Mann, A. (2009). Communicating the right to food sovereignty: The voice of the Campesino in the Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform. PRism 6(2): http://praxis.massey.ac.nz/prism_on-line_journ.html 1 Communicating the right to food sovereignty: The voice of the Campesino in the Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform Alana Mann University of Sydney, Australia Abstract Historically, the ‘campesino’ or peasant farmer has been marginalised from the public sphere. This paper explores how La Via Campesina, the world’s largest independent social movement, has employed framing techniques to legitimise the claims of a diverse membership through its Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform. It is proposed that frame strategists within the movement are effectively challenging dominant paradigms of land reform by engaging in public relations activities, including relationship management, alliance- building and strategic repositioning within a broader network or ‘counterpublic’ of social justice organisations Introduction Campesinos, or peasant farmers, are frequently dismissed in mass media discourse about agriculture in the global economy, despite their direct experience of hyper- urbanisation, unsustainable agricultural systems and food shortages. They are often presented as obstacles to progress, and constructed to appear unqualified or unfit to represent themselves. [Farmers] viewed from the towns…look like subsidised malcontents, chronic polluters and occasional rioters; they belong to an untouchable lobby, they foment disorder, they are backward looking, archaic and incapable of adapting to the world of the young. (Bove & Dufour, 2002, p. 2) It is this perception of the peasant farmer that the Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform, initiated by La Via Campesina and the Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN), desires to subvert. The campaign is a deliberate attempt to coordinate movement activities around a specific issue or event, aiming to communicate its message beyond the informed to reach general publics. Participating groups employ strategically linked activities that work toward a common goal and against a common target, creating a network. Experienced actors within this network mobilise others, initiating structural integration and cultural negotiation. They connect groups, seek resources, propose and prepare activities, and carry out public relations. More than just news promoters, these key actors become ‘frame strategists’, considering how issues should be presented to achieve positive outcomes (Hallahan, 1999). Communication initiatives such the Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform act as framing devices, ideally leading to the development of an “action-generating discursive community” (Pan & Kosicki, 2001, p. 36). A means of achieving political potency in influencing public deliberation and an integral part of the process of building political alignments, framing is not limited to news coverage or diffusely defined public opinion. Successful framing requires the political skills to initiate discourse that binds diverse interests and actors together. Framing is vital to strategic action, and when venues of the public sphere act as a stage for performance by elites, analysis of the frames presented provides a means of reading the relations between communication and power. The economic and social resources available to frame sponsors – those who seek to impose their frames on topics of interest to them – are central to the ability of a frame to enter and achieve prominence in news discourse and the broader public sphere.