Socio-Ecological Inequality and Injustice: Blind Spot of Democratic Politics in Latin America (and Beyond)?

A significant challenge facing the democratization process globally is posed by socio-ecological inequality and injustice (SEII). This paper examines the interrelations between SEII and democratization, focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean (LA&C). LA&C is experiencing rapid economic development leading to significant improvements in reducing extreme poverty. These successes are built on the basis of sustained institutional democratization after decades of civil-military dictatorships. However, the very process of economic growth that enables these achievements is at the root of some of the most pervasive and seemingly intractable socio-political conflicts in the region. These are conflicts caused by perceived or actual SEII, which I argue constitute one the major obstacles to the democratization process. However, there is a persistent tendency in the literature to neglect, put aside or even dismiss the environmental dimension of democratization processes. Recent work about democratization, even when dealing specifically with social and economic inequality as factors that hinder or facilitate democratization, fail to pay attention to the significance of SEII. Also, analyses of the emergence of a “new left” and of “direct democracy” in LA&C, fail to account for the socio-ecological dimension of the process. This paper is based on recent and ongoing research aimed at making a sociological contribution towards a better understanding of these processes.