Via-info-en

via-info-en@viacampesina.org

407 discussions

La Via Campesina | April, 2021 | e-Newsletter
by La Via Campesina 26 May '21

26 May '21

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations that are part of_ La Via Campesina's_ global movement. To subscribe to our monthly newsletter click here [1] CELEBRATION OF 25 YEARS OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND THE MOVEMENT WE BUILT AROUND IT ------------------------- Today, as in 1996, food sovereignty remains as the most coherent solution for a systemic shift, it remains the most coherent proposal to guarantee access to local and nutritious food for all and to defend peasants' and people's rights. Peasants, indigenous communities, small scale fishers, pastoralists, waged workers need to be involved in the formulation of solutions, we need to be part of policy making processes. And we cannot allow that the dominant forces that are strongly working to reshape governance spaces turn the table. This is not a game! Life is at stake! So, it is indeed time to celebrate the 25 years of our joint struggle for food sovereignty, but much more, it is time to recharge our energies and to reaffirm our commitment, using the convictions, spaces and alliances we built since 1996, to strongly fight for a world based on solidarity, justice and dignity - especially considering our future generations. READ MORE [2] Fighting for food sovereignty also means fighting to have women farmers' work acknowledged as well as to reorganize domestic, care, and food preparation work. This international virtual gallery features photographs of the archives of La Via Campesina, Friends of the Earth, and the World March of Women [3]. The pictures show how women are fundamental for sowing the seeds of a political, peasant, grassroots, diverse struggle for a society with no fences and no toxic chemicals. Food Sovereignty is about deciding to change the world. It is not just about producing. It's the right to agrarian reform, to land, to water, the right to remain a peasant man or woman. READ MORE [4] 25 years ago, on April 17th 1996, a group of landless peasants were killed by military police in Brazil's state of Para. A look at the history of the day and why we stand with peasants worldwide. READ MORE [5] The word "agribusiness" brings to mind instant associations like "soybeans," "Brazil," or "the Mennonites." Why? When did this word first enter common parlance? READ MORE [6] Achieving food sovereignty is not a linear, uniform process: it looks different in each community and region. Just as communities and geographies vary across the country, so too do the struggles for food sovereignty. READ MORE [7] On April 28, South Korea constituted a 'UNDROP Forum' to implement and promote the UN Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) at the national level. The forum will be active for about eight months until the end of this year. READ MORE [8] In a letter to the European Commission and CAP legislators, European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) and civil society members demand that the EU policy must support and increase the number of small-scale farmers. READ MORE [9] In a letter addressed to the President of Sri Lanka, the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) has supported the government decision to ban the import of all agrochemicals with immediate effect. READ MORE [10] The Indonesian Peasants Student Movement (Gema Petani) held its First Conference in Jambi, attended by student delegations from 13 provinces covering eastern, central and western Indonesia. READ MORE [11] NEW PUBLICATION The Path of Peasant and Popular Feminism in La Via Campesina ------------------------- Edition: 2021 Download the PDF copy (32MB) [12] FEATURED VIDEO [13] "Formation" in La Via Campesina with a perspective of human emancipation has the historical task of contributing to forging collective political subjects, capable of mobilizing consciences, resources, and processes for the construction of an emancipatory political project and to transform the reality, the living conditions in the countryside and in the cities. "A movement in formation" that first premiered on 18 April 2021, explores this construction in the movement, with different voices and actors from all over the world, showing the different practices and methodologies but with the same objective, since to globalize the struggle and the hope is not just a slogan, it is our permanent task. YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AUTONOMY OF OUR MOVEMENT ------------------------- As a supporter who has contributed financial resources to La Via Campesina, and as an activist who joins us on the streets and in the fields, your support is always welcome and put to good use. YOU CAN RENEW YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO LA VIA CAMPESINA BY CLICKING HERE [14]. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [1] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [20] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [21] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [1] Links: ------ [1] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/celebration-of-25-years-of-food-sovereignty-and… [3] https://capiremov.org/en/multimedia/gallery/peasant-struggles-and-food-sove… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/pancha-rodriguez-food-sovereignty-is-about-deci… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/a-look-at-the-history-of-the-day-and-why-we-sta… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/paraguay-the-struggle-for-food-sovereignty-is-t… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/nfu-statement-on-the-international-day-of-peasa… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/south-korea-undrop-forum-to-mainstream-peasants… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/ecvc-sends-open-letter-to-the-institutions-for-… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/srilanka-monlar-backs-government-decision-to-ba… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/gema-petani-indonesia-peasant-youth-and-student… [12] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/srbBEf3YnYZGRYz [13] https://vimeo.com/534888854 [14] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [16] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL [17] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [18] https://www.instagram.com/la_via_campesina_official/ [19] https://viacampesina.org/ [20] http://www.viacampesina.org [21] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

