FROM SILENCED VOICES IN COLONIALISM TO NATURE AS A SUBJECT OF RIGHTS IN THE CONSTITUTIONS OF ECUADOR AND BOLIVIA

Abstract

This article begins with an observation of the imposition of Eurocentric thinking in Latin America by European colonisers, who disregarded the knowledge of native peoples and their harmonious relationship with nature. It highlights the aftermath of colonialism, which reduced nature to the status of an object. The objective is to emphasise the decolonial shift and the contribution of emerging Latin American social theory to the constitutionalisation of nature as a subject of rights and good living. Regarding the methodological aspects, the research is exploratory and descriptive, based on a deductive approach and employing bibliographic and documental research techniques. The article concludes that decolonial thinking has influenced new Latin American constitutionalism, particularly in the constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia, marking a paradigmatic shift away from Eurocentric thinking. By respecting cultural and ethnic plurality, breaking with the anthropocentric view, recognizing in constitutional texts the contributions of peoples silenced by colonialism, and including nature as a rights-holder, the new Latin American constitutionalism also promotes non-hegemonic epistemologies.