¡La Vida no es un negocio!

A joint statement by indigenous peoples of Mexico, issued on December 4, 2016, during the COP 13 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cancún. The document denounces the 'predatory extractive model' and the 'green economy,' arguing that these frameworks facilitate the dispossession of indigenous territories and the privatization of ancestral knowledge.

• Indigenous communities argue that the 'green economy' and biodiversity conferences are used as covers for corporate interests, transforming discussions on biodiversity into business fairs and platforms for implementing projects that lead to the dispossession of indigenous lands.
• The document identifies various industrial activities—including mining, wind and hydroelectric projects, monocultures, and luxury housing developments—as drivers of human rights violations, environmental pollution, and the criminalization of environmental defenders.
• The signatories criticize the REDD+ project as evidence of a lack of genuine will to address climate change, asserting that indigenous peoples should not be used as laboratories for sustainable development mechanisms.
• The statement highlights the ICBG-Maya project as a significant instance of 'biopiracy' involving the University of Georgia, the US government, and Nature Limited of Wales, which was eventually stopped by indigenous and peasant resistance in Chiapas.
• The document claims that the Nagoya and Cartagena protocols, as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity, do not represent indigenous peoples but instead favor multinational companies and the privatization of common goods and ancestral knowledge.

APA

González, F. T., López, E., Galindo, F. H., & Hawkins, I. (2016). ¡La Vida no es un negocio! Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/es/la-vida-no-es-un-negocio/

Chicago

González, Fray Tomás, Ernestina López, Florentina Hernández Galindo, and Isabel Hawkins. ¡La Vida no es un negocio! Friends of the Earth International, 2016. https://www.foei.org/es/la-vida-no-es-un-negocio/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=González |first1=Fray Tomás |last2=López |first2=Ernestina |last3=Galindo |first3=Florentina Hernández |last4=Hawkins |first4=Isabel |title=¡La Vida no es un negocio! |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=4 December 2016 |url=https://www.foei.org/es/la-vida-no-es-un-negocio/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{gonzlez2016vida, author = {González, Fray Tomás and López, Ernestina and Galindo, Florentina Hernández and Hawkins, Isabel}, title = {{¡La Vida no es un negocio!}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/es/la-vida-no-es-un-negocio/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }