Anonymous Comrade submits "Invitation of Via Campesina for Cancun, Mexico September 10-14,
2003.

WTO out of agriculture! Take Food out of the WTO! No Patents on
life forms!

Organizations of peasants, indigenous peoples, family farmers,
fishers, farm
workers, migrants, landless workers, and rural women from
various countries
believes that:

The "liberalization" of agricultural trade - the principle
objective of the
WTO - has exacerbated a crisis in rural societies and has
worsened the
living conditions. Hunger, unemployment, poverty, inequality
and the
degradation of natural resources are increasing in rural areas
around the
world.

When considering the needs of the general population and rural
societies
the WTO Agreement on Agriculture has no legitimacy. Instead it
serves the
interests of large export companies that are supported by their
governments.
The USA and EU have forced WTO rules that enable them to
continue to dump
their surpluses at very low prices. Meanwhile, developing
countries are
obliged to reduce their tariffs and eliminate protection to
agriculture.

One of the WTO's priorities is to reduce agricultural prices --
both
in domestic and international markets -- by reducing taxes on
imports, and
dismantling supply management and socially-just marketing
structures.

For farmers this leads to artificially depressed prices. The
fall in
agricultural prices has not benefitted consumers and threatens
the survival
of peasants and small farmers everywhere.

Transnational corporations are increasing their control over
global
agricultural trade. They flood markets with agricultural
products and
food at prices lower than the local cost of production which
goes against
food sovereignty. Through Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)
transnational
corporations gain ownership of biological resources and knowledge
traditionally used by local farmers and indigenous communities.

The WTO seeks the liberalization and privitization of public
services.
This will have a negative effect especially on the poor and
marginalized
in our societies. Agriculture is the most controversial theme
on the agenda
of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the WTO scheduled for
September 10-14,
2003 in Cancun Mexico. Agriculture has been converted to
currency and is
being used in WTO negotiations to promote new issues like
investment,
competition, and government procurement.

Negotiations on agriculture could define the results of the
Cancun Round.
Given the risks involved in these negotiations we urgently call on
organizations of peasants, farmers, indigenous peoples,
fishers, farm
workers, migrants, landless workers, rural women, and all civil
society
organizations to mobilize to:

Stop the WTO negotiations!

Defend peasants' rights and food sovereignty!

Get the WTO out of agriculture!

Stop policies of privatization of public services!

No to patenting of life forms!

We ask all organizations and social movements to spread this
invitation to
action everywhere and joion us in the INTERNATIONAL PEASANT
FORUM that will
be held in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico from September 8-11,
2003. We
call on all organizations and social movements to support the
objectives
listed above and join us in local marches and international
demonstrations
that will organized concurrently in Cancun and around the world:

Peasant Program in the framework of the Fifth WTO Ministerial
Cancun,Mexico:

September 8-9: International Peasant Forum: Food Sovereignty
and Free Trade

September 10: International Peasant March "For Peasant Rights
and Food
Sovereignty"

September 13: International March and Global Day of Action
Against the WTO

September 11-14: Participation in the People's Forum

Lets globalize the struggle! Lets globalize hope!"