[03/29/2006] MST and others protest the privatization of public goods, say “enough" to the WTO
Strong opposition to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its exploitation of the Global South united urban and rural workers as they protested today in Parana’s capital city, Curitiba, forcing a change in the daily routine of one of Brazil’s larger state capitals.
In the early morning of March 29th, over 10,000 marchers from La Via Campesina, the Union of Educational Workers of Parana (APP), the MST, and other social movements marched to say “enough‿ to the WTO. Held as part of the agenda of the Coordination of Social Movements, this protest also included the demands of Parana’s teachers, who are fighting for better wages in the public sector.
Joao Pedro Stedile, of the MST’s National Coordinating Body, affirmed that the fight against the WTO is in the interest of all segments of Brazilian society, since the WTO is forcing their government into a number of agreements that serve only to benefit transnational corporations and harm important sectors such as agriculture and education.
Jose Lemos, president of the APP, reiterated the importance of unity between the rural social movements and the struggle of urban workers. “Unity is essential if we are to put an end to the WTO, who is trying to transform public goods, such as water and education, into commodities‿, Lemos stated.
According to Nalu Faria, one of the organizers of the World Women’s March, the WTO should be called the World Transnational Organization. “We do not want a project of neocolonization that serves only to export soy. We want food sovereignty‿, Faria affirmed.
After the demonstration, members of APP continued their march toward the Palacio Iguaco, site of the Legislative Assembly, to meet with elected representatives and discuss their demands. The 6,000 plus members of La Via Campesina also marched until they reached the site of the COP-8 (8th International Conference on Biodiversity), where over 100 Heads of State are meeting through this Friday, March 31st.
In a public declaration, members of La Via Campesina presented three of their principal demands to Brazil’s Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva: 1) a moratorium on the use of ‘terminator technology’ (a genetic modification that makes seed sterile after the first harvest), 2) the labeling of all products that contain genetically modified organisms, and 3) the immediate destruction of all illegally produced, genetically modified crops.
Roberto Baggio, of the MST’s State Coordinating Body in Parana stated, “It was a very important demonstration. All the political, popular, social and environmental forces stood together against the project proposed by the transnationals who seek to privatize our biodiversity, our environment and our seeds. At the same time, demonstrators made it clear that the true protectors of biodiversity and seeds are the peasants.‿
In Portuguese –
The above article is available in its’ original form by visiting:
http://www.mst.org.br/informativos/minforma/ultimas1776.htm