Lecture Abstract

Return to Pachamama
Bolivian legislation about the Rights of Mother Earth

Fr. Manuel Hurtado, SJ.

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia in 2010 enacted the Law on the Rights
of Mother Earth (Pachamama). It was an absolute world premiere when this act
considered the Earth as an organic wholeness consisting of interrelated living systems
and subject of rights, having a sort of legal personhood. The uniqueness of the Bolivian
approach was that it handled human communities as part of this totality, not as
hierarchically superimposed entities. Another essential novelty of the act is the sacred
character attributed to Mother Earth.

What is the meaning of this matter for our lifestyle, consumer customs, social and
economic behavior? Are we part of a sacred cosmic totality? Does our laws need an
ecological reform?

Topics:

• The contents of the Mother Earth Law

• The Origins of the Act
• The Indigenous Social and Cultural Background of the Law
• Theological and Cultural Reflections
• Critics and Challenges

North Lounge Thursday 11/8/18, 11:00-12:00