“We are building alternatives based on the resistance and on the relationship between anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal, anti-colonial and anti-racist views”, stated the social movements.

Approximately 10,000 people participated in the forum which started on August 11th in Asunción, capital city of Paraguay, with different activities and representatives of mainly Latin American social networks.

La Via Campesina, with a big delegation, the Coordination of Popular Movements from the Americas, Friends of the Earth, several organizations from the Hemispheric Social Alliance, among others, were some of the networks present at the forum, joined as the Assembly of Social Movements.

Paraguayan, Bolivian and Uruguayan Presidents were invited to the closing ceremony and they listened to the representatives of the social movements about the conclusions of the Forum.

“We reaffirm our solidarity and commitment to the Paraguayan people, with reference to the urgent need to embark on a process of deep changes, towards the recovery of the sovereignty of its territory, commons, energy resources, in order to build an agrarian reform and democratize wealth”.

The networks welcome the advances of the social struggles in Latin America and the subsequent political victories, but they know that the right-wing is repositioning itself to stop any process of change. “We denounce the illegitimacy of Honduran de facto President Porfirio Lobo”, they state, and add that they support the struggle of the Honduran people to reform the constitution to establish a true democracy.

“We also support the struggle of the people of Haiti, since they do not need a military intervention and an economic occupation to be rebuilt”, they add.

The also highlighted the environmental struggles of the social movements of the region. “The defense of natural resources against capitalism has become a central point in the agenda of more and more peoples´ and social organizations and movements”. The declaration also reads that there is a need to strengthen a common front against the destruction of nature and against the false solutions of the “market environmentalism” and the “green capitalism”, such as carbon markets, agrofuels, GMOs and geoengineering.

Then, it was the turn of the Presidents to speak. First, it was Jose Mujica, Uruguayan President, who shared a brief message. Then, Evo Morales said that the defense of Mother Earth and life against capitalism is the new flag of the struggle of Latin American peoples and the rest of the world. The Bolivian President also said that the social forums are an “important school” and he talked about the role of the industrialized countries and the social movements in the international struggles against climate change.

Finally, it was the turn of Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan President, who said “The building of Latin American integration, which seemed only a dream two centuries ago, is now a reality in progress”.