1 0

La Via Campesina: 2020 Annual Report
by La Via Campesina 12 May '21

12 May '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA: 2020 ANNUAL REPORT 3 MAY 2021 ANNUAL REPORTS [1], MEDIA AND PUBLICATIONS [2] [3] SUMMARY: This annual report [3] highlights the struggles and activities we had and the progress we made in 2020. The year was one of the most challenging years of the last half century. No one ever anticipated that by March, the world would face a pandemic that would bring life as we know it to a halt. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic did that. The pandemic exposed two things: (1) the rotten core and the cracks in the global neoliberal economy and (2) the urgent need for radical policies to usher in change and bring relief, dignity, and equity to billions of people whose survival is hanging by a thin thread. With each crisis desperation has increased leading to unintended outcomes, for instance, the recent rise of the extreme right, fascism, and jingoistic-nationalism. Global inequality is at its peak. Empathy is at its lowest, and destructive economic, social, ecological, and environmental policies are more prevalent than ever. This pandemic is rooted in capitalism and strongly connected to the industrial agriculture model, and is one of the many recent outcomes of such destructive policies. As the turbulent 2020 drew to an end, many hoped that 2021 would be a better year. The surge in new infections in most countries do not show return to the "normalcy" of the pre-COVID times. Urgent actions are needed from the grassroots to the state level to transform and rebuild hundreds of millions of lives pushed to starvation and poverty by the COVID pandemic. The pandemic led us into a period where the understanding of the importance of local food production and the need for public health has increased. Food sovereignty as peoples' right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced with ecologically sustainable methods is important. As La Via Campesina, we have adapted our communication strategy, shifted resources towards communication actions, and intensified our presence in social media. This strategy became more central as a possibility to reach out, "stay at home but not silent", and to mobilize on our agenda. It is key that a movement like LVC remains present in the public eye and in public opinion to mobilize for the right changes! The realization of peasants' rights and those of migrant and seasonal workers by promoting UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People working in the Rural Areas (UNDROP) remains a priority for the peasant movement. We will continue combating the criminalization and repression of peasant leaders, and explore different ideas of creating our own spaces of solidarity, while strengthening the existing solidarity networks.. DOWNLOAD PDF REPORT [3] PUBLICATION DATE: April 2021 AVAILABLE in Spanish [4] and French [5] -- Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/media-and-publications/annual-reports/ [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/media-and-publications/ [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/EN_Annual_Re… [4] https://viacampesina.org/es/la-via-campesina-informe-anual-2020/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/fr/la-via-campesina-rapport-annuel-2020/

1 0

Colombia: Call for Life, Democracy and Peace!
by La Via Campesina 09 May '21

09 May '21

La Via Campesina stands in solidarity with the struggles and protests of the Colombian people in the NATIONAL STRIKE that began on April 28th and remains active even now. The protests unleashed against a proposed tax reform linked to the pandemic have become a national demonstration against the increase in poverty, unemployment, the failure to implement the Peace Accord and the worsening of the violence expressed in the increase of massacres, forced disappearances, displacements and the murder of 1,167 social leaders since the signing of the Accord. The Colombian people express their indignation at these historical injustices and once again share age-old demands of PEACE, LIFE, WORK and LAND; they protest against the mismanagement of the pandemic by the Government of Ivan Duque, which prioritized economic interests and disregarded the lives of humble Colombians. We express our solidarity with the Colombian people who are today exercising their legitimate right to protest. We stand in solidarity especially with the peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant organisations that are mobilising from the territories most affected by violence in defense of life, land and territory. We ratify our repudiation of the violence exercised by the state and its security forces who criminalise people's movements, and against the state agents who illegally detain, rape, kill, and disappear. Today the state violence in Colombia is reflected in the murder of 37 demonstrators, 831 arbitrary detentions, 222 cases of physical violence, 22 victims of aggression in the eyes, 10 victims of sexual violence by the security forces and 86 people disappeared, all in the context of the National Strike. WE DEMAND FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF IVÁN DUQUE: * an immediate ceasefire against those who demonstrate; * guarantees for the exercise of the right to protest and social mobilisation; * the immediate release of those detained for political reasons; * the investigation and condemnation of murderers and rapists; * the construction of a process of a dialogue with the population; * the implementation of the Peace Accords. We call on the international community and human rights organisations to demand that the necessary measures be taken to stop the violence and advance in the construction of peace. We call on the organizations that are part of La Via Campesina, as well as allied organizations, to raise awareness on the situation, to express our rejection of the governmental actions and stand in solidarity, to strengthen our unity and struggle. LET'S GLOBALISE THE STRUGGLE AND GLOBALISE HOPE!

