Throughout Latin America
Indigenous Day of Resistance
By Berta Joubert-Ceci
Across many cities in Latin America, people commemorated
Oct. 12 not as "Columbus Day," "Hispanic Heritage Day" or
"Día de la Raza"--but as the "Day of Resistance of the
Native Peoples."
Five centuries after the Spanish Empire's invasion of the
Americas and the Caribbean, Indigenous people in every South
and Central American country except Venezuela continue to face
racism, cultural and linguistic discrimination, extreme poverty
and genocide.
In Cuba, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, the Native
population was decimated through forced labor, illnesses and
suicides.
But now Indigenous people are rising up in South and Central
America--not only demanding their rights but also opposing U.S.
imperialism's intensifying exploitation of their countries in
the form of so-called free-trade agreements.
In July, at the first Social Forum of the Americas in Quito,
Ecuador, and in other meetings throughout the continent,
hundreds of organizations set forth a program of action for
Oct. 12. The primary purpose was to oppose the imposition of
these trade agreements on their countries. The organizations
included not only Indig e nous organizations, but also
peasants, labor, students, Afro-descendants, women and many
others.
The free-trade agreements are imposed by transnational
corporations, mainly U.S.-based, and the International Mone
tary Fund and World Bank, to force "structural reforms." These
"reforms" entail privatizing services like health, education,
communications and energy, with consequent layoffs, high
unemployment, and increases in the cost of basic goods and
services.
The transnational companies suck up natural resources and
super-profits for Wall Street banks, leaving behind misery and
desolation.
During the last two years, a wave of militant, massive
demonstrations against the proposed Free Trade Area of the
Americas led to the failure of negotiations between the
targeted South American countries and Washington. Now the Bush
administration is meeting individually with each country's
leadership, mostly behind closed doors, trying to set up secret
deals.
In Central America, where the U.S.-sponsored Central America
Free Trade Agree ment has not yet been ratified, there were
actions against the pact Oct. 12. Some 30,000 Indigenous people
held a protest in Guate mala. In El Salvador, the Movement for
Social Resistance blocked main highways.
Negotiations are pending between the United States and
Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. In Bolivia, Oct. 11 and 12
were days of commemoration of the more than 80 people killed
last year in demonstrations that ousted President Sanchez de
Lozada and demanded the nationalization of gas and oil.
This struggle is ongoing. On Oct. 18, thousands of peasants
and workers in many sectors of the economy, including coca
growers, converged on La Paz, Boli via's capital. They
surrounded Con gress to demand passage of a nationalization
law.
In Ecuador, Indigenous people, students, anti-FTAA groups
and other social movements initiated a campaign to demand a
popular referendum on the FTAA.
In Colombia, the Day of Resistance was marked by a general
strike. In the biggest show of unity, labor federations, Indi
ge nous groups, peasants, women, students and progressive
organizations mobilized a million people throughout the
country.
A poster for the strike read, "Sur rounded by threats that
give us courage ... we will all participate in the work
stoppage without fear or cowardice." Protest events in Colombia
seem to grow larger even as threats, assassinations, massacres,
detentions and political imprisonment increase.
Strike organizers were clear in their objectives. Carlos
Rodríguez Díaz, president of the Unitary Center
of Workers, one of the labor federations initiating the call,
said the strike was political. "We are not thinking only of the
interests of workers, but we are struggling hard so we can have
a country with a real economic and political democracy."
The Colombian Communist Party described the strike as a
"memorable day," saying, "It has shown clearly the rejection of
the FTAA and [President] Uribe's policy of Democratic
Security." "Domestic Security" is a program of
counter-insurgency measures directed against the armed
liberation movements and all social and labor organizations,
which Uribe has declared "allies of terrorism."
This strike came on the heels of a truckers' strike and a
massive gathering of Native peoples demanding rights and
opposing the trade agreements.
Reprinted from the Oct. 28, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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