Rural workers from the fields and forests will carry out, on the 15th and 16th of August, in Brasília, the seventh edition of the Marcha das Margaridas. This year’s mobilization has the motto For the Reconstruction of Brazil and for Good Living. The march is organized by the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag), with the support of other union entities. Participating peasants, quilombolas, indigenous people, cirandeiras, coconut breakers, fisherwomen, shellfish gatherers, riverside dwellers and extractivists from all over Brazil. Ministers of the government received, this Wednesday (21), the list of women’s claims, in a ceremony at the Planalto Palace. “We represent thousands of women who root their existence in a variety of rural territories, women who come from a very difficult reality. We play an important role in the production of healthy food, that food that actually arrives on the Brazilian table. We are fundamental for the preservation of biodiversity and for the conservation of our biomes, we are guardians of the popular knowledge that we inherited from our ancestors”, highlighted the general coordinator of Marcha das Margaridas, Mazé Morais. Despite this, according to her, these women live “the worst conditions of access to land, territories, water, income, natural goods, decent housing, basic sanitation and health services and equipment”. “In addition to experiencing various situations of violence, we are constantly placed in social and political invisibility”, added the worker. According to Mazé Morais, the 2023 Marcha das Margaridas agenda was constructed in several meetings across the country, held since 2021, and presents what women consider necessary to “fight violence against our bodies” and “put into effect programs, measures and actions that contribute to our economic autonomy”. “We are guided by the principles of an anti-capitalist, anti-racist, anti-patriarchal feminism that reflects each of our realities; the feminism that values life, linking the defense of agroecology, territories, common goods.” The list of demands is made up of 13 axes: Participatory democracy and popular sovereignty Women’s power and political participation Life free from all forms of violence, without racism and sexism Women’s autonomy and freedom over their bodies and their sexuality Protection of nature with environmental and climate justice Self-determination of peoples, with food, water and energy sovereignty Democratization of access to land and guarantee of territorial and marine rights (coastal territories, influenced by the tide) Right of access and social use of biodiversity and protection of assets commons Healthy life with agroecology and food and nutrition security Economic autonomy, productive inclusion, work and income Health, social security and public, universal and supportive social assistance Non-sexist and anti-racist public education and the right to education in and in the countryside digital inclusion Transversality The dialogue with the coordination of the march is being led by the General Secretariat of the Presidency and the Ministries of Women and of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, in a transversal agenda with the other government ministries. According to the Minister of the General Secretariat, Márcio Macedo, next Monday (26) there is already a meeting scheduled for the teams of the three ministries to address the agenda of the march, “so that the dreams, desires and the needs of daisies, the women of this entire country”. The objective is to already have answers to the demands during the event in August. The Minister of Women, Cida Gonçalves, highlighted that the government is open to dialogue and affirmed the importance of the Marcha das Margaridas for democracy. “We need to guarantee democracy, we need to guarantee that men and women, that the poor are included in the entire process of building this country. But it is also a time to discuss the issue of women’s political participation, ”she said, defending the fight against misogyny and the persecution of female leaders. The Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, Paulo Teixeira, highlighted that the incentives of the harvest plan for family agriculture, which should be launched next week, will be centered on agriculture that is led by women, on agroecology and on the development of machines. minors for production support. “It’s going to be a feminist vintage plan,” he said. “From this booklet that you delivered, practically all the items are also related to our ministry. We want the Pronera [Programa Nacional de Educação na Reforma Agrária] in rural areas, we want internet coverage, we want agroindustry, we want programs for rural succession that involve young women, we want health care in rural areas and we are going to carry out an intragovernmental dialogue”, added Teixeira. Machismo Organized every four years since 2000, the name of the event is a tribute to the rural worker and union leader from Paraíba Margarida Maria Alves, murdered in 1983. Margarida is one of the greatest symbols of women’s struggle for social and political recognition, equality and better working and living conditions in the fields and forests. The president of Contag, Aristides Veras dos Santos, highlighted that the march is for women, but the fight for rights and equality involves everyone, in the fight against sexism and prejudice. “We men have to get rid of this stigma of superiority, that we have nothing of superiority,” he said. “We have to understand that this world is about equality, this world is about respect and respect has to be treated very strongly. The march brings this whole process. We don’t march just to claim, but also to change people’s hearts and souls and their behavior. Brazil needs to face this debate, we live in a divided society, a very violent society”, added Santos.
Agência Brasil
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