1 0

#17April2021 - “A movement in formation” | Online Screening, this Sunday, 18 April 2021 - 12.00 CEST/ Harare
by La Via Campesina 17 Apr '21

17 Apr '21

“A MOVEMENT IN FORMATION” | ONLINE SCREENING, SUNDAY, 18 APRIL 2021 12 APRIL 2021 PUBLICATIONS [1], VIDEO [2], VIDEOS AND PODCASTS (WHAT IS LVC?) [3], WHAT IS LA VIA CAMPESINA? [4], WOMEN [5], YOUTH [6] We live in a historical age in which capitalism has exhausted all its possibilities. >From now on, more than ever, capitalism will only offer us more crises of conflict, war, migration, global warming, hunger, pandemics and death. In this context, formation in the La Via Campesina with a perspective of human emancipation is strategic. It has the historical task of contributing to forging collective political subjects, capable of mobilising consciences, resources, and processes for the construction of an emancipatory political project and to transform the reality, the living conditions in the countryside and in the cities. In La Via Campesina, the political-organisational formation processes become not only trenches of resistance and defence of peasant ways of life and agroecological production, but also seeds for the flourishing of new social, political and economic relations with Mother Earth. Formation as a comprehensive, systematic, broad, continuous and permanent process must be present at every step of the organisation. If the peoples of the countryside have the great task of producing healthy food, the Movement at the international level has the most beautiful, free and emancipatory work, to be part of the construction of transformations and sovereign, free societies. For this purpose, we built "A movement in formation" a new video of LVC that shows this construction in the movement, with different voices and actors from all over the world, showing the different practices and methodologies but with the same objective, because to Globalise the struggle and the Hope is not just a slogan, it is our permanent task. See it this Sunday, APRIL 18 VIA FACEBOOK. TIME: 12.00 CEST/ Harare https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/media-and-publications/publications-publication… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/video/ [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/who-are-we/what-is-la-via-campesina/videos-and-… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/who-are-we/what-is-la-via-campesina/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/who-are-we/women/ [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/who-are-we/youth/

1 0

Food Sovereignty and Solidarity: A Historic Moment to Advance Our Peasant Struggles
by La Via Campesina 15 Apr '21

