In 2019, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines attempted to assassinate me in response to my efforts to defend Indigenous Philippine lands from environmental and governmental degradation. Bullet fragments from the attack are still lodged in my body, and I am paralyzed from the chest down.

But it was not only those specific soldiers who were responsible for my near-murder. It wasn’t even only the Philippine government. The global neoliberal economic model that prioritizes endless profiteering and exploitation over peace, equality, and environmental stewardship helped load the gun.

Now, four years later, and back in my hometown of San Francisco, I am surrounded by the leading symbols of that global order—because my city has been chosen as the site of this year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. For the first time in 12 years, the United States is hosting the APEC Heads of State meeting, a gathering of national leaders from 21 member economies—including Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., all of whom have arrived in San Francisco—and the business executives of some of the largest multinational corporations in the world.