APRIL 17, 2020 – CALL FOR MOBILISATION – INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEASANTS’ STRUGGLE

(Reprint from La Via Campesina): On April 17, La Via Campesina will commemorate the International Day of Peasants’ Struggleⁱ in a context that once again validates the historical role of the peasantry in societies and their fundamental task of feeding the people, even in times of war, fascism, authoritarianism and pandemics.

COVID-19 has crippled the world. This deadly virus has exposed the vulnerability of the current globalised food system dominated by industrial agriculture, and the dangers it poses to all life forms. We should learn from this crisis and invest in building local, resilient and diverse food systems. States must begin by implementing ‘food sovereignty’ through agroecological production and enabled by popular agrarian reforms. Again, the extraordinary circumstances facing humanity today must compel all countries to protect and guarantee the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, as articulated in the United Nations Declaration, approved in 2018 (UNDROP).

We do not want economic measures that benefit the elites as they did in the past by bailing out banks and businesses to “save the economy”. We demand justice for the peasantry and the oppressed sectors of the world. This April 17, 2020, we call upon our members and allies to be alert against all kinds of opportunism in this global crisis.

Watch LVC's recent docufilm L’Espérance Paysanne | Globalize Hope | La Esperanza Campesina, chronicling how La Via Campesina was born more than 25 years ago, as an alternative that brings together struggles, dreams and challenges to build solidarity and secure our collective human future.