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Tear Down the World Bank and IMF! Raise up the resistance!
Mobilization Update #3
9/25/2007
Global capitalism is facing unprecedented global resistance!
In the Philippines – activists picketed the Asian Development Bank on September 19 for their policy of promoting “aid for trade,” a means of bribing poor countries to accept unfair trade terms.
Right here in Washington DC – on September 18, activists interrupted a City Council hearing and forced the powers that be to reconsider their policy of giving away public property to developers. On the same day, DC City Council voted to effectively ban usurious payday lending in the District.
Be a part of these global movements – come to Washington, DC, from October 18-21 to confront the forces of global capitalism during the IMF/World Bank meetings!
* For more information on the mobilization: http://octoberrebellion.org
* Next meeting in DC to plan for the actions: Saturday 9/29/2007, 3 pm, Petworth Public Library, Georgia and Kansas Ave. NW, near Petworth Metro.
* Not in DC? Interested in mobilizing in your community? Check out our website and find out how you can plug in!
Contents of this update:
1. Salvadoran labor activist denied visa to come to the US to participate in mobilization
2. You-Tube video launched to promote the mobilization!
3. Wheatpasting posters available at octoberrebellion.org
4. New endorsers of the mobilization.
5. In the DC area? Want to host an educational event?
6. We need your help......
1. Salvadoran activist denied U.S. visa
On Thursday 9/20, the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador denied union leader Maria de los Angeles Pleitez Carcamo a visa to come on a speaking tour of the U.S. Pleitez was going to be a participant in the teach-in and People’s Tribunal for the mobilization, and was to go on a speaking tour organized by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) after the mobilization.
Pleitez went to the U.S. Consulate and presented proof of work, family ties, and over a dozen letters of invitation from Congressional Representatives and community groups. The U.S. consular representative questioned Pleitez about her ties to CISPES and her union work. The official rejection letter cited lack of “economic and social ties” to El Salvador, but the interviewing officer made it clear that the rejection was a political decision when he concluded the interview, saying “this is very delicate situation…you cannot travel because we need to protect U.S. security.” Pleitez believes she was denied the visa because the U.S. government does not want people in the U.S. to know about repression against the social movement and union leaders in El Salvador. Pleitez is a national leader in the Salvadoran General Hospitals Union (SIGEESAL), which has recently been targeted for its work to stop privatization.
TAKE ACTION!
Write to the Consul General of the US Embassy in El Salvador to demand that Pleitez immediately be granted a visa. Write to Carl Cockburn, Consul General -Fax: 011(503)2278-5522, or e-mail to congensansal@state.gov. Sample letter avaliable on CISPES website (http://www.cispes.org). Report back on your discussion or send a copy of your message and any reply to CISPES (cispes@cispes.org).
2. Check out our cool new You-Tube video!
It’s about 2007 – the Year of the Comeback. (Of IMF/World Bank protests and Flavor Flav!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwn_dhBYN5A
And spread this link far and wide!
3. New wheatpasting posters uploaded to website
New posters (English and Spanish) are now on the website – download and wheatpaste away!
4. New endorsers of the mobilization!
• DC Jobs with Justice
• Iron Rail bookstore, New Orleans
With this, we have 18 local and national organizations on board with the mobilization!
Want to endorse the actions? Please contact <outreach@octoberrebellion.org>.
5. In the DC area? Want to host an educational event?
If you belong to a college campus, high school, faith organization, or community organization in the Greater Washington DC area, and you want to energize your community or organization to participate in the protests, we can help you with teachins and skill trainings to mobilize and inspire people and give them the tools to take action. (Even if you are not in DC, we may be able to help you put on an educational event.)
We can offer interactive popular education style trainings on neoliberalism, the global economy, the IMF, and the World Bank, and social movements; informal teach-ins with one or two speakers and possibly a documentary film; and skill trainings on a variey of subjects. If you want to schedule an educational event in your organization or community, please contact outreach@octoberrebellion.org – we’ll work with you to come up with an event that meets your needs.
6. We need your help!
The October coalition has the following working groups. Please contact whichever group(s) you’re interested in helping/working with.
• action@octoberrebellion.org - to contact the direct action working group, if you want to help with direct action.
• permittedaction@octoberrebellion.org - to contact the permitted action working group, if you want to help with the march and People’s Tribunal.
• fundraising@octoberrebellion.org - to contact the logistics and fundraising working group, to help with housing, food, fundraising and in-kind resources.
• outreach@octoberrebellion.org - to contact the outreach working group, to help with local and nationwide outreach to build what will hopefully be a huge mobilization!
• media@octoberrebellion.org - to contact the media working group, if you want to help with creating media lists, developing messaging, writing press releases, and talking to the media.
• legal@octoberrebellion.org - to get involved with the budding legal support team; no experience necessary!
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