Colombia. Indigenous Day of Resistance.

Colombia. Indigenous Day of Resistance.

ANNCOL

In Colombia, the Day of Resistance was marked by a general strike. In the
biggest show of unity, labor federations, Indigenous groups, peasants,
women, students and progressive organizations mobilized a million people
throughout the country. A poster for the strike read, "Surrounded by threats
that give us courage ... we will all participate in the work stoppage
without fear or cowardice." Protest events in Colombia seem to grow larger
even as threats, assassinations, massacres, detentions and political
imprisonment increase.

03.11.2004 [Berta Joubert-Ceci, Workers World] Across many cities in Latin
America, people commemorated Oct. 12 not as "Columbus Day," "Hispanic
Heritage Day" or "Día de la Raza"--but as the "Day of Resistance of the
Native Peoples."

Five centuries after the Spanish Empire's invasion of the Americas and the
Caribbean, Indigenous people in every South and Central American country
except Venezuela continue to face racism, cultural and linguistic
discrimination, extreme poverty and genocide.

In Cuba, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, the Native population was
decimated through forced labor, illnesses and suicides.

But now Indigenous people are rising up in South and Central America--not
only demanding their rights but also opposing U.S. imperialism's
intensifying exploitation of their countries in the form of so-called
free-trade agreements.

In July, at the first Social Forum of the Americas in Quito, Ecuador, and in
other meetings throughout the continent, hundreds of organizations set forth
a program of action for Oct. 12. The primary purpose was to oppose the
imposition of these trade agreements on their countries. The organizations
included not only Indig e nous organizations, but also peasants, labor,
students, Afro-descendants, women and many others.

The free-trade agreements are imposed by transnational corporations, mainly
U.S.-based, and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, to force
"structural reforms." These "reforms" entail privatizing services like
health, education, communications and energy, with consequent layoffs, high
unemployment, and increases in the cost of basic goods and services.

The transnational companies suck up natural resources and super-profits for
Wall Street banks, leaving behind misery and desolation.

During the last two years, a wave of militant, massive demonstrations
against the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas led to the failure of
negotiations between the targeted South American countries and Washington.
Now the Bush administration is meeting individually with each country's
leadership, mostly behind closed doors, trying to set up secret deals.

In Central America, where the U.S.-sponsored Central America Free Trade
Agreement has not yet been ratified, there were actions against the pact
Oct. 12. Some 30,000 Indigenous people held a protest in Guatemala. In El
Salvador, the Movement for Social Resistance blocked main highways.

Negotiations are pending between the United States and Colombia, Peru,
Ecuador and Bolivia. In Bolivia, Oct. 11 and 12 were days of commemoration
of the more than 80 people killed last year in demonstrations that ousted
President Sanchez de Lozada and demanded the nationalization of gas and oil.

This struggle is ongoing. On Oct. 18, thousands of peasants and workers in
many sectors of the economy, including coca growers, converged on La Paz,
Bolivia's capital. They surrounded Congress to demand passage of a
nationalization law.

In Ecuador, Indigenous people, students, anti-FTAA groups and other social
movements initiated a campaign to demand a popular referendum on the FTAA.

In Colombia, the Day of Resistance was marked by a general strike. In the
biggest show of unity, labor federations, Indigenous groups, peasants,
women, students and progressive organizations mobilized a million people
throughout the country.

A poster for the strike read, "Surrounded by threats that give us courage
... we will all participate in the work stoppage without fear or cowardice."
Protest events in Colombia seem to grow larger even as threats,
assassinations, massacres, detentions and political imprisonment increase.

Strike organizers were clear in their objectives. Carlos Rodríguez Díaz,
president of the CUT, one of the labor federations initiating the call, said
the strike was political. "We are not thinking only of the interests of
workers, but we are struggling hard so we can have a country with a real
economic and political democracy."

The Colombian Communist Party described the strike as a "memorable day,"
saying, "It has shown clearly the rejection of the FTAA and [President]
Uribe's policy of Democratic Security." "Domestic Security" is a program of
counter-insurgency measures directed against the armed liberation movements
and all social and labor organizations, which Uribe has declared "allies of
terrorism."

This strike came on the heels of a truckers' strike and a massive gathering
of Native peoples demanding rights and opposing the trade agreements.