Via Campesina News

(New York, May 10, 2010) – On May 6 and 7, La Via Campesina participated in a delegation of civil society groups convened by the government of Bolivia to accompany President Evo Morales to present the People's Accord of Cochabamba to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the G77 and China. The event was an historic opportunity for members of civil society to gain political space in the UN dialogue on climate change ahead of the next round of official negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Cancun, Mexico in December.

Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon(right) meets with Evo Morales Ayma, President, Bolivia.
Mrs Yoon Guem Soon from Vía Campesina in the background.

CREDIT: UN Photo/Mark Garten

US Social Forum, Detroit, 2010
Over a half-century ago, Mahatma Gandhi led a multitude of Indians to the sea to make salt—in defiance of the British Empire’s monopoly on this resource critical to people’s diet. The action catalyzed the fragmented movement for Indian independence and was the beginning of the end for Britain’s rule over India. The act of “making salt” has since been repeated many times in many forms by people’s movements seeking
liberation, justice and sovereignty: Cesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and the Zapatistas are just a few of the most prominent examples. Our food
movement— one that spans the globe—seeks food sovereignty from the monopolies that dominate our food systems with the complicity of our
governments. We are powerful, creative, committed and diverse. It is our time to make salt.