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V
Ivan Illich’s concept of vernacular values challenges the economic logic of scarcity by emphasizing autonomous, non-market activities that sustain livelihoods outside bureaucratic and commercial structures. As the formal economy expands, so does shadow work, fostering dependency and eroding self-sufficiency, a process Illich describes as a "war on subsistence." This erosion leads to "radical monopolies," where basic human activities—learning, healing, mobility, and housing—become institutionalized and commodified. Illich critiques modernity’s universalizing mission, arguing that the imposition of economic rationality, development paradigms, and standardized languages perpetuates colonial domination. Rather than seeking inclusion within economic systems, he advocates for reclaiming vernacular values as a means to resist commodification and rediscover autonomous ways of living. The case of the Acapatzingo community in Mexico City illustrates this reclaiming process through self-management, voluntary community work, and collective decision-making. Inspired by Zapatista principles, the community has built autonomous systems for housing, education, health, food production, and energy, reducing dependence on state and market institutions. Their struggle represents a radical rejection of imposed precarity and a reaffirmation of the right to inhabit and self-govern. Illich’s vision thus calls for a reimagining of subsistence beyond economic dependency, fostering conviviality, mutual aid, and the recovery of communal autonomy against the monopolization of everyday life. +
Z
Las zonas de sacrificio son espacios en donde se localizan de manera concentrada diversos proyectos de acumulación de capital urbanos, industriales y agroindustriales, los cuales producen niveles extremos de intoxicación de las fuentes de vida de los territorios implicados. La lógica del sacrificio se establece en la medida en que los Estados y las empresas van generando una relación entre ofrenda y desarrollo económico, de forma que la destrucción de ciertos lugares parece justificada a razón de un bien mayor. Estos lugares se producen de manera histórica a través de transformaciones largas y profundas, generando las condiciones para su sacrificio y naturalizando la devastación. La noción zonas de sacrificio ha sido implementada y alimentada no sólo desde la academia, sino desde los espacios políticos de las luchas que denuncian las injusticias ambientales y las violencias estructurales que se producen debido al designio sacrificial de sus territorios, por lo que se ha vuelto un concepto con un gran potencial heurístico. +