Integración de los Pueblos

The Florestan Fernandes National School of the Landless Peasant Movement (MST) in Guararema, Sao Paolo is the site of convergence for more than 150 activists from 22 countries for the 1^st Assembly of Social Movements towards ALBA, taking place from the 16th to 20^th of May.  The tone of this encounter between movements draws from the history of rebellion against colonialism and slavery, as well as the more recent history of marches celebrating 500 years of indigenous, black and popular resistance, the continental campaign against the FTAA and the social forums and common actions that are the background to this integrationist proposal.

Following an act of homage to Hugo Chavez at the commencement of these sessions, MST leader Joao Pedro Stedile addressed the significant periods in the construction of this Assembly.

“We had to build a proposal for integration, independent of government, although with the same political project.  Although there was the idea of the Council of Social Movements within ALBA, this was limited to the signatory nations and the experience of organization and popular participation of different movements across the region underscored the need to act on creating our own means and to have an autonomous space, which provides us with the moral conditions to criticize and support governments as necessary" said Stedile.

The 1^st Assembly, which is founded on principles of solidarity, complementarity and cooperation of the Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), is debating areas where movements already have accumulated experience: political education and formation, solidarity in practice, experiences in self-managed and cooperative production, mobilization and common agendas to address the imperial, patriarchal and agro-export model.

As such, the first days have been devoted to analyzing the current situation.  The member of Economists of the Left (EDI), Claudio Katz, and the popular philosopher and educator, Isabel Rauber, spoke about the challenges of the working class and social movements in confronting the capitalist crisis and stressed the need to complement government driven alternatives including the implementation of the Sucre as a regional currency, an effective system of controlling currency exchange and the nationalization of the financial system in the area. At the same time, they emphasized the need to recognize the actors who are engaged in struggle in Latin America and that the proposals for popular power from below should be strengthened.

In a separate panel, Paraguayan researcher Gustavo Codas and sociologist Francois Houtart provided insights to the working groups who undertook to look inside current struggles and visualize all initiatives that can be integrated so as to make the transition to a more just paradigm in our societies.