Gustavo Esteva

Gustavo Esteva (20 August 1936 – 17 March 2022) was a Mexican activist, "deprofessionalized intellectual" and founder of the Centro de Encuentros y Diálogos Interculturales and the Universidad de la Tierra in the Mexican city of Oaxaca. He was one of the best-known advocates of post-development.

Life and career

Esteva was born in Mexico City on 20 August 20 1936, as the third child of Elodia Figueroa and Guillermo A. Esteva, a politician, writer and professor. Esteva's father died early.

Esteva worked for different companies. "Despite the personal discomfort brought about by an increasing awareness of the fraud of the original promise of my profession, I advanced rapidly in my career." Finally he turned to the public sector. He worked for the Bank of foreign trade and joined a marxist group with revolutionary aspirations which he quit in 1965.

From 1970 to 1976 he was a high-ranking official in the government of President Echeverría.

When he gave up this job, he was totally disillusioned about statist development practices.

In 1983 he met Ivan Illich. " .. I was invited to a Seminar in Mexico City on the social construction of energy with Wolfgang Sachs. Ivan was there. I was mesmerized. That very night, I embarked on my Illich studium. A little later, I started to collaborate with him. Still later, slowly, we became friends."

Esteva was an advisor with the Zapatista Army for National Liberation in Chiapas for the negotiations with the government. He worked at the Centre for Intercultural Dialogues and Exchanges (CEDI) in the city of Oaxaca, published regularly in different journals, and worked with Indian groups and NGOs. In 2019 he co-created the Global Tapestry of Alternatives process.

Esteva died in Oaxaca on 17 March 2022 aged 85.

Thinking

Esteva had a Catholic upbringing. During his studies at the Universidad IberoAmericana, Gustavo approached a jesuit philosopher and asked him if it was possible to rationally prove the existence of god. After many readings and meetings with the philosopher, he arrived at the conclusion that it was not possible. When he lost his faith in God he replaced it with a faith in reason. Through his studies he became familiar with instrumental rationality; dissatisfied he turned, after some soul searching,2004b - no paging to Marxism. During the 70s Esteva

With Marxism, Esteva has given up all ideas about a vanguard. He is an advocate of radical pluralism.On this notion see Esteva 1996, passim

Discussing the national identity Esteva refers to Guillermo Bonfil' distinction between a profound (México profundo) and an imaginary Mexico (México imaginario). He questions the modern obsession with planning the future and "projects" of all kinds:

The contrasting attitude of the indigenous peoples, according to Esteva, is not to reject change, but

Traditionally the indigenous people did not oppose their own project to the dominant project—but times have changed:

Selected works

;Books
*David Barkin, Gustavo Esteva: ''Inflación y Democracia : El Caso de México'', México : Siglo XXI, 1979
*Gustavo Esteva: ''Economía y enajenación'' conomy and alienation México, D.F. : Biblioteca Universidad Veracruzana, 1980
*Gustavo Esteva: ''La batalla en el México rural'', México : Siglo XXI, 1982.
*James E. Austin and Gustavo Esteva (ed.):''Food policy en Mexico : the search for selfsufficiency'', Ithaca ; London : Cornell Univ. Pr., 1987
*Gustavo Esteva: ''Fiesta - jenseits von Entwicklung, Hilfe und Politik'', Frankfurt a. M. : Brandes & Apsel, 1992 -German translation of a selection of essays, enlarged second edition in 1995
*Gustavo Esteva: ''Crónica del fin de una era : el secreto del EZLN'', México : Ed. Posada, 1994
*Gustavo Esteva Figueroa and Madhu Suri Prakash: ''Hope at the margins : beyond human rights and development'', New York : St. Martin's Press, 1997
*Madhu Suri Prakash and Gustavo Esteva: ''Escaping education : living as learning within grassroots cultures'', New York tc. Peter Lang, 1998
* Gustavo Esteva and Madhu Suri Prakash: ''Grassroots post-modernism : remaking the soil of cultures'', London & New Jersey: Zed Books, 1998
*Gustavo Esteva, and Catherine Marielle (eds.):''Sin maíz no hay país: páginas de una exposición'', México : Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, Dirección General de Culturas Populares e Indígenas, 2003
* Gustavo Esteva, Salvatore Babones, and Philipp Babcicky: ''The future of development : a radical manifesto'', Bristol: Policy Press, 2013
* Gustavo Esteva, a cura di, ''Ripensare il mondo con Ivan Illich'', Riola (Bo), Mutus Liber, 2014
* Gustavo Esteva, ''Nuovi ambiti di comunità Per una riflessione sui 'beni comuni, Collana Voci da Abya Yala, Documenti dall'America latina, a cura del gruppo Camminardomandando, Edizioni Mutus Liber, 2016
* Gustavo Esteva, ''Gustavo Esteva: A Critique of Development and Other Essays'', Routledge, 2022
Book Chapters

