Call for action

After 513 years of internal and external colonialism, of policies imposed on us that aim at subjugation, marginalization and extermination, the peoples and nationalities of Abya Yala, the so-called American continent, are on our feet and ready to build a better future.

We men and women of the indigenous peoples and nationalities reject the neo-colonization strategy through the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), that do not represent a mechanism to regulate the flow of commercial goods, but to impose extermination policies. We oppose war policies and interventions against peoples in the world. We condemn militarization and trampling on sovereignty and dignity. Moreover we condemn the policies of discredit and criminalization of our organizations and leaders.

Colonization policies belong to a culture of death. Indigenous peoples, small farmers and native populations – along with social movements - defend a culture of life. Our territories and mother earth (Pachamama) is being destroyed by foreign interests, however we will continue to watch over the future of humanity.

We seek unity in diversity. We therefore call on all indigenous and social organizations, forums and bodies, and on our allies, to come together to construct the Great Homeland.

We need to be capable of generating communication strategies and policies at the continental level, so that our indigenous organizations and peoples can recover our voice, in the face of the media controlled by the groups in power.

In Abya Yala the winds of change are blowing. These are deep and structural changes. We support the process of Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela, but also other movements that are starting to build horizontal solidarity systems. In Bolivia, we have the first Indigenous President of the Continent, Evo Morales Ayma, who, with his example of perseverance and his social, political and cultural commitment, inspires social and popular movements to follow this path, not only to reach government but also to regain power.

Objectives

- • Link peoples and nationalities of the continent, creating opportunities, bridges and solidarity among us and our allies

- • Strengthen our organizations to defend our rights that are constantly relegated by the system

- • Globally reject the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the FTAA and other commercial mechanisms of imposition; and coordinate integration policies among our peoples.

- • Actively participate in the construction of the diplomacy of our peoples and demand our governments to support our contributions to the Community of Andean Nations (CAN), the South American Confederation and other international bodies.

- • Strengthen the standing of all indigenous peoples and above all of the Bolivian government, headed by the First Indigenous President of the Abya Yala Continent.

- • Coordinate and build a minimal agenda of action and activities of the indigenous peoples and nationalities against neoliberal policies and the system.

KEY TOPICS

- Our identity, rights of the peoples, challenges and alliances

- Globalization, territory and natural resources

- External debt, historical debt and migration

- Militarization and criminalization of social movements

- Our alternatives: ALBA and TCP against the neoliberal model

- Youth rights in the process of change

- Women’s participation in the process towards power

- Constitutive Assembly, re-foundation and the Pluri-national State.

- Resistance, democracy and power

Place and location

The Continental Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities of the Abya Yala will take place in La Paz city (Bolivia) between the 8 and 12 of October of 2006.

On October 8, we will commemorate with a tribute and a festival of our cultures, the 36th anniversary of the death of our legendary guerrilla warrior Ernesto “Che” Guevara. And on October 12, with a massive march of both protest and festivity, we will remember the 514 years of the invasion of our continent, the overthrow and flight to the US of the symbol of Bolivian neoliberal policy, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, and above all, the beginning of a new phase of coordinating activities, alliances and solidarity of our peoples, in the continent and the world.

We invite indigenous men and women, natives and campesinos, their respective representatives and leaders of the continent and the world, to participate actively in the Continental Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities of the Abya Yala that will take place in the country of the democratic and cultural revolution, under the premise of building a better future.

Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia – CSUTCB
Consejo Nacional de Ayllus y Markas del Qullasuyo – CONAMAQ (Bolivia)
Federación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas de Bolivia “Bartolina Sisa” – FNMCB-BS
Federación Sindical de Colonizadores de Bolivia – FSCB
Confederación de Pueblos de la Nacionalidad Kichwa del Ecuador – ECUARUNARI
Confederación Nacional de Comunidades del Perú Afectados por la Minería – CONACAMI
Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia – ONIC