Bulletin Nº 4 April 2019
Editorial: Our Solidarity with the Women’s Sector of Guatemala
In Latin America and the Caribbean, attacks on democracy have been constant in recent years, from the coups d'etat, initiated in Honduras in 2009, to the persecution, criminalization and assassination of our women and men leaders at the present time.
In recent years, attacks on democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean have been constant, from the coups d'etat, initiated in Honduras in 2009, to the persecution, criminalization and assassinations of our women leaders in present time.
In the face of these developments, we have demanded justice from the social movements and raised our voices to denounce how they are attacks of neoliberalism in their attempts to dominate and control our territories, our work and our bodies. The practices of capital are based on dispossession, violence, the spread of fear with the clear purpose of stopping social movements and their fights.
At the same time, in our region, women are increasingly leading the main resistance and mobilizations. And that is why conservative and right-wing forces have increased their attacks and persecution of women.
On March 8th, for the fourth time, the installations of The Women Sector of the Political Alliance, National Alliance of the World March of Women in Guatemala, were violently raided, stripping them of important assets, computer equipment they use for the development of their work and actions to denounce the current corruption and impunity in Guatemala.
We, the women of the World March of Women of the Americas express our solidarity with the Guatemalan comrades; we demand an immediate investigation and that those responsible be judged and condemned.
The work over 25 years of the Women Sector of the Political Alliance expresses its commitment to the human rights of women and indigenous peoples, with the search for justice and memory, against all forms of genocide, for the self-determination of the people, with autonomy and freedom for women to decide over their bodies and their lives.
We will continue fighting together to build a world where we are all free!
Resist to Live – We March to Transform.
In recent years, attacks on democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean have been constant, from the coups d'etat, initiated in Honduras in 2009, to the persecution, criminalization and assassinations of our women leaders in present time.
In the face of these developments, we have demanded justice from the social movements and raised our voices to denounce how they are attacks of neoliberalism in their attempts to dominate and control our territories, our work and our bodies. The practices of capital are based on dispossession, violence, the spread of fear with the clear purpose of stopping social movements and their fights.
At the same time, in our region, women are increasingly leading the main resistance and mobilizations. And that is why conservative and right-wing forces have increased their attacks and persecution of women.
On March 8th, for the fourth time, the installations of The Women Sector of the Political Alliance, National Alliance of the World March of Women in Guatemala, were violently raided, stripping them of important assets, computer equipment they use for the development of their work and actions to denounce the current corruption and impunity in Guatemala.
We, the women of the World March of Women of the Americas express our solidarity with the Guatemalan comrades; we demand an immediate investigation and that those responsible be judged and condemned.
The work over 25 years of the Women Sector of the Political Alliance expresses its commitment to the human rights of women and indigenous peoples, with the search for justice and memory, against all forms of genocide, for the self-determination of the people, with autonomy and freedom for women to decide over their bodies and their lives.
We will continue fighting together to build a world where we are all free!
Resist to Live – We March to Transform.
Bolivia
The feminist struggle is on the streets and clashes with patriarchal power and capitalism
Graciela R. López. REMTE- MMM Bolivia
|
Raising the banners of No to capitalism and patriarchy!;For free abortion, free and safe! No to violence and harassment at work! Equal pay for equal work!,workers from different sectors, university students, collectives, feminist organizations, activists for women's rights and, in general, activists for democracy and the anti-capitalist revolution, once again converged on the main streets and avenues of the government headquarters of Bolivia to demand punishment for femicides and that wage discrimination, violence and harassment cease to be part of women's working life.
|
Feminist struggles are changing the world and, from the perspective of alternative transformations, are capable of jeopardizing the capitalist system based on the exploitation and subjugation of men and women. We fight against exclusionary and inhuman systems that have been incarnated in political leaders such as Donald Trump at the USA or Jair Bolsonaro in a Brazil submerged in a deep political and moral crisis and in other countries of the region and the world where fascism advances.
