Suchergebnisse

<p>El presente trabajo indaga desde la perspectiva de la ecología política y la economía ecológica las principales características, impactos e implicaciones de la minería de principios del siglo XXI. Se comienza con una introducción sobre las características de la minería y sus implicaciones argumentando la actual existencia de un esquema (neo)colonial de extracción y transferencia de minerales que entre otras cuestiones permite que los países primario-exportadores internalicen los costos socioambientales asociados, un rasgo que adquiere cada vez más relevancia frente a crecientes patrones de consumo de minerales. En un segundo momento se ofrece un análisis crítico de la acción del capital minero internacional en América Latina y el grado de transferencia de minerales hacia el exterior y en un tercer apartado se aborda el caso del nuevo boom minero en México a modo de aterrizar el análisis en un caso concreto. Lo anterior da pie, en el cuarto y último apartado, a una indagación del rol que juega México y América Latina como reserva importante de recursos mineros, tanto esenciales, estratégicos y críticos, y lo que ello significa desde la perspectiva de la hegemonía estadounidense. Se concluye con una reflexión sobre la necesidad de construir alternativas económica, social y ecológicamente armónicas, tomando en cuenta las complejidades y particularidades de cada región y asegurando el futuro de los pueblos.</p>

This article presents a historiographic review of the consolidaton of the U.S. technical-industrial network, noting the emergence of a peculiar military Keynsianism that characterizes and heavily influences not only the technical and scientific sphere, but also production and even the political-economic system itself, with important implications even today. Among them is the erosion of the U.S."s own civilian technical-industrial capabilities in the face of the inter-capitalist competition, taking into account that both China and Russia are countries with clear State capitalist models. The text then presents a comparative analysis of the current state of U.S. technical-scientific capabilities, along with a reflection about its possible implications for the near future. ; El presente texto revisa historiográficamente la consolidación de la red tecno-industrial estadunidense, para dar cuenta del surgimiento de un peculiar keynesiano militar, que caracteriza y modela fuertemente no sólo lo tecnocientífico, sino lo productivo y hasta el propio sistema económico-político de ese país, con implicaciones importantes hasta nuestros días, entre las que está la erosión de su propia capacidad tecnoindustrial civil de cara a la competencia intercapitalista, ello considerando que tanto China como Rusia son países con un claro modelo de capitalismo de Estado. Al respecto se ofrece un análisis comparativo de la situación actual de las capacidades tecnocientíficas de Estados Unidos acompañado de una reflexión sobre sus posibles implicaciones en el futuro próximo.

El presente artículo se centra en el análisis, desde lo geopolítico y lo geoeconómico, del fundamento estratégico de la biodiversidad, como base del desarrollo de las tecnologías que encabezan la revolución tecnológica de principios del siglo XXI, específicamente en relación con el avance de la biotecnología. En tal sentido, se indaga en los mecanismos impulsados tanto por estados nacionales, como por las grandes firmas involucradas en los bionegocios, para instalar procesos globales de saqueo biótico en las zonas altamente biodiversas (biopiratería), así como en las formas de su apropiación (patentamiento de material genético y su conocimiento tradicional). Tal dinámica es analizada en el nivel mundial y discutida en el caso de México.

Considering the upsurge notice of the presence of China worldwide, one of the most popular debates seems to be the technological factor. While some believe that we are in front of an "imminent" Chinese technological ascent, others appear to underestimate thepotential of this country on the basis that what it is happening there it is just 'maquila' production carried out by multinational corporations. An evaluation of this matter is of major relevance if we take into account that the technological development is one of the main issues that set the pace on the accumulation of capital, and therefore it becomes a key front on the intercapitalist competition. An empirical appraisal is thus presented as this brief paper inquires into, among other aspects, the main data on the characteristics of the Chinese scientific and 'technological system', the ambitious Chinese business and political elite plans, the espionage accusations against Beijing and the plausible military and national security implications of the Chinese technological development in the XXI Century. ; Considering the upsurge notice of the presence of China worldwide, one of the most popular debates seems to be the technological factor. While some believe that we are in front of an "imminent" Chinese technological ascent, others appear to underestimate thepotential of this country on the basis that what it is happening there it is just 'maquila' production carried out by multinational corporations. An evaluation of this matter is of major relevance if we take into account that the technological development is one of the main issues that set the pace on the accumulation of capital, and therefore it becomes a key front on the intercapitalist competition. An empirical appraisal is thus presented as this brief paper inquires into, among other aspects, the main data on the characteristics of the Chinese scientific and 'technological system', the ambitious Chinese business and political elite plans, the espionage accusations against Beijing and the plausible military and national security implications of the Chinese technological development in the XXI Century.

Today, 52% of the world's population live in urban areas and this number is expected to rise to 64-69% by 2050. Cities consume most of the world's energy and materials, and are responsible of about three quarters of direct and indirect GHG emissions. Consumption patterns, however, are asymmetrical among cities and citizens. Urban metabolism, or the analysis of energy and material flows and stocks (infrastructure) that shape settlements, allows the identification not only of the dimensions of these flows and stocks, but also their main technical and socio-ecological features. These can also be evaluated from an urban political ecology perspective, that is, in terms of power relationships that define who gets access to, or control over, natural resources and other components of urban space. This article opens with a general introduction to urbanization trends, followed by a presentation of urban metabolism and urban political ecology approaches as useful analytical tools for assessing the access, management and usufruct of water in Mexico City's Metropolitan Area. A general description of the hydropolitan region of study is then offered in order to analyze urban water flows and their socioecological implications for the water-energy nexus and climate. The article concludes with a call for a paradigm change in order to transform urban settlements towards more livable, sustainable and equitable ones; a process that demands not only paying attention to the form but also to the function of urban territories within capitalist productive relationships. In this context the design and execution of public policies needed for transforming the current trend of constructing, operating, managing, and living in cities must be proactive, imaginative, and based on an integral metabolic planning that allows the adjustment of planning and policy tools to overarching contextual changes and to historical trends and socially desirable futures. Specific recommendations include the bottom-up management of water infrastructure and the guarantee of human rights to water, sanitation and a healthy environment; these are components of the 'right to the city.'Key words: urban metabolism, water, water-energy nexus, climate change, urban political ecology, Mexico City