What are the chief issues of Latin America and the Caribbean today?
Barreiro: Economic issues are very strong generally. There has been disruption. Modernity, a lot of the new, fast and furious communications, transportation, have entered these communities. The most important disruption has been to local agriculture. I remember those Indian markets in Southern Mexico and Guatemala in the early 1970s — you could be in the most remote place in the mountains and you would run into an Indian market that was at least abundant in local food. The people could eat. Most of the time, indigenous communities have a deeper attachment to place. Once depredation of forest and letting go of local food production begins to happen, people begin to migrate. There are no jobs. Somebody comes in with the idea if you plant asparagus here for the market in the United States, Europe, or whatever, that’s going to make you the money, and people can work as rural workers. But the process destroys local production of food that people actually eat. It creates a product that is on
