Major advance for organization
IN THE CONTEXT of a sharpening crisis in the country, with severe repression on the one hand and a wave of nationalizations on the other, Peru's largest peasant organization held its Seventh Congress in Lima August 21-
25. The Confederación Campesina del Peru (CPP) was tounded 40 years ago. The main decisions are noted in excerpts in the following article.
peasant
HUGO BLANCO
OME IMPORTANT aspects of this congress should be noted farmers' organization, was not afraid of offering full representation to the ranks of the other peasant confederations. It also offered places in the Junta Directiva [Executive Council] to those delegates of the Confederación General de Campesinos del Peru who were willing to accept them. This was done to promote unification of the peasantry into a single confederation.
People were present from all 24 departments [administrative divisions] of the country. The travel expenses of who attended were paid in most cases by their own peasant bases. This marked a step toward overcoming the paternalism that has existed until now, with some centers of support for the peasants being asked to pay the travel expenses.
Another notable aspect was the presence of representatives of the jungle Indian communities, to which little attention had been paid before now. They now have a secretariat in the National Executive Committee of the CCP.
Although the CCP is not officially recognized by the government, the deputy ministers of agriculture and fisheries attended the congress. They were greeted with shouts of "Enough promises, we want solutions!" and "Free the political prisoners!" On the premises were the congress was held, there was an office of the Banco Agrario (the state agricultural bank) to offer advice.
Delegations were present from Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil, as well as a representative of the Chinese embassy.
Although there was a sharp political debate between the majority, represented by the Partido Unificado Mariateguista (PUM), and the minorities represented by Patria Roja and a militarist current, the PUM had the maturity to present a slate for the National Executive Committee that included all the political currents. For this reason, the overwhelming majority of the delegates voted for the election to be based on slates, and no one wanted to put up an alternative slate.
There were two changes in the struc ure of the CCP. The first that the inter mediate body between the congress and the National Executive Committee no or the local Federations. Instead 80 bles manent members are to be named who will hold their positions until the next congress. These members will be elected by departments in proportion to the size of the organization in each. They will be included in the working committees formed around each of the secretariats. In this way, a broad leadership body will be formed for the CCP, which is an urgent need for a confederation of more than two million members.
The second change was the appointment of four regional secretaries for the north, center, south and east (the jungle area). This represents an attempt to decentralize the organization, with the objective of promoting strong regional organizations and a later development of Regional Leadership Councils. session of the congress and in various breaks in the sessions, including on the final night, when the session lasted until 8.00am. *
PERU DOCUMENT
For land
and power
UNDER THE SLOGAN "For the land and power, we will win!" the Seventh Congress of the CPP adopted a statement that included many radical points. The following are excerpts: • For a new national agrarian policy for feeding the people: The agricultural policy followed by the Ministry of Agriculture has been to subordinate the agrarian economy to the interests of the agri-business monopolies and to impose new landlords on the country-wide. Aid programs based on political control have been used to manipulate, divide and repress the organized peasant movement.
The Peruvian peasantry demands the resignation of the minister of agriculture because he represents a neolandlord bourgeois policy and conciliation with the agri-business monopolies linked to imperialism.
The Seventh National Congress of the CCP calls for a new agricultural policy including the following points:
• For a national policy of feeding the people, with fair prices for the producers. Participation of genuine peasants' organizations in setting prices
• For direct participation by the peasants' organizations in the mechanisms for trading in the principal 19 farming and ranching products and for September 28, 1987 • International Viewpoint
PERU centralizing trading in these products.
• The state commercial banks must devote the bulk of their financing and placements to agriculture, giving preference to food production, sized farms and the agri-industrial projects of agricultural producers.
• The Banco Agrario del Peru (BAP) must devote 100 per cent of its placements to small farmers and peasant cooperatives.
• For a genuine democratization of credit, with interest-free credit being extended to all the peasant communities and peasant producers, opening of BAP offices in the country's agricultural provinces. Business credit for peasant organizations that decide to sell their products directly.
• Nationalization of the multinational Nestle company and its handing over to the workers and milk producers in
• Extension of the nationalization industries of milling, oil-bearing proddairy products, brewing, and of the cotton and wool industry, and trading in these products. • We reaffirm our determination to fight for the land and for strengthening the peasant communities:
• Continue the land occupations as a means of just and democratic struggle in the countryside. Organization of the peasantry to develop a national campaign for this.
• The handing over of new lands for cultivation to the peasant and native communities and to landless laborers.
• Delivery of titles for communal lands, developing peasant communal agriculture by establishing communal enterprises.
• Support for the working partners in the agricultural cooperatives on the coast that keep the cooperatives intact. • For peace with social justice, amnesty for political prisoners now! In view of the failure of the counterinsurgency strategy applied by the military and the APRA government, in view of the stepped-up violence, militivity of paramilitary gangs and the division of the peasant patrols by the formation of "civic patrols" under the control of the police, the governors and the APRA party, in view of the fact that hundreds of people, mainly peasants, are being held as political prisoners, we agree on the need for:
• National mobilization of the peasants and the popular masses against the repression and militarization, all abuses of authority by the APRA government. Organization of provincial and departmental civic and political strikes, as occurred in Cusco and International Viewpoint • September 28, 1987
• For the withdrawal of the armed forces and police from the emergency zones; for the establishment of civilian regional governments that will pursue a policy of peace with social justice.
• Organization of mass self-defence and peasant patrols and development of urban patrols.
• Defence of human rights and elimination of torture, kidnappings, "disappearances," executions. Immediate release of our political prisoners and social fighters and an end to the trials against them.
We reject violence against the peasantry and its natural organizations exercised by any group or organization, and such violence is all the more to be condemned when it takes terrorist • For the defence of the peasant and native communities: Our peasant communities must be able to develop their original higher civilization, their qualities as creative peoples. The native communities in the Amazonian jungle and the fringes of the jungle must be given back the vast lands that have been stolen from them.
Historically the enemies of the communities, including the Peruvian state, have tried to defeat us, divide us, and disperse us. They have sought to legitimize the denial of our Andean culture and the native culture of the people of the Amazonian jungle. We have never been regarded as participants in changes in, and transformation of, Peruvian
The attempts of the APRA government to divide us and manipulate our demands have failed. President Alan García's offers and the agreements we for our communities have remained unfulfilled promises. Therefore, we agree to call for:
• Repeal of the anti-community laws.
• Direct participation in the discussion on drafting the regulations of the Law on Peasant Communities, which we must draft our own alterna-
• For land, development and regional governments with the participation of the peasant and native communities.
• Rejection of the native communities bill drafted by the APRA government without our participation.
• To demand justice for all the native communities that have been fighting to defend their territories and natural resources. • In view of the national crisis, it is necessary to fight for people's power and a democratic people's national government. The gravity of the national crisis requires developing a national people's alternative distinct from that proposed by the reactionary right, which is the enemy of the people and the Peruvian nation. It is necessary to defeat the APRA government's conciliation with Peruvian and imperialist monopolies. It is necessary to defeat the growing militarization of the country.
We have been fighting nationally to forge our revolutionary unity and build a National People's Assembly that, together with the left organizations, can become an alternative government and power that can defeat the people's ene-
Such an alternative can only by mobilizing the people. Therefore, we call for a national farmers' and people's strike on the road to forging the National People's Assemblies.
We agree to support the fight for autonomous democratic and decentralized regional governments.
International solidarity with our sister people of Nicaragua and the revolutionary democratic government of Nicaragua.
Solidarity with our sister peoples in struggle in Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador and Palestine. *
Hugo Blanco