International Day of Peasant Struggle

Carlos Mora Vanegas

We are concerned with Latin America can not ignore what has been throughout its history the peasant struggle, suffering, hardship that the peasantry has faced

On April 17 held its celebration, eco portal. net gives us about it, organizations of small farmers and their allies celebrate the international day of peasant struggle and commemorate the massacre 12 years ago of 19 landless workers who fought for land in Brazil. Today dozens of groups, communities and organizations in over 24 countries worldwide organized more than 50 actions: farmers markets, conferences, direct actions, cultural activities and demonstrations ... to defend their right to food and right to be a source of food for their communities. In Jakarta, the Indonesian Peasant's Union (SPI) together with other unions, human rights associations, fishermen, women's organizations and other groups are having a general assembly against transnational corporations. Henri Saraigh - general coordinator of the international peasant movement Via Campesina - opened the event saying: "" Today is the day when communities raise their voices silenced. Farmers and rural towns represent almost half the population of the earth However, our voices are heard and our concerns are ignored. Too many times we have been marginalized, impoverished and oppressed.

But on April 17 we celebrate our struggle for life!?

The fact that hundreds of organizations mobilized on April 17, in various countries, on the occasion of International Day of Peasant Struggle. During the day, presented their claims about comprehensive agrarian reform, food sovereignty GMO-free production and pesticides, and the humanization of life in the country, seriously affected by the trans and vision exclusively commercial.

No one can deny that the progress of the growers / as in Bolivia, exposure of organic products compared with Mc Donald in Uruguay, the concentrations for land titling in the Dominican Republic, the March for Life in Nicaragua, and hundreds more action expressed discontent movement for universal field of a model that prioritizes commercial purposes at the expense of human priorities.

It is noted that this global mobilization happens now that hunger has again become topical. Food prices have increased dramatically in the last year due to hunger and riots occur in different parts of the world. For La Via Campesina, the current food crisis is largely due to speculation and market liberalization in the agricultural sector. Today, large food traders are speculating on future food shortages and rising prices are artificially creating increasing hunger and poverty. On the other hand, the continued dismantling of state mechanisms (such as buffer stocks - inventory shocks - and import control) has made in recent decades, countries in an extremely vulnerable position against the volatility of prices food. The peasant organizations of Via Campesina members and all their friends and allies mobilized, believe that sustainable agriculture and local food production can solve the current crisis. All are willing to face the challenge

Analítica.com.va. add all of this, that the heat of these demonstrations was expressed a persistent call for respect for human rights integrals civil and political rights seriously violated by the repression perpetrated against rural development initiatives driven by the very people in the field; and the set of economic, social and cultural rights, bypassed both the neoliberal development plans in the business and commercial vision of transnational corporations, not only because they disregard both the idiosyncrasies and vernacular cultures, but impose their vision as the only viable . These actions will recover very important for human survival, especially at a time in which the discussions on agriculture, marketing of agricultural products, GMOs, patents and others, were among the first items on the agenda for meetings of the FTAA and the WTO, whose focus is geared more towards the development of policies that state otherwise.

The actions of resistance and protests have led to "the international financial organizations are concerned that in all meetings held in different parts of the world, people are protesting their unfair policies, inhuman and exclusive," says Way Campesina, while inviting the whole of society to "globalize globalize the struggle and hope."

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