ABSTRACT
The interconnectedness of global capitalism and border policies is responsible for an intricate relationship between the economic effects of increasing natural resource scarcity; the availability of abandoned real estate properties deemed to be squatted; migrants seeking self-managed enterprises; and the politics from the New Left and the New Right that share some similarities, such as anti-capitalist visions, environmental conservation and support for the opening of squatted social centers. But they diverge with respect to border policies and migration issues. In this chapter, I analyze this interconnectedness, claiming that a degrowth policy from the New Left based on open borders localism will be beneficial to society at large. Learning from the case of Barcelona waste-pickers, it gains insight for urban and border politics.
