La Via Campesina

La Via Campesina
Name	La Via Campesina
Formation	1993
Type	International peasants' movement
Headquarters	Managua
Region served	Global

La Via Campesina is an international movement advocating for peasants', small-scale farmers', indigenous peoples' and agricultural workers' rights, formed through transnational mobilization among social movements and non-governmental organizations. The movement emerged from networks linking rural organizations across Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe, promoting food sovereignty, agroecology and land reform in dialogue with institutions such as the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Trade Organization. La Via Campesina brings together a wide array of social actors from national peasant unions to indigenous federations, interacting with actors like Amnesty International, Oxfam, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth while contesting policies associated with World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization programs.

History and Formation

La Via Campesina developed from alliances between movements such as Fédération Nationale des Paysans-linked organizations, National Union of Small Farmers (Cuba), Confédération paysanne, Vía Campesina Nicaragua delegates and peasant unions from Brazil, Mexico, Philippines and India converging at meetings influenced by discussions at FAO seminars and United Nations Conference on Environment and Development precedents. Founding gatherings in the early 1990s drew representatives from CLOC, IUF-aligned agricultural labor groups, MASAS collectives and indigenous organizations associated with COICA and APMDD, catalyzed by agrarian struggles linked to events like the Zapatista uprising and land reform campaigns in Guatemala and Honduras. The movement's principles were shaped by interactions with activists connected to Via Campesina Europe networks, Asian Peasant Coalition, La Vía Campesina Brasil, Landless Workers' Movement (MST) and solidarity from groups including Solidarity (Polish trade union), European Parliament representatives and UN rapporteurs addressing rural rights.

Organization and Structure

The movement operates through a decentralised structure of regional coordination bodies such as Asian Peasant Coalition, European Coordination Via Campesina, Coordination Committee of La Via Campesina, CLOC-Via Campesina, Nyéléni Global Forum participants and national member organizations like FNSA, UNC, FENACENTRO and MASIPAG. Governance mechanisms include international conferences, thematic working groups on climate change, seed sovereignty and land rights, with linkages to transnational networks like Via Campesina International Coordination. Decision-making processes reflect practices similar to those in International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations structures and draw on consensus methods used by World Social Forum delegates and Social Forum assemblies. Leadership rotates among delegates from regions including Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and North America, interfacing with legal advocates tied to cases before bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Council.

Principles and Political Positions

Core positions emphasize food sovereignty, agroecology, land redistribution, seed sovereignty and the rights of indigenous peoples, aligning with frameworks promoted at FAO committees, debates in UNCED-inspired venues, and provisions analogous to those in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The movement opposes policies promoted by World Bank structural adjustment programs and trade liberalization under WTO agreements such as Agreement on Agriculture, advocating for alternatives favored by movements like MST and Zapatista Army of National Liberation. La Via Campesina endorses agroecological transitions discussed at International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development forums and supports campaigns against agrochemical corporations linked to Monsanto and corporate strategies criticized in Corporate Accountability International reports. It champions gender equity, youth rights and labour protections in alignment with conventions from International Labour Organization and solidarity with initiatives like Peasant Women's Platform and Rural Youth Network efforts.

Major Campaigns and Activities

The movement has led global actions such as the promotion of the concept of food sovereignty at the World Food Summit follow-ups, mass mobilizations during World Social Forum events, and campaigns opposing Free Trade Area of the Americas proposals and NAFTA-style policies. It organizes international days of action, seed exchanges linked with Navdanya and MASIPAG, and agroecology trainings reminiscent of pedagogies from Via Campesina Brasil and Campesino a Campesino movements. Campaigns have targeted biopiracy disputes before entities like WIPO and lobbied for the adoption of instruments akin to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, engaging rapporteurs from the UN Human Rights Council and legal advocates connected to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Regional and International Impact

Regional affiliates have influenced national policies in Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Nicaragua through alliances with parties and movements such as Movimiento al Socialismo (Bolivia), Correistas and peasant federations, while African networks have engaged with institutions like the African Union and Comoros-based fora. The movement's advocacy contributed to debates at FAO committees on agriculture and to the recognition of peasant rights in international policy dialogues alongside actors such as CFS delegates, UN Committee on World Food Security participants, and civil society networks that include IFAD. La Via Campesina's international presence has been visible in protests at WTO Ministerial Conferences, participation in UNFCCC side events, and collaboration with environmental coalitions including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critiques include allegations of politicization and alignment with leftist parties such as Movimiento al Socialismo and disputes over strategy with technocratic institutions like World Bank advisers and agricultural research bodies including CGIAR centers. Observers from agribusiness lobby groups and some academic commentators associated with IFPRI have questioned the movement's positions on market access and biotechnology, citing tensions in debates with proponents of biotechnology and agricultural modernization championed in policy circles such as OECD agriculture committees. Internal controversies have arisen over representation of landless versus smallholder constituencies, tensions between regional federations like CLOC and European Coordination Via Campesina, and debates about engagement strategies with state actors and multilateral institutions like UN agencies and World Bank programs.

Category:Social movements Category:Agrarian movements Category:Peasant organizations