15 Apr '21

FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND SOLIDARITY: A HISTORIC MOMENT TO ADVANCE OUR PEASANT STRUGGLES 15 APRIL 2021 AGROECOLOGY AND PEASANTS'SEEDS [1], CAPITALISM AND FREE TRADE [2], FOOD SOVEREIGNTY [3], GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR AGRARIAN REFORM [4], INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY [5], TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES AND AGRIBUSINESS [6] INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEASANTS' STRUGGLE: DECLARATION BY LA VIA CAMPESINA, HARARE, ZIMBABWE: 17 APRIL 2021 This April 17th, our international Day of Peasants' Struggle, is a moment to reflect on our vision of food sovereignty, and strengthen further our solidarity against the increased criminalization of our struggles, and killing of peasants, indigenous peoples, and those fighting for the rights of their communities, for dignity and equity globally. As we join our hands for solidarity demanding full respect for our rights and the end of impunity, criminalization, and killing, we are alert to the current difficult social and economic context facing many peasants and peoples globally. Firstly, the continuing COVID19 pandemic, a health crisis that started in 2020, has led to over two million deaths globally. Measures to mitigate and stop the spread of the pandemic have caused a profound social crisis with severe setbacks in workers' rights, unemployment, corruption, misery, hunger, and violence. This health crisis occurring in tandem with the prevailing climate crisis only worsens the social and economic condition of the masses. Secondly, the agribusiness and corporate lobbies increased their efforts to capture democratic global governance spaces. Citing the worsening hunger, some called on governments to lift the ban on the use of GMOs. While some big businesses, under the cover of the pandemic, worked with policymakers to relax laws that protect natural resources. We witnessed deliberate attempts to close civil society participation in global policymaking processes and UN spaces. Shifting Human Rights Council meetings and other events online meant limited participation from peasants and indigenous communities. Thirdly, the current realignment of the geopolitical forces and actors - exemplified by increased tensions between the economically advanced nations (United States/EU versus China and Russia; etc), the on-going heightened militarisation in tandem with repartition of global markets among these big nations, and the re-introduction of trade tariffs to fence off the foreign competition among allies (US vs. EU) are distress calls of a capitalist system in decay. The competition for sources of raw materials particularly rare minerals and the repartition of world markets is the inevitable cause of armed conflicts and devastating wars. This has worsened the migrant crisis in Africa, Middle East, Latin and North America, and Europe. THE MULTIPLE CRISES CONFRONTING THE WORLD ARE NOT NEW BUT A POLITICAL MOMENT TO ADVANCE THE FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AGENDA The food, climate, environmental, economic, democratic, and health crises that culminated with the Covid-19 pandemic show clearly to all humanity that a transformation of the current agricultural and food model is vital. Each crisis, be it COVID-19 pandemic or food shortages, has shown us the importance and resilience of the same local food systems which neoliberalism continues to erode and weaken. Since its birth in 1993, La Via Campesina has been developing and promoting food sovereignty as an alternative to the dominant capitalist relations of production, particularly in agriculture. Over the twenty-eight years, food sovereignty has gained more ground among social movements, civil society organizations, and others. Thus, for us, food sovereignty and peasant agroecology continue to triumph in each crisis as solutions to strengthen localized food systems critical in the fight against hunger and to cool the planet, preserve biodiversity, and respect peasants' and workers' rights. Moreover, food sovereignty promotes solidarity, a key aspect of humanity - rather than individualism as promoted by capitalism - that has strengthened our collective will to survive. People and not profits matter the most! Now is the time to transform and build a value-based society. UN DECLARATION ON PEASANTS' RIGHTS IS OUR MAIN POLITICAL TOOL TO STRENGTHEN THE GLOBAL PEASANT STRUGGLE We, La Via Campesina, believe that the time is ripe for governments to formulate and implement urgently the radical public policies to bring relief, dignity, and equity to billions of people whose survival is hanging by a thin thread. Without radical public policy changes, the desperation will increase, so are the unintended outcomes, for instance, the current rise of extreme right-wing, fascism, and other forms of regressive nationalism in different countries. Food sovereignty continues to offer the only coherent solution--a solution that benefits rural families as well as consumers, in our countries. After much work over the last 28 years generating proposals, accumulation of experience, and building of alliances, we have a historic opportunity to achieve good policies with the support of some progressive governments, UN Special rapporteur for the right to food, Committee on World Food Security (CFS)-Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples' Mechanism (CSM) processes, and using the UN declaration of the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). UNDROP must be a tool for the worldwide promotion of urgently-needed agrarian reform programmes, as essential components of public policies that countries should implement in their respective territories for decent living and working conditions in rural areas. We will work with progressive governments and like-minded rural and urban movements, as well as with other organizations to monitor and ensure proper implementation of public policies. It's an opportunity that we cannot let pass us by. Even the current attempts by the World Economic Forum initiative to organize and hijack the UN Food System Summit should not hinder our progress. Only peasants and their active participation in shaping the food policies lead to lasting a solution - public policies based on food sovereignty. We must gird ourselves as peasants to fight and resist transnational corporations, agribusiness, large landowners, and imperialism. To take advantage of the political moment, to regain control over food La Via Campesina together with our allies, call upon governments to define and refine public policy proposals to achieve food sovereignty at all levels. This means the recovery of national productive capacity, _rooted in the peasant and family farm_ sector, through public sector budgets, guaranteed prices, credits, and other forms of support--including support for direct marketing between producers and consumers, and genuine land reform. _ _We call for genuine comprehensive agrarian reform programs to strengthen peasant and family agriculture, food and farming systems that respond to both urban and rural necessities and should reconstitute improved versions of research and technical assistance systems based this time on the principles of the "campesino to Campesino" (peasant to peasant) model. We, as peasants, also fight for health to be treated as a human right, especially in the global COVID-19 pandemic. As La Via Campesina, we demand the Right to public and free health care for all peoples as defined in Article 23 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP), including the processes of prevention, vaccination, and long-term treatment. Vaccines should not be patented neither should they be left under the control and profit of large transnational corporations. If patented, it allows the market further to commodify life. All members of society must have access to information and be able to evaluate the treatments offered. We affirm that health care must begin with a healthy, sustainable diet that strengthens the immune system, as proposed by Food Sovereignty, a way of caring for the well-being of both people and the environment. THE TIME TO TRANSFORM IS NOW! It is unacceptable that in the 21st-century hundreds of millions are hungry when there is enough food for all; inequalities and human rights violations are worsening; criminalization, brutal repression, and authoritarianism are increasing globally. This April 17, we say: Struggle for dignity, for health, for public policies based on food sovereignty, and for protecting our communities and natural resources is not a crime but our right! The states must not criminalize our struggles nor violate our rights! Neither must we be killed by them! Their duty is to protect our rights. We, therefore, stand in solidarity with all the peoples struggling for their rights in all four corners of the world. With food sovereignty and solidarity, we can attain social justice and dignity for all! WE FEED THE WORLD AND BUILD FOOD SOVEREIGNTY! GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE! #NoFutureWithoutFoodSovereignty #FoodSovereigntyNOW ------------------------------------------ For media enquiries, questions or comments write to lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/biodiversity-and-genet… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/capitalism-and-fre… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/food-sovereignty-and-t… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/agrarian-reform/global… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/international-solidari… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/transnational-comp…

1 0

La Vía Campesina | e-Newsletter | #8March - Special Edition
by La Via Campesina 01 Apr '21

