insurrección

Senator Sixto Pereyra, from the pro-government movement Tekojojá, stated that the group´s main task is to “organize the postponed demands” of several sectors of society.

According to Pereyra, heterogeneity in the Patriotic Alliance for Change, Fernando Lugo´s alliance, is undeniable, and for this reason it is important for the peasant and popular organizations to mobilize in order to state their demands.

The concept of food sovereignty is linked with the agrarian reform. In Uruguay there has been a progressive awareness raising process by the social movements and farmers groups and the academia.

Real World Radio interviewed Marcel Achkar, PhD in Environmental Sciences and professor of the School of Sciences of the University of the Republic. He participated in a seminar-workshop called “Food Sovereignty: challenges and opportunities” held in October 30th in Florida, 100 kilometers north of Montevideo.

Via Campesina’s Fifth International Conference is taking place in Mozambique, as a way to unite forces and seize the opportunity behind the current crisis. In this report we take a look into what is happening in the conference, which is beginning to give a fresh start awat from the market mechanisms.

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October 17, 2008
La Paz, Bolivia

Sisters and Brothers
International Conference of the Via Campesina Maputo, Mozambique

Via Campesina warns about the governments´ pressure to dismantle FAO.

International peasant movement, Via Campesina, issued a statement indicating that the main donor countries of Food and Agriculture Organization are pushing to reduce the mandate of FAO and to skip any reference to fundamental human rights. In addition, these governments would also be pushing FAO to stop managing projects in developing countries.

Palm Green Wash

Friends of the Earth Denounces Unsustainability of Palm Oil Production in Malaysia.

The Federation of environmentalist organizations, Friends of the Earth International, launched on Tuesday a report which states that Malaysian palm oil is far from being sustainable.

The report Malaysian Palm Oil: Green Gold or Green Wash? analyses the case of Sarawak state in Malaysia, where palm oil large scale plantations are being developed at high speed.

The land policies carried out by Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo can cause him more than one headache during his term. Lugo is being criticized by a sector of Paraguayan peasants.
Last Friday, a violent eviction of occupied lands in Alto Parana (Brazilian border) resulted in the murder of a peasant leader from the Farmers Association from Alto Parana (ASAGRAPA).
Several landless rural workers organizations and left-wing political groups criticized the police acts, because according to them, this was carried out in defense of a thousand hectare field owned by a Brazilian settler.

Alternatives to Monoculture Tree Plantations in Uruguay

On September 21st, International Day Against Monoculture Tree Plantations was commemorated. In Uruguay, a coalition of organizations of family rural producers and environmentalist groups issued a statement in which they assess the consequences of the Forestry Promotion Law, in force for almost two decades.

Interview with Raoul Bhambral, Friends of the Earth Europe's agrofuel campaigner.

This was the name and one of the main conclusions drawn during a seminar that took place on Friday during the European Social Forum in Malmö, which is being held since Wednesday and will be ending on Sunday.

Friends of the Earth Europe's agrofuel campaigner, Raoul Bhambral moderated the activity. In an interview with Real World Radio, he spoke about the political aspects of agrofuels in Europe and how the demand for agrofuels in the North affects the Southern countries and causes climate change.

Interview with Anne Peterman from the Global Justice Ecology Project, member of the Global Forest Coalition.

A seminar called “Agrofuels will not answer to climate change” took place on Friday as part of the activities of the European Social Forum that is being held in Malmö, Sweden.