Mexico City to host international forum on poverty and economy

The 1st North-South Conference of Degrowth-Descrecimiento will take place from September 3 to 7 in Mexico City, in order to promote the creation of networks for the defense of the indigenous communities ' territory and their culture and discuss themes poverty and climate change, among other themes.

The event's spokesman, Miguel Valencia, considers that it's necessary to rethink what is actually sought with economic growth since it only benefits the privileged and harms the poorest .

During a press conference, he explained that everything has a natural cycle that reaches its climax, and economy is not the exception , so its growth "has a perverse purpose that only benefits the big transnational companies that have infinite ambitions."

Valencia said then that the problem to reduce poverty is not limited to using certain strategies," but ending with the wealth of those who have more."

He explained that the conference will bring together members of various international movement s who fight against climatic, ecological, cultural, social, economic, political and symbolic devastation.

The event is structured in plenary sessions, special sessions, presentations and coexistence of activities. 132 individual papers from more than 50 countries were received and 86 will be presented at the conference.

The event is an initiative from autonomous ecologists and its motto is the "decolonization of the social imaginary" , the manipulation of desires produced by the media and the degradation of the social imaginar y for the everyday life consumption.

Miguel Valencia explained

that this type of conferences are held in Europe and Canada regularly; however, an event like this wil l take place in Mexico for the first time , where there will be a forum to present the latest developments on economic degrowth and to discuss the international situation .

"By hosting this kind of conferences, Mexico stands as a leader among the southern countries in the debate against the perverse effects of unlimited economic growth ," said Valencia.

Poverty: the wrong path

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