Americas Action: Women Struggling Against Sexism, Capitalism and Neoliberal Terrorism

From the proposal presented by the Women's Social Movement against War and for Peace during the World March of Women Americas meeting, held in Cochabamba in August 2009, we decided to adopt this initiative as the regional segment of our Third International Action.
A few months later, at the signature of the military cooperation partnership between the United States and Colombia, which allowed the establishment or increase of American military presence in seven military bases around the country, the meeting grew in scope, attracting the support of other mixed social movements, such as Via Campesina, Convergence of the People’s Movements of the Americas and the World Peace Council.
The delegation organized by the World March of Women comprised 30 women from 10 countries, including WMW delegates (from Brazil, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Quebec) and allied movements (from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay), as well as a group of interpreters from Colombia. In a first assessment meeting, held on August 24th in Bogotá, one reassuring fact came to light: supporting the meeting was a well-chosen political decision. “The event in Colombia not only provided a view of the concrete reality in the country, but it also gave faces and names to those who had endured the process of militarization and who resist in their territories and their daily lives,” says Miriam Nobre, the coordinator of the WMW International Secretariat. It also made it possible to confirm the economic and geostrategic interests that defend the military strategy carried out by the Colombian government for over 40 years. “It has, above all, made it very clear to our Colombian brothers and sisters that they are not alone in their struggle; they can count on the solidarity of people struggling all over the world.”
The preparatory phase of the meeting, and especially of the missions, represented a unique moment for Colombian social movements. In every corner of the country, men and women from different sectors and working on different forms of action, began to work together, in many cases for the first time ever. Rosa Guillén, from the WMW in Peru, highlighted the fact that the missions and the event reached the goal of making the situation of women living in areas in conflict visible to a number of groups already working against the military bases. Strengthening the alliance we have built is one of the challenges now before us, as well as creating a detailed report that focuses on the issues and ways of life of Colombian women and how we can monitor the situation. 

An intense agenda
The WMW delegation organized accounted for around one-third of the international delegation present at the meeting. We had a first meeting of reporting and preparation for our participation on the night of August 16th in Bogotá. The following morning, we met with the Political Commission for the meeting and other members of the international delegation to hear reports about the Colombian socioeconomic and political context and, especially, the situation of women in Colombia.
At the press conference following the reporting session, many questions were asked about the Constitutional Court decision not to recognize the partnership between the United States and Colombia. Yolanda Becerra, from the Women’s Social Movements, says that, despite not solving the problem, it was a positive development that legitimated the meeting and enabled mobilization. “We have not only raised the issue nationally, but also internationally, and that has been very important. Some time ago, it was as if Colombians agreed with everything that was happening in our country. We were very afraid of denouncing – and we still are – especially because we know the fight is against the multinationals, their models and key points in the system.  
In the same afternoon, the international delegation divided into groups and went on the missions carried out on the 18th and 19th. Fourteen Colombian regions (of which the WMW visited 10) were visited: Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Catatumbo, Sumapaz, Ciudad Bolívar, Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Nariño - Pasto, San José de Apartado, Magdalena Medio, Barrancabermeja, Santander, Norte de Santander and Arauca.
On the 20th, our delegation met again, this time in Barrancabermeja, our debate forum headquarters, where we came together to share reports illustrating the climate of terror to which women and the Colombian people are subjected daily with militarization. Marissa Zepeda, from the WMW in México, reported, for instance, the fear generated by aircraft flying over the area where the participants from the Valle del Río Cimitarra mission were gathered. Aerial spraying is common in the area, allegedly to prevent illegal crops but, in the end, it destroys rural food production and leads to the displacement of families. Abandoned areas are then “freed” for occupation by transnational mineral companies, drug trafficking or agro-exportation.
An initial general report of the missions, created around the three main themes – women and territory, women and militarization, and women and social movements – is available at:
http://www.movimientos.org/encuentromujerespueblos/show_text.php3?key=18090
In addition, the WMW delegation is preparing more detailed reports about each mission and a general mission assessment meeting, which will soon be released.

The Summit in the media
In section http://www.mmm2010.info/press-room-es/el-encuentro-en-los-medios of the WMW 2010 website, you will find a complete list of news published in different American and European media channels about the Summit.