THE STORY OF THE NORTHERN PEASANT ORGANIZATION (OCN) ONE OF OF RESISTANCE, AUTONOMY, AND CONSTANT RENEWAL ~ ABEL IRALA, DESINFORMEMOS ~ Founded in 1986, at the height of the Stroessner dictatorship, the OCN emerged as an expression of peasant independence from political and military control. Almost four decades later, it remains a benchmark in the social struggle in Paraguay. From its inception, the OCN played a decisive role in the struggle for land. During the final years of the dictatorship and the early years of the transition to a liberal democracy, it led the first peasant occupations and supported the emergence of numerous settlements. Adriano Muñoz, a member of the Organization, comments that, “the Arroyito settlement is one of the emblematic cases of the struggle for land, with thousands of hectares that, following the occupation, passed into the hands of peasants.” From this common root, dozens of groups emerged that today form part of the social and productive fabric of the north. However, the most significant aspect of the OCN is not only its history, but its capacity to persist and transform itself. In a context marked by criminalization, militarization, and state abandonment, the organization managed to resist without losing its identity. Through dialogue with Adriano Muñoz, three fundamental lessons can be identified that explain the OCN’s continued relevance: leadership renewal, resistance to militarization, and a commitment to agroecology. LEADERSHIP RENEWAL: THE STRENGTH OF NEW GENERATIONS One of the pillars of the OCN has been its capacity to incorporate and train young leaders. Muñoz explains that, “in 2003, the ‘Ernesto Che Guevara’ School for Grassroots Activists was created, where 22 young people participated in a two-year political training program.” From this experience emerged leaders who, at a very young age, assumed political and union responsibilities. In his words, “at the OCN, there’s no problem with a young person being president or treasurer or making political decisions; that’s always possible.” This model of ongoing training and youth participation has allowed the organization to maintain a dynamic, pluralistic leadership committed to its grassroots members. Intergenerational transmission is not just a replacement mechanism: it is a pedagogy of resistance, a way to ensure that the struggle has continuity and historical significance. RESISTANCE TO MILITARIZATION: DIGNITY THAT REFUSES The territory where the OCN operates has been militarised for over a decade. Throughout these years, its communities have faced persecution, raids, threats, legal proceedings, and a persistent campaign of stigmatisation that attempted to link them to the armed conflict in the north. However, the OCN was not broken. Despite harassment and violence, the organisation retreated, reorganised, and re-emerged with strength, demonstrating that resistance is also a form of political action. The persistence of its communities, their capacity to maintain collective spaces, and their decision to continue celebrating—as in the traditional Seed Festival—are testament to a resilience that transcends repression. In a context where militarisation seeks to control the territory and fragment the peasant fabric, the OCN reaffirms its presence as a legitimate and vibrant social actor. AGROECOLOGY: TO PRODUCE IS TO RESIST The third lesson is perhaps the most profound. For Adriano Muñoz, “if the organisation doesn’t propose concrete transformations in production, the struggle is fruitless.” The OCN embraced agroecology not only as a technique, but as a political stance against the extractive and corporate model that dominates Paraguayan agriculture. “All members must have approximately 10 to 12 crop species on their plots for their own consumption and for sale,” explains Muñoz, summarizing a production logic based on diversification, self-sufficiency, and care for the land. In this sense, agroecology is not just an agricultural practice, but a way of affirming that human food cannot depend on corporations, but rather on the work of the peasant hands that have historically sustained life on the planet. That daily practice —producing healthy food in the midst of adversity— is also a form of resistance against dispossession, a concrete way of sustaining hope in the land. The OCN remains a vibrant organisation, with a strong presence, diversity, and political awareness. Its history demonstrates that, even in contexts of repression and exclusion, it is possible to build alternatives from the ground up, with autonomy and dignity. The OCN’s experience teaches that generational renewal, resistance to militarization, and agroecology are not just survival strategies, but seeds for the future.   The post Peasant opposition in Paraguay appeared first on Freedom News.