| Social Forum Presents Broad Spectrum of Gender and Diversity Issues With Strong Critique of Globalization Radio Internacionál Feminista/FIRE July 30, 2004 Indigenous Leader Denounces Repression Through Global Militarization Quito, Ecuador -- “First they called us narco-traffickers [when we resisted takeover of our lands]. Later they called us assassins, and today they call us terrorists,” declared Leonida Lurita Vargas of Bolivia, an indigenous woman activist, who talked on a panel about the resistance of indigenous peoples against militarization of Latin America by the U.S. and other governments of the Americas and transnational companies. Vargas was one of 10,000 activists who believe that “Another world is possible,” the motto of the First Social Forum of the Americas, which took place in Quito, Ecuador, July 25-30. She represented one of 814 organizations who registered for the event, coming from 45 different countries of Latin and North America, as well as some European countries. Vargas described how the US military is providing
funding to construct three new military bases in her region in Bolivia,
which claim to be important for the so-called drug war. But in
reality these bases are centers for assaults against social and political
movements and leaders who resist efforts by multinational oil companies to
drill for oil on their lands under contracts with the government but
without permission of the local people. Forum Encourages Debate & Development of Strategies to Resist Neoliberal Globalization At the opening ceremony for the Social Forum, Blanca Chancoso, of the Organizing Committee, declared that that Forum will permit development of proposals and strategies for action as a means of resisting the dominant neoliberal economic model which has for many created greater marginalization, poverty and social inequality. Economic plans must recognize the diversity of peoples and contexts, including the specific needs of women, rather than imposing one global market model for all. “Capitalist globalization has aspects that are racist, sexist and destructive to the environment,” noted Chancoso. “So here we will talk about what we can and should do to construct another world, another America.” Participants at the Social Forum could choose to attend any of 429 different events, ranging from conferences, panels, seminars, and workshops, or cultural activities and performances. Events focused on issues ranging from gender and women’s human rights, to diversity including sexual rights of lesbians/gays/bisexuals and transgendered (LGBTs), racism, and indigenous rights and struggles throughout the hemisphere. The free trade agreements now being negotiated throughout Latin America and the impact of globalization and neoliberal economic models were also discussed. Also included was militarization of the Americas, and war and peace issues throughout the region, including Colombia and the US war in Iraq.
Women played a strong role in both organizing and participating in the Social Forum, which featured gender and diversity as transversal themes that cut across all other issues. According to Magdalena León, from Ecuador and a member of the Organizing Committee, the hope was that gender perspectives and feminism through women’s participation and leadership would have a strong impact on the process of the event, and not just be words or a statement only. Likewise, diversity was reflected in the range of panels and conference topics, and in the participation of a wide variety of persons from different groups, who talked about issues of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and class. Ana Irma Rivera of Puerto Rico talked about the importance of looking at the intersection of gender and diversity in a conference plenary entitled, “Diversity as an ethics of alternatives.” Rivera noted that the word “gender” is often used to refer to women only, with assumptions that all women can be lumped into one category, rather than recognizing diversity among women, as well as including both women and men in discussions of gender. Likewise Rivera stressed the importance of looking at diversity within racial groups. She noted for example, that indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and Afro-Caribbeans tend to be the poorest of the Latin American and Caribbean region, and within those groups, women tend to be the poorest of the poor. This intersection of gender and diversity was reflected in the wide variety of women participants, ranging from Afro-descendents, indigenous, lesbians, young, older, feminist, rural, labor union and many others who spoke with their own voices and perspectives about their experiences and proposals to eliminate discrimination, and to ways to contribute to developing an America that has human development rather than the capitalist marketplace as its central axis. Also a strong and visible part of the diversity theme were several panels and conferences that focused on sexual rights of lesbians/gays/bisexuals/transgendered persons (LGBTs). Rivera called on participants to recognize and work to include sexual orientation as a distinct category of human rights which is not now included under most national laws in the region. Thus LGBTs are not protected from discrimination in employment, health, housing, privacy or family-related issues, and also face oppression as victims in more extreme situations of assault or even murder due to their sexual orientation. The exception in the Latin American and Caribbean region mentioned by Rivera is Ecuador, which includes sexual orientation as a protected category under its constitution.
Also included in several panels and conferences at the Social Forum were critiques of the dominant neoliberal economic model and its impact on women in particular. In a panel entitled, “Feminist economic alternatives,” Louise Vandelac of Canada noted how a large portion of women’s domestic work is not included as “productive work” in calculating GDPs, thus contributing to feminization of poverty, meaning women are the poorest of the poor. In that same session, Norma Sanchis of Argentina noted that efforts under the dominant model to empower women economically through micro-credit programs may be having little impact because often men in the family take the money that is borrowed by the women. Both Sanchis and Vandelac called for alternative economic models that take into account gender differences in economic power.
The role of communication and media was discussed in several panels and conferences throughout the event, including on the last day with a synthesis panel entitled, “Culture and Communication.” Among other issues, participants in this panel talked about the need for social and political movements to recognize the importance of media, and to include human rights of communication in their mobilization efforts. One participant focused on imagining that “Another world is possible” where indigenous peoples, women, youth, and other marginalized groups have their own media and communication networks. And civil society should take an active role to monitor media to ensure inclusion rather than exclusion of marginalized groups.
For questions or comments, please write to RIF/FIRE at oficina@radiofeminista.net. Material for this report was collected by RIF/FIRE staff, and also from reports by the Women's Network of AMARC and the InterPress Service.
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