* Esteva, Gustavo. (1971). "El Mito de La Planeación Económica Mexicana." he Myth of Mexican Economic PlanningIn ''Cuestiones Económicas Nacionales'', ed. Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior. México: Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1974). "Autosuficiencia y Reorganización de La Producción, Claves de La Estrategia Agropecuaria Tomo I." elf-sufficiency and Reorganization of Production, Keys to Agropecuary Strategy Tome IIn ''Memoria Del Primer Congreso Nacional de Economistas'', ed. Colegio Nacional de Economistas. México: Colegio Nacional de Economistas.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1980). "La economía campesina actual como opción de desarrollo, una noción, un proyecto de investigación y un programa de acción de desarrollo" urrent Peasant Economy as a Development Option, A Notion, a Research Project and a Development Action Plan México: Ensayos COPIDER.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1984). "Capacitación para el desarrollo vernáculo y ciudadanía" raining for Vernacular Development and CitizensIn Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Rural Integral (Ed.), ''La capacitación en el medio rural'', México: CIDERI.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1986). "En la hora del encuentro" he Hour of the Encounter en: Adolfo Aguilar Zinzer, Cesáreo Morales y Rodolfo Peña (Eds.), ''Aún tiembla. Sociedad política y cambio social: el terremoto del 19 septiembre de 1985''. México, Grijalbo.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1987). "Development as a threat: the struggle for rural Mexico,"In Teodor Shanin (Ed.), ''Peasants and peasant societies.'' Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1987). "Regenerating people´s space",In Saúl H. Mendlovitz (Ed.), ''Towards a just world peace''. Londres: Butterworths.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1989)."Alternatives to Economics",In Macroeconomics 89´90. Connecticut: The Dushkin Publishing Group.
* Esteva, Gustavo: "Development" in The Development Dictionary. A Guide to Knowledge as Power, London & New Jersey: Zed Books, 1992, pp. 6–25
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1993). "On Behalf of People's Dignity: An Argument for Resisting the Idea of Being Developed", In Camilla Nielsen, Oliver Rathcolb (Eds.), ''From Cancún to Vienna. International Development in a New World''. Viena: The Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1996). "Hosting the otherness of the other", S. Marglin and Frederique Apfel-Marglin, (Eds.), ''Decolonizing Knowledge: From Development to Dialogue''. Clarendon: Oxford University Press.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1997).  "From Global Thinking to Local Thinking" (with Madhu S. Prakash) and "Basta! Mexican Indians Say 'Enough'", Majid Rahnema, with Victoria Bawtree, The Post-Development Reader. London: Zed Books.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2009). "Volver a la mesa" eturning to the Table In Pratec, ''Soberanía alimentaria y cultura de la comida en la América profunda'', Lima: Pratec
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1998). "The Revolution of the New Commons" C. Cook and J.D.Lindau (Eds.), ''Aboriginal Rights and Self.Government''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2001). "Mexico: Creating Your Own Path at the Grassroots", In V. Benntholdt-Thomsen, N. Faraclas and C. Von Werlhof (Eds.), ''There Is an Alternative: Subsistence and Worldwide Resistance to Corporate Globalization''. Victoria: Spinifiex  Press/Londres y Nueva York: Zed Books.
* Esteva, Gustavo; Stuchul, D.; Prakash, M.K; Shiksha; V. (2002). "From a Pedagogy for Liberation to Liberation from Pedagogy." In ''Unfolding Learning Societies: Experiencing the Possibilities''. Udaipur, Rajasthan, India: Shikshantar, The Peoples' Institute for Rethinking Education and Development.
