By Asad Ismi
You may have heard the term “Buen Vivir” when it was made part of the constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador (in 2009 and 2008 respectively), the first countries to give rights to nature.
Buen Vivir (BV) is an Indigenous-led philosophy and movement spreading throughout Latin America and beyond that presents an alternative to unsustainable capitalist growth. It arises mainly from Indigenous philosophies of the Kichwa/Quechua people based in Ecuador (who call it Sumak Kawsay) and the Aymara people based in Bolivia (who call it Suma Qamaña).