This is a CTP of initiative: La Via Campesina/APENOC (Argentina)
The interviewee identifies a CTP that began in the year 2007 and continued taking shape over the next three years. Since 2007, the organization became involved in political issues. APENOC, was in the beginning a very critical of politics and sought not be politically aligned. However, from 2007 the respondent describes the beginning of an approach to politics that opened new possibilities and new forms of partnership. On the one hand, members of APENOC began to openly support certain candidates at the local, provincial and national levels. On the other hand, some members of the organization began to participate actively in political parties and in some cases accepted positions in the public administration. This change had to do with the emergence at the regional level of various political movements that began to incorporate the peasant problem to their agendas, and even some governments in the region began to raise the need to design public policies for peasant movements. In that sense, the interviewee considers this a CTP because it generated processes of change within the organization, related to linking strategies with new organizations and actors.
The interviewee identifies two levels of co-production: On the one hand, at regional level, the presidents who came to power during this period began to give priority to the popular sectors: Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Nestor and Cristina Kirchner in Argentina Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Lula Da Silva in Brazil, were political leaders who led movements for social inclusion and incorporated, to a greater or lesser extent, public policies for the rural sectors. This began to mobilize the interest of the organization towards political issues and to the active engagement with political movements. Locally, the respondent indicates that some colleagues of the organization, understanding the political situation experienced by the country and the region, began participating in political parties. Thus they introduced the political discussion in the organization, and the other fellow peasants began to be encouraged to talk more about electoral politics in the area, and to understand that: getting involved in politics could be a strategy for strengthening the organization. "These people are still members who actively participate APENOC, they went out to campaign for certain candidates, hit the streets, even went outside the organization, and motorized major changes." On the other hand, there was a group of people within APENOC that catered to cover the space left by those taking positions in the public service: "The groundwork, the daily work, is an important job. Many of the comrades who left the work in the territory to do some task at provincial or national level, were educated people, who had much knowledge about the peasant labor and for us it meant a vacant space that we had to cover. We felt challenged to learn more, to train new colleagues, to generate more autonomy and independence within communities so that our partners could take public functions without our internal dynamics deteriorate."
An event related to this CTP is the first National Congress of Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena (MNCI), held in 2010 in Buenos Aires. It was a space for debate and exchange, from which new commitments were generated. This Congress, which included members of APENOC represented an incentive to continue getting involved in politics and promote change. One of the consequences of the CTP was a change in the economic situation of the organization. From the involvement of some members in the civil service, the movement began to receive higher incomes and assignments of projects aimed at financing the activities of popular movements. Another related event was the peasant hike in 2010. "We left the field and went village by village, city by city, from Serrezuela to Cordoba, communicating this message: 'land and forest in many hands, healthy food for all'. 'The problems of the field are not only ours, but it is deeply related to the issue of healthy food.' That was our message for the city. It was a week of meetings with urban groups. It was really hard for us to seek out alliances to the city." In addition, from this CTP internal events were generated, related to processes of formation and struggle. "It was a moment of training for the members. It was very nice, invigorating and cheerful. We do a course of militants every year, once a month, we do several years ago and it has also been a place of meeting, training of militants." In 2014, when APENOC had already conducted a career of learning in relation to the management and partnership with public institutions, the Congress of the CLOC (Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations) was enhanced. In the same year a branch of the Coordinator opened in Argentina. The essential dispute to the outside was for the action within the State apparatus. "the biggest dispute was with the State, in the sense that the State has its own way of doing things, their logic and methodology, and the social movement It has its own. Then the partner or colleagues who are with one foot in the movement and another in the state, we have a strong dispute. And sometimes the state minimizes the movement, the peasants and the workers who are fighting for peasant rights. The State has certain territories they want to colonize and the movement has other territories they want to keep as a farmer privilege. We do not want to give our staff away." Another dispute identified by the respondent occurs in the area of rural education. "We have a rural school that depends of the Ministry of Education from Córdoba, but is managed by the peasant movement. And it is a dispute with the state for education. We fight for a different way of educating, we fight against bureaucracy, and against every challenge that involves carrying out a school. The dispute with the state is present in many of the actions we take." This dispute has intensified since the start of the CTP, but is was present from the past: "While before 2007 we had taken some distance from the State, we still demanded certain rights in relation to education and health. During the 1990s the State of Córdoba was closing all rural schools, then the dispute was fierce because we wanted schools and believed that the state had to guarantee them. So, the dispute with the state has been strong ever since the emergence of APENOC.” Since the entry of members of the organization to the civil service, the dispute took a different form. The peasants went from open confrontation, to finding spaces for negotiation: "there are times when the dispute with the state takes the form of working together, to discuss ideas together. Until last year (2015), the dispute had assumed the form of dialogue.”
The interviewee noted that changes within the organization are perceived in general in advance, as they have many opportunities for debate, dialogue and analysis of the situation. "I think the movement has perceived changes, at least in the debates we saw that some things are perceived. We generated answers according to those perceptions. We always had a lot of dialogue and knowledge of the territory, and that allowed us to anticipate this change and create opportunities for new participation. I think, in general, times of change are perceived, and I believe that the peasantry has resources to spare. We come from hundreds of years of fighting and attacks, and learned to identify in each case what our opportunities and possibilities are."
One process of learning identified by the respondent is the need of the peasant sector to interact with other sectors to generate change processes, among which are especially urban sectors and social movements. From this CTP, the organization learned the importance of generating contributions for the popular movement in general, from their specific place. "We learned that we have to be sure of who we are, to identify ourselves as an organization. The first steps of the peasant movement consisted of generating an identity and identifying what we wanted. In the beginning, the relationship with other sectors was not so clear, we had to learn to build and to bond with others. Another lesson learned was to 'live with ours', as Aldo Ferrer said. Because we have lived neolibrealism and the peasant movement has lived with it. And we have lived more favorable public policies, and we have taken advantage of if, but I think we are prepared to be sustained by our means.” Another learning, then, was to take advantage of the resources provided by the state, not relying on them, but finding alternative means to generate sustainability and not be tied to changes in governments. "We are able to get ahead with what we are, always making the proposal to convene and feel convened by the popular movement .”
One process of learning identified by the respondent is the need of the peasant sector to interact with other sectors to generate change processes, among which are especially urban sectors and social movements. From this CTP, the organization learned the importance of generating contributions for the popular movement in general, from their specific place. "We learned that we have to be sure of who we are, to identify ourselves as an organization. The first steps of the peasant movement consisted of generating an identity and identifying what we wanted. In the beginning, the relationship with other sectors was not so clear, we had to learn to build and to bond with others. Another lesson learned was to 'live with ours', as Aldo Ferrer said. Because we have lived neolibrealism and the peasant movement has lived with it. And we have lived more favorable public policies, and we have taken advantage of if, but I think we are prepared to be sustained by our means.” Another learning, then, was to take advantage of the resources provided by the state, not relying on them, but finding alternative means to generate sustainability and not be tied to changes in governments. "We are able to get ahead with what we are, always making the proposal to convene and feel convened by the popular movement .”
Stay informed. Subscribe for project updates by e-mail.
