HUGO BLANCO PERU ELECTION 'VOTE COCACHACRA"

This is a very rough translation of a statement from Hugo Blanco, the indigenous ecosocialist leader from Peru, sunday saw the first round of the Presidential election with Humula the most left of the candidates winning the first round.

Hugo argues that all the candidates are constrained within an extractive capitalist model, those most oppose to this model and wanting justice have voted for Humala.


Quite modest statements of environmental protection and sharing the wealth have led to a media assault against Humala, Peru like every other country is run for corporations raping the earth and destroying our future. Those who criticise this are demonised and called extremists.

Over to Hugo!


However the victory at Cocachacra where people have prevented a huge and damaging mining project is a more significant victory...non violent direct action can save the planet and liberate the people.



Hugo Blanco

Cocachacra (Islay) has just taught the correct political attitude that Peruvians must adopt if we want to save the country from the depredations of nature and declining agriculture killing our people in misery.

With actions, not words, they said:

Here, do not serve the Southern company nor its servant, the Peruvian government! Here we democratically demand the assembly of the inhabitants of Cocachacra! Life itself, not the mine!

And victory was won, although it cost more than 3 dead and 50 wounded.

They were persistent, they would not "go to Lima for talks with the government", not proud, but by the democratic criterion that is the assembly to decide and not the leaders. Responded: "Let them come here," to talk to the assembly.

They asked "truce until after the election," correctly refused to accept the deceptive "truce."

It is true that they said their fight was not "political" because the people of Peru that has been domesticated in their only policy should be "voting in elections" and then leave politics in the hands of "professional politicians" who will defending the oppressors.

The dictionary says that politics is how to govern a society, and that is the lesson you just give us Cocachacra: The society as a whole that should govern itself.

Who governs Peru?

Those who govern are not those that Peru "choose." The true rulers are the greedy multinationals, which do not care a damn about the Peruvian population and nature. Pillages our "natural resources" by preying on the extraction of oil polluted the jungle and rivers, preying on the saw with open pit mining, robbing the water of agriculture and poisoned, stealing and altering water hydrography to the construction of hydropower for mining (think leave thousands of Indians and peasants of three departments to build a dam which ensures that electricity companies established in Brazil), installing agribusiness companies that prey on the ground with monoculture and the use of chemicals, growing not to feed but to export to Peru, growing agrofuels to feed cars, not people, super-exploited agricultural workers.

These companies are served by governments, the parliamentary majority, the mass media (television, radio, newspapers), the army, the police (who has just kill three in Islay with impunity.)

Some call this "progress" and say "Peru forward" and quote macroeconomic figures to show us how strong Peru is economically. But when they see the hunger, misery and unemployment people understand what this "progress" means: Plunder of our resources by large multinational companies (the blessed "foreign investment"), depletion of natural resources, higher unemployment and hunger of our people.

Who is to govern Peru?

None of the 5 candidates who are at the top of the above surveys and complaint says to end it.

Humala has said timidly respect the right of consultation of the peoples and mining companies impose. That has caused the fury of the system being launched ferociously against him using the mass media in their hands, accusing him of "statist" (he did not raise even a timid nationalization). Alan Garcia says that 4 candidates (Kuzinski, Castañeda, Toledo and Keiko) will continue its "correct policy of progress." Toledo called a "leap in the dark." The large capital sows fear in order to maintain its privileges.

After the elections

What we do is learn the lesson that has given us Cocachacra: "The struggle is the way."

Currently the town of Espinar fighting to defend the agricultural water theft from the government to industry, is struggling Canchis against Salkapucara hydropower for mining, farmers are struggling Puno, Madre de Dios and Cusco anti-dam Inambari to give power to capitalists in Brazil, the population is struggling against mining Puno, Amazon are fighting against pollution of the Maranon River, and many others.

We hope that these fighters will feel strengthened and encouraged by the triumph of Cocachacra, coordinate among themselves.

Whoever enters the government will be suffocated at the service of big capital. Probably if it comes Humala will cost more, because people who want to change have voted for him, but also because people will learn that you can only rely on itself as it did Cocachacra.

When the whole country act as Cocachacra , Peru will win. So: Vote for Cocachacra!

April 10, 2011