International Day of Peasant Struggles
April 17th is commemorated International Day of Peasant StrugglesThis date transcends mere commemoration, becoming a global cry of resistance. At CLACSO, we join in this day of reflection and action, recognizing the fundamental role of rural communities in building more just, sustainable, and democratic societies.
This date was established by La Vía Campesina in memory of the Eldorado do Carajás Massacre in Brazil in 1996, where 19 peasants from the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) were killed while fighting for their right to land. Three decades later, the conflict over territory remains unresolved throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, exacerbated by the expansion of extractive frontiers.
Academia and social movements agree that today's challenges are structural:
-Food Sovereignty: In contrast to the agro-export model, the peasantry defends the right of peoples to define their own agricultural and food policies, prioritizing local production for local consumption.
-Comprehensive Agrarian Reform: Land distribution remains the unfinished business of Latin American democracies. It's not just about hectares, but about access to education, health, and dignity in rural areas.
-Agroecology vs. Climate Crisis: Ancestral knowledge and peasant practices are today the most effective response to environmental collapse and the loss of biodiversity caused by the intensive use of agrochemicals.
-Peasant and Popular Feminism: It is essential to make visible the role of rural women, who lead the defense of seeds and the reproduction of life, facing a double oppression: that of capital and that of rural patriarchy.
At CLACSO, we reaffirm our commitment to the study and dissemination of rural realities. Social research must continue to be a tool for denouncing the criminalization of peasant protest and a bridge for strengthening the dialogue of knowledge.
CLACSO Actions
InfoCLACSO: Land for life and a habitable future for all
InfoCLACSO: What does it mean to fight for land, life, and society in Our America today?
Book Release “Camponese rebellion: agrarian reform and agroecology”
“Childhood and youth in rural territories. Socio-environmental and agroecological struggles” – Conversation of the CLACSO Working Groups “Childhoods and Youth” and “Political Agroecology”, together with the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the National University of Cuyo (Argentina)
