From October 13 to 19, 2024, Paraguayan activists Miguel Sanabria Irepa and Hugo Vázquez Parini, representing FEDEM PY, visited Valencia on a tour organized by Fundación por la Justicia to raise awareness of the neighborhood struggle for human rights in Paraguay and create synergies with local organizations. The agenda was marked by key meetings, discussions, and screenings that opened spaces for dialogue on the violation of human rights in their country, as well as corruption and its effects.
The tour began with a meeting with the Association Paraguayos en Acción of Valencia, where experiences were shared with Paraguayan people living in Valencia and the complications of voting from abroad in Paraguay were discussed, agreeing on future joint actions between the entities to resolve them. Throughout the week, the activists held important meetings with the parties Compromís, PSPV-PSOE and PPCV in Les Corts Valencianes to discuss the situation of human rights in Paraguay and propose the signing of an Institutional Declaration before Les Corts Valencianes. In addition, the project was also presented to the Director General of Cooperation of the GVA, thanking him for the support of the Generalitat Valenciana to Defensores de DDHH.
One of the highlights was the premiere of the documentary “Escuela Vecinal” at Espacio La Misti, a self-managed meeting place for local residents in Valencia, where activists participated in a round table discussion with attendees. Throughout the week, they also visited the headquarters of Fundación por la Justicia Trellat soluciones and Alianza por la Solidaridad to share experiences and knowledge. In turn, activists visited the Fundación NovaFeina, focused on social entrepreneurship, and participated in the BaoRadio program on RadioRussafa, where they presented the reality of local activism in Paraguay and the work of FEDEM PY.
The meeting at the Human Rights Institute of the University of Valencia (IDHUV) allowed activists to talk about corruption, its causes and consequences, exposing the new law on control of NGOs as an example of this, generating a debate among law students. Another of the great meetings took place at the “Learning Roundtable: The importance of neighborhood organization in an environment of institutional corruption, the case of Paraguay” with the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Valencia, where they shared strategies and success stories in the neighborhood struggle both in Paraguay and in Valencia.
During the last part of the visit, the interesting “Participatory Colloquium: Paraguayan neighbourhood struggle for the defence of citizens’ rights: mediation as a response to institutional corruption” was held at the ICAV headquarters, where social mediation was discussed as a response to institutional corruption. This colloquium included the participation of experts such as Amparo Peris (IVMED) and Joan Llinares (former director of the Anti-Fraud Agency) and the magistrate Juan Mejias (vice president of Gemme Spain). The week ended with the invitation to activists by the Orriols Convive collective to participate in the program “Voices for a better world”.
The visit not only allowed for an exchange of knowledge and experiences, but also consolidated new alliances between Valencian and Paraguayan organizations, strengthening the fight for human rights and neighborhood resistance against corruption.