Over 30 thousand women from Brazil, Canada, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso are expected to gather today on Paulista Avenue, to march from there to the Praça da República (Republic Square), in the center of São Paulo.
The event is part of the Women’s World March, in which unions, rural organizations, student groups, associations of the homeless, black women’s movements, and political parties will inaugurate a world circuit of protests and discussions on the five continents about alternative ways to deal with gender problems.
The Women’s World Letter to Humanity, fruit of a process of debates with women’s groups from more than 60 countries, will circulate from one nation to another. The letter contains 31 items describing the vital principles for the construction of the world.
The purpose of the march is to mobilize countries, between March and October, for a broad debate on the letter and to organize simultaneous actions centered on four issues: opposition to free trade, opposition to war and militarization, opposition to female trafficking, and support for food sovereignty.
On the night of April 4, a vigil will be held against the war in Colombia. This will be the first simultaneous international activity on the calendar of the Women’s World March.
On March 12 the Mercosur act of the Women’s World March will take place, marking the arrival of the letter in the city of Porto Xavier, in the shouthern state of Rio Grande do Sul, on the border between Brazil and Argentina.
The event will occur at the International Port, on the banks of the Uruguay River, and will enjoy the participation of organizations from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
International activities will be launched at today’s demonstrations. The letter’s journey ends on October 17 with an international mobilization.
The participating countries will devote an hour to activities between noon and 1 P.M., following the sun as it moves from time zone to time zone. The idea is to demonstrate women’s organization and mobilization capacity.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil