WW interview with Argentine LGBT leader
'Together we will defeat imperialism'
By Rebeca Toledo
"I am a transvestite, a woman, a socialist,
indigenous, fat, brown, poor, a worker. I am all these things
and more. And I fight to build a world where I am accepted for
everything that I am," Lohana Berkins tells Workers World.
Ms. Berkins had come to the United States from her native
Argentina to receive the International Gay & Lesbian Human
Rights Commission's 2003 Felipa Award. She also spoke to many
other lesbian, gay, bi, trans and progressive groups while in
New York.
About the LGBT struggle in Argentina, Berkins says: "There
have been many closeted leftists in the LGBT movement and many
closeted LGBTs in the left movement. But this is starting to
change."
Two years ago, Berkins was the first LGBT candidate to run
on the United Left slate for Congress. She ran as an open
transvesti. Terms used for the LGBT movement around the world,
as in the United States, are fluid--as is the movement itself.
In Argentina, the word transvesti, or transvestite, would come
closest to the term transgender in the United States.
"Before I ran," she explains, "people said that LGBTs on the
slate would lose votes, but we got more votes than the last
time. This showed that we not only can get votes, but that we
can get people to come out and vote in greater numbers. This
year there are 10 LGBT candidates nationally and many more
regionally."
In Argentina's LGBT Pride March last November, Berkins and
others organized a group to march under the banner: "No to
imperialism, no to war, no to ALCA (the Free Trade Agreement of
the Americas)."
"We didn't know what to expect," she recounts. "At first we
were a handful, and some of the compañeros were getting
worried and wanted to disband. I insisted we continue, even if
we were small.
"We were at the back of the march and as we took the street,
we were joined by so many people that we filled up the whole
block. We kept gaining people as we went along. We became the
most popular contingent."
Their contingent also consisted of "piqueteros," the
unemployed workers who have been leading the struggle against
International Monetary Fund-imposed austerity measures.
Lohana Berkins offers an eyewitness account of the December
2001 uprising in Argentina that led to the fall of three
presidents in succession.
"When the president declared a state of emergency on Dec.
19, that was the last straw. I went out into the street of my
building and saw two other women on the corner beating their
pots and pans.
"In a matter of minutes we were 200 strong. People appeared
on their balconies to join the 'caserola.' All corners filled
with women, children, men, people of all ages.
"We decided spontaneously to go to the Plaza de Mayo. When
we got there, people were already there. And we stayed until 6
a.m. trying to take the Plaza from the cops who kept attacking
us with tear gas."
Lohana Berkins tells the story as only one who lived it
could--her eyes bright with the thrill of a living, breathing
struggle.
"In the afternoon," she continues, "we returned better
organized and took the Plaza. By 6 p.m., the president had
resigned and the people had won a sweet victory."
Asked about the significance of these events, she replies:
"It does not lie in the response of the ruling class of
Argentina, because it has done little to alleviate the
suffering of the people. The importance lies in the collective
memory of the people that felt their power that December. And
the absolute distrust and discredit that all government
institutions have earned from them.
"That will live on and will lead to new uprisings."
The crisis in Argentina is profound. Berkins tells WW that
out of a population of 40 million, 22 million live below the
poverty level. And of those, 7 million have no means at
all.
Salaries have been cut by two-thirds, while the cost of
living has remained the same. Everything is now imported, in a
country that has enough resources to be self-sufficient.
The IMF has opened an office in Argen tina, something that
is rare, according to Berkins. The new president, Néstor
Carlos Kirchner, plans to let the IMF impose more
belt-tightening for the people.
Lohana Berkins works for a city council member. She says,
"We have street workers, transvestites and others coming in and
out of our office all day seeking our services."
She also investigates human-rights violations in the
country.
Of the U.S. role in Argentina, she points out that
Washington has its eye on the water supply in southern
Argentina. She says this is one of the largest reserves left in
the world. "The U.S. would like to get its hands on our water
supply so that it can continue to carry out its wars of
aggression and secure a water reserve."
The United States demonstrated in Iraq how it could use such
a supply to privatize water for profit. It is not that
far-fetched considering that this is exactly what is being
attempted in Bolivia.
About the U.S. war in Iraq, Berkins says: "That was not a
war of equals--that was an invasion. U.S. imperialism is
through using diplomacy. It will continue to show its true face
and will use force and invasion against all peoples of the
world.
"In Argentina, we protested at the U.S. embassy during the
U.S. invasion," she concludes. "We were part of the worldwide
movement. We must stop imperialism with more internationalism
and more solidarity. Together, we will defeat it."
Reprinted from the July 3, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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