Solidarity Notes, October 2019: Creating Alternatives
In this issue of Solidarity Notes you’ll learn about how Grassroots International’s partners and the movements they are part of are creating alternatives to combat injustice around the world.
Brazil
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Pesticides, GMOs and Fires vs. Agroecology
Brazil agribusinesses' use of pesticides, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) and Amazon fires are driving climate change. Agroecology is the alternative.
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Amazon Fires are a Crime Against Humanity
The following statement comes from our partner, Via Campesina, speaking out against the deliberate fires set in the Amazon rain forest.
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Court Suspends Eviction of Landless Workers Movement Encampment
The Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJSP) suspended for 90 days the order of repossession of the area including the Marielle Vive! encampment organized by Grassroots International's Brazilian partner the Landless Workers Movement (MST).
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Movement in Brazil Speaks out against Amazon Forest Burning
Below is a statement from the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), first in English then below in Portuguese. A longtime partner of Grassroots International, MAB advocates for the human right to water, land and energy sovereignty, particularly for...
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Contemporary Challenges for the Working Class & Peasantry in Brazil
João Pedro Stedile outlines the issues leading up to the Brazilian coup, life under Bolsonaro's rule, and a vision for a new agrarian program in Brazil.
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Feminism in Authoritarian Times in the Voice of Five International Activists
This article from Carta Capital reports on the international feminist seminar that took place in June 2019, organized by the World March of Women, which comes out of our collaboration’s work to build feminist strategy and popular education.
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Growing Sustainable Food Systems
Grassroots International supports agroecology (farming methods rooted in traditional food growing knowledge) to counter the global dominance and damage of plantation-style agriculture.
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PHOTOBLOG: Joy and Hope amid Struggle in Brazil
Piper Carter, a member of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and photographer, joined our delegation to Brazil. Her photoblog shows off our partners' joy, hope, and strength amid dark times.
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Attorney General Reaffirms Rights of Those Affected by Brumadinho Dam Collapse
The Movement Affected by Dams (MAB) gained a new ally in the Attorney General in the struggle for justice for the families affected by the Brumadinho dam collapse disaster.
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The “Joyous, Sometimes Labored Breathing” of an Alternative in Rural Brazil
Tarso Ramos, a member of our recent Brazil delegation, reports back from witnessing the ongoing resilience and resistance of social movements amid dark times.
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Say Their Names: Sajed Mizher, Presente
With a broken heart but whole spirit, I remember the names of some of our friends, colleagues, allies and partners who have left us all too soon. They join the host of ancestors urging me onward, because the journey toward justice is not yet finished.
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We Are All Affected: Aftermath of Brumadinho Disaster
On January 25, 2019, the second largest collapse of tailings dams in the world devastated Brumadinho, Brazil. This was a tragedy that didn’t have to happen.
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Letter to the People of Brazil
We received the following letter from our partner the Landless Workers Movement (MST) as they reflect on their 35-year history and their commitment to continuing the struggle for justice in Brazil.
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Babaçu Nut Harvesters Organize for Land and Livelihoods in Brazil
A Brazilian babaçu nut harvester and community leader told us about some of the accomplishments of her community and big challenges.
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2018 in Review: Growth of Resistance, Impact
A look at the successes Grassroots International and our partners have had in 2018 — including a dramatic increase in our solidarity and impact.
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Climate Action Rooted in People, Soil and Mother Earth: Climate Justice
Rather than offering a “solution” to climate change, big hydro-electric dams are false solutions that endanger the planet with the methane emitted and threaten to destroy local ecosystems and cultures, like the Munduruku in Brazil. Thankfully the Munduruku linked up with the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) to resist.