[act-ma] 3/17 First Latin America Coalition Meeting

[Charlie Welch]

A proposal by CISPES

>Hello All,
>
>I am pleased to announce that the first LA (Latin America) coalition meeting will take place on Saturday, March 17 from 11am-1pm.  (See invitation letter below.) By consensus, this date works for the majority of people that responded, but of course it doesn't work for everybody.  The hope is that at least one member of each group can attend at this time. If not, we'll be sending around meeting notes AND of course there's always the next meeting!
>
>It's extremely gratifying that there has been such a positive response to this proposal--thanks everybody for spreading the word.  And keep it up--we do want as many people in that room on Saturday as possible.  Admittedly, the number of confirmations has caught us a little by surprise to the point that we're checking into slightly larger spaces to accomodate everybody comfortably.  
>
...
The first Latin America Coalition meeting now has a home! Thanks to our 
hosts' generosity, we have a lovely space at 141

Oxford St, Cambridge reserved for the 11am-1pm meeting this Saturday, March 17.  The house is very close to the red line Porter Square T stop, near the intersection of Oxford and Beacon St on the Cambridge-Somerville border.


Coming from Porter T:
Take a hard right after emerging from the the T station.  Follow the train
tracks to a bridge, cross the bridge and the house will be the about the
second building on the street.

Coming by car:
A few blocks south of Porter Square on Mass Ave, turn onto Forest St (it's
a one way), take the second left onto Oxford St. and the house will be
near the corner of Oxford & Forest.

If you need more information, google maps is pretty helpful or you can just call me.


And look forward to the meeting agenda in the next few days...


In Solidarity,

Lisa
CISPES
617.650.8138 

bunny at riseup


___________________________
Initial Invitation

Fellow Activists,

The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) is 
proposing the formation of a _permanent coalition of organizations_ to 
buttress our strengths against exploitative US foreign policy in Latin 
America.

* *

*WHY NOW? AGARRE EL DIA!!!*

Extraordinary change is happening in Latin America and in the US. 
Throughout LA social movements and leftist governments are gaining 
power, renouncing the status quo of economic and political subservience 
to the US, and uniting in resistance against US domination. In response 
to the threat posed by this powerful wave of leftist resistance to the 
south, Washington is in the process of quietly re-militarizing key 
regions of LA to defend its idea of “business as usual.”

But the Bush administration is in a weakened state due to the tremendous 
failures of its global War on Terror and the ongoing occupation of Iraq. 
Now, with the Democrats in control of Congress we have a unique 
opportunity to come together as a force to change US foreign policy 
concerning LA.

*PROPOSED MEETING*

CISPES is coordinating the first mealtime gathering for potential 
coalition members to meet and begin discussing objectives and what our 
joint work might look like. The location will be in the Cambridge area 
and we’re offering the following proposed dates:

    * Thursday March 8th, 7-9pm
    * Sunday March 11^th , 11-1pm
    * Saturday March 17^th , 11-1pm

*Please let us know by March 1^st which of the following options is best 
for a representative of your group to attend.*

*POSSIBLE COALITION OBJECTIVES & STRATEGY: BRING YOUR OWN TO SHARE*

The coalition objectives, strategy, and program will of course be 
formulated together as a coalition but we view as some /possible 
objectives/:

    * To unify our organizations in: 1) supporting social movements in
      Latin America opposing neoliberal free trade policies and US
      intervention; and 2) opposing US policies that criminalize immigrants
    * To build the broader left/progressive movement in Boston
    * To jointly engage in/ concrete/ work toward these ends

One /possible strategy/ is to pressure for a cutoff of funding for US 
intervention. The Foreign Operations Appropriation bill annually 
delivers the tools of repression to the US and its Latin American allies 
by funding the School of the Americas, Plan Colombia, International Law 
Enforcement Agency (ILEA), and other military operations throughout LA. 
A bill like this could be a perfect target for coalition-style resistance.

We could also mobilize locally to send delegates from our groups to 
represent our local coalition at the national Latin America Solidarity 
Coalition (LASC) conference in Chicago this April.

*_There are many possibilities so please bring your own proposals and 
ideas for joint action!_*

*WHO’S INVITED?*

Although LA will be the coalition focus, we invite all groups involved 
in resistance to US militarism and imperialism. Groups beyond LA 
solidarity, such as anti-war, anti-imperialist, religious, labor, and 
immigrant rights groups are highly encouraged to send a representative. 
And if you know of any other groups that would be interested in joining 
this coalition, pass us along the information. The more the 
merrier!...and stronger!

We look forward to hearing from and meeting with you.

Sincerely,

Boston CISPES

(617) 576-1709

boscispes at gtcinternet.com