In an interview with Real World Radio, Alessandra Da Costa Lunas, Vice-President of CONTAG, highlighted the recent Meeting of Rural People, Forests and Water, where the organizations adopted a manifesto and articulated their mobilization agendas.
As reported by Real World Radio, over seven thousand delegates of CONTAG, the Federation of Family Agriculture Workers (FETRAF) and La Via Campesina Brazil, participated in the event that took place in August.

Alessandra analyzed the meaning of the meeting and pointed out that they were able to assess the current situation of the Brazilian countryside and strengthen their unity. In her opinion, Dilma Rousseff’s administration is closer to the demands of the organizations, but this is not reflected in policies in favor of the peasant population, and on the contrary there are attempts to “capture” the government by the most conservative forces linked with capital and agribusiness.

She thinks the massive communication media have made the urban populations to see the demands by peasants as something far away from them. Among other things, the Brazilian leader is the head of the Coordination of Family producers of a Broadened Mercosur (Coprofam), which gathers organizations from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, in addition to Brazil.

About the importance of the Meeting, Alessandra highlighted that the problems to face in the future have been identified. "We are analyzing the same issues, and that helps to identify the measures to take. We have to put the Agrarian Reform and the Food Sovereignty agenda at the center. The Meeting has strengthened this",
With reference to the coordination of the work at continental level, Alessandra said that the Alliance for Food Sovereignty is the strategic place to strengthen this agenda and she compared the Brazilian situation with the situation of the region. She pointed out that Food Sovereignty is an issue that is shared by the organizations of the region, beyond some subtle differences that may arise. It is a class struggle where urban workers depend on obtaining healthy food at a fair price", said Alessandra and called to strengthen and broaden the Alliance.

(CC) 2012 Real World Radio