South Africa: Stop rural slavery! Respect the farmworkers!
- Details
- Published on Monday, 14 January 2013 18:11
Via Campesina Africa Solidarity Statement on the farmworkers mobilization
(Maputo 14th January 2013) - During the month of November last year, the world watched farmworkers strikes, particularly those working in vinyards, in the Western Cape Province, in South Africa. They were protesting against exploitation and poor working and living conditions on farms, demanding an increase in minimum wages. In many cases, South African police responded to the demonstrations with violence and intolerance and showed no respect for laws. Many farmworkers and activists were arrested, including peasants of The Agrarian Reform for Food Sovereignty Campaign, a member of La Via Campesina.
After dubious negotiations that halted the strikes in December, the South African government has refused to make any change to the minimum wage and the situation has remained unchanged. Early this January farmworkers resumed the strikes and are being heavily repressed by police.
Comrade Maria : here! now and forever
- Details
- Published on Friday, 11 January 2013 21:47
Statement of the International Commission of Women of La Via Campesina
10 January 2013.
Dear comrades,
We are writing to you from the International Commission of Women (CIM) of La Via Campesina with tremendous pain in our hearts.
Last Sunday (06/01/2013) we received the sad and repulsive news that our comrade María Do Fetal de Almeida had been brutally murdered by her partner in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Support the Fight for Our Future: Time for Food Sovereignty is NOW!
- Details
- Published on Monday, 10 December 2012 14:40
Call to Support La Via Campesina
1993-2013: 20 years of Struggle
IN 2013, La Via Campesina will celebrate its 20th Anniversary. Almost 20 years ago, in 1993 a group of farmers representatives women and men - from the four continents gave birth to the movement at a meeting in Mons, Belgium. At that time, agricultural policies and agribusiness were becoming globalized and small farmers needed to develop a common vision and organize the struggle to defend it. Small-scale farmers organizations also wanted their voices to be heard and to participate directly in the decisions that were affecting their lives. Over the last 20 years the local struggles of national organizations have been strengthened by being a part of this vibrant international peasant movement, inspired by a common struggle and the solidarity and support from other organisations.
Read more: Support the Fight for Our Future: Time for Food...
Governments produce blank pages in Doha for planet’s future; La Via Campesina farmers are cooling the planet
- Details
- Published on Friday, 07 December 2012 08:18
La Via Campesina - Press release
(Jakarta, 6 December 2012) – As the climate negotiations come to a close, the industrialized countries insist on inaction for the next decade, finding even more ways to escape their historical responsibility, create more carbon markets including one on agriculture and to keep business as usual of burning the planet. While governments continue to prioritize the interests of industry and agribusiness peasant farmers continue producing to feed the world’s people and the planet.
The high level segment of the 18th Conference of Parties (COP 18) and 8th Meeting of Parties (CMP 8) of the United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has begun on December 5 with Ministers arriving in the petro-state of Doha, Qatar. But the almost two week long negotiations has produced absolutely nothing. Developed countries are so entrenched in their positions and goals for inaction that when the Chair of the negotiations presented the new text under the Long Term Cooperative Action track, the text literally contained blank pages in areas where the Chair claimed divergences existed; these included adaptation, technology development, finance, capacity building and economic and social consequences of response measures – all issues of great concern to developing countries.
