Peasant march against corruption, bureaucracy, reformism – implement the contracts
Communiquà© of the National Peasant Front Ezequiel Zamora
We, the peasant movement, take to the streets of Caracas coming from different federal states in order to get the contracts implemented which we have achieved by our struggles. We demand:
1. Representation of the peasant movement within the institutional framework. Election of the functionaries. Compensation of the victims of violence by the big landowners. Appointment of special prosecutors and a special parliamentary commission to persecute the perpetrators of crimes against the peasants within the armed forces and the police.
2. Implementation of the decisions of the Miraflores workshop: The results of this meeting between the peasant representatives, the governors and local administration as well as high ranking officials of the armed forces have not been implemented so far. On the contrary the assassinations of peasant leaders continue – since the meeting some 20 were killed. More than 300 are under protective measures and others linger in prison because they claimed the land they till.
The corruption of the functionaries in the agrarian administration persists. We take to the streets because we can no longer accept to sign contacts which are not respected while our brothers keep dying by the bullets of the big landowners. Corrupted elements of the authorities still legalise the usurpation of land by them. We call upon president Chavez to intervene in order to stop these practices. We do not need new promises.
We tell to the Venezuelan people and to the world that the homeland of Bolivar is not for sale and will be defended against the imperial threats. The peasants stand arms in hand to fight imperialism.
We invite the revolutionary Bolivarian people to lend its solidarity to the peasants’ struggle which is a struggle for all. Only united we will achieve the food sovereignty and the agrarian revolution which will free us from the empire and the oligarchy.
Caracas., March 27, 2006
[abbreviated]
