used by the indigenous Peruvian Quechua and Aymara peoples to refer to the way in which we learn from each other, we learn from the land, we learn from the mountains, we learn from the hills, at the same time as they learn from us, we mutually nurture each other. So we call this “Crianza mutua” (mutual upbringing). Finally, for various reasons Arturo was unable to start at that time in Colombia and we began here in Mexico this task of identifying groups, collectives, in different parts of the country that are challenging the system.
They challenge the system by rejecting the market or the State in their activities of eating or healing or living or learning or any of the things, trying to build their own path, their own way, the thing they do for themselves beyond the current regime. And we try to facilitate mutual visits so that they can learn from each other, with an aspect that was central for us and that not long ago in a national meeting of all the mutual learning groups that we have identified they decided to do, which is to give themselves visibility to inspire others, so that the discontented, the desperate, those who do not know what to do, can see what is possible to do in reality, inspired by these groups that have already been doing it and have accumulated experience. We were on that path when we met a friend of mine called Ashish Kothari who was doing something similar in India, where they called the experiment Vikalp Sangam, the expression means confluences of alternatives, and they also identified collective groups that were taking up this challenge and finally gave them visibility and have identified 800 collectives with these characteristics. They have a magnificent website where they share stories, they have videos, testimonies, very different ways of sharing information and thus inspiring others.
Talking about it, Ashish and I thought it would be useful to explore whether others were also on this path and after some conversations with a small group of people who formed the initial impulse group, in May last year we launched what is called the “Global Tapestry of Alternatives”. Basically, we are looking to locate, to link up and to weave together with groups that are doing the same as us. We are trying to weave together with weavers. I want to say straight away that this is not the idea of forming some kind of world organization of people who are creating the new world, but literally weaving together, learning from each other, and of course, in this weaving together we can offer each other mutual solidarity if necessary, we can come together, we can relate to each other and at some point we can think about whether or not we manage to build a critical mass that can really give a different kind of boost to this new world that is being created. And I must tell you that in the time we've been doing this, a little over a year, we are amazed at the number of groups around the world that are really working towards a different path, that are moving in a direction that radically challenges the dominant regime. It seems that this initiative, first of doing things and then of weaving as we go along, is spreading across the planet and we have woven ourselves together with many other networks and we are seeing how more weavers are being created, who at a regional level in different countries, are identifying the collectives that are doing this creation and documenting it and relating it to others.
Many people still use the ballot box for various reasons, purposes and convictions. They vote to express their rejection of the government or the dominant party, for circumstantial purposes or to defend some specific interest. They believe they can influence public policy or the general direction of government through their votes or through political parties. But the main democratic institution of the modern era, which in many places never became established, has vanished: the general conviction that the people govern society through a representative system.
The search for alternatives, which leave behind all dominant illusions, is spreading all over the planet. In May 2019, the Global Tapestry of Alternatives was created, which has been trying to weave them together ever since.
In 2017, likewise, I thought with some colleagues that it could be useful to connect collectives, organizations and communities that were challenging the market and the State and trying to promote an alternative path. As the main intention was for them to learn from each other, we called the initiative Crianza Mutua, taking the expression used by the Peruvian indigenous people to refer to their relationships with all living and non-living beings in their environment. We began to identify some of these groups in Mexico, to put them in relation and facilitate their mutual visits. In this way, solidarity was woven and new possibilities opened up. A similar exercise was started in Colombia, where two earth universities like ours had already been created.
In 2018, in the course of a conversation with Ashish Kothari of the Kalpavrish organization in India, we discovered that they had taken a similar initiative under the name Vikalp Sangam, Confluence of Alternatives. As a result of our discussions, we decided to organize the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, to encourage and support the networking of those around the world who are trying to face today's challenges with lucidity, courage and creativity. After a broad exploration, we adopted a common position on what we do not want in this Weaving, which is anti-patriarchal, anti-capitalist, anti-statist, anti-caste, anti-anthropocentric, but is not defined by what we do not want, but by our statements: to put the care of life at the center of social organization and abandon centralized and hierarchical patriarchal practices. Explicitly, in its statute, Tapestry points to Zapatismo as a source of inspiration and as a reference point for identifying alternatives.
Source: Towards a new era (2021)