rn: Brazil: MARCH ON THE CAPITAL, ZAPATISTAS TO BELEM

1999-10-12

Jan Slakov

Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 03:16:36 -0500
From: Mark Douglas Whitaker <•••@••.•••>
Subject: mass movement strategy and DAMN: PROTESTERS END 1000-MILE
  MARCH IN BRAZIL

Richard and Jan,
        On the ideas for mass movement strategy, a nice one would be a
non-violent march on the capital IN ANY COUNTRY of the world ON THE SAME
DAY. It would be useful to institutionalize this into a calendar event, for
building and sustaining vision and momentum.  The symbolism would be both
global and local, and would have nice effects on all the planning and
relationships that would commence in the planning of an event like this.
That would be the added benefit.


Regards,

Mark Whitaker

Title: PROTESTERS END 1000-MILE MARCH IN BRAZIL
Date: 06-OCT-99
Author: Associated Press Staff Writer
Source: Labour Start, www.labourstart.org
Reference:
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/americas/9910/06/brazil.protest.ap/index.html

Their 1,000-mile walk nearly over, an eclectic band of 1,100 protesters
reached the capital Wednesday to express their displeasure with the
government, austerity policies and the International Monetary Fund. 

Peasants, unionists and Indians camped on the outskirts of Brasilia and
prepared for the final leg Thursday, when they plan to protest at the
Brazilian Central Bank. Some 7,000 supporters came by bus to join the
demonstration. 

The "People's March for Brazil" left Rio de Janeiro on July 26, heading
northwest for nearly 1,000 miles to the capital. 

Among the groups backing the march are the Landless Rural Workers Movement,
various labor unions, leftist political parties and Brazil's Roman Catholic
Church. 

The protesters chose the IMF as the target of their discontent with economic
policy that has brought recession and unemployment. The IMF recently led a
$41.5 billion bailout loan for Brazil, and the government in turn pledged to
sharply reduce its budget deficit. 

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who took office in 1995, says Brazil
was a victim of the financial crises in Asia and Russia. But his government
failed to push through promised fiscal reforms, and officials were stunned
when global markets went into a tailspin. 

Since January, Brazil's real has lost one-third of its value. To prevent a
return of high inflation, the government raised interest rates and pushed
the country into recession. Today, more than 1 million people are jobless in
Sao Paulo, South America's biggest city and industrial center. 


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From: •••@••.•••
Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 17:52:03 -0300
Subject: Zapatistas's 2nd American Meeting in Brazil

Dear friends:

Excuse me if you have by chance already received this message from other 
sources.


Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999
Subject: (en) FZLN,Second American Encuentro,Sept 4
From: •••@••.••• (Chiapas95-english)
To: •••@••.•••


>From The Zapatista Front of National Liberation (FZLN).
Mexico.

To Organizing Committee of the 2nd American Encuentro For Humanity 
And Against Neoliberalism

To Organizations and individuals who are being called, from Belem,
across the entire continent, to meet with us in Belem do Pará, Brazil.

To The peoples of the American Continent:

Brothers and Sisters:

We received your Call to the 2nd American Encuentro For Humanity and
Against Neoliberalism, to be held from December 6 to 11, 1999, in the City
of Belem, Pará, Brazil.  The beauty of the text could alone sustain, and be
in keeping with, the abundance of dreams promised by the extremely rich
diversity of Brazilian social movements and their struggles.  By having you
as our hosts, the intergalactics of all Our America will be able to feel at
ease, and we will be inspired to share the experiences, ideas and most
daring intentions for humanity and against (already, in itself, old)
neoliberalism.

The natural beauty of Belem / Pará, and the struggle of its residents to
socialize it, points to a scenario that augurs a true encuentro of Our
America with itself, that is, a truly wonderful encuentro of those who are
seeking and struggling to make their dreams reality.  Because of that, from
La Realidad to Belem, a dream is drawn:  that of Our America being free,
democratic and just.

It has been three years now since the 1st American Encuentro For Humanity
and Against Neoliberalism, held in Chiapas, Mexico, and we are happy that
Brazil, that country of continental dimensions and great variety of social
struggles, is offering us the opportunity to join together, now in Belem do
Pará, in order to continue the necessary coming together that will allow us
to build, among all of us, the path of a future with peace.

We Mexican zapatistas will be coming to Belem with the conviction that we
will meet everyone there:  social movements and organizations, citizens,
religious, women, homosexuals, lesbians, young persons, unionists,
campesinos, indigenous, blacks, political wings of various shapes, all, in
order to confirm the breadth, diversity and strength of our hopes.

We Mexican zapatistas are now beginning to prepare for our attendance and
participation in the 2nd American Encuentro.  To all of our brothers and
sisters of the continent, we are saying:  let us walk together to Belem. 
We are going ready to lend our modest contribution to the common struggle
of Our America.  But we are going, above all, with the intention of
listening to, and learning from, all of your efforts.

To our brothers and sisters of Mexico, we are calling you to build together
a National Promotional Committee for the 2nd American Encuentro For
Humanity and Against Neoliberalism, that will be in charge of the
preparations for the participation of a broad Mexican delegation, open to
any organization or individual who wants to participate in this encuentro.

Together, we shall try to decipher the unknowns of this end of millenium,
we shall share the ideas that move us and inspire us, we shall share and be
inspired by the experiences of resistance and struggle against inequality,
against oppression and against exclusion, battles which our American
peoples fight every day.  And in that way we shall continue to weave the
immense net of all us who are confronting the cynicism of a system which
knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.

To our Brazilian compañeros, to our compañeros of Belem do Pará, we are
grateful for your generous willingness to receive - in your enormous house
in solidarity - a continent that, with all its wounds, will arrive willing
to be a dignified and human future.  Be assured that, from this moment on,
we Mexican zapatistas will contribute all of our efforts towards the
success of this effort of American unity.

Liberty!  Justice!  Democracy!

"FOR A WORLD WHERE MANY WORLDS FIT"

The Zapatista Front of National Liberation (FZLN) 

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Date: Sat, 4 Sep 1999 23:45:12 -0400
From: irlandesa <•••@••.•••>
Subject: FZLN: 2nd American Encuentro
Sender: irlandesa <•••@••.•••>
To: •••@••.•••

Originally published in Spanish by the Zapatista Front of National
Liberation
(FZLN)
_________________________
Translated by irlandesa

Date:   Friday, September 3, 1999 22:03:11 -0500
From:   fzln <•••@••.•••>

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