Decent work without violence, equal pay for equal work, are not only statements that seek to improve the quality of life of millions of women, but part of a platform of struggle that seeks to bring down the old and decadent structures of patriarchal power that reproduce and naturalize harassment, workplace violence, rape and murder of women. |
BrasilMovilizaciones por todos lados
Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte
In Brazil, March 8th was marked by dozens of demonstrations in large and small cities in all regions of the country. The women mobilized against Bolsonaro. The main focus was the rejection of the Pension Reform, which seeks to take away rights from workers.
Fortaleza, Ceará
The women marched, for Lula’s freedom, who is currently a political prisoner in the country, and to demand justice for Marielle, councilor of Río de Janeiro who was executed in March 2018.
Society demands to know who ordered the assassinated of Marielle! |
On the 8th, the World March of Women took to the streets its solidarity with the Venezuelan people, especially the women who are in the front lines of resistance to the attacks of imperialism.
São Paulo
The World March of Women participated in developingdemonstrations with the other social movements and was present with posters, flags and batucadas who chanted and sang, anti-racist and anti-capitalist feminist songs.
Salvador, Bahia
|
Cuba
8 de marzo, el desafío de no pensar que lo hemos logrado todo
Por: Marilys Zayas Shuman, Mirell Pérez y María Teresa Díaz Álvare
In the X Congress of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC, in its Spanish acronym) conducted in the Palacio de Convenciones de la Habana, there were debates during the 6th, 7th 8th of March over the challenges experienced by Cuban women, their dreams and expectations.
Among the opinions of the delegates on the topic, the one that stands out is by the delegate Mariela Castro Espín whopoints out that one of the challenges that the organization faces is to continue to have an active role within society. The other bets that this Congress made were to legislate with equity and gender justice, which is how Yamila González Ferrer, member of the National Committee of the FMC, made it known with her intervention. (More) Essential space was occupied by the addition and the work with young women who bet on the new ways of saying and doing while tempering the work of the organization to the |
new times without losing its essence, an example of this are the words of the youth, Arisney Montero León, a 14 year old teenager.
Similarly, the possibility of making all types of violence visible, the access to non-traditional professions, and the incorporation of young women into voluntary military service to prepare for the defense of the country were central to the discussions. In her part, the young woman, Bertha Sánchez, a journalist from Radio Baraguá, pointed out the importance of using new technologies to make the work of the organization visible and as well as the role of Cuban women within society, always using inclusive language. The March 8th conference in Cuba did not ignore the tribute to Isabel Moya Richard, a Cuban feminist and speaker who physically left us a year ago. The Ibero-American Gender and Communication Event is dedicated to her as she believed that the main challenges for Cuban women is that they think that they have already achieved everything, which in these days is |
being held in our country at the Regional Events and whose international convening is already published..
That same day the Berta Cáceres Feminist Space was once again a meeting point of the Ethical and Political Network of the Women's Movement in Cuba. While on the other hand, the Cuban campaign to end violence against women, “Evoluciona”, shared on this day of March 8, a set of feminist postcards that invite men to commit themselves to respectful relationships with their partners. 
Postcards show works by Ileana Mulet, Diana Balboa, Liang Domínguez and Alicia Leal, who illustrated a phrase by writers such as Laidis Fernández, Isabel Moya, Excilia Saldaña and Dulce María Loyal.
|
Chile
The 2019 8M will be remembered in our country’s history and in our feminist hearts.
|
Our first action in the context of #LaHuelgaFeministaVa (#TheFeministStrikeGoes), was to deploy at dawn of the #8M, a canvas with our slogans, covering the iconic advertising of capitalism on a central avenue of the capital.
