Our ideologies and class loyalties aside, our political struggle is about the eradication of extreme poverty and social exclusion. That’s why we need to keep a cool head and a critical mind when faced with the demands of political parties and their platforms.
We know, and experience has taught us, that people living in extreme poverty are not taken into account in the vision of society that political parties put before us. No party, trade union, association or church has the eradication of extreme poverty as their prime objective. Not one of them shows the determination to overcome the exclusion of Fourth World families and communities. Least of all do they build on their collective experience to create a society that is ultimately fair, liberating, caring and community-minded.
It’s not just a question of asking political parties to take commitments during the coming election campaign (…), but rather to commit ourselves, wherever we are, to establish the credibility of our struggle against extreme poverty, to create and organise pressure groups that will ensure that elected representatives honour their commitment to the Fourth World to eradicate extreme poverty, and keep their promises after the elections.