Some women know about the First Latin American and Caribbean Feminist meeting. Others have not heard about it since there was little media coverage of the event. For the press, it was not a meeting of the magnitude of the World Conference for the Decade of Women at Copenhagen in 1980, and seemed to be more of a meeting where women went to talk about "women's problems". But the meeting went well beyond these narrow limits and turned out to be a major political event for feminists in Latin America.

The economic and political situation of the continent, the progressive militarization of its governments and the effects of this on democratic movements, were concerns which were felt throughout the meeting.

The meeting was important politically in that it:

— clearly defined feminism in Latin America today in relation to the liberation and transformation processes which these countries are going through. In this respect Latin American feminism is different from European and North American feminism. But it is clear that all feminists have struggles in common, although these may have different importance, depending on the particular socio-political situation.

— Placed feminism as a major struggle against capitalism and the unequal relations existing between countries, that is, as a struggle against power relations and violence relations in all their expressions, both in the public and "private" spheres.

— Established a feminist movement autonomous from political parties. It is indispensable to overcome not only the contradiction which exists between classes but also the contradiction between sexes, which is not necessarily directly related to class problems.

— Analysed the feminist struggle from the perspective not only of its interaction with the process of change in Latin America, but also of daily lives: the need to radically change our ways of relating to each other as women, with men, children and things. It is in this whole area where we Latin American feminists have to gain strength, in order not to let feminism become compartmentalised, but rather that it become a life project which transforms women and their social and family milieux.

This issue of ISIS dedicated to the meeting is a way of contributing to building an alternative communication network among different Latin American women's groups and with women in other countries and continents. With this in mind, ISIS proposed from the start to offer its Boleti'n as a vehicle for spreading the discussion
initiated in Bogota and to make it available to the thousands of women who could not be present there, whether from Nicaragua, Argentina, India or Belgium. In this way the debate can continue and deepen so that we can come to the Second Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Meeting, in 1983 in Peru, with richer ideas and clearer positions.

This Bulletin was produced by ISIS together with the Colombian group "Mujeres en la Lucha" without whose invaluable participation and support it could not have been done.