01 Apr '21

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* La Vía Campesina | e-Newsletter | 8 March 2021 Donate [1] This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations that are part of La Via Campesina around the world. To subscribe click here [2]. 08 MARCH: GLOBAL SOLIDARITY ACTIONS DEMAND EQUAL OWNERSHIP OF LAND, RECOGNITION OF WOMEN'S WORK AND A WORLD FREE OF VIOLENCE [3] Across the world, peasant and indigenous movements carried out solidarity actions to mark International Women's Day on (and during the week of) the 8th of March 2021. La Via Campesina had issued a clarion call to all its members worldwide by pointing out that to defeat the virus of patriarchy and capitalism, we need the vaccine of feminism and solidarity. Pastoralists, peasants, fisherfolks, agricultural workers, indigenous and landless people across member organisations responded positively to this call for solidarity this year. They organised peasant fairs showcasing diversities in food production and the work women and people of diverse identities do in the farms and inside rural social movements. Several solidarity actions that took place emphasised the urgent need for food sovereignty to positively address the crisis humanity is currently experiencing and transform our societies. PEASANTS ALSO EMPHASISED THAT THE UN DECLARATION ON PEASANTS' RIGHTS ADOPTED IN 2018 IS A CRUCIAL TOOL TO GUARANTEE RIGHTS AND GENDER JUSTICE IN RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES. With colourful marches, sit-ins, food donations, forums, meetings, and even blood donations, they showed the importance of feminism in the struggle against patriarchy and capitalism. We share a summary of the actions carried out by our LVC member organisations in different territories around the world. Read More [4] FEATURED ARTICLES Peasant movements, workers and activists in Asia mobilise on International Women's Day. Here is a summary [5] of the many actions that took place around Asia in March. Gender-based violence in the rural sector, understood as physical, sexual and psychological violence against women, is a central area of work [6] for our member organisations since 2008. As capitalist countries rush to save their economies, they have left the workers who provide the basic necessities of human life to risk their lives on the front lines. Women make up the overwhelming majority of those who work in these industries. Read the statement [7]. On the 25th anniversary of the collective construction of Food Sovereignty, this is our tangible and sustainable way to face the different crises we live today. We need to end the systemic violence of capitalism and patriarchy, which today violate the rights of women, diversities, children, and the working class. Read La Via Campesina's call for mobilization [8]. In the most difficult moment of the pandemic, which is plaguing Brazil and which - so far - has killed more than 260 thousand people, women from more than 80 organizations in the popular field, came together to support and spread solidarity [9] in actions in the four corners of the country. Peasant Organisations in Spain - COAG and the Confederation of Rural Women (CERES) - demand that [10] the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Rural Development Plans (RDP) be drawn up with a gender perspective, as they marginalise the lands of peasant women and livestock breeders. This March 8, 2021, the peasant members of the Sindicato Labrego Galego, SLG, also supported the feminist strike [11]. One year after the last women's strike and for peasant women, in terms of equality, the situation continues to deteriorate. Srilanka: Women step up protest [12] against exploitative micro-finance firms in rural areas. According to activists in Srilanka, an estimate of 28 million people are caught in a debt trap and over 200 were forced to commit suicide. RECENT PUBLICATIONS NYÉLÉNI NEWSLETTER: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, few imagined the scale of the devastation that the disease would wreak across the world, or for how long it would last. This edition of the Nyéléni newsletter presents excerpts from some of the documentation and research conducted by practitioners and advocates of food sovereignty. DOWNLOAD NOW [13]. VIDEOS [14] #LaViaCampesina - Song "Triste, loca o mala", by the group Francisco El Hombre [14]. The clip features more than 100 landless women from across Brazil in a show of strength and solidarity. YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AUTONOMY OF OUR MOVEMENT ------------------------- As a supporter who has contributed financial resources to La Via Campesina, and as an activist who joins us on the streets and in the fields, your support is always welcome and put to good use. YOU CAN RENEW YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO LA VIA CAMPESINA BY CLICKING HERE [1]. [15] [16] Twitter [16] [17] Facebook [17] [18] Vimeo [18] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [2] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [19] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [20] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [2] Links: ------ [1] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [2] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=viacampesinaOFFICIAL&set=a.5… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/08-march-global-solidarity-actions-demand-equal… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/peasant-movements-workers-and-activists-in-asia… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/cloc-via-campesina-gender-based-violence-in-the… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/working-women-of-the-world-unite-against-imperi… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/8m2021-against-the-virus-of-patriarchy-and-capi… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/brazil-landless-women-mobilize-in-defense-of-li… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/spain-peasant-women-find-it-more-difficult-to-a… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/peasant-women-in-galicia-strike-against-inequal… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/srilanka-women-step-up-protest-against-exploita… [13] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=155 [14] https://www.facebook.com/342562582480986/videos/471196630576619 [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [16] https://twitter.com/via_campesina [17] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [18] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [19] http://www.viacampesina.org [20] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

1 0

Twenty-Five Years of peasants’ struggles in bringing Food Sovereignty to reality
by La Via Campesina 29 Mar '21

