ABSTRACT
Mediation processes between different conceptions of sustainability should not be confused with consensus, the amelioration of conflicting interests, or the alleviation of poverty. The emergence of new or renewed arenas for 'inter-institutional concertation' is occurring at a time when real conflicts of interest are becoming accentuated as a result of macro-economic policies associated with trade liberalisation, privatisation, and the retreat of the state. The future of both agriculture and of rural communities in Latin America will depend on whether existing and emerging policies support or undermine practices consistent with principles of sustainability. The mainstreaming of the sustainability debate has therefore been a mixed blessing. Sustainability has multiple interpretations, each constructed to support a particular agenda, and legitimised through the use of particular ideological and methodological constructs. Mediation in this context is not only a facilitation of dialogue and persuasion between actors with conflicting aims but also between actors who defend themselves by recourse to the cause of sustainable development.
