**People's Globoal Action convocation-manifesto**

-HOLA COMPAS. I SEND YOU THE CONVOCATION FOR THE REGIONAL MEETING,HOPEFULLY IS APROPIATE FOR MOST OF US, ALSO I UNDERSTAND WE MOST CAME WHIT A NUMBER OF POSIBLE DELEGATES BEFORE THE 20 AND WE MAY GONA HAVE TO MAKE AN EVALUATION OVER THE PHONE, THE LAST DAY OF THE CONFERENCE WE MADE AN ESTIMATION OF 6 POSIBLE DELEGATES BASED UPON A QUICK REVIW.

Convocation

The March 21^st Brigade is convening a regional meeting in the [SF] Bay Area, through a political-cultural forum with the goal of promoting activism against globalization, specifically through the PGA, on the 23^rd of June. Everybody please send in their response in order to see if we should make this the official date, or pick another date for everybody. At first we thought we would pick this date for the sake of the delegates who are going to Cochabamba, but now they are telling us that we have to send the number of applications in before the 20^th. For this reason I think we should email each other to agree on a number. On the 3^rd we had calculated a fair number of 6 delegates from this region. Of course we have to set this number based on the conditions of homogeneity and population of the region. We hope that we can reach an agreement as fast as possible in order to follow up on this.

City: San Jose, California
First Unitarian Church
160 North Third Street
Date: Saturday, June 23^rd
Time: 4:30 pm

Translation of the short history of the PGA

"PGA" (People's Global Action) appeared in 1998 through an initiative of activists in the South. It is a network, not an organization, and it sees capitalism as an oppressive system. Activists from all over the world met in 1998. Members of the Mauti tribes, people from Ya Basta, peasants from India, and students and workers from the coast of Bangladesh were some of the delegates, and all were part of the process of generating the PGA Manifesto. The second PGA conference took place in Bangalore in 1999. The meeting in Cochabamba will be more structured than in the past, in order to be able to decide on the choice of delegates so that they may be more representative of communities in struggle around the world. The political opening of the previous conference resulted in a majority of delegates who were able to cover their own expenses, representing communities whose poverty is their struggle.

Goals of PGA North America:

• To give a voice to the diversity of movements in North America.
• To undertake to organize as PGA in the future.
• To determine the best opportunities for involving PGA in struggles in the South.
• To be honest in expressing the aims of PGA (that is, to point out the barriers that we are confronting, and our intention to learn about effective organizers in the South).
• To unite local and global struggles. To publicize the process followed by PGA North America and the points on which we agree.
• Delegates chosen will be sent with a clear anticapitalist and anti-imperialist mandate with the intention of perfecting the PGA positions, reflecting the process of delegate selection. This process is one of cooperation and not of competition. The intent is to send a representative group. We agreed by consensus on a system of minor regional groups (6 in total; Canada will determine its own regions and will function as a committee) throughout all of North America. These groups will be responsible for choosing delegates by a process based on the criteria of diversity and representation; and then the proposal will be ratified by a national group.
• The regions of North America: Northwest (including Alaska), Southwest, North Central, South Central, Northeast and Southeast. At least 2 spaces will be reserved for indigenous delegates and one space will be reserved for Puerto Rico.
• One space will be reserved for an indigenous delegate from Hawaii. Each region will select its delegates, and every committee will have influence on the final decision as to who will go.
• As soon as the regional committees choose their delegates, they will then choose one or two representatives for a continental selection committee, which will not have the authority to veto regional decisions, but will be able to ask the region to go back and revise the rough draft if it is found that the draft does not meet the criteria of diversity to which the committees are subject with regards to choosing delegates. The purpose of creating this continental committee is to be able to perceive a wider picture of who has been chosen, and to assure that the criteria of representation have been met.

Criteria of representation:

• At least 50% will be women.
• At least 50% will be people of color.
• The chosen delegates must be ready to collect funds. Every region will be responsible for collecting the funds necessary for the expenses of these delegates and of the ones from the South.

Role of coordinators: The coordinators will be entrusted with the power of communicating the information of the PGA. They do not speak on behalf of the PGA, since no one can do this. They will communicate with other coordinators from other parts of the world and will have the ability to communicate in Spanish. They will also respond to the media and will be responsible for continuing to create the network, but they will not be responsible for directing or dictating actions and policies of the PGA. THE COORDINATORS ARE FACILITATORS.

I'm sending the regional contacts I know about. If anyone has other information it is welcome; and please forgive me, but is there anyone who can give me a hand with translation into English which I'm not very good at? It's much easier for me from English to Spanish. By the way, if there is any translation work you guys have, we'll be happy to help. Greetings from the Brigade, and we hope that you can come and enjoy some tamales with us to the sound of the flight of the condor and the eagle (I'm just sorry about Jef and Amparo who won't be able to come with us). HASTA PRONTO

PGA North America Meeting, Amherst, June 1-3
PGA