29 Mar '21

Twenty-Five Years of peasants' struggles in bringing Food Sovereignty to reality CALL FOR MOBILISATION ------------------------- HARARE, MARCH 26, 2021: At the 1996 World Food Summit La Via Campesina put words to its vision to oppose the destructive capitalist industrial model that is causing hunger, inequality, and the climate crisis by defining "food sovereignty". Food sovereignty is the right of people to autonomously produce healthy, nutritious, climatically, and culturally appropriate food, using local resources and through agroecological means, primarily to address the local food needs of their communities. Food sovereignty is also necessary to guarantee food security. Since its launch 25 years ago in Rome, food sovereignty has had far-reaching implications on public policies, picked up by many organizations and institutions such as the United Nations bodies (Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Human Rights Council, etc.). Some governments such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Mali, Bolivia, Nepal, and Senegal, etc have included it in their policies and some in constitutions. The Adoption of UNDROP by the UN General Assembly in 2018 and FAO recognition of agroecology in 2015 are a testament to broader recognition and acceptance of Peoples' Food Sovereignty by some organisations, multilateral institutions and governments. Despite these successes, the corporates work tirelessly to stall and roll back further entrenchment of food sovereignty and agroecology in public policies in various UN bodies (Human Rights Council, Committee on World Food Security etc). The recent attempt, the UN Food System Summit, is a clear example that corporate capture is in overdrive, using the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased food insecurity to push for their profit-driven interests. On our side, we believe that on the contrary, the current COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance and the resilience of local food systems that have kept many people from hunger and starvation. Thus, we continue to push for a radical transformation strategy towards a fair and decent food system for all, which recognizes peoples' needs, accords dignity and respects nature. This year, we celebrate 25 years of building food sovereignty. It is indeed an opportunity to give visibility to all successes and achievements. But more than that it is a moment to re-strengthen our collective efforts to obtain the realization of food sovereignty during the upcoming 25 years. As we mark 25 years of peasants' struggle for Food Sovereignty, let's make this anniversary a strong moment of solidarity and building together what we mean by food sovereignty and why we think it is more accurate and relevant than ever - showing all the dimensions of food sovereignty as an alternative to capitalistic food system. We, La Via Campesina, will make 2021 a year of festival of food sovereignty and more particularly on our International days of global actions and mobilisations: April 17 (International day of peasant struggles[1] [1]), October 16 (International day of action for food sovereignty of the people and against transnationals), November 25 (International day against violence against women), December 3 (Day of action against agrotoxics and for life). THIS #17APRIL2021, WE CALL ALL OUR MEMBERS, ALLIES AND FRIENDS TO HIGHLIGHT A DIMENSION OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY THAT REFLECTS THE REALITY OF THE LOCAL CONTEXT. * Organize events to protect life and promote peasant seeds, peasants' rights, migrant workers' rights, local food, agroecology, public policies for food sovereignty etc. * Symbolic actions of solidarity, film screenings, public debates, open air community kitchen, farmers' markets and, food donation in the cities or in the communities, are some of the proposed actions. AROUND #17APRIL2021, WE CALL ESPECIALLY FOR CONCRETE ACTIONS OF SOLIDARITY WITH ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLES. The repression of peasant and citizen struggles has increased again. All over the world, the list of threatened, killed or imprisoned social movements' leaders is inexorably growing. We call on our members and allies to mobilize against this increased repression and criminalization. IN MEMORY OF THE PEOPLE OF THE LANDLESS WORKERS MOVEMENT KILLED ON APRIL 17, 1996 AND IN SOLIDARITY WITH ALL THOSE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING VIOLENT REPRESSION AND CRIMINALISATION OF THEIR STRUGGLES TODAY, WE WILL PROPOSE A GLOBAL CANDLE VIGIL SOLIDARITY ACTION AROUND APRIL 17. MORE DETAILS WILL BE GIVEN LATER. Let's show the world that solidarity is our strength. Send us your photos, statements, articles, videos, posters and mobilization actions to lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org we will link all these actions together to assemble and give life and visibility to this collective struggle for food sovereignty. CRIMES AND VIOLENCE AGAINST THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY MUST STOP! "WE FEED THE WORLD AND BUILD FOOD SOVEREIGNTY" #17APRIL2021 #FUTUREISFOODSOVEREIGNTY ------------------------- [1] [2] On April 17th, 1996, 19 peasants were killed when military police in the Amazonian State of Pará in Brazil attacked a large number of members of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) who were blockading a highway in order to demand agrarian reform. Two more people died from their injuries several days later, and hundreds of others were so seriously injured that they could not go on working in agriculture. La Via Campesina, which was then in the midst of holding its second international conference at Tlaxcala in Mexico, declared April 17th to be the International Day of Farmers' and Peasants' Struggle Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/twenty-five-years-of-peasants-struggles-in-brin… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/twenty-five-years-of-peasants-struggles-in-brin…

