The Andes

The Andes is our homage to the Cordillera de los Andes, the spine of the continent of South America which carries with it a combination of beauty and contrasts in scenery, wildlife and cultures. Our identity is forged by how conscious we are of our human and natural resources, and the relationship we have with the geographic space that surrounds us. We must realize our identity and responsibility to the defense and protection of natural resources, which we possess to the benefit of all, and the preservation of basic environmental conditions that sustain life. Such places hold our natural and human history, a valuable reference to become aware of ourselves and our commitment as we are called citizens, from the local, the immediate to the most general.

When the development of the productive forces of society was very limited, man lived at the mercy of nature, but as he was perfecting the instruments of labor directly related to the acquisition of knowledge, this gradually increased their control over the natural environment and he came to think that he could dominate at will without suspecting that this was violating the natural balance of ecological systems.

Our natural environment is being affected by the globalization of the economy, the rapid technological growth, the opening of markets in the peripheral countries, privatization of public enterprises, dismantling the welfare state and the establishment of blocks between countries for the competitive advantages in markets. We live in turbulent times, transition, major threats and we are witnessing a crisis of an industrial technological civilization and culture and for the first time in history, human beings have the ability to destroy the planet. The reconciliation of humanity with nature can only happen firstly with the reconciliation of man with man.