* Esteva, Gustavo.(2004). "Un mundo de muchos mundos" World of Many Worlds with Martina Kaller. "Eine dialogische Perspektive auf die mexikanische Agrargeschichte." In Wolfgang Dietrich/Stefanie Reinberg (Hrs.), ''Lateinamerika und Europa: Auf dem Weg zu einem gemeinsamen Bildungs . und Kulturraum?'' Frankfurt: Brandes and Apsel/Sudwind.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2005). "Universidad de la Tierra: The freedom to learn", "Development – Walking Beyond: From promotion to Co-motion", "Learning from Literacy Campaigns: An Intercultural approach to Orality", "Cultural regeneration, instead of Education" and "Time for celebration." In S. Pimparé and C. Salzano (Eds.), ''Emerging and re-emerging leaning communities: Old wisdoms and new initiatives from around the world.'' Paris: UNESCO.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2008). "The Other Campaign, APPO and the Left." In Diana Denham & C.A.S.A. Collective'', Teaching Rebellion: Stories from the Grassroots Mobilization in Oaxaca.'' Oakland: PM Press.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2010). "Beyond education", Lois Meyer & Benjamín Maldonado Alvarado (Eds''.), New World of Indigenous Resistance: Noam Chomsky and Voices from North, South and Central America.'' San Francisco: City Lights Books.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2018). "Friendship, Hope and Surprise." In V. Brunetta and K. O'Shea (Eds.), ''Durty Words, Limmerick,'' Ireland: Durty Words Publishing House.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2019). "El camino hacia el diálogo de vivires." he Path Towards the Dialogue of ''Vivires' In Stefano Sartorello (Coord.), ''Diálogo y conflict interepistèmicos en la construcción de una casa común,'' Mexico: Universidad Iberoamericana.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2019). "Caminos de autonomía bajo la tormenta" athways to Autonomy through the Storm In G. Makaran, P. López and J. Wahren (Coords.), ''Vuelta a la autonomía,'' Mexico: Bajo Tierra Ediciones/Editorial El Colectivo/UNAM/CEALC.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2019)."Postdevelopment @25: on being 'stuck' and moving forward. Sideways, backward and otherwise." In E. Klein and C.E. Morreo, ''Postdevelopment in Practice: Alternatives, Economies, Ontologies,'' London & New York: Routledge.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2020). "Repensar El Carácter Del Régimen Dominante" ethinking the Character of the Dominant Regime In Raúl Ornelas and Daniel Inclán (eds.), ''Cuál Es El Futuro Del Capitalismo'', Ciudad de México: UNAM, 69–104.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2020). "El día después" he Day After In Segato, R.S; Krenak, A.; Escobar, A.; Esteva, G.; Hackeo Cultural; Toro Pérez, C.; Leff, E.; De Sousa Santos, B.; Zibechi, R.; Claivjo Gallego, T.; Mignolo, W.; Torrez, Y.F.; Reichmann, J.; Adrían Almazán and 300 more; Angulo Jara, C.; Cisneros Ordoñez, W.A.; Dagua Mosquera, A.L.; Hernández Romero, R.; Niebles Guitiérrez, G.A.; Yarza de los Ríos, V.A.; Albán Achinte, A.   Prometeo, ''Pandemia al Sur.'' Prometeo.
;Articles
* Esteva, Gustavo. (1991). Development: the modernization of poverty. ''Panoscope,'' 27, November, 28.
* Esteva, Gustavo: "Tepito: No Thanks, First World", in: In Context, num. 30, Fall/Winter 1991
* Esteva, Gustavo; Prakash, M.S. (1992). Grassroots Resistance to Sustainable Development:  Lessons from the Banks of the Narmada, ''The Ecologist,'' Vol. 22, No. 2, March/April, pp. 45–51.  See also ''Lokayan Bulletin'', Summer 1992.
* Esteva, Gustavo: "Re-embedding Food in Agriculture", in: Culture and Agriculture irginia, USA 48, Winter 1994
* Esteva, Gustavo: "From 'Global Thinking' to 'Local Thinking': Reasons to Go beyond Globalization towards Localization", with M.S.Prakash, in: Osterreichische Zeitschirift für Politikwissenschatft, 2, 1995
* Esteva, Gustavo:"Hosting the Otherness of the Green Revolution" in: Frédérique Apffel-Marglin and Stephen A. Marglin, eds.: ''Decolonizing Knowledge: From Development to Dialogue''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996, pp. 249–278
* Esteva, Gustavo: "Beyond Development, What?", with M.S. Prakash, in: ''Development in Practice'', Vol. 8, No.3, August 1998.
* Esteva, Gustavo: "The Zapatistas and People's Power", in Capital & Class, 68, Summer 1999.
* Esteva, Gustavo: "The meaning and scope of the struggle for autonomy" in: Lat. Am. Perspect., 28:2, March 2001, pp. 120–148
* Esteva, Gustavo(2004a): "Back from the future" -Notes for the presentation in "Schooling and Education: A Symposium with Friends of Ivan Illich" organized by TALC New Vision, Milwaukee, October 9, 2004
online
* Esteva, Gustavo(2004b):"Rupturas:" Turning Point

