CLOSING THE CIRCLE: INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT, AGROECOLOGY AND CIRCULARITY

   In Europe, the new Circular Economy Action play has created a thriving environment for transforming the economy and the manufacturing sector. Since the year 2015, in Latin American, a large number of re- gional and national forums have been discussing the prospects and opportunities that a circular economic model can bring to the economy, mostly focusing on similar issues to those discussed in Europe with an attention to key extractive industries (e.g. mining), manufacturing and waste management.

   However, the European-centred vision of circular economy may not sufficiently address the challenges of social justice, inclusiveness, poverty alleviation, and resilience of the natural ecosystems. There is a need to critically review the mainstream and technocratic vision of Circular Economy and embrace behaviours and cultures learning from Latin American local communities that still live in harmony with Nature, and recover traditional habits and practices which were the daily norm among the majority of European families only fifty years ago.