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en español
INVITATION
TO PARTICIPATE AND SPONSOR
14 January 2005 Dear Sisters and Friends, We are writing to invite you to participate in organizing a European tour for Nora Castañeda, President of the Women’s Development Bank (Banmujer), and Angélica Alvarez, Banmujer’s Promoter Co-ordinator in the state of Bolivar, around 10-25 March 2005 (dates to be finalised). Recently some of us helped to bring Marisol León, a Black community activist from Tarmas, Venezuela, to Barcelona, Malaga, Madrid, London and Belfast. She spoke about the central role grassroots women play in the anti-sexist anti-racist Bolivarian process, and about its current achievements and advances. She was received enthusiastically everywhere. The Nora/Angélica tour will build on Marisol’s visit and our work with the Venezuelan grassroots since 2002. It is a great opportunity for all of us working for change to support, learn from and contribute to Venezuela’s revolutionary process. WHO THEY ARE As some of you know, Nora Castañeda is an economist and was a professor at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) for 30 years. Her life-long record for commitment to grassroots women led to her appointment by President Hugo Chávez to head Banmujer, in response to women’s demand for a micro credit bank which would benefit the poorest families and communities. To date Banmujer has awarded more than 45,000 micro credits. It has been centrally involved in the process for the elimination of poverty and for food security, which is now focussing on the redistribution of idle land to those ready to work it. The Land Act prioritises women heads of household (see Article 14 below). Nora was also central to Article 88 of the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution which uniquely recognises unwaged work in the home as economically productive and entitles housewives to social security (see below). On a continent where liberation theology has flourished, Nora is also part of UCV’s Cátedra Libre “Monseñor Romero”. Those who know Nora know what an extraordinary person and powerful speaker, she is. She says of Banmujer’s work:
The users of Banmujer, housewives and mothers who form co-operatives and associations, have been key in all grassroots initiatives: from agriculture to education and health missions, neighbourhood groups, water and land committees. Banmujer users were among the first to mobilize to defeat the coup in 2002, and in 2004 formed UBEs (Electoral Battle Units) to ensure victory in the historic presidential referendum and the regional elections in October in which the Bolivarian process won 20 out of 22 states. Angélica Alvarez, who is originally from Chile and fled to Venezuela after the 1973 military coup against President Salvador Allende, provides crucial support and direction to the Grassroots Network of Banmujer Users – the users’ autonomous organisation. She has brought her experience as a student organiser in Chile to the Bolivarian revolution. THE TOUR We propose that the two colleagues visit Spain first and then England. Nora can only stay for a few days but Angélica will have more time and will be able to travel to other European cities. Would your group be interested in inviting them to speak in your neighbourhood, association, trade union, university …? On Monday 10 January we began holding weekly meetings to co-ordinate the tour. The groups that participate in the tour will be expected to take responsibility for raising the costs of the speakers’ travel to their city, and to co-ordinate the events and publicity with us. Sponsors will be listed on all publicity and asked to make a financial contribution. Wherever possible, we want to use this tour to raise funds for the users of Banmujer. Last year when the Strike organized Nora Castañeda’s tour of seven cities in the US we managed to raise US$15,000 donated by women and men eager to support the users of Banmujer, and $85,000 has been pledged for this year. In the past two decades over $2.5 trillion has been transferred from Latin American countries to the US and Europe as payment for “Third world debt”, capital flight and the price differential at which primary materials are sold: a loss of capital equivalent to 1.5 times the gross national product of Latin America*. During the US tour, associations, universities and foundations contributed, so that, even in a symbolic way, there was a reversal of this flow of money. In the same way, we will be working for some sort of contribution from Europe for the revolutionary work of Banmujer’s users. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU We hope you will want to participate in the tour of two extraordinary women, each of whom is key to the Bolivarian process which is so important to us wherever we are in the world. Please get back to us urgently so we can work out the schedule and necessary fundraising. The tour is non-party political and welcomes all who support women’s and other grassroots independent organizing. For an “economía solidaria” that invests in caring not killing! Nina
Lopez (England)
Sara Williams (Catalunya, Spain)
* Data from the World Bank and IMF cited by university investigator/professor John Saxe-Fernández at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 30 December 1999 Article 88. The State guarantees equality and equity between men and women in the exercise of their right to work. The State recognises work in the home as an economic activity that creates added value and produces social welfare and wealth. Housewives are entitled to Social Security in accordance with the law. Land and Agricultural Development Act, 9 November 2001Article 14. Women heads of household who commit themselves to working a plot of land to support their family as well as be part of the development of the Nation, will be priority beneficiaries in the implementation of this Act. Women citizens who become involved in agricultural production will receive a special food subsidy before and after childbirth from the Institute of Rural Development. |