WOMEN FOR CHANGE
"THE STRUGGLE OF THE WOMEN AND PEOPLES FOR THEIR RIGHTS AND FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION"
Women represent 51% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean, which in numbers is 334,628,227; in Ecuador we are 9,016,398.
This 2023 Seminar is taking place under conditions in which capitalism is showing its most inhuman and brutal face characterized by wars of imperialist aggression, colonial and cultural subjugation promoted by the great powers, in order to subjugate the population of the world to a situation of poverty and denial of their fundamental rights. The whole planet is being conditioned to the development of the contradictions inherent in capitalism. In particular, we are witnessing the sharpening of the inter-imperialist contradictions that shows the intention of the great powers to implement strategies that allow them to maintain themselves or become the undisputed masters of the world. We see how the powers are forming their economic and military blocs and pacts to defend their interests by destroying the living conditions of millions of human beings. The war between the great imperialist powers in Ukraine is an expression of this, but there are also armed conflicts in other countries: Sudan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Yemen, the Middle East and other trade wars with which the military apparatuses and armies of the imperialist powers that are contending for the economic and political control of the world are strengthened. The inter-imperialist struggles, particularly the one between the United States and China, warn us of the danger of a world war.
Women, who are part of the peoples, cannot take sides for one or another imperialist power, for one or another economic and political alliance of the capitalist states, because they all represent the interests of the big international monopolies, of imperialist finance capital. For this reason, we reiterate our condemnation of the inter-imperialist war and all forms of aggression against the peoples, because we have the experience of the history of humanity that shows that in conflicts it is we become spoils of war. We are women, and therefore, we raise the banners of peace, which means fighting in defense of the life of the working classes, the women and peoples and in defense of our right to a dignified life.
What is happening in today's world with so much exploitation, inequality and violence is the result of the sharpening of the contradictions of capitalism that places capital over life, the interests of the big bourgeoisie over the working classes and peoples. This is a situation that places before us the challenge of strengthening the organization and consciousness of women to demand from the governments the unrestricted application of human rights and in particular our rights as women and to work against all forms of exploitation and subjection to capital.
As women of the delegation of Ecuador, we express our solidarity with the women and peoples who are victims of aggression by foreign powers, who are confronted by the reactionary and conservative patriarchal practices that are killing millions of women in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
We cannot remain impassive in the face of the growth of poverty in the world and watch as more than 258 million girls and boys do not attend school, which represents 1 out of 5 children; The wage gap between men and women is increasing to 24%. In Ecuador, women's wages are lower than men's, there are more women unemployed, 39% of men have full employment but only 27% of women. Serious problems of access to health services are causing the death of 21,300 people a day. That is to say, one person dies every 4 seconds, while the fortunes of a few billionaires have multiplied since the pandemic, since the 1% of the richest population in the world has hoarded about 20 times more wealth than 50% of the world population, which represents 4 billion human beings. Of the poorest population, the largest percentage is women, with 252 male billionaires owning more wealth than one billion women and girls in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently 2.1 million people die of hunger annually.
Violence against women, girls and adolescents is the greatest scourge today at a global level and knows no borders, because it extends throughout the world in its various manifestations: femicides, violence, sexual trafficking within the family and in all social areas is multiplying; sex trafficking, forced child marriages, genital mutilation, death due to the criminalization of abortion, trafficking for organized crime is the order of the day. The fight against violence against women is mobilizing millions of people and has created awareness of other problems of inequality and exclusion faced by different sectors of the world's population, who now claim their rights to diverse and free identities and ways of life.
But it is also encouraging the awakening of millions of women, youth and workers who are organizing and fighting against the power of capitalism on all continents; the popular struggles are put the exploiters against the wall, as in France, Germany, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Women's Movement and Women in the world constitute a revolutionary and emancipatory force for women and the peoples.
