Consider the following thesis (full disclosure, this is taken from own work on the text).

Living Together: Democracy and Ecology in Gabriel García Márquez

The discourse of “security”, be it national or personal, persuades citizens that walls must be erected and gates policed for their safety and wherever inequality exists, the privatization and stratification of space is sold (paradoxically) as the key to peaceful coexistence. What is fast coming into view, however, is that the consequences of such a politics are not limited to the content of human society, but also have profound implications for how we live on the earth (Harvard University’s Environmental Regulation Rollback Tracker provides a thorough account of this). In the face of environmental catastrophe, the philosopher, Timothy Morton, rejects Nature as an unhelpful, mirage-like construction that works against ecology by insisting on the duality that would have the natural world be thought of as something separate from human civilization. Instead of nature, Morton proposes the ecological thought as “the thinking of interconnectedness”; a practice of re-imagining the relationship of humans to other life as a relation of equality. Morton asks, “What would a truly democratic encounter between truly equal beings look like … ?”. Considering Morton’s intervention alongside the use of irony in García Márquez’ short story “Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes” (with its sly subtitle “un cuento para niños”), I propose that the ecological sensibility in García Márquez is a direct consequence of his commitment to examining the ways in which inequality has been produced historically in Latin America. 

What evidence do you think there is in the story to support this thesis? Is there any evidence that might contradict such a thesis?

Troughout the text, it can be seen the way in which the angel is being manipulated by the people of the town, as he arrived as a unique creature and they did not know how to behave arund him. I could relate the beahvior of the citizens with the environmental situation, as it can be a consequence of the bad weather. 

"Al tercer día de lluvia habían matado tantos cangrejos dentro de la casa, que Pelayo tuvo que atravesar su patio anegado para tirarlos en el mar [...] y se pensaba que era a causa de la pestilencia".

At the beginning of the story, Márquez describes the place as muddy and he mentions floods as well. García Márzquez has a direct relationship with Latin America, and he perfectly know that its people are not that clean, as poverty is still given in most of latinamerican countries. Poor people does not count with enough money to buy eco-friendly things. For example in the text, plastic bottles are mentioned, so I could relate poverty with inequality, as they cannot have thermos so they can replace them and stop contaminating. Also in the reading, people are not aware of the situation, and they prioritized the arriving of the rare creature. People firstly tought about him being either an angel or a demon, as the man was presenting enormous wings, and religious beliefs could have to be exposed to keep in the track on the Latin American culture.

"Asomado a las alambradas repasó en un instante su catecismo, y todavía pidió que le abrieran la puerta para examinar de cerca a aquél varón que parecía una enorme gallina decrépita entre las gallinas absortas".

And it could be said, that by being religiously close, people do not care that much about what is happening around them. They think things happen because of God's plan. García Márquez is trying to show the way in which Latinamericans are living the real problems they do not want to deal with, and trying to create awareness.

Gabriel García Márquez (1927 - 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. He is considered as one of the most significant authors of 20th century. He was awarded with Neustdat International Prize for Literature in 1972 and he was awarded with the Novel Prize in Literature in 1982.

References:

• García, M. G.,(1968). Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes. Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia: Grupo Editorial Norma.