This posting has been forwarded to you as a service of
Accion Zapatista de Austin.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 17:15:39 -0500 (EST)
From: coughlin@CERCA.UMontreal.CA
To: owner-chiapas95@mundo.eco.utexas.edu
Hello, I would like to post the following info to Chiapas95
Katie Coughlin
Reseau de Solidarite avec le Mexique
Montreal
_______________________________________________________________________
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST NEO-LIBERALISM HERE AND IN MEXICO:
Solidarity enters the 21st century
_______________________________________________________________________
Conference April 4-5-6 1997, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
_______________________________________________________________________
Alternatives and RSM-Montreal (the Reseau de solidarite avec le Mexique/
Mexico Solidarity Network) are organizing a conference on "The struggle
against Neo-liberalism here and in Mexico" which will be held April 4-6,
1997 in Montreal.
Mexico is currently suffering one of the worst political and economic
crises in its history. Since its inception in 1994, NAFTA has profoundly
affected Mexican society, intensifying the already widespread poverty and
exploitation, and contributing to a dramatic rise in militarization and
the attendant violations of basic human rights. The Zapatista struggle
against what they have called `the neo-liberal economic model' is part
of a broad-based movement for social justice, both inside and outside Mexico.
The conference will bring together actors in this movement, from Mexico,
Quebec, the US and Canada, to share information, to establish and strengthen
relations of solidarity, and to collaborate in the search for practical
strategies of resistance.
Canada is also suffering from the negative repercussions of NAFTA and other
neoliberal economic policies, but we rarely see these issues discussed in a
meaningful way in the mainstream media. The conference will provide a forum
for critical evaluation of the neoliberal economic model, how it affects our
lives, and how it relates to our ideas about democracy.
Representatives from the following Mexican groups will attend the conference;
* Center for Human Rights-Fray Bartolome de Las Casas
* El Barzon (a heterogeneous association of debtors)
* FZLN (Zapatista Front for National Liberation)
* The National Indigenous Congress
* University Student Council (CEU) - UNAM
* FAT (Authentic worker's front)
___________________
Conference Schedule
___________________
Friday p.m. 5:00- 7:00 Registration
7:00-10:00 Opening Plenary
Saturday a.m. 9:00- 9:30 Opening Remarks
9:30-11:30 Morning Workshops(+)
p.m. 12:00- 2:00 Lunch
2:00- 4:00 Afternoon Workshops(+)
4:00- 4:30 Coffee
4:30- 5:30 Plenary: Summary of workshops
5:30- 6:00 Closing Remarks
8:00 Benefit party
Sunday a.m. 10:00-12:00 Plenary
p.m. 12:00- 2:00 Lunch
2:00- 5:00 Informal meetings, working groups
The format of the conference has been designed to include both group
discussions and opportunity for personal interaction. The opening plenary
will give an overview of various aspects of the current situation in Mexico
and in Canada. Saturday will consist of two workshop sessions, with four
workshops held in parallel in the morning, and four in the afternoon.
The schedule will be arranged to allow as many pre-registered participants
as possible to attend their preferred workshops. There will also be a
benefit party Saturday night. Sunday morning, a longer plenary will allow
a more in depth discussion of the topics raised in the workshops, with a
focus on how these ideas can be translated into action. The afternoon is
reserved for informal meetings among the conference participants.
____________
Registration
____________
We encourage people to pre-register, both to help finance the conference
and to allow us to arrange the schedule to suit you.
Registration fees are $15, $10 for students and unemployed. Tickets for
the benefit party are $5 in advance, $7 at the door. You may pay be
cheque (mailing address below), or by credit card.
Regstration fees will be used to finance the direct costs of conference. Any
surplus will be sent to the indigenous communities in resistance in Chiapas.
To register, you can send an email to alternatives@alternatives.ca,
subject `conference-Mexique' with the following information:
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Organization (if applicable):
Fax:
Email:
Workshop choices (2):
Cheques may be made out to `Alternatives-Conference Mexique' and mailed to:
Alternatives
3680 rue Jeanne-Mance #440 tel: (514) 982-6606
Montreal (Quebec) H2X 2K5 email: alternatives@alternatives.ca
_________
Workshops
_________
Each workshop will begin with presentations by panelists from Canada and
Mexico, followed by discussion. Please note that the descriptions below
are suggestions only; we encourage all participants to come prepared to
share their ideas and experiences.
1) Demystifying the debt: where did the debt really come from, and who
should pay it; how is the spectre of indebtedness is used to legitimize
socially damaging (and economically unnecessary) policies.
2) Reorganizsation of work in the context of globalisation: What are the
causes and consequences of permanently high levels of unemployment and job
insecurity? What particular problems does this create for women? What
kinds of solutions should we seek?
3) Education: What is the most effective means of organizing students?
What common interests exist between students and other social groups? How
are teachers and their unions challenging the neoliberal agenda in education?
4) Politics and community mobilisation: Behind the propaganda of economic
necessity, somebody's political agenda is being advanced? Whose? What
are the effective forms of resistance? How can we mobilize the public to
define and advance its own agenda?
5) Human rights: How do we expand the notion of human rights to include
the right to resist economic exploitation? Should human rights
organizations play a more active political role? Does the widespread
acceptance of violence in our culture favor human rights abuses?
6) Social rights: Aren't governments obligated to provide public services
in return for tax revenues? How can we go beyond reacting to spending
cuts, and play an active role in deciding social policy? How can we reduce
our dependence on government institutions, and increase the autonomy of
our communities, without conceding basic social rights to services such as
education, health care, etc?
7) Autonomy and inidigenous communities: what legal and political
definitions of autonomy are relevant to indigenous communities? (This
question will be discussed with reference to the San Andres accords on
Indigenous Culture and Rights, signed by the Mexican government and the
EZLN in 1996, but not yet implemented). What is the role of non-native
groups in supporting the causes of indigenous peoples?
8) Environment and collective life: Does nature exist only to serve human
needs? Who has the right to decide how the earth and its resources are to
be used? How can we move toward an equitable distribution of resources?
Can `green' business and sustainable development work, or is capitalism
(i.e. permanent, exponential growth of the economy) incompatible with
conservation of the natural world?
__________________________________
For more information:
__________________________________
For information in english or french : coughlin@cerca.umontreal.ca
For information in spanish or french : alternatives@alternatives.ca
Conference Web page: http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/WWW/oscarh/CONF/
RSM-Montreal Web page: http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/WWW/oscarh/RSM/
Alternatives Web page: http://www.cam.org/~alanroy/Alternatives/