DECOLONIAL ENVIRONMENTALISMS

A critical examination of the environmental movement and the Latinx voices that are shifting how to think about a future shaped by climate change In Decolonial Environmentalisms David VÁzquez argues that the mainstream environmental movement is implicated in racial capitalism not least through its ignorance of environmental justice as it pertains to Latinx people Through close readings of eco minded novels films visual art and short stories by Chicanx Puerto Rican Dominican Cuban American Peruvian and Central American culture makers VÁzquez surfaces diverse Latinx visions for an equitable and sustainable humanity In the creations of Helena MarÍa Viramontes Ester HernÁndez Salvador Plascencia the printmaking collective Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA and others VÁzquez locates a bracing critique of racist elisions and assumptions in hegemonic environmentalist thought At the same time he shows that the roles of Latinx people in the exploitation of the US West and the ruin of Indigenous communities are ripe for self examination in hopes of sparking reform Indeed Decolonial Environmentalisms is a work of guarded optimism finding glimmers of possibility even in dystopic science fiction The overlooked experiences of Latinx people VÁzquez suggests