1 0

Nyéléni Newsletter: Food sovereignty in a time of pandemic
by La Via Campesina 26 Mar '21

26 Mar '21

When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, few imagined the scale of the devastation that the disease would wreak across the world, or for how long it would last. As COVID-19 swung from country to country on its deadly course, it became clear that governmental actions or inactions, and social-economic-political contexts were as responsible as the virus for triggering impacts. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from abating: infections continue to spike in numerous countries with the emergence of new, more contagious strains of the SARS-COV-2 virus. The long awaited vaccines have started to be rolled out but may well be out of reach for majority of the world for several months or even years due to "vaccine apartheid." Despite the limited availability of vaccines due to the time needed for production and testing, many wealthy nations have purchased sufficient vaccine supplies to immunize their own populations at least twice, and are backing monopolistic control over vaccines by pharmaceutical companies through legally enforceable intellectual property rights in the World Trade Organization. This edition of the Nyéléni newsletter presents excerpts from some of the documentation and research conducted by practitioners and advocates of food sovereignty, particularly, Voices from the ground, From COVID-19 to radical transformation of our food systems, prepared by the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism to Committee on World Food Security. Links to the full reports/ papers are provided with each excerpt. DOWNLOAD NOW [1] Farm Workers -Vegetable and Fruit Pickers - Essential Worker Portrait #6 by Carolyn Olson, http://carolynolson.net Links: ------ [1] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=155

1 0

La Via Campesina: For the Right of all the people, to free and quality Public Health Care!
by La Via Campesina 02 Mar '21

02 Mar '21

FOR THE RIGHT OF ALL THE PEOPLE, TO FREE AND QUALITY PUBLIC HEALTH CARE! "Physical Distancing, Yes; Social Isolation, Never! Collective care to prevent the virus spread, Yes; Demobilized and Silent, Never". ------------------------- (HARARE, FEBRUARY 2021): We are more than a year into the crisis caused by the COVID19 pandemic around the world. This health crisis has caused the death of approximately two million people, and, according to official reports, more than 77 million have been infected so far. However, taking into account unofficial figures, this number could be even higher. Those infected face the possibility of lifelong physical and mental health consequences. The set of simultaneous economic, political, health and environmental crises that our societies are undergoing has led to a profound social crisis - with severe setbacks in rights, unemployment, corruption, misery, hunger, and violence throughout the world; more so in the economically disadvantaged countries. Though necessary, the pandemic-related lockdown with its suddenness and lack of proper planning had grave consequences for the working class. Few countries have responded to the issues their people faced with economic and social support policies. In most countries, workers were laid off, others saw their wages halved. A vast majority of those who depend on informal work to earn an income and support their families, be they migrant workers in the fields, peasant families on their plots or fishers in their territories, had to bear the brunt of this crisis without complementary income policies that would enable their families to stay at home. Neglect of rural areas continued. Agricultural workers - forced to work under dangerous conditions to survive - and despite being the ones who feed the world, have no policy to protect them from the virus or provide them with decent access to health care. Some governments, especially those with authoritarian and pro-Corporate leanings, have even adopted measures that allow big businesses to work with minor restrictions. Doing this has significantly put at risk the health of workers. RIGHT TO FREE AND PUBLIC HEALTH – INCLUDING PREVENTION, VACCINATION AND LONG-TERM TREATMENT! As La Via Campesina, we demand the Right to public and free health care for all peoples, including the processes of prevention, vaccination and long-term treatment. We fight for health to be recognized as a human right, especially in this global crisis. We demand that governments honour their obligation to protect their populations and ensure that everyone has access to preventive, curative and quality health care. This is also recognized by the Article 23 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP), adopted by governments in 2018, which states the Right to have access in rural areas to health services and necessary treatment. However, most of the treatments and vaccines are under the control of large companies and states, which in a non-transparent way, with a lot of corruption, speculate with life and seek to increase profits. They are distributing the available vaccines mainly among rich countries, leading to competition between these governments, making the vaccine available to the highest bidder. Likewise, some rich governments are hoarding vaccines, buying doses up to five times their population, while in dozens of poor and exploited countries, vaccines have not yet arrived. The commodification and politicization of vaccines will create a huge gap between the populations of rich countries and those of poor countries who cannot afford them. These people are entirely dependent on the availability of the market and the willingness and ability of governments to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. These are the same multinational companies that dominate the markets and have the technology to manufacture vaccines; they control the market for equipment, medical supplies and the logistics for vaccine transportation, storage and distribution. AS LA VIA CAMPESINA WE AFFIRM THAT SCIENCE MUST BE AT THE SERVICE OF HUMANITY All members of society must have access to information and be able to evaluate the treatments offered. We also demand the recognition of intercultural and popular health, ancestral knowledge present in our societies, that has a holistic view of health and has sustained communities during the pandemic. We affirm that health care must begin with a healthy, sustainable diet that strengthens the immune system, as proposed by Food Sovereignty, a way of caring for the well-being of both people and the environment. It is unacceptable that vaccines are patented, leaving them under the control of large transnational corporations and the market with its constant attempts to commodify life. We demand an end to patents and to reinstate the Right to information and public control. Today the pandemic is a global problem, and all societies must mobilize so that the UN, through the WHO (World Health Organization), and the governments guarantee free public vaccination for the entire world population. As La Via Campesina, we affirm the Right to free public health and timely access to prevention, vaccination and treatment in every country in the world. ------------------------- LET'S FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO A DIGNIFIED AND HEALTHY LIFE! GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE! -------------------------

