More than 500 Campesinos and representatives of various social movements gathered from 4th to 6th of November on the central square 'Plaza de la Paz' in Ciudad del Este in Alto Paraná, being part of the mobilisation of the Frente Social y Popular.Movilización del Frente Social y Popular de Alto Paraná

Mobilisation of FSP in Caaguazu, 10-08Thousands of campesinos will mobilise all over Paraguay demanding the destitution of the Judicial Power which represses and criminalises them.
Social sectors demand a stop to the detentions of mobilised campesinos and a concrete answer to the severe situation in the countryside through the means of an agrarian emergency plan. There will be mobilisations and road blocks on the national highways on more than 10 core points around the country.

videoreport on the mobilisations

(Spanish)Results and victories of the mobilisation
(Spanish)Wednesday 5- Repression against campesinos en Asunción (with photo report)
(Spanish)Mobilisations in Ciudad del Este (with photo report)
(Spanish)Comunicado de la CONAMURI, en relación a los hechos sucedidos hoy frente a la Fiscalía general del Estado
(Spanish)Diez verdades en contra de la impunidad en el campo y un llamado a la paz
(Spanish)News of the mobilisations of march 4

online email form
Peasant organisations are resisting against the beginning of the GM soya season all over the country of Paraguay. They demand access to land, land reform and the stop of the pesticide spraying which impacts on their communities. Despite the new government, many camps have been evicted and violence has taken place: 2 leaders have been murdered and hundreds of peasants have been arrested. Please sign the letter below to put pressure on the government and put a stop to violence!

On August 15, 2008, Fernando Lugo was officially and formally inaugurated as president of Paraguay. In his inaugural speech, he clearly positioned himself on the side of the socially weak and excluded. The following day he traveled with the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to the inauguration of Jose Ledesma 'Pakova' (Guarani for banana since Jose is a banana grower), a long-standing political ally of Lugo's, as the new governor of San Pedro, a department which has dealt with many land conflicts.

El Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (SPP), denuncia la alevosa y desvergonzada violación al libre ejercicio de la profesión de periodista así como a las libertades de prensa y comunicación ejercida por el Ministerio Público contra el colega estadounidense Evans Abramson.

El colega Abramson visitó hoy viernes 31 de octubre, la localidad de San Isidro, distrito de Los Cedrales, Alto Paraná, con el fin de hacer un reportaje sobre la producción de soja y la ocupación que realizaron unos 2.000 campesinos sin tierra de una hacienda de la empresa alemana IVP, quien la alquila a la Agrosol.

Esta ocupación de tierra fue reprimida por policías y fiscales la semana pasada y, tras el desalojo, fueron detenidos más de 100 hombres, mujeres y niños.

Eviction Tallar, ArgentinaCall for support from the CAPOMA collective- Jujuy, Argentina, August 17 th 2008.
link to call for support and background history

Oscar, a colleague from Salta and member of the Olga Aredes Centre, CAPOMA, informs us on the severe situtation taking place in Northern Argentina. There are contineous evictions taking place and violence being committed to the inhabitants which resist to leave there lands for soy. Soy producers are acting with impunity against the inhabitants of the guaraní communities, attacking them violently, while the government and police justify their actions with the argument that the soy producers are the "rightfull" land owners.

bandera soja mata We compiled a DVD with various materials of the site like action clips, reports, pictures, etc....

Below you get an overview of it's content with the links where to find everything (so you can start compiling it yourself) but if you rather have it posted to you
send us an email if you would like to order one or more, we only ask you to pay the sending costs....

lasojamata [at] aseed.net

At last, after many years of legal battle, the appelation court in Encarnación has confirmed the sentence against the two soy farmers who caused the death of 11-years old Silvino Talavera by agrochemicals: they will go to jail!

Compañeros y compañeras,

Se acuerdan, que tras la confirmación de la condena a dos años de cárcel para los responsables de la muerte de Silvino Talavera, el Juez penal de Ejecución de Ejecución, abogado Quintín Cardozo, había dispuesto la ejecución a prueba de la condena. Es decir, a pesar de estar condenados no iban a ir a la cárcel. Habíamos apelado esa decisión y remitido montón de cartas al juez de ejecución y al tribunal para rechazar el pedido, pues no se ajustaba a derecho.

An outline of the impacts of soy monoculture expansion in Paraguay which causes the disappearance of rural communities as soy expansion is the main driver of the expulsion of Paraguayan campesinos by force or by the deteriation of their living conditions.

click to view slideshow

Background article
Farmers struggle in Paraguay against expanding soy cultivation

The huge increase of soy fields is expulsing small scale farmers from their lands in Paraguay, but also in Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Some even speak about a soy-tsunami that is submerging farmer communities. The expansion of soy cultivation goes along with a widely spread violation of human rights. The production is mainly used as animal feed for the meat production in Europe and China. Recently also agro-energy increases the demand for soy and other crops.

During the whole month of May A SEED, CEO and the Movimiento Agrario y Popular, with the support of BASE.IS crossed through various European countries on an info-tour. Below the name 'la soja mata' or soy (we understand large scale soy cultivation) kills' info-evenings, meetings, action and filmfestivals were helt in which there was a focuss on large scale soy cultivation, genetechnology, agrofuels and resistance.
Central in this tour was Gilda Roa, representative of the Paraguayan peasant organisation MAP (Movimiento Agrario y Popular).
slideshow and background on soy expansion in Paraguay and resistance of MAP
pictures from the tour
overview of press atention during tour