https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/1135
"July 1979 marks an important milestone in the long and difficult struggle against poverty and hunger: the adoption by the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD) in Rome of a Declaration of Principles and Programme of Action.
The Declaration of Principles and the Programme of Action constitute, in fact, the charter of the rural poor, better known as the Peasants' Charter.
This publication is addressed to intellectuals, thinkers and writers, as well as to social and political leaders; it is intended for all those who can help to spread the message of the World Conference. FAO hopes that it will constitute a decisive turning point in the history of man's fight against poverty". Signed: Eduard Saouma, Director-General FAO
It was a time when the tone was set by the strong presence of the State in the management of the economy and society. A few weeks/months later came the neo-liberal hurricane, with Margaret Thatcher in England and Ronald Reagan in the United States taking power. From then until a couple of years ago, to speak of an important role for the state seemed blasphemous.
Thanks to COVID-19, the whole world has been forced to ask itself whether this neoliberal model was "the" solution to its problems, and the answer, on many sides, has been a resounding NO!
It is obvious that the neoliberal forces do not want to take away the power they hold, but for the first time in less than half a century, there is a general awareness that we need a state capable of taking care of its citizens.
The neoliberal model has also accelerated an agrarian crisis that was already underway, and has been adding an ecological crisis and paving the way for an even more dangerous digital neo-colonisation.
Natural resources are shrinking by the day, their grabbing is increasing, as are the conflicts linked to their control, now present in most countries of the world.
Faced with this economic, social, ecological and cultural impoverishment, for the first time in a long time there is the possibility of reopening these agrarian issues from a new perspective: starting from a gender vision which, recognising the diversity of men and women, moves towards equality not only in the public sphere, but also from a rebalancing of the private sphere.
As our area of work is the agrarian issue, we would like to announce the will of a group of people belonging to different organisations and associations to take up this document, the Peasant's Charter, to promote a necessary update in the light of eco-feminist reflections, which will allow us to bring it to the attention of governments, intellectuals, political parties and movements, so that a path of convergence of action can be opened up.
It will not be a question of paying attention only to the agrarian world: the Peasants’ Charter already stated, in its first goal, the need to "formulate objectives and targets for the economic and social development of rural areas, with due regard for ecological balance and the conservation and renewal of resources". This is why a particular, though not exclusive, attention will be devoted, in the alliance building stage, to that part of the Catholic and secular world that recognises itself in the principles declared by Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Sì. We will seek contacts with feminist movements and associations so that they can help to water the agrarian thinking with their experiences and proposals, within a matrix that will be constituted around the words of Dialogue, Negotiation and Concerted actions.
The Peasants' Charter, written in a period when the gender issue was not yet dominant, but was beginning to make its voice heard (with the 1975 Beijing conference), suffers from a certain male bias, even though certain principles were already clear at the time: "women should participate and contribute on equal terms with men in the social, economic and political processes of rural development and share fully in the benefits of the improvement of living conditions in rural areas".
So we have a starting basis. Thanks to our previous and/or current work, we have a series of contacts with organisations, movements and intellectuals that we will ask to help us build a democratic and open space for dialogue and reflection, so that we can break down barriers and build bridges outside our historical sector of action. If the conditions are right, we will also approach the agencies of the United Nations system to see what collaboration is possible. On the other hand, it is clear that we will be particularly careful not to allow any kind of manipulation by people and/or institutions that are part of the economic-financial system that has been built on the neo-liberal model. The political choice is clear: we are on the left side of the political map!
For the time being this message serves to draw the attention of those who are interested in these issues and who would like to support future reflection. There are ongoing discussions within some organisations to better define the institutional profile of the initiative. What is certain is that there is a need to stimulate this part of the feminist debate, and that is why we will do it, even if it is only with unorganised individuals. We call on those who are interested to express themselves by mail, using, for the time being, my private address:
paologroppo60@gmail.com
Depending on your reactions, we will decide how to move forward and what time horizon to give ourselves.
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