We are making an appeal to all the factories recovered by the workers and to the social organizations in struggle to participate in the "Second Latin American Meeting of Worker-Recovered Factories". Join our efforts and to meet in Caracas, Venezuela on June 25, 26 and 27, 2009!
In Latin America resistance against the destruction of industry and the defense of jobs took on different forms. The criticism and questioning of these are part of the discussion within the labor movement and they were debated at the First Latin American Meeting of Worker-Recovered Factories, which was held in Venezuela on October 29, 2005.
At that time we said: "They close factories, we open them. They steal the land and we occupy it. They wage wars and destroy nations; we defend peace and the sovereign integration of the peoples. They divide and we unite. Because we are the working class. Because we are the present and the future of the humanity".
Today, even more than in 2005, the situation of the people of Latin America strengthens our resolve to continue building and deepening this unity. The current situation on our continent did not come to us as a free gift. It has taken many years of uprisings, resistance, projects and a lot of hard work on the part of workers to build this historical opportunity.
Our movement is anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist. It is a call and an organized movement of the working class against the regime of private property of the means of production, which can only survive by waging wars, exploiting and oppressing the people. We are aware that the struggle is at different stages in our American continent, and that many of today's governments do not represent our interests; however, we are witnessing a situation which is favorable for the making of concrete proposals, to debate and to put the stamp of the workers on the matters that concern us.
Clearly, this will not be easy. In Bolivia we saw how the ruling class reacted to the nationalization of natural resources, faced with the putting into practice of genuine sovereignty. Or in Venezuela, which with its revolutionary steps forward in the fields of education, healthcare, the land question, continues to be a thorn in the side of those who have always lived on the backs of the people and its resources. And so, they continue to produce lies through their media, using fear and hunger. Despite this, the Venezuelan and Bolivian people were not deceived and reelected Chavez and Evo Morales. The same was the case in Ecuador with Correa and, recently, in Paraguay, with the election of Lugo by the people.
We are making an appeal to all the factories recovered by the workers and to the social organizations in struggle to participate in the "Second Latin American Meeting of Worker-Recovered Factories", and unite the struggle of our sector with that of the rest of the working class and support the struggle for socialism that is being carried out by the Bolivian and Venezuelan people with the support of the workers of the whole of Latin America.
We appeal to all of you to join our efforts and to meet in Caracas, Venezuela on June 25, 26 and 27, 2009.
Long live the struggle of the workers in the recovered factories!
Long live the struggle of the working class!
Long live the Venezuelan revolution!
Long live the Bolivian revolution!
We will win! Venceremos!
Contact: fabricasocupadas@terra.com.br
Organized by
- Organizing Committee of the First Latin American Meeting of Worker-Recovered Factories - Caracas/2005 (Serge Goulart - Brazil: sergegoulart@marxismo.org.br; Eduardo Murua - Argentina: vascoeduardo@yahoo.com.ar; Liliana Pertuy - Uruguay: lpertuy@yahoo.com.ar).
- Revolutionary Front of Workers in Occupied and Worker Controlled Factories (FRETECO) - Venezuela: Pacor5876@gmail.com
- Central Obrera Boliviana - Bolivian Trade Union Centre - COB
- Bolivian Mine Workers Trade Union Federation - FSTMB: fstmb@hotmail.com
- National Movement of Recovered Enterprises - MNER - Argentina: ocuparresistirproducir@yahoo.com.ar
- National Association of Self-Managed Workers- ANTA\CTA - Argentina: barriosmario_ust@speedy.com.ar
- United Workers Centre (CUT - Authentic) - Paraguay: cutautentica@hotmail.com
- Co-ordination Committee of Enterprises Recovered by Workers - Paraguay
- Movement of Occupied Factories - Brazil: fabricasocupadas@terra.com.br
See also this appeal in Spanish and Portuguese.