"Capitalism is in crisis but has not been defeated. It reinvents itself seeking other avenues of release. It organizes its fury against the undisciplined, rebellious peoples. It tries incessantly to recolonise them, to make them submit, to control them." …

Today a lot is said of the current crisis that capitalism is facing and how this will bring about consequences for the present struggles and resistances in this part of the world and for Latin America. Political and social leaders of these movements and groups have recently made this conclusion at a meeting held in Bolivia last July, which LASNET had the opportunity to attend. As part of the meeting’s resolutions they considered the following:

“Capitalism today, through the hegemony of the United States, is currently living through a process of decay and illegitimacy but it keeps on being all powerful, not only in the economic and military arena but also in the ideological one. It has the cultural industries as its disposal that turns the capitalist vision of the world into a universal vision.

Latin America is a vital area for the reconstruction of the United States hegemony. Geopolitical and strategic mega- projects like the IIRSA (South America Regional Infrastructure Initiative), the Middle American Project (earlier PPP), the ASPAN, the Plan Mexico and the Plan Colombia, have created a counter block, like dam, to the advance of the processes of transformation in Our America today. Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru have become the poster boys for the neoliberal project. They have become the key pillars that constitute the counter block. Their peoples suffer the rigors of their dirty war and the criminalization of all forms of organization or social protest …

We are convinced that capitalism does not offer any way out for the people of these countries of which we are part, it is necessary to work for the construction of alternative ways, ways that are different from the ones offered by this perverse system, it a necessary step to decolonise these territories and minds.”

We believe it is very important to create spaces for discussion and to look for paths that lead us to the solutions to the exploitation of workers and humanity as a whole at the hands of the transnational corporations and the dominant sectors of our societies, the discrimination and marginalisation of the first nations, violence against minority groups and gay and lesbian people, the destruction of our natural resources and above all the irreparable damage that climate change is causing and will cause.

Other matters that focus the attention of activists of our countries are the topic of the validity of democracy under a neoliberal system, what type of socialism if any is possible in our societies, as Jose Carlos Mariategui, (a well known revolutionary from Peru) wrote, “Not an image, not a Copy”. The violence or “security” that the nation state perpetrates against its people through its ‘anti-terrorist’ laws and the wars that the dominant powers are conducting at this moment against the poor of our countries under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, just look the United States seven military bases installations in Colombia, Chile with the criminalisation of the social protest, Australia the criminalization of international solidarity, the military coup in Honduras in the past months and the violence and accusations of terrorism in New Zealand and the intervention in aboriginal communities in Australia.

We don’t believe we can come up with the solutions today to these complex problems that humanity faces, but we can contribute to the discussion to looking and move forward for new possibilities in building new ways of relationships and put in practices our ideas and proposals. The resolutions from this event will be put for consideration at the gatherings to be held in Latin America and Asia Pacific regions in the next few months.

We Call to ourselves and everyone to the Solidarity Gathering which It will be simple, the first day Friday October 23 a Cultural reception and welcome to country and Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 we will have round tables discussion, Three central plenary, cultural performance, film documentaries, traditional food and music, poetry, etc. In this gathering our priority will be to generate more spaces for interaction between the participants to allow a broad space for participation and discussion.

We are having the Third Latin American & Asia Pacific Solidarity Gathering from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October at Victoria Trades Hall, corner Victoria and Lygon Streets, Carlton South.

At this gathering will be international activists from the social movements from Colombia a representative from the Union movement (Sinaltrainal: National Union of Food Industry, member of CUT-Colombia), Chile a Mapuche Indigenous authority, A Chilean Film maker, From Bolivia, Bounganville, West Papua. And to be confirmed from Japan, New Zealand, Peruvian Amazon indigenous representative and a member of the resistance front from Honduras.

Registration is $30, $20 concession and $15 students Whole Gathering, One day Gathering $15, Conc./Students $10, Diner-Peña $15, $10 Conc./students, Only Friday $10, $5 Conc./Students. Send check or money order to LASNET, P.O. Box 813, North Melbourne, VIC. 3051. Or make direct deposit to our account; name LASNET BSB 633-000 A/C 133147793.

More Info please call Lucho Riquelme land line (03) 9481 2273 or 0400 914 944, Rodrigo Rojas 0414 970 418, Canopy 0448 712 420 or
Juliet Armatolos 0423 911 338.

Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET),
lasnet@latinlasnet.org, www.latinamericansoldaritynetwork.org
Building Solidarity with Latin America
Building Bridges… Organising Globally… The Power of Grassroots/Community Organisations