The same text that was sent yesterday, now in English.
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Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 From: owner-chiapas95 at eco.utexas.edu (Chiapas95)
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 From: irlandesa <irlandesa at compuserve.com> Subject: From Sao Paulo to Barcelona Meeting
Originally published in Spanish by the Committees in Solidarity
With the Zapatistas of Chiapas of Sao Paulo _______________________ Translated by Irlandesa
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 1999 15:29:51 +0200 From: Rose Figueira <gatanet at teleline.es>
To the Companeros Present at the Meeting in Barcelona of the Committees in Solidarity With the Zapatistas of Chiapas
To the Zapatistas of Chiapas in Barcelona
Congratulations on the holding of your meeting, we send our rebel and revolutionary greetings from Brazil, hoping for the meeting's complete success.
We would first like to invite - or, better to CALL, ON ALL THE COMPANEROS OF EUROPE to the task of turning the dream into reality of having men and women meet in Belem: those sin tierra, blacks, young persons, the excluded and wretched of the earth, workers with or without work, in addition to all those who believe that a tomorrow is possible for humanity.
It is the future that is in question, since our old enemy, capitalism, in its death throes and in its current condition: globalized neoliberalism, is pointing towards barbarism and destruction.
Because of this, in a more clear response to companera Rose, of the CGT, concerning whether the companeros of Europe will be delegates to the Second American Encuentro, we state: The companeros of America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceana who belong to any collectives, movements, entities or organizations (and who are ready to build a new society of free and equal men, where there is no place for exploitation or prejudice): all will be delegates to the Second Encuentro for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism.
We will be meeting together in the Amazon in order to take a giant step in this direction. From there, we will leave united, each one on the same side in order to build the realization of this dream.
The Second Encuentro has already begun, insofar as discussions and written contributions are already underway, to be sent in order to be studied and discussed.
In Belem, we should use the proposals, the Manifesto, the Belem letter, or whatever name we give it, as a starting point, , so that we can approve it in the places where we live or we shall be passing through.
We are the Solidarity Committee with the Zapatista Communities of Sao Paulo, and we are going to need much solidarity in order to get ourselves, in at least ten buses, from Sao Paulo to the SECOND AMERICAN ENCUENTRO FORHUMANITY AND AGAINST NEOLIBERALISM, with the excluded, the homeless, those sin tierra, men who live in the street, the unemployed, as well as those who still have work who belong to organized movements, many of whom participate in our Sao Paulo Committee.
Ten buses are the minimum number we will need in order to take interested companeros on the trip to Belem (Para). This trip takes 60 hours, and we are lacking money. It costs 4.300 dollars to lease a bus, therefore, 43.000 dollars will be needed for ten buses.
The groups that have signed the convocation to the Second Encuentro are innumerable, and they have the material and financial wherewithal, even though they are not participating, in fact, in the building of the Second Encuentro.
The various groups, movements and entities that are participating concretely, on a daily basis, in the Committee and in the building of the Second Encuentro, do not have the financial means to be able to afford a caravan of this magnitude.
We have our hearts and our minds, and that is what we are building the Second Encuentro with, but it is, unhappily, very little with which to reach Belem, and we are, therefore, resorting to the solidarity of the companeros.
The REACTION has already begun: the Right has begun a fierce attack in the media. There are warnings about our "conspiratorial," "incendiary" and "revolutionary intentions." They are calling it a "meeting of guerrillas," of "dissidents," of "dangerous persons," and many other things.
They are only publicizing our meeting more, and we are not concerned. Which is not to say that we are not going to be thinking, and taking care, of security for the Second Encuentro.
Meanwhile, we are asking the companeros to pass our message along to all the European Committees with whom they are in touch.
Long live those who are struggling!
Saludos zapatistas.
The Solidarity Committee with the Zapatista Communities/SP
Email: celmar at sti.com.bar Post Office Box: Caixa Postal 3829 - CEP 01060/970/SP Telephone/Fax: (011) 814-5789 with Neli or Magno (Sintusp) (099) 3107-1784 with Ce'lia