Mexican filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñáriitu along with Argentine actors Ricardo Darín and Cecilia Roth have joined over two hundred international artists and scientists calling for a fight against the return to normality and a profound social transformation in a post COVID-19 world.
In an open editorial titled “No To A Return To Normal” published in the French newspaper Le Monde last Wednesday, the Latin American artists joined other international signatories calling on world leaders and citizens “to undertake a profound overhaul of our goals, values, and economies… if we want to avoid ecological disaster.”
Other signatories include filmmakers Pedro Almodóvar, Jim Jarmusch, Béla Tarr, Wim Wenders, Claire Denis, and Abel Ferrara; actors Penélope Cruz, Juliette Binoche, Cate Blanchet, Joaquin Phoenix, Willem Dafoe, Julianne Moore, and Carmen Maura; and singers Barbra Streisand, Sting, and Madonna.
The other Latin American figures that signed the editorial are the Argentine screenwriter, film producer, film director and actor Santiago Amigorena; Mexican actors Kate del Castillo and Manuel García Rulfo; Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramírez; Puerto Rican singers Ricky Martin and Residente; and the former president of the Mexican Academy of Sciences Arturo Menchaca Rocha.
Read the text in full:
The Covid-19 pandemic is a tragedy. This crisis is, however, inviting us to examine what is essential. And what we see is simple: “adjustments” are not enough. The problem is systemic.
The ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis: the massive extinction of life on Earth is no longer in doubt, and all indicators point to a direct existential threat. Unlike a pandemic, however severe, a global ecological collapse will have immeasurable consequences.
We therefore solemnly call upon leaders—and all of us as citizens—to leave behind the unsustainable logic that still prevails and to undertake a profound overhaul of our goals, values, and economies.
The pursuit of consumerism and an obsession with productivity have led us to deny the value of life itself: that of plants, that of animals, and that of a great number of human beings. Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones has brought the world to a breaking point.
For these reasons, along with increasing social inequalities, we believe it is unthinkable to “go back to normal.”
The radical transformation we need—at all levels—demands boldness and courage. It will not happen without a massive and determined commitment. We must act now. It is as much a matter of survival as one of dignity and coherence.
