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No walls, nor exclusions, nor financial globalization

Cooperatives of the Americas issued a statement rejecting the model of globalization controlled by the concentrated financial capital that results in an even greater deepening of inequality and exclusion, and encouragement of xenophobic proposals, while at the same time jeopardizes world peace.

CONSIDERING:

That globalization, controlled by the concentrated financial capital is putting at risk the international agreements that form the basis under which human beings attempt to live together in peace, and that which are now giving rise to xenophobic rhetoric;

That civil rights laboriously forged after the great wars of the 20th century are put at risk and the concentration of wealth acquires levels that affect the economic, social and environmental stability of the planet;

That in the American continent the worst example of this trend is the wall that the U.S. government wants to build on its border with Mexico;

That this is blatantly contradictory to the obligations assumed by States party to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of The United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS);

That the concentration of economic power incites social injustice and erodes peace among peoples;

That historically, the cooperative movement has held that peace must be backed by an economic model that supports it;

That to ensure that women and men are not expelled by violence and poverty, it is necessary to rebuild the social fabric and an economy where there is a place for equitable participation among people;

That it is necessary to consolidate a strong sector of the cooperative and solidarity economy, which contributes to the democratization of the economy;

And, that cooperation in the Americas and the world has demonstrated its contribution to peace and the resolution of conflicts that generate violence and has facilitated the insertion of migrants and refugees in an economic model based on solidarity and where the human being is at the axis of concern.

THEREFORE,

The Board of Directors of Cooperatives of the Americas DECLARES that it:

• Repudiates the construction of the wall on the US-Mexico border as an ostensible sign of a xenophobic, racist or warmongering policy that promotes discrimination and protects the concentration of economic power in one territory to the detriment of global sustainable development.

• Calls upon all States parties to fully respect the commitments made in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Charter of the United Nations and the OAS, in particular the commitment to join efforts to ensure that international social justice prevails in their relations and for their peoples to achieve integral development, as indispensable conditions for peace and security.

• Reaffirms its commitment to promoting peace throughout the continent based on the values of cooperation as a model that is based on solidarity, reciprocity and community responsibility.

• Reaffirms its commitment to promoting that cooperatives collaborate in the fight for equal access to services and opportunities for migrants and refugees from around the world.

• Calls on all member organizations of Cooperatives of the Americas to disseminate this Declaration, accompanied by the Declaration of the Fourth Cooperative Summit of the Americas, adopted in Montevideo in November 2016, which noted that "alarming data on inequality in the distribution of wealth on a global scale are the result of processes linked to enormous imbalances of power on a global scale," and that“achieving the aspirations of equality and equity that inspire our movement require a conscious and systematic action. There is no place or time for naivete. The dispute is economic, social, cultural, communicational, political, territorial and environmental."

Thus, with inter-American cooperation and democratization of the economy, our continent can present to the world a model of dialogue, inclusion and peace as the alternative to the financial globalization and xenophobic proposals.

Adopted this 17th of February 2017.