Buen Vivir: un concepto emergente en Europa

The paper explores 'Buen Vivir', an indigenous-rooted concept from Latin America that challenges anthropocentrism and infinite economic growth. It examines the concept's formal introduction into EU-Latin American relations via a 2015 EuroLat resolution and contrasts it with the 'Green Economy' and 'European Green Deal', which the authors argue maintain a growth-centric logic. While governmental adoption in Europe remains limited, the text identifies local 'post-developmentalist' practices in countries like Spain, Greece, and the Netherlands—such as agroecology and the recognition of nature's rights—as aligned with Buen Vivir principles.

• Buen Vivir is a bio-centric paradigm rooted in indigenous cosmovisions from South America, specifically the Quechua and Aymara traditions, which rejects the modern anthropocentric view of nature as a tool for human ends and instead promotes harmony between humans and nature.
• The concept gained significant political visibility in the early 21st century through its inclusion in the national constitutions of Ecuador (2008) and Bolivia (2009), with Ecuador being the first country to constitutionally recognize the rights of nature.
• There is a fundamental tension between Buen Vivir and the 'Green Economy' or 'Green New Deal' frameworks; the latter are viewed as 'green modernization' programs that still rely on the logic of economic growth and productivity, whereas Buen Vivir questions the possibility of infinite growth on a finite planet.
• The European Green Deal (2019) is criticized for maintaining the centrality of economic growth and lacking clear indicators for critical environmental issues such as biodiversity loss and water pollution, making it incompatible with the foundations of Buen Vivir.
• Formal recognition of Buen Vivir in Europe occurred in June 2015 through a Resolution of Urgency by the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EUROLAT), which called for a new paradigm of human well-being and the reconsideration of the Yasuní-ITT Initiative.
• Despite a lack of governmental implementation, 'post-developmentalist' practices aligned with Buen Vivir are emerging at local levels in Europe, particularly in Spain, Greece, and the Netherlands, including agroecology, local currencies, and the legal recognition of ecosystems as rights-holders.

APA

Hernández, G., & Laats, H. (2021). Buen Vivir: un concepto emergente en Europa. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/buen-vivir-un-concepto-emergente-en-europa/

Chicago

Hernández, Gustavo, and Henkjan Laats. Buen Vivir: un concepto emergente en Europa. Green European Journal, 2021. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/buen-vivir-un-concepto-emergente-en-europa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hernández |first1=Gustavo |last2=Laats |first2=Henkjan |title=Buen Vivir: un concepto emergente en Europa |publisher=Green European Journal |date=8 January 2021 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/buen-vivir-un-concepto-emergente-en-europa/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hernndez2021buen, author = {Hernández, Gustavo and Laats, Henkjan}, title = {{Buen Vivir: un concepto emergente en Europa}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/buen-vivir-un-concepto-emergente-en-europa/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }