ABSTRACT
Environmental justice embraces the concept and movement for a healthy and safe environment; equal access to environmental resources alongside avoidance of environmental harms; and meaningful participation in environmental decision-making. Central and South American citizens, more than those of any other continent, have increasingly elected left wing and socialist governments over the last twenty years. This chapter considers whether, under these governments, environmental justice has been enhanced or whether it remains more of a rallying cry than a reality. This surge of left-wing governance is a distinctive feature of the region and it seems that the approach to environmental justice issues may provide a model for achieving environmental justice elsewhere. The chapter discusses the tensions that exist between the ideals professed and their practical implementation and the extent to which the successes and failures might be attributable to capitalism's presence or absence.