1 0

#8M2021 Against the Virus of Patriarchy and Capitalism, the Vaccine of Feminism and Solidarity!
by La Via Campesina 25 Feb '21

25 Feb '21

#8M2021 AGAINST THE VIRUS OF PATRIARCHY AND CAPITALISM, THE VACCINE OF FEMINISM AND SOLIDARITY! 25 FEBRUARY 2021 CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN [1], PATRIACHY [2], TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES AND AGRIBUSINESS [3], WOMEN [4] MARCH 8, 2021 – WORKING WOMEN'S DAY (Harare: February 25, 2021) This March 8th 2021, organized in our diversity and together with one single voice we declare: _Against the Virus of Patriarchy and Capitalism, the Vaccine of Feminism and Solidarity!,_ while highlighting the essential role of rural women and peasants as a whole, who represent around 60% to 70% of world food production and are the front line in the production of agroecological and healthy food that sustains life. On the 25th anniversary of the collective construction of Food Sovereignty, this is our tangible and sustainable way to face the different crises we live today. We need to end the systemic violence of capitalism and patriarchy, which today violate the rights of women, diversities, children, and the working class, even excluding them from public and free access to a vaccine, which should be considered, as well as food, a human right, as we advocate in our international call for the Right to Public and Free Health for all populations! In this world, the political, social and economic role of women is vital, even more in the midst of this COVID pandemic, yet we continue receiving lower wages, we are in the informal sector, we face precarious employment, we are exploited, we are migrants, single mothers, agricultural workers, fisherwomen, and shepherds. We have less access to land, technology and public policies on health, protection against violence, education and culture. The greatest obstacle we face in the countryside is the lack of access to means of production such as the land. In the market, women barely own 1% of the land and yet we face the challenge of continuing to guarantee food and care for communities, families and the world under conditions of political, economic and social inequality. That is why on this day we also demand that states implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) [5]. It recognizes women and peasants as subjects of rights. This UN Declaration is a strategic tool to strengthen the struggles and proposals of rural movements. It also establishes jurisprudence and an international legal perspective to guide legislation and public policies at all institutional levels for the benefit of those who feed the world. The prevailing agro-business model is standardized by the economic power of the agro-industry; it is the large multinational corporations that control what will be produced, what we eat, how much and at what the price; they lobby governments and even multilateral organizations, as we have denounced is the case of the Food Summit organized by the FAO [6] for this year with the objective to continue monopolizing the food market even more. This dynamic generates high profits for corporations, and very serious costs for the health of societies and the planet. Throughout history, we women have been in the struggle as subjects of transformation, mobilization and consciousness raising. Thus, as La Via Campesina we salute all the movements and comrades who resist in India, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Kurdistan, Palestine, the Zapatistas, the diverse women organized in the World March of Women and other allied networks, who are actively participating in the changes that our societies need, for justice and dignity for the majority of the people. TAKE ACTION: This March 8, like every Working Women's Day, we call on our member organizations, allies and friends to mobilise from all the spaces where we are, in our communities, streets, public squares, markets, schools and jobs, in defense of life, let us continue to denounce and raise awareness, pushing states to commit to the historic struggles of working class rural and urban women. AGAINST THE VIRUS OF PATRIARCHY AND CAPITALISM, THE VACCINE OF FEMINISM AND SOLIDARITY! Send your press releases, photos, videos to lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org [7] Reproduce and share our materials! To download the official 2021 poster and social media materials, click here [8]. Follow us on social media with the hashtags: #8M2021 #WOMENINTHESTRUGGLE #FOODSOVEREIGNTYNOW Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/patriachy/campaign… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/patriachy/ [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/transnational-comp… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/who-are-we/women/ [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/united-nations-declaration-on-the-rights-of-pea… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/position-paper-a-summit-under-siege-corporate-c… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/8m2021-against-the-virus-of-patriarchy-and-capi… [8] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/2wbeJ3cc3mBcBQp

1 0

← Newer
1
...
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
...
41
Older →

Jump to page:

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

Via-info-en