On October 8, VAMOS Unidos traveled to Guatemala City to partake in the Social Forum of the Americas. VAMOS Unidos traveled as a representative of GGJ an alliance of grassroots organizations throughout the US.

This was the first time VAMOS Unidos was able to attend a social forum and it was an amazing and fruitful experience. Thousands of people gathered at the campus of USAC, which was at the heart of the student movements in Guatemala in the 70’-80’.

We where able to get a feel and a learn of how peasants and workers have been successfully mass-organizing in their home countries in Latin America. Peasants in Latin America have not only been successfully able to organize to win campaigns but have commenced a progressive change throughout the entire southern continent. Peasants in Bolivia explained that they were the ones that placed Evo Morales in power by organizing the indigenous masses, and now they were the ones protecting the democratic process which is under attack by the minority elite class.

At the social forum, we mostly spent time hearing and learning from worker movements that spoke at the Labor Tent. Organizations we were able to make connections with were National Peasant and Indigenous Committee (CONIC), Landless Workers Movement (MST), CITRACOMUSAC, and Union of Independent Workers of Guatemala (STTIGUA) to name a few.

We were able to meet street vendor organizations CITRACOMUSAC and STTIGUA. We shared strategies and spoke about organizational structures, what has worked and what has not. It was extremely helpful to hear and learn from street vendors organizing in Guatemala, where workers in the ‘informal’ economy make up about 74% of the economy. Street vendors from both groups sent a message of strength and admiration for the members of VAMOS Unidos which have been successfully organizing in one of the world’s centers for global finance, which have a history of repressing street vendors. VAMOS Unidos moved forward to send a solidarity letter GGJ to support CITRACOMUSAC as they fight to hold their jobs as street vendors at the USAC campus in Guatemala.

Elvira Arellano was present at the forum adding the cross border organizing perspective of displaced migrants. She remains firm in fighting for migrant rights. Elvira founded “La Casa del Migrante (The House of the Migrant),” where migrants find refuge in Mexico. Elvira sent a message to all our members:

The most important lesson that we took back from Guatemala was the reinforcement of VAMOS Unidos’ vision of a truly democratic mass-based movement led by the actual working class people through discussion, participation, voting, and away from centralized political power.

Rafael Samanez, Director of VAMOS Unidos speaks with members of STTIGUA, a street vendor union.

VAMOS Unidos meets with street vendor organization CITRACOMUSAC, organizing in the campus of USAC. Recently, the university had attempted to remove the vendors using armed guards. The vendors refused to be moved as this is their only source of income.