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#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/

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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…

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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

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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…

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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

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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! -------------------------

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#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

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This 26th of January, light a 'candle of solidarity' for India’s farmers
by La Via Campesina 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

PEASANTS OF THE WORLD UNITE! THIS 26TH OF JANUARY, LIGHT A CANDLE OF SOLIDARITY FOR INDIA'S FARMERS For over 50 days now, India's peasants and workers have been holding massive protests at the country's national capital, New Delhi. They continue to agitate at several inter-state borders and district centres, urging their national government to recall three controversial legislation that are deemed to corporatise India's agricultural landscape. THESE THREE LEGISLATIONS IF READ TOGETHER [1], the peasants' allege, will dismantle the country's public procurement system, will push down prices of farm produce, will encourage large scale monoculture cultivation through contract farming, and will also allow private businesses to stock up and speculate on essential pulses and cereals, thus driving up food prices. In a country, where nearly 700 million people have their livelihoods tied to agriculture and allied activities, these "reforms" are nothing but devastating news. The protests that are taking place in New Delhi, and other state capitals and inter-state borders prove that people are angry at this move, which may only benefit a handful of private agribusiness corporations in the country. La Via Campesina, as a global movement of peasants and small-scale food producers in 81 countries, is inspired by the struggle led by the peasant movements in India. On behalf of our members worldwide, La Via Campesina extends its solidarity to Bhartiya Kisan Union, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangham and several other organisations and movements who are spearheading this protest at different parts of the country. In December several members of our movement HAD SENT MESSAGES OF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT [2] to their Indian counterparts, resonating their demands and citing adverse examples in their own countries where privatisation led to dispossession and displacement of the peasantry. This act of global solidarity must continue. It will be necessary for peasant movements everywhere to echo our sisters and brothers' struggles in India, who have kept their spirits high and refuse to budge despite adverse weather and an indifferent government. ACCORDING TO BHARTIYA KISAN UNION, MORE THAN 70 PROTESTING FARMERS HAVE SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES SO FAR IN THE BITING COLD AND RAINS OF NEW DELHI. LA VIA CAMPESINA RECOGNISES AND HONOURS THESE MARTYRS, WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE PEASANT STRUGGLE. EVERY PEASANT, WORKER AND INDIGENOUS PERSON ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WILL RECOGNISE AND RELATE TO THIS BRAVE FIGHT THAT INDIA'S FOOD PRODUCERS ARE PUTTING UP. India will celebrate its Republic Day on the 26th of January. The protesting peasants and workers want to step up the pressure, and as a way to make themselves heard, they will be holding a massive "tractor parade" in New Delhi that day. ALL LVC MEMBERS AND ALLIES EVERYWHERE CAN SUPPORT INDIA'S MOVEMENTS AND GIVE VISIBILITY TO OUR GLOBAL SOLIDARITY BY LIGHTING A CANDLE ON THE 26TH OF JANUARY 2021. WHEREVER YOU ARE, WHICHEVER CORNER OF THE WORLD YOU ARE IN, WHEN YOU JOIN THIS SIMPLE ACT OF SOLIDARITY, THE LIGHT OF FRATERNITY WILL REACH OUR PEOPLE IN INDIA AND GIVE THEM THE STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO CONTINUE UNTIL THEIR VICTORY. The struggles of all peasants everywhere are the same. We seek dignity, autonomy, and control over food production, respecting our territories' food sovereignty and remaining in harmony with nature. May this be another moment to globalise our struggles and globalise our hope for our secure collective futures! POST YOUR IMAGES AND MESSAGES WITH THE HASHTAG #SHINEONINDIAFARMERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. LET THE WHOLE WORLD HEAR THE ROAR OF PEASANTS AND WORKERS. -------------------------- LA VIA CAMPESINA Download the posters here [3] Read this appeal in Spanish [4] and French [5]. ---------------------------- Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/india-social-movements-upset-that-the-governmen… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/indian-farmers-protests-farmers-around-the-worl… [3] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/DJrBZ96sFcMoKcX [4] https://viacampesina.org/es/campesinxs-del-mundo-unios-este-26-de-enero-enc… [5] https://viacampesina.org/fr/les-paysan%e2%8b%85ne%e2%8b%85s-du-monde-entier…

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La Via Campesina opposes the inclusion of Cuba in the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism
by La Via Campesina 18 Jan '21

18 Jan '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA OPPOSES THE INCLUSION OF CUBA IN THE U.S. LIST OF STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM STATEMENT: CUBA IS NOT A TERRORIST STATE! _(HARARE, 15 JANUARY 2021)_ We, La Via Campesina - an international peasant movement made up of 182 organizations in 81 countries with some 200 million members - firmly manifest our rejection of the new aggressions by the U.S. government against the sovereignty of the Cuban people and we denounce its renewed inclusion on the unilateral U.S. list of 'States Sponsors of Terrorism'. After almost 6 years off the list, this January 11th, 2021, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) announced the reinstatement of Cuba to their list of countries they call terrorists, a unilateral measure aimed at continuing the historic and criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade to which the Cuban people have been subjected for six decades. WHILE THE WORLD HAS BEEN SHAKEN BY THE CRISIS PROVOKED BY COVID-19, CUBA MAINTAINS ITS ACTS OF INTERNATIONALISM, SOLIDARITY AND COOPERATION WITH, TO GIVE ONE EXAMPLE AMONG MANY, ITS 1,500+ HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, DOCTORS, SPECIALISTS AND NURSES OF THE 'HENRY REEVE BRIGADE' WHO CURRENTLY SERVE THOSE MOST VULNERABLE TO THE PANDEMIC IN EUROPE, AFRICA, ARAB EMIRATES, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN. While the majority of the world faces the hunger and exclusion imposed by those in power to confront the crisis, Cuba and our beloved National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) respond with more sovereignty, solidarity and social justice. The neoliberal model doesn't resolve the crisis facing humanity; the Cuban model defends life, dignity and unity of the peoples. As an international peasant movement, we stand in solidarity with the Cuban people in the face of the attacks against them and we call on all allied organizations - those that struggle for food sovereignty, agroecological peasant agriculture, and the integral health of the peoples - to join their voice in recognizing Cuba for its efforts in solidarity and cooperation with humanity. CUBA IS NOT A TERRORIST STATE! Globalize the struggle! Globalize hope!

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Young people are the present and the future of small-scale farming. Launch of a new film: "The feast"
by La Via Campesina 11 Jan '21

11 Jan '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA AND ZINTV PRESENT "THE FEAST :TONG-TONG" [1], a film created during a Youth meeting of la Via Campesina in Senegal. What is it like to be a young peasant farmer in Senegal at a time when the authorities and the transnationals are grabbing farmland, parceling it out among them, and turning peasants into farm labourers? SYNOPSIS : This film focuses on the lives of Senegalese farmers who are fighting against powerful legislative and economic forces. From fishing to herding, and from north to south, the pattern is all too familiar. "They ask the young people to stay and work here, but those are just empty words. Where's the resource base for these people? If you want youth to stay, you have to give them something to work with," said one young Senegalese fisherman in Dakar. Internationally, despite the diversity of rural communities, the peasant members of La Via Campesina are proving that these issues are widespread and are offering tools for achieving food sovereignty and peoples' self-determination. Free to Watch on viacampesina.org [1] and ZINTV.org [2] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/event/new-film-the-feast-tong-tong/ [2] https://zintv.org/video/le-festin-tong-tong/

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