And like many of us, many women mobilized in different ways throughout the country, the metro stations in Santiago woke up with the names of women activists throughout history, in the neighborhoods there was talk of a strike, a gesture, the color of their clothes, a hug... complicity that was felt. Many women took to the streets for the first time in an incipient political act, but with no coming back. It was a day full of feminist milestones, which culminated in marches in more than 70 cities throughout Chile.
|
We, MMM Santiago and MMM Fiofío, marched at dusk with historic crowds in the cities of Santiago and Concepción and used the slogan of the 5th International Action #WeResistToLive #WeMarchToTransform
|
United States of America
Celebrating legacy of Resistance
World March of Women in Florida (The Miami Workers Center) marched to the state capital, Tallahassee, on March 8th. They marched to demand Dignity for Incarcerated Women because, currently, incarcerated folks in correctional facilities and juvenile detention facilities do not have uninhibited access to menstrual products ensures their health and dignity, and eliminated economic barriers to accessing necessary medical items. Also the women marched to repeal the ban on abortions during the first 6 weeks of pregnancy (Florida is one of 2 states that have implemented this ban).
|
World March of Women Members in Oakland, California (Mujeres Unidas y Activas y Causa Justa::Just Cause) marched in the annual International Working Women’s march. The youth choreographed dance, while others brought the batucada to the march, celebrating women workers and the legacy of women’s resistance and rebellion against injustice and domination.
Other WMW mebers across the US held political education sessions on the history of feminist resistance.. |
Paraguay
Our work matters
Cony Oviedo
To be a woman and to be recognized as a worker, although it seems like something obvious, it’s still a daily struggle—the 8M, a date that marks milestones in the historic fight to be recognized. Yes, it’s true that organized women have been fighting for years with marches and activities in Paraguay, recently joining International Feminism with the influence of “Ni Una Menos” (Not one [woman] less) and today for the third consecutive year it’s comprised of one of the biggest mobilizations in the country, this year with the slogan “Nosotras paramos. Nuestro trabajo Vale” (We stop. Our work matters) with 5000 thousand women in the Asunción streets and with organized activities in 4 other cities of the country.
This year we are denouncing how we continue to earn 30% less than men’s salary, they’re not guaranteed basic rights as workers, we continue to have doubles or triple workdays. In the countryside, the constant threat of the extractive business expels, criminalizes, and kills peasants and indigenous women that keep resisting the neoliberal model. We continue to organize from Feminism, the only way to overcome the patriarchal and capitalist system because the revolution will be feminist. |
|
Peru
Mobilizations in all the territories
The Macro Norte was mobilized
At the World March of Women of the Northern Peruvian Macro Region we mobilized on the "International Day of Women" in defense of our bodies, water, land and territories in the regions of Piura, Lambayeque, Cajamarca and Tarapoto where simultaneous mobilizations were jointly convened and prepared with social organizations, unions, peasant communities and citizen collectives. In Peru, women are at risk of death in the home, in the street, in the workplace; in 2018 there were 149 femicides in the country and in the first two months of 2019, 33 femicides were registered-- every day women are being raped, assaulted, mistreated... no place is safe, girls |
and young women disappear day by day, the vast majority victims of trafficking. Women day laborers of agroexport work in conditions of precariousness, semi-slavery, without labor or union rights..Agribusiness imposes working conditions that put the lives and health of women workers at risk while also criminalizing women for defending water, land, territory and life.
There was also March in Lima.
The Collective for the Rights of Older Adults, mobilized with the World March of Women.
The Gender and Economy Group present at the March of 8M making visible the demands of women for the recognition of their rights and the contribution of their work. |
Quebec
Manifesting Respect
Por Emilia Castro por la CRQMMF, Karine Drolet, Hamida Melouane
|
In Quebec, the activities and actions of March 8th mobilized comrades in all regions and cities. The women invaded demanding RESPECTin the streets and reclaiming their rights with the cry "No to violence, No to poverty!
In the city of Quebec, the day began with an action inside the Palace of Justice and with a feminist chain to denounce the inaction of the authorities in the face of sexual aggressions.
