Laura Ortiz Montemayor – Ecology without social justice is just gardening

A conversation with Laura Ortiz Montemayor, Chief Purpose Officer and co-founder of SVX Mexico, and managing partner at Regenera Ventures Fund, covering the global nature of regeneration exploring what has been happening in Mexico and the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries in LATAM. They hold the key to many of our biodiversity challenges, and many tropical or subtropical commodities are farmed there. What has Laura learnt since the last time we spoke three years ago? Why did she decide to start a $20 million fund focused on rural Mexico and the regenerative transition?

Inspired by thinkers like John Fullerton and Carol Sanford, Laura champions soil health and living systems thinking, reframing biodiversity as a critical asset rather than a charity case and critiques profit-driven economic models that overlook natural and social resources, advocating for a shift towards valuing ecosystems’ inherent richness. Highlighting Latin America’s role in climate resilience, we discuss indigenous wisdom, regional nuances, and innovative finance strategies blending social justice with ecology. As plans emerge for a second fund in Mexico and Colombia, Laura calls for bold investment in nature-based solutions to rejuvenate food systems and biodiversity.

LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION ON:

CAPITAL SHOULD FACILITATE LIFE

Laura reflects on the idea that humanity has become the means for the eternal reproduction of money and questions the purpose of capital.

”We as humanity have become the means for the eternal reproduction of money. And so one of the bigger questions of, let’s say, someone like Jed Emerson, who is a very, I would say, game-changing author of impact investing, what is the purpose of capital? has really been a question that I’ve been learning and unlearning with throughout many years now about if humanity has become the means towards the reproduction of money or if really capital can be the liberation of humans, humanity’s potential, and life flourishing.” Laura Ortiz Montemayor

WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE CAN FINANCE OUR WAY INTO EXTINCTION

Laura discusses the challenges of using money as a tool and the tension between exponential growth and sustainability.

”I think we need to acknowledge that we can finance our way into extinction. We need to acknowledge that the inherent compound interest that goes into money creation is kind of the poison pill of life, because we are creating a debt, and we are building all of our systems based on that debt. And so, I think we have created an excess of financial capital at the cost and at the liquidation of the social and the natural capital.” Laura Ortiz Montemayor

YOU CAN’T CLICK YOURSELF BACK TO A HECTARE OF RAINFOREST

Laura discusses the mental constraints in finance and the need to transform financial capital back into natural and social capital.

”I think we have transformed so much of the social and natural capital into financial capital. But you cannot click your way back to a hectare of rainforest. It’s not a click away. And so, I think we do need to turn that excess financial capital back into natural capital and social capital. But we have many mental constraints…” Laura Ortiz Montemayor

WHAT IS ENOUGH?

It’s crucial to unlearn the desire for exponential growth and to understand the concept of enoughness.

”I was educated in the fact that we always want a generic form of more, like always wanting more, right? When you reach a certain amount of income, you always want double that, or triple that, or whatever. And so, I think I was educated to always want more, and I’ve been unlearning and re-educating myself to know the meaning of enough and to get my head around enoughness, get my head around balance, and get my head around, like, what is desirable from enough and from balance, rather than a generic form of more that keeps us eternally unsatisfied.” Laura Ortiz Montemayor

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH VS. MATURING

Laura shares her reflections on the shift from prioritising exponential growth to embracing maturity, drawing inspiration from nature’s cycles and her personal milestones.

”I think that has been a huge learning process. But the other learning process has been from exponential growth as being this desirable goal or desirable destination into actually thinking that in nature. And this is from Kate Raworth: in nature, growth is lovely when you see a baby growing up to be an adolescent and an adult, but that happens in the first two decades of your life, and after the first two decades of your life, you mature. You don’t grow to four meters tall when you’re 40. Like this year I turned 40, and so I think I’ve been very much reflecting on how maturity looks like for the economy, for finance, instead of growth, and also, the other reflection is that we as humanity have become the means for the eternal reproduction of money.” Laura Ortiz Montemayor

WE NEED MORE BRAVE INVESTORS

Laura emphasises the need for bravery in investing in regenerative agriculture.

”We need brave investors. We need brave investors who are comfortable being contrarian and not just followers. Because when a big asset manager puts in 25 million, then they look up, then they see, oh, yeah, that sounds nice. They need to be brave enough to make the investment case and follow their hearts. So, I think it really helps that the global north is doing this transition. It really helps that the US has all these data points, and Europe is going into this transition as well, because a lot of the Latin American investor market is really following that. And so, I think we are needing more brave investors, more brave fund managers that… we want to have competition…” Laura Ortiz Montemayor

OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED

Koen and Laura also talked about:

Expanding to Colombia and the importance of local context
The importance of Laris and building the investment case for regenerative agriculture
The future of Regenera Ventures and the potential for expansion

LINKS:

LINKED INTERVIEWS:

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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.

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