Solidarity with Nicaragua - Delegation of the Rural Workers Assocation July 2019
Submitted bytortilla
onMié, 07/08/2019 - 11:41
Dear friends,
From July 11th – 21st, the Friends of the ATC held its “Solidarity with Nicaragua” delegation in the departments of Managua, Chontales, and Carazo. The delegation was an enriching exchange with the Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo (Rural Workers’ Association, or ATC) - an organization dedicated to defending the rights of rural workers and peasants - and with the people of Nicaragua, a beautiful country that has been resisting US imperialism for 150 years. We invite you to read this newsletter to learn more.
The delegation learned about how the ATC organizes in the countryside, first by visiting the Gloria Quintanilla women-led coffee cooperative in Santa Julia, which was organized by women in the community in 2008 in collaboration with the ATC. Later, the delegation visited the community of Marlon Alvarado in the municipality of Santa Teresa, where many of the residents grow at least a portion, and some grow nearly all, of the food that they consume. The ATC is currently working with the community members to promote agroecological methods of production in order to sustain their harvests, preserve the soil, and minimize agrochemical costs.
The delegation saw an example of how the ATC collaborates internationally with other peasant organizations at the Instituto Agroecologico Latinoamericano (IALA) in Chontales. At IALA, young people from La Vía Campesina organizations across Central America and the Caribbean participate in political and agroecological trainings. Students will use their education to strengthen their base organizations and communities. Also participating in this exchange were Nicaraguan-based organizations Fundeproinso of San Juan de Limay, Estelí and Comité para Desarrollo Comunal of Santo Tomás, Chontales who have sister city connections with Baltimore, Maryland and Olympia, Washington, respectively.
This July marked the 40th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution as well as the first anniversary of the defeat of the US-backed coup attempt in Nicaragua, both of which were central themes of the delegation. The delegation attended a press conference with the Sandinista revolutionary Doris Tijerino, who encouraged delegates to be “ambassadors of truth” in the face of the US-backed media campaign of misinformation about Nicaragua. At the Casa Ben Linder, the delegation attended a book launch for the Spanish version of the book “Live From Nicaragua: Uprising or Coup?”, an evidence-based account of the truth behind the coup attempt and its lies in national and international media last year, now available in both English and Spanish. There was also the opportunity to exchange with fellow solidarity organizations, including the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, Veterans for Peace, and the Jubilee House Community. On July 19th, delegates joined thousands of Nicaraguans and internationalists in Managua to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the popular Sandinista Revolution. The Friends of the ATC delegation was invited to join international delegations and foreign allies on the stage to stand in solidarity with the Revolution against ongoing threats of imperialist intervention.
As a tangible act of internationalism, the delegates gathered over 25 testimonies from people affiliated with the ATC. Delegates and other friends of the ATC are now in the process of transcribing and translating the testimonies to be published. We look forward to sharing these with you soon.
Long live the ATC!
Long live Nicaragua!
In solidarity,
Friends of the ATC solidarity network
