Liminal S01Ep09: From Oaxaca to Belgium: datacenters & water issues, coloniality, investigations and perspectives

Community Liminal Radio
1

With Raymundo Vásquez Ruiz. He’s Computer Engineer, Hack₂O member. His interest is in creating, maintaining and composting technology from a decolonial vison.

Intro

Part 1

Ray’s background and activism

  • You’re originally from Ixtepec, Oaxaca, México, currently living in Brussels, Belgium. Would you like to tell us a few words about your background?

  • From you personal website here’s a quote, “maintaining and composting technology from a decolonial vison”: What does that mean in practical actions? How does it manifest through your daily routine and in the lives of others?

  • Where does your environmental commitment come from?

Our first meeting in Brussels

  • With Hack₂O we are tyring to create moments of togetherness wherever we can. On the internet, but also in other places where people socialise, such as bars, cafés, third places, hackerspaces, and local associations. In February 2025, Why did you come to this chin-wag in a a Belgian brewery?

Why Datacenter and Water is an important issue for you

[…]

Musical interlude n°1

  1. by John King, licensed under a Attribution-Non Commercial- No Derivative Works 3.0

Part 2: How to investigate Datacenter and water issue?

  • Q1: During “Webs of Water. An Online Activations Series” March 18 – May 13, 2025 you did a presentation about Datacenter and Water. How did you prepare this? Using what methods? What data, and where did it come from? Etc.

  • Q2: My first idea was something like If you had to choose a data centre as an example for an investigation/study on water-related issues, which one would it be? But before this emission you told me “Let’s talk about systemic issues”. Why this choice?

  • Q3: What’s your approach and how do you investigate Data Centers and water issues in a systemic prespective?

  • Q4: What about tech companies?

    • Only Big Tech or some smaller Open source are also involved? Or Big Tech are taking over FLOSS?

Musical interlude n°2

Part 3: Datacenter for killing people? Genocide?

  • Q1: Microsoft, Google, Amazon are using thier infrastures, as well as datacenter, to provide support for State commiting ethnic cleansing and Genocide. Datacenters are not only for water drawning and starvation. They are Tools and technology for wars and genocide. How does it happen?

  • Q2: How can we, us as Human and social groups, stand against those Giants? How can take them down and accountable?

  • Q3: Ray, the floor is yours. Please let loose and send your heartfelt message to our listeners.

Agenda and meeting invitation

  • The Rise Against Big Tech campaign is geared towards individuals and organizations that are ready to move to hosting providers more aligned to the values of collaboration, transparency, equity, community control and and democracy https://riseagainstbig.tech/

  • How Spot for self hosting our data and services, on how to learn self-hosting: howspot focus on radical pedagogy for everyone! this also means making your skills available to others, slowness and listening, not only coming to try advanced stuffs. https://howspot.ungual.digital/

  • Hack₂O Night meeting in Rennes, Brittany, France. November, tuesday 5th
    Causerie eaux et hactivismes à Rennes n°2

Acknowledgements and thanks

  • p-node.org collective as usual :wink:
  • Sacott Campbell https://fallingintoincandescence.com/
  • InfraRed over 20 independent, feminist, cooperative, anti-fascist and alternative service providers from 19 different regions https://in.fra.red They believe that technology can be used to fight patriarchy, white supremacy, racism, economic inequality, and other forms of social injustice when technology development and use are grounded in the needs of the humans and social movements we work with every day.

Last Music n°3

Bibliography

Cuentan que las grandes construcciones humanas se sostienen mientras mantienen vivo el mito que les da origen. Cuando ese mito se agota, se desploma no por el golpe externo, sino porque sus cimientos se han carcomido por dentro. Así ocurrió con Roma, y así parece suceder con lo que llamamos Comunidad Internacional: la empresa histórico-política y económica que, tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se erigió como garante universal de la paz y de los derechos humanos."

External insights and background info

¿Quién lucra y quién resiste a los conflictos territoriales en las cadenas de producción de las tecnologías digitales en América Latina?
TRAMAS — Início

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Please @raybaxha edit it as needed!

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