It must be borne in mind that the women's and feminist movements form a diverse and contradictory movement, because within them there are ideological and political forces that aim to lead half of the world's population in accordance with their purposes. They are forces that identify with the left, social democracy and those who defend the status quo and the power of the big bourgeoisie using the just demands of women. This is happening in Ecuador and Latin America; however, it is also encouraging to note that in the struggles for the demand for women's rights there is a majority popular, leftist and anti-imperialist current that is mobilizing thousands of women to put an end to the historical patriarchal oppression that keeps us subordinate and linking this struggle to action against capitalism and for social transformation.
THE CURRENT SITUATION IN ECUADOR AND WOMEN'S LIVING CONDITIONS
Our country is characterized as having a backward capitalist development and dependent on the decisions of the great imperialist powers, especially US imperialism and to a lesser extent Chinese imperialism and the European Union. This condition of submission is expressed in the dependence on productive, scientific, technical development, as well as in the external debt and the conditions established by imperialism through the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other mechanisms through which the country is forced to apply neoliberal policies.
Ecuador, together with all the countries of the region, is going through a crisis in all economic, social and political aspects. On May 17, President Guillermo Lasso, in agreement with the Armed Forces and the support of the U.S. Embassy, decreed the "Cross Death" with which he dissolved the National Assembly and called for early elections of President and Vice President; of national and provincial assembly members to complete the term from 2023 to 2025. In this period Lasso has the power to govern by executive decrees. This decision constitutes a temporary solution to the political crisis since the serious problems of insecurity, the increase in drug trafficking and organized crime remain, because those responsible are in the highest spheres of bourgeois institutions: in the executive, in the organs of justice, in the top ranks of the Police, the Armed Forces and the Navy; they are owners or shareholders of banks, powerful companies and large media. The government has declared itself incompetent to deal with this problem by declaring, in Lasso's words, that this "is a war between you and crime."
The abandonment of the Ecuadorian State to the population is not only expressed in the issue of insecurity; the same is happening in aspects that have to do with the life and well-being of the working classes and people. The public health sector – including the social security system – is experiencing a critical situation, without a sufficient number of professionals, with a deficit in infrastructure, lacking medicines. Hundreds of educational establishments have been destroyed or are in terrible conditions; there is a deficit of teachers at all levels of the education system. According to INEC (National Institute of Statistics and Census), about 195,000 children and young people did not return to the classroom after the pandemic, there are not enough spaces for the men and women can go to universities. The Ministry of Education does nothing to ensure that children and young people can count on safe classrooms in the face of the increase in sexual harassment and rape that is causing deaths in educational institutions; the State does not create sources of employment because public investment is practically non-existent. However, the rulers are agile and quick to comply with the demands of the International Monetary Fund or to find mechanisms that give millions of dollars to the most powerful economic groups, as established by the proposal to "compensate" the bankers because interest rates have been raised internationally. The State is an instrument at the service of the big bourgeoisie through the implementation of laws and measures that have been established by the different governments of recent decades, not only Lasso but also the governments of Rafael Correa and Lenin Moreno. It is evident that they are the most efficient defenders of the big economic groups of the country and the big imperialist monopolies.
The economic crisis in our country is seen in the increase in poverty. The National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment 2022 (ENEMDU) of June 2022 states that "as of June 2022, poverty at the national level stood at 25.0% and extreme poverty at 10.7%. In urban areas, poverty reached 16.7% and extreme poverty 5.2%. Finally, in rural areas, poverty reached 42.9% and extreme poverty 22.7 %. This means that 25% of Ecuador's population or about 4.5 million people are mired in poverty, that one in four Ecuadorians lives on $87.57 a month ($2.91 a day). It means that they can barely cover 12% of a basic basket [of necessities]. People living in extreme poverty, who earn a per capita household income of less than $49.35 per month ($1.65 per day), represent 10.7 per cent of the population.
In the educational field, the Transform exam was eliminated. The system has been applied in the country since Correa to select those who enter public universities, which is why in the last decade, more than a million and a half young people have been left out of higher education. This has been a demand that we have raised because, like what the ENES and the Ser Bachiller were, it responds to a standardized, exclusive and anti-scientific conception of the university admission system. Its elimination is an achievement, however, the government has transferred the problem to the universities, therefore, each of them will determine the means and entry requirements of the new bachelors, the struggle continues for free admission.
