Translated "Avante!" article by Angelo Alves, Member of the PCP Political Committee and of the International Department
The world was in shock upon the Haiyan hurricanee destruction, in the Philippines. The numbers are for the moment unknown, but point out unto 10 000 dead and over 4 300 000 affected people. It is a very painful example of how the human species is vulnerable before the powerful strength of nature. But this draws to two lines of additional reflexion.
Firstly, the question of the human being’s relation with environment. It is not proved that a direct relation between the Haiyan hurricane and the polemic and scientifically questioned, “global heating” concept. However, during the United Nations Conference opening, on climatic changes, which is in progress, in Warsaw, till tomorrow, the Haiyan issue was dramatically mentioned by several participants.
Not entering in controversial with the direct relation among extreme phenomena and climatic alterations, better leaving it for specialists. Nevertheless, it is important to state that, even if there were a direct relation, the majority of speeches along the works, ought to have been pure rhetoric or hypocrisy, as do not mention, apart from rare and honourable exceptions, the core of the issue, the production system that prevails throughout the world - capitalism - the major responsible for the natural resources dilapidation, agriculture soil destruction along with the immense forest patches and the atmospheric conditions worsening.
The problem exists and the environmental crisis is one of the aspects of the deepening of capitalism’s structural crisis. And how does it react? By being obliged to recognize the consequences, hindering the real causes and taking advantage of the situation. And therefore, just concerns on the natural conditions degradation in order to build a kind of “environmental dogma” have been instrumental zed for many years, holding four central objectives: 1- Hinder the environmental degradation central cause, as being the profit logics, above all - both human life conditions, natural resources’ preservation and environmental conditions. 2. The resources preservation and atmospheric conditions transfer of costs and responsibilities unto the peoples and the developing countries and, therefore, defining new exploitation, economic colonization and natural resources’ domain frameworks. 3- Reaffirm the capitalist logics on the so-called “ environmental struggle”, pointing out as “solutions”, the atmosphere privatization and handing over its “ administration” to the great capital carbon emissions multi-billionaire market - a kind of world stock market of pollution rights , dominated by the great polluters. 4- Build, in the name of the so-called “ green economy”, a gigantic worldwide business (of private nature) on the so-called “renewable energies”, including energy production companies privatization and fusion ( as the Portuguese EDP).
The second line of reflexion is related to the affected peoples’ social conditions. Being much more exposed unto capitalist exploitation, poorer, on the brink of misery, those who suffer the most, under the great catastrophes, as in Haiyan. The shocking number of dead in the Philippines, together with the incapacity of the Philippine government in answering, before the catastrophe, is not dissociable from the IMF profits, which are used in that area for decades, nor the displacement of important public resources in order to support the USA’s strategy of militarization throughout the Pacific. Nor dissociable from social cuttings, health and education systems destruction or the almost inexistence of a social support system and network, namely in what concerns housing.
These policies - the same ones the IMF and the European Union attempt to impose upon the Portuguese people, under the support of a submitted government to the great capital interests - equally responsible for more than the 10 000 dead, in the Philippines. Capitalism kills indeed!
