VIA CAMPESINA WILL REPRESENT FARMERS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE MOBILIZATION AGAINST THE FTAA IN PORTO ALEGRE
More than 4000 farmers and landless of Via Campesina will participate today, 4th of February in the rally against the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) that will leave from the Auditório Araújo Vianna at 18h00. The international farmers’ movement considers the FTAA to be part of the global agenda of global trade liberalizacion that will have the transnational corporations (TNC’s) as winners and will be at the expense of the large majority of the population, the environment and social equity. For Via Campesina this will marginalize family farming and destroy foodsovereignty and biodiversity. According to Via Campesina, the neoliberal FTAA agenda promotes liberalization of trade and investment, deregulation, privatization and economic policies directed solely by the market. This will force countries to reduce their standards for labour protection, health, and public services.

With the FTAA, according to Via Campesina, national agricultures are put at risk by a number of agro-industries controlled by Northamerican firms, marginalizing family farming. This causes the loss of foodsovereignty, the risk of biopiracy and increased use of Genetically Modified Organisms.
Via Campesina demands democratic participation of society in decisions on international trade agreements, and in this case on the mere existence of the FTAA. The farmers’ movement reaffirms its engagement in the consolidation of a broad Continental Social Alliance in order to construct the social countervailing powers needed to address the pressure exerted by Transnationals.

Via Campesina calls upon the participants of the World Social Forum and the inhabitants of Porto Alegre to join the rally against the FTAA.

How to contact the Via Campesina delegation in Porto Alegre:

Place where we stay: Convento de Capuchinos Rua Paulino Chaves, 291 al lado de la Parroquia Santo Antonio Bairro Santo Antonio (cerca a Partenon y la Avenida Bento Gonçalves) By Email: letraviva@mst.org.br – with copy to nicoverhagen@hotmail.com By phone: (005551) 99120916 (mobile delegation)
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