In August 1980, sixteen Bretons went on a tour of Brazil. Two years ago, Brazil emerged from the blackest period of the dictatorship and sarted opening up. Some exiles venture the coming back to the country. In Mayof the same year, The metalworkers of Sâo Paulo braved the giant of the car industry (Fiat, Volkswagen...) in the longest strike of thei history.

From Salvador to Rio, from Recife to São Paulo, the Bretons met these people who "resist" : farmers, workers, lawyers, unionists, social leaders, clergymen, political militants... Their tenacity, their courage is impressive.

Tell it in Europe !

to each group they met, they asked: "What can we do to support your action ?". " The answer is always the same everywhere : "Tell in Europe about what you’ve seen here , tell what are our living conditions and our struggles. We need to make it known...".

In Goïania, a person in charge of the Pastoral Commission of the Earth (Commission Pastorale de la Terre) explains: "The totalitarian powers need the complicity of silence, need to hide the injustice of the official policy and its responsibility in the people’s misery. In that sense, any action of information is of great support.".

Long-term mobilisation

When they returned to France, our travellers thought of a way to settle solidarity in the long term. To act on the causes of oppression? Some of them were members of the 1% Third world Movement (Mouvement 1% Tiers-Monde. In 1983, this Movement merged with the Union of People’s Development Organisations (Comités pour le Développement des Peuples) and became Peuples Solidaires. It is in this movement that the question will be given careful consideration : gradually appeared, the idea of a small permanent structure able to give rise to rapid reactions of the public opinion for requests similar to that of the Brazilians.

And that was how, in 1981, Réseau-Solidarité was born.