This action was followed by a meeting with indigenous women, migrant women and women living in poverty to build solidarity and feminist ties. The activities culminated with a march in the streets of the city. The women of the MMM of Québec were present and in solidarity. 
|
In the region of La Matanie.
Discussion on the theme "Women and Employment", followed by a dinner at the Women's Association of the Matane region to celebrate March 8. At 3 pm, action in front of the Matane Palace of Justice in collaboration with Gigogne in solidarity with women and victims of sexual assault. In the Chaudière Appalaches region The activities of March 8 were mainly organized by the Women's Centers with the participation of shelters, AFEAS de Montmany and CALACS Outaouais-Quebec Region On the occasion of the International Day of Women's Rights, the Regional Committee of the World March of Women in Outaouais organized its second feminist meeting with Françoise David as guest, who presented her conference: Challenges and challenges for women in 2019. The night was held on March 1 with more than one hundred participants from all sides of the region. The evening took place in an atmosphere of solidarity, exchange and witness among feminists of different generations. Hamida Melouane |
Venezuela
We fight... and don´t let anyone to turn off our light
Alejandra Laprea
La Araña Feminista (The Feminist Spider)- MMM Venezuela.
La Araña Feminista (The Feminist Spider)- MMM Venezuela.
 The first ones that arrived at 8M.
Photo: Ceyralí Domínguez, The Fifth Wave
In Venezuela the construction of March 8 was carried out under the imperialist onslaught and threats of invasion of the country.
We held joint meetings to build a feminist, and popular March 8. The different expressions of Venezuelan feminisms began discussing about whether it was relevant or not to dedicate energy and effort to March 8. Finally, the conclusion was that the US interventionist agenda and the coup attempt of the self-proclaimed President Juan Guaidó should not silence the feminist movement. Thus, in Venezuela, the challenge is to make our struggles visible without abandoning the resistance in the streets to the orchestrated coup d'etat of the fascist right, the US government and its allies of the Lima and European Union groups. In Caracas, an 8M public route was |
 Weaving Women and Communities. Starting the preparation of 8M
Photo Ketsy Medina
developed, starting on March 1 with the activity "Weaving between Women and Communities". The responsibility was shared between La Araña-MMM Venezuela and the Latin American Feminist Brigade. They rang the doors of a group of weavers from the San Juan parish who received donated wool from the MMM Chile and other women. They met at the Cultural Center La Estancia and weaved while reflecting on why marching the 8M. Between loops and stitches, a banner was made that shows reflections and struggles of popular feminisms. The days before the 8M we held forums, debates and conversations that are expressed in a statement and the slogan Nosotras Luchamos. (We fight).
On March 7, Venezuela was the target of a terrorist attack that affected the generation and distribution of electricity throughout the entire country. |
 Reading We Fight.
Photo Ketsy Medina.
In the early hours of 8M2019 the country was mired in uncertainty, without energy, no phone, without media, without social networks, without public transport but with streets, streets with people. This is how, based on the agreements and faithful to the motto "We Fight," the collectives and individuals came to the meeting point with the hope of not being the only ones.
And so it was, already together and with the banner displayed the women went to the Plaza Bolívar, shouting: Women against war, women against capital. Women against machismo, neoliberal capitalism. And We resist, we fight, and we move forward. In the square was read the communiqué that had been collectively prepared and assumed the commitment to continue with our agenda to make the feminist revolution irreversible. |
Equipo editorial: Rocío Alorda (Chile)- Alejandra Laprea (Venezuela) Traducciones: Francés: Emilia Castro (Quebec); Inglés: María Centeno (Vzla) y Pao Lebron (USA); Portugués: Helena Zelic, Tica Moreno y Luiza Mançano. (Brasil)
Para comunicarte escribe a: mmmboletinamericas@gmail.com
Para comunicarte escribe a: mmmboletinamericas@gmail.com