In the particular case of women in our country, the reality we live in is very complex because we are discriminated against because of our gender, class and ethnicity, so it is necessary to expose numbers, data that show this discrimination despite the fact that we constitute the majority of the population.
As of August 2022, according to INEC, Ecuador has a population of 18,009,591 inhabitants; 51.05% are women. According to ESPAC 2021, 72.73% of men and 27.27% of women are engaged in agricultural production. 22.8% work in the area of commerce. The INEC published monthly figures that show that the unemployment rate stood at 4.7% in April 2022; when analyzing unemployment by sex, the results show that women have a higher rate than men. At the national level, 5.8% of women in the EAP (economically active population) were unemployed, while the rate for men was 3.9%, a statistically significant difference that establishes that women do not have equal conditions to access the right to a job.
The wage gap also remains wide; for March 2022 the average work income of a man with a job was $453.60, while for women it was $412.30; the case of women first that does not reach the basic salary of $425 and, worse the basic basket, which, as of June 2022 according to INEC data, the family basket reaches a value of US $751, 04.
The above shows us the feminization of employment and precarious work; it is women who work in flower farms, paid domestic workers, rural workers, on shrimp and banana plantations, broccoli plantations, among others. The inequities and discriminations that prevail against women in the world of paid work are often linked to reproductive obligations and productive activities. Domestic work is still considered an almost natural obligation of women, but this is NOT so; it must be distributed among the members of the household to achieve equal conditions for women and men in all areas of life.
With regard to education by level of instruction, half of the female population of Ecuador has achieved at least basic general education ; but only 13 out of each 100 have higher or university studies. On the other hand, there is still a significant group that lacks any type of studies.
According to MIDUVI, as of December 2020 the housing deficit was 2,744,125 households, housing is one of the basic necessities. Female-headed households, persons with disabilities, single parents, those with dependent children or adults, devote a high percentage of resources to the care of their family members. Therefore, their possibilities of participating in the formal labor market are limited, thus increasing their level of vulnerability.
Although Lasso signed Executive Decree No. 452 in which he ordered the implementation of control operations to prevent price speculation in basic necessities, inflation reached 3.86% as of July 2022. The high cost of living, the rise in the prices of basic necessities such as bread, milk, flour and oil has greatly affected the economy of households in the popular sectors , so we demand the fixing of prices of basic products of the family basket. On the other hand, regarding the health care and life situation, the Statistical Registry of Live Births and Fetal Deaths from 2013 to 2020 establishes that 16.3% of women become mothers from 15 to 19 years, 49.7% from 20 to 29 years and 17.8% from 30 to 34 years. Ecuador has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the Americas. And in the case of girls, more than 3,000 girls under the age of 14 become mothers as a result of rape in Ecuador every year. Behind these figures are the lives of girls dealing with not only the physical but also the psychological and social impacts of having survived rape and being forced to become mothers when they did not want it or were not prepared for it. That is why the struggle for legal, safe and free abortion is a JUST, URGENT AND NECESSARY DEMAND.
In our country, violence against women is an alarming situation; 65 out of every 100 women have suffered at least one violent incident in their lives: 57% psychological, 35.4% physical, 33% sexual, and 16.4% patrimonial. Violence came from their partner in 42.8% of the cases, 32.6% in the social sphere, 20.3% within the family, 20.1% at work and 19.2% in the educational arena.
To the situation of violence and insecurity that is striking Ecuador is added another hard and persistent reality; until May 2022, violence against girls, adolescents and women has increased; until March 2023 56 femicides have been counted. In 2022 there were 332. Cases of sexual violence against children and women is also a very serious problem as is the increase in enforced disappearances due to abduction and human trafficking.
The Lasso government has been unable to respond to women's demand for the budget for the implementation of the Law on the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women and its political decisions are in the line of demagogy and non-compliance. In November 2022, the Ministry of Women's Affairs was created, which in no way has meant a change for the situation of working women and the different popular sectors.
