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“A BETTER BRAZIL IS POSSIBLE” – A CRY FOR CHANGE ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

On the afternoon of March 8, 2001, over 2000 Brazilians gathered in downtown Sao Paulo to honour International Women's Day. Holding placards and banners, women and men representing various NGOs, social movements and unions celebrated under the slogan “A Better Brazil is Possible.”

Their visions of progress included a Brazil “without machismo, without President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and without the IMF.” The popular slogan reflects the increased mobilization within the Brazilian women's movement against corporate globalisation. The day marked a challenge not only to the violence of traditional patriarchy in the home and at work, but to corporate patriarchy as well.

During the march through the city's center, a group of women burned a United States flag while an assembled crowd cheered. The gesture was meant to protest the IMF's increasing presence in Brazil. Many argue that IMF pressures, adopted readily by the government of Cardoso, have directly led to a decrease in social spending, a phenomenon which traditionally hits women hardest. Meanwhile, in Porto Alegre, the capital city of the state Grande do Sol, 200 women occupied a McDonalds store for one hour to campaign against the politics and economy of genetically modified food.

In the Sao Paulo demonstration, groups present included landless peasants groups, gender based NGOs, black women's groups, local political parties, and unions. The Sole Workers Central Unit (CUT), Brazil's largest umbrella workers' union, was represented by men and women alike, who marched under the banner that “International Women's Day is a day for struggle not only for women but for all working class people.” Speaking to the assembled crowd, one CUT representative urged women to take the battle for advancement into their own hands, arguing that “women should never sit back and wait for anyone else to fight their battle for them.”

The demonstration's strong working class presence speaks to the origins of International Women's Day. On March 8, 1857, hundreds of women workers in New York City's garment and textile factories staged a strike against appalling working conditions and low wages. Again, on March 8, 1909, a date chosen to commemorate the earlier effort, female workers rose up in a strike that eventually led to the right to unionize and improved conditions. By 1922, March 8th was established as the official day of recognition for women around the world and their contributions in all capacities.

The day was also marked throughout the city of Sao Paulo with various activities. Sixty female police officers, strategically located at large intersections, distributed a total of 10,000 roses to passing female pedestrians. And throughout the day, men could be seen heartily congratulating their sisters, wives, daughters, co-workers, and friends.

Women's Day activities are scheduled to continue throughout the month. Sao Paulo's Mayor's Office has organized various lectures and cultural events on a range of women's themes including art expositions, musical shows, and readings throughout the month of March.

More politicized actions have also been initiated by Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement, (MST). When asked to describe the MST's plans for popular education in preparation for the FTAA negotiations scheduled for Quebec City in April, representative Christian Campos described the following: “To coincide with International Women's Day, the MST is planning a women's campaign from March 5 to 8. We will hold campaigns in camps in cities across the country and hope to reach approximately 24,000 female rural workers. During both March and April we will be campaigning for women's improved access to education and health care as well as their equal rights to land ownership. Public actions will also protest actions of international financial institutions as well as proposed extensions to trade agreements.”