Rojiva, Ecuador, Chile and Catalunya are all places that are witnessing the protests of wider social movements. Global SSE movement has expressed its solidarity with the people who are fighting for a better world.

There have been various protests in recent months around the world led by social movements that call for a fairer world, respect of human rights, individual and collective freedoms, freedom of expression, and that stand up against repression, racism or climate change. Members and projects of the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) are no strangers to these demands and raise their voices in defence of a fairer, solidarity and sustainable world. Below we review some of the most recent protests.

Rojiva, Ecuador, Chile, and Catalunya. are all places that are witnessing the protests of wider social movements in response to a situation of injustice. As a reaction to this, the global SSE movement has expressed its solidarity with the people and individuals who are fighting for a better world.

For RIPESS, as an intercontinental network of networks, Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) is an alternative to capitalism and authoritarian state-controlled economic systems. In the SSE, people play an active role in determining the course of all dimensions of human life: economic, social, cultural, political and environmental.

As RIPESS LAC states in its statement of support for the Chilean people, “the SSE is based on values and principles of solidarity, which consider human action as a source of renewal of politics and economy at the service of society”.

For this reason, members of RIPESS have taken position on these conflicts showing their support for communities that are mobilising and publishing statements in solidarity with them. RIPESS Intercontinental, in addition to adhering, wants to give visibility to these realities and to the international solidarity between peoples and individuals.

Here are some of the recent demonstrations. They are just an incomplete sample of the struggles for Human Rights and for the people that are happening all over the world. However, our solidarity and support are the same for all those in struggles around the world

Chile

The mobilizations of the Chilean people began in October as a result of the increase in the price of public transport. The mobilizations have been growing despite the withdrawal of this governmental measure, dmphasizing a much deeper social discontent concerning inequality and injustice. The response of the Chilean Government has been police and military repression, with measures such as the establishment of the State of Emergency. To date, 23 people have been officially reported as dead as a result of demonstrations and protests. On Friday, October 25th, the largest demonstration in Chile was called with 1.2 million people in Plaza Italia.

RIPESS LAC published a “Manifesto in solidarity with the Chilean people” in which it sends “a fraternal greeting to the organizations of civil society, the solidarity economy and the Chilean people in general and we share their demands, mobilizations and struggles to guarantee greater equity and social justice for all”.

“The peaceful demonstrations undertaken by the people, to claim the right to life, not only represent Chile, but also the different peoples and organizations of our Latin America, which today suffer the consequences and threats of a dominant neoliberal system, which deepens inequality and is causing the social and economic conditions of the population to deteriorate.

The manifesto ends with a call for concrete measures “to cease violence against the people, to respect and guarantee the life and peace of the people.

You can read the full manifesto here.

Ecuador

Following the approval of President Lenin Moreno’s Executive Decree, which entailed an increase in the price of fuels, as well as new adjustment measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), strong citizen protests were unleashed throughout the country against these measures followed by widespread repression by the public forces of law and order.

Our member RIPESS LAC issued a “Declaration of Solidarity with the Brotherly People of Ecuador” which it affirmed: “We support and endorse the manifesto issued by the Social Solidarity Economy Movement of Ecuador (MESSE) and we stand in solidarity with the Ecuadorian people, who, through their social, labor and student organizations, are fighting with dignity for the elimination of President Lenin Moreno’s Executive Decree, which increases the price of fuels and opposes new adjustment measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which, as we know, have not solved poverty. On the contrary, they have affected the quality of life and nations’ sovereignty”.

“We aspire that, when the application of the referred Executive Decree is removed, doors will be opened for a real and effective dialogue that will lead Ecuador along the paths of democracy, justice and equity in all areas of development”.

Shortly thereafter, President Lenin Moreno was forced to withdraw the controversial Executive Decree and now the conflict has entered a new phase.

You can read the full RIPESS LAC statement here.

Catalunya

After the publication of the Spanish Supreme Court’s sentence against the politicians and social leaders imprisoned due to the process of independence of Catalunya, :Catalan SSE has been part of the social protests that have taken place since then and participated in the general strike of October 18th.

Up to 304 people and organisations have signed the “Manifesto from the Social and Solidarity Economy ” in which, among other points, they pronounce themselves “against the sentence because we believe that political differences are not resolved by judicial means but in a democratic way, through dialogue, as we manage the conflicts that arise within our organisations”.

“The organizations, cooperatives, and companies that are part of the SSE are made up of people with different ideologies, languages, cultures and feelings regarding the relationship between Catalunya and Spain. Despite this diversity and plurality, we share the view that the publication of this ruling represents a serious democratic setback in the exercise of individual and collective rights and freedoms” and “we declare that freedom of expression and demonstration are basic rights in a plural, committed and democratic society”.

And, for all these reasons, they encourage citizens to participate in the actions, rallies, demonstrations and any other types of protest or mobilization, within the framework of civil disobedience and non-violent action, in order to denounce the sentence of the Supreme Court and to demand amnesty and freedom for those who have been reprisals.

You can read the full text here.

Rojava, the “Democratic Federation of Northern Syria”

Rojava women and men have been demonstrating to the world that it is possible to organize social and economic justice by linking self-governed councils, communes and cooperatives. Demonstrating it is possible to build a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. Demonstrating it is possible to implement a eco-feminist political project.

Therefore, after the military invasion by Turkish troops and the widespread repression unleashed against the Kurdish population since then, RIPESS Europe positioned itself in support of all the women and men of Rojava.

In the manifesto, RIPESS Europe states: ” We have been learning from Rojava people tenacity in organizing justice and freedom in a society facing war and in a region under attack from many sides. We have been learning from Rojava people the meaning of cooperation and emancipation”.

“We join the democratic movements worldwide to resist and stop the war against the people of Rojava: Rise Up for Rojava now”.

You can read the full statement here.