In the current process of presidential and assembly elections, the women's movement won an important victory because the National Electoral Council was forced to change the regulations for the integration of candidacies after an important action of struggle that unified national and local organizations in the demand of unconstitutionality. Today full parity is established for all offices in addition to 25% of young people and representatives of cultural diversity. After the first round of elections, we can affirm that it is not enough to respect gender parity in these processes, which leads to the nomination of candidates by 50% and also to the election of women to the different offices. For women from the popular sectors, it is urgent to work for the training of political leaders in order to gain spaces with women committed to the demands of the working classes, women and the people.
In the second round we do not have a choice that represents the demands of women and all popular sectors of the country and for this reason, WOMEN FOR CHANGE CALLS FOR A "NULL" VOTE as a show of rejection of the choices forged by the ruling classes.
Our participation in the Third Meeting of Women of Latin America and the Caribbean – Brazil 2023
We held the Third Meeting of Women of Latin America and the Caribbean in Brasilia – Brazil, South America, from July 21 to 23, 2023, with great revolutionary joy and combativeness [See durhamspark.blogspot.com/2023/08/pcmm-l-third-meeting-of-women-of-latin.html ]. In the three days, several women of various ages, black, urban and rural workers, students, women with disabilities, unemployed, artists, self-employed workers, intellectuals, indigenous women and women from maroon colonies from 11 countries, learned about the economic, political and social situation in which working women, their families and their peoples live. We learned among ourselves the different forms of struggle and forms of organization that the women's movement has developed in the countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The Ecuadorian delegation was made up of 84 women and young people from 14 provinces and 32 women's, feminist, human rights organisations and collectives, local authorities and representatives of trade union and political organizations in the country.
The Meeting was an extraordinary scenario to analyze in depth the reality of women of the popular sectors of our countries, to identify their main problems and their causes, to establish actions that let them strengthen the struggles of women organized in each country with solidarity actions at regional level.
The resolutions adopted in Brazil last July must be taken up by revolutionary organizations and parties to strengthen the struggle of the working classes and peoples against capitalism and for social transformation. The following are the main resolutions that must not only be disseminated, but must be channeled for implementation through the broad and democratic organization of women in each of our countries, because we are aware that despite the progress made in the development of women, the rights of women won through the struggle so far are still not enough. Not only because what is written in the law does not guarantee its application in reality, but because we are convinced that the only guarantee to win the equality and emancipation of women is with the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of socialism in Ecuador, Latin America and the world.
Our tasks for the coming years, for which we must fight:
Work for the strengthening of left and revolutionary women's organizations and their active involvement in the struggles of the working classes and people for their rights.
Strengthen the Meeting of Women of Latin America and the Caribbean with the integration of all the countries of the region and the broad and democratic participation of women's organizations from popular sectors of our countries.
Actions for the defense and nationalization of natural resources and confronting the policies of surrender, imperialist plunder and plunder.
For labor and wage equality, for a general increase in wages, for the guarantee of well-paid work and employment with social security for the four million unemployed women in the region;
Organize actions to fight against the high cost of living, for the freezing of prices of basic necessities and against the effects of the escalation of inflation on the living conditions of working families and the popular sectors.
Promote a broad campaign for a continental emergency on violence against women and for more investments to end the cult of violence that victimizes more than 4,400 women each year throughout Latin America;
Fight against any threat of fascism, militarization and coups d'état in our countries. Demand punishment for the political crimes committed against the working class, women, political activists who have been persecuted, disappeared, imprisoned, tortured and killed by the State and by authoritarian, fascist, military and coup governments, yesterday and today.
Fight for the right to autonomy of women's bodies, with a broad campaign for the legalization of abortion, which must be legal and safe for all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean;
To promote action against prostitution and trafficking in persons. Ensure access to employment for women who have subjected to sexual exploitation;
Fighting for the full rights of migrant women and their families
Abolition of all laws that STRENGTHEN the mechanisms of women's subordination;
Continental day for the suspension of payment of public debt to international financial organizations; the immediate audit of all debts;
Continental day for the right to free and quality services in comprehensive education and care centers for children and education for all children and young people.
Days of struggle for the rights of women and their families to health care, housing, education, recreation and political participation.
Here, woman, forging unity, for the new homeland, for freedom!
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