Esther Vivas Center for the Study of Social Movements at the University Pompeu Fabra (spain)
Bolivia started a very interesting political process in 2000, the defense of the right to a common good, water. This led to the mobilization of different sectors of society and resulted in the emergence of a popular government. The process motivated the discussion on topics such as water, indigenous rights and environmental issues that are now part of the Bolivian social and political agenda. These issues have become constitutional rights. This is the good part. The other part is what brings us to this seminar: the limits of social movements that were successful in overcoming neoliberal governments, but failed to change the capitalist mentality. How is it possible that governments which come from a popular origin still repeat the same old development that enslave and binds us to an unbridled capitalism?
JosĂŠ Batista de Oliveira
Center for Applied Research on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Bolivia)
Landless Worker’s Moviment – mst (Brazil)
Gustavo Soto
the fight for land has reached a bigger dimension than the agrarian reform. Now, we fight for the natural resources, for water, for agriculture and for food sovereignty.
The movements for food sovereignty are central in the fight against capitalist globalization. Food sovereignty is an alternative paradigm to the agroindustrial model that has led us towards food and rural crisis. There are millions of people starving, while we produce more food than ever. There is food for everyone, but not everybody have access to it. The rural workers lose their autonomy to produce and the consumers lose control of what they eat.