* Esteva, Gustavo. (2007). The ''Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca:'' A Chronicle of Radical Democracy. ''Latin American Perspectives,'' Issue 152, January 2007.
* Esteva, Gustavo. (2007). Oaxaca: The Path to Radical Democracy. ''Socialism and Democracy,'' Vol.21, July 2007, pp. 74–96.
*Esteva, Gustavo: ''The Oaxaca commune and Mexico's autonomous movement's'', Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca, México : Ed. ¡Basta!, 2008, 22 p.
*Esteva, Gustavo. (2012). Pensar todo de nuevo: anticapitalismos sin socialismo. Una conversación con Teodor Shanin. ''Bajo el volcán,'' 11, 18, marzo-agosto.
*Esteva, Gustavo. (2015). Pensar desde el abismo. ''La Voz de la Tribu'', No. 2: 23-29.
*Esteva, Gustavo. (2015). The Hour of Autonomy. ''Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies'', Vol. 10, No. 1: 134-145.

See also

* Development criticism

Notes

Secondary literature

*Terán, Gustavo: ''Conversations with Mexican nomadic storyteller, Gustavo Esteva : learning from lives on the margins'', Dissertation, University of Vermont, 2002


* Aram Ziai: "Gustavo Esteva (born 1936). Selbstbestimmte Gemeinwesen statt Entwicklung" in: ''eins. Entwicklungspolitik. Information Nord Süd'', No. 23/24, 2005, 48-50
*González Gómez, Elías; Tornel, Carlos. ''Gustavo Esteva: Vida y obra de un intelectual público desprofesionalizado'' ustavo Esteva: Life and Work of a Public Deprofessionalized Intellectual México: Bajo Tierra A.C./Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2023.

External links

* (2001)

Interview with Gustavo Esteva: The Society of the Different
(2006)

Entry in the Diccionario Biográfico de las Izquierdas Latinoamericanas [Dictionary of the Latin American Lefts
/nowiki>">ictionary of the Latin American Lefts">Entry in the Diccionario Biográfico de las Izquierdas Latinoamericanas [Dictionary of the Latin American Lefts
/nowiki>
"New Political Horizons: Beyond The 'Democratic' Nation-State", Global Working Group. Beyond. Development. Toward Systemic Emancipatory Transformations, 2019.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esteva, Gustavo
1936 births
2022 deaths
Activists from Mexico City
Mexican activists
Neo-Luddites