Discovering the Global Peasant Movement – What is it?
Those of you familiar with my previous posts will be aware of my growing concern with the goals and aspirations of, and the current discourse by those involved in, the movement and market of fair trade. Most recently, my concerns have been focused on two issues.
Firstly, that Fair Trade chooses ‘political impotency’ as its preferred social status. Fair Trade promoters and practitioners fail to give recognition to or challenge the deliberate, systematic persecution of poor countries in the South by the instruments of capitalism/neo-liberalism and its corporations the WTO, WB and IMF (Khor). Some might argue that recent ‘mainstreaming’ developments in fair trade support the industrialised agricultural regime that these institutions promote.
Secondly, and perhaps even more significantly, there is a complete absence of any ‘authentic’ (non promotional) dialogue or engagement with the small farmer producers in the Global South around these or other issues of economic justice.
In recognition of these core credibility issues and their omission within the fair trade discourse, the focus of ‘The Other’ has moved. It now seeks to adopt a purposefully political perspective dedicated to discovering, promoting and advocating for the perspectives and voices of the Global Peasant Movement.
What is the Global Peasant Movement?
The Global Peasant Movement is a well-elaborated radical critique of the current market-driven agribusiness paradigm that is enacted through globalised industrial and neo-liberal trade policies (Bello). The Movement questions all the basic premises of this paradigm: export trade, monoculture, large-scale industrial farming, the green revolution and biotechnology. It also advocates for a rights-based approach to economic justice and seeks to build local self-sufficiency.
Who is the Global Peasant Movement?
La Via Campasina (‘The Way of the Peasant’), an international alliance of peasant and family-farmer organizations, IS the movement (Martinez-Torres).
Membership of this alliance is restricted to authentic grass roots organizations of peasants: small and medium scale farmers, rural women, landless workers, farm workers, sharecroppers, fisherfolk and indigenous agrarian communities. Currently, La Via Campesina has 148 member organizations in 69 countries representing 500 million rural families from the Americas (North, Central, South and the Caribbean), Asia (East, South East and South), Europe and Africa.
La Via Campesina gives a very clear message in declaring their most basic right to a voice of their own.
“We are here and we can speak for ourselves!!!!”
What is the Philosophy of the Global Peasant Movement?
At its core, the movement is about reclaiming what it means to be a peasant – resurrecting ‘peasant’ as an act of resistance to the dominant agribusiness paradigm.
La Via Campesina is founded on principles of autonomy and holds itself independent from political parties, governments, religious institutions and NGOs. Its structure, intentions and actions reflect the belief that peasants have the right:
- To be on the land
- To produce food
- To be seen as fulfilling an important function in society at large
- To live in viable communities and the obligation to build community
The Global Peasant Movement maintains a deep attachment to culture. The production, distribution, preparation, consumption and celebration of food are all fundamental to rural cultures. Profound importance is paid to the farmer’s relationship to seeds and to the land.
“We the peasant farmers of the world take seeds, we plant them and we turn them into food. This is our role in society and is a vital contribution.”
What are the Goals of the GPM
Since its inception, La Via Campesina’s main objective has been to halt neo-liberalism, and construct alternative food systems based on ‘food sovereignty’. It’s aim is to place firmly in the international arena the demands and visions of those who actually produce food. They argue that this can occur only when local communities gain greater access to and control over local productive resources and social and political power.
“Peasant and farm organizations clearly understood that nothing less than radical transformation was needed to stop the ongoing displacement, marginalisation, repression, and persistent impoverishment of rural peoples.” Desmarais
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah, like it. A couple of questions: how do you know that La Via Campasina is the authentic voice of peasants? And isn’t there at least the possibility that agitating for peasants and for fairtrade might be complimentary (ie they might be talking about slightly different groups)?
Hi Joe,
Thanks for your questions.
1. How do I know that La Via Campasina is the authentic voice of peasants? From my research of peasant/small farmer organizations there is significant substantive evidence from a wide range of experts in the field that La Via Campesina is an authentic peasant voice and from a ‘peasant advocacy’ context is the only identified ‘international’ peasant voice. Can I suggest that you review the references identified in the post for confirmation of their credibility. Should you require it, I can provide a range of other references to further qualify this perspective.
2. Isn’t there at least the possibility that agitating for peasants and for fairtrade might be complimentary? Actually, I see this option, particularly in the context of the most recent moves by the owners of the fairtrade movement and market, FLO, as paradoxical and contradictory. While it is not my intention in this blog to challenge or critique the concept of fairtrade further, my justifications for this position will become clearer in future posts.
We all follow our own paths of other-discovery and mine is now the voices and perspectives of the Global Peasant Movement – Via Campesina!