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In Memory of a Great Co-operative Leader |
By Tom Hanlon-Wilde, West Sales Manager
On August 29, 2008, the co-operative and Fair Trade movements lost a celebrated leader with the untimely death of Reynaldo Vásquez Lopez. Upon his death, condolences and heartfelt grievances poured in from throughout the Americas and Europe. Mr. Lopez served on the Board of Directors of the Nicaraguan co-operative PRODECOOP, many times as the president. He was widely respected and admired for his tireless efforts to build the co-operative movement in Nicaragua and through Latin America.
Mr. Lopez inspired fellow co-operative members and the international Fair Trade community with his profound personal commitment to building the co-operative from the grassroots up. He was also a fierce defender of the co-operative against the many commercial and political interests that attempted to undermine or limit the gains farmers had made.
Mr. Lopez was a founding member of many democratically-organized entities in Nicaragua. He helped form the Escambray Credit and Services Cooperative in the late 1970s. When those families were forced to relocate due to the U.S.-sponsored Contra War, Mr. Lopez helped the group reorganize in its new location. He was a tireless supporter of the National Farmers and Cattlemen Union throughout the 1980s. Mr. Lopez was a founding member of the Organization of Small Scale Coffee Farmers of Jalapa, from which he became a founding member of PRODECOOP, serving as the organization’s first vice president.
Equal Exchange customers had the honor of visiting with Mr. Lopez this past January. He brought our delegation to tears as he recounted the early days of PRODECOOP during the Contra War in Nicaragua, speaking about the suffering they had experienced during those days and how Equal Exchange had been there for them during those darkest moments.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family. We ourselves recognize the legacy of his work lives on in the co-operatives and pray we are strong enough to build upon his pioneering efforts.
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