LA Times
By Richard Fausset and Cecilia Sanchez
July 17, 2013
A journalist who covered the police beat in the Mexican state of Oaxaca was found dead Wednesday, reportedly with gunshot wounds.
It was unclear whether Alberto Lopez Bello was attacked in retaliation for his work for El Imparcial, a newspaper in the city of Oaxaca, the state capital. The paper published a brief statement Wednesday demanding a thorough investigation and saying the killing “demonstrates the vulnerability to which communicators are exposed in their daily work of providing truthful and timely information to the citizenry.” [link in Spanish]
The Oaxacan state government said that Lopez's body was found along with the corpse of another man in Trinidad de Viguera, a city north of the Oaxacan capital. The news website Milenio reported that Lopez suffered gunshot wounds. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the CIP Americas Program monitors and analyzes international press on Mexico with a focus on the US-backed War on Drugs in Mexico and the struggle in Mexico to strengthen the rule of law, justice and protection of human rights. Relevant political developments in both countries are also covered.
Showing posts with label Oaxaca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oaxaca. Show all posts
Jul 19, 2013
Indigenous Oaxacan Political Prisoners Caught in the Drug War Prison Boom
My Word Is My Weapon Blog
by Kristin Bricker and Santiago Navarro
After spending nearly 17 years in the same prison cell just outside of Oaxaca City, seven indigenous Loxicha political prisoners were transferred this month—twice. The transfers, which enraged and frightened their families and supporters, were part of a nationwide shuffle of existing prisoners to fill beds at newly opened facilities that were financed by Mexican and United States drug war money.
The prisoners, Agustín Luna Valencia, Eleuterio Hernández Garcia, Fortino Enriquez Hernández, Justino Hernández José, Abraham Garcia Ramirez, Zacarias Pascual Garcia López, and Alvaro Sebastián Ramirez, are Zapotec indigenous men from Oaxaca’s Loxicha region, one of Oaxaca’s poorest and most marginalized regions.
The seven Loxichas are accused of participating in the August 29, 1996, Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) uprising in la Crucecita, Oaxaca, in which 11 government agents were killed. The indigenous men say they were tortured into signing hundreds of pages of blank paper that were later filled in with confessions. The Loxichas were convicted of murder (of the federal agents), terrorism, and conspiracy, and they were sentenced to up to 31 years in prison. Read more.
by Kristin Bricker and Santiago Navarro
After spending nearly 17 years in the same prison cell just outside of Oaxaca City, seven indigenous Loxicha political prisoners were transferred this month—twice. The transfers, which enraged and frightened their families and supporters, were part of a nationwide shuffle of existing prisoners to fill beds at newly opened facilities that were financed by Mexican and United States drug war money.
The prisoners, Agustín Luna Valencia, Eleuterio Hernández Garcia, Fortino Enriquez Hernández, Justino Hernández José, Abraham Garcia Ramirez, Zacarias Pascual Garcia López, and Alvaro Sebastián Ramirez, are Zapotec indigenous men from Oaxaca’s Loxicha region, one of Oaxaca’s poorest and most marginalized regions.
The seven Loxichas are accused of participating in the August 29, 1996, Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) uprising in la Crucecita, Oaxaca, in which 11 government agents were killed. The indigenous men say they were tortured into signing hundreds of pages of blank paper that were later filled in with confessions. The Loxichas were convicted of murder (of the federal agents), terrorism, and conspiracy, and they were sentenced to up to 31 years in prison. Read more.
Feb 17, 2013
Constructing a community police in the town of Álvaro Obregón, Oaxaca
Strengthening the Struggle to Defend Territory on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
February 11, 2013 in Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Juchitán
by Daniel Arellano Chávez, Proyecto Ambulante
Translated by El Enemigo Común
Today, February 10, 2013 is certainly a watershed in the struggle for the defense of the land and territory on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. After the successful resistance against the repression ordered by Oaxaca state governor Gabino Cué to shield Mareña Renovables, the peoples of the Isthmus are at a decisive moment in their struggle to defend their territory. The Assembly held today and the sizeable march in Álvaro Obregón has provided the ideal setting for announcing townspeople’s decisions, expelling false political leaders and their political parties, and beginning the construction of a Community Police.
At the old General Charis military quarters, the scene of the historic resistance of February 2, men and women from San Dionisio del Mar, San Mateo del Mar, Xadani, Emiliano Zapata, San Blas Atempa, Unión Hidalgo, and Juchitán, among other communities, came together in the morning to ratify their total rejection of the wind projects in the region and demand the immediate expulsion of Mareña Renovables from the territories of the Isthmus.
February 11, 2013 in Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Juchitán
by Daniel Arellano Chávez, Proyecto Ambulante
Translated by El Enemigo Común
Today, February 10, 2013 is certainly a watershed in the struggle for the defense of the land and territory on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. After the successful resistance against the repression ordered by Oaxaca state governor Gabino Cué to shield Mareña Renovables, the peoples of the Isthmus are at a decisive moment in their struggle to defend their territory. The Assembly held today and the sizeable march in Álvaro Obregón has provided the ideal setting for announcing townspeople’s decisions, expelling false political leaders and their political parties, and beginning the construction of a Community Police.
At the old General Charis military quarters, the scene of the historic resistance of February 2, men and women from San Dionisio del Mar, San Mateo del Mar, Xadani, Emiliano Zapata, San Blas Atempa, Unión Hidalgo, and Juchitán, among other communities, came together in the morning to ratify their total rejection of the wind projects in the region and demand the immediate expulsion of Mareña Renovables from the territories of the Isthmus.
Nov 4, 2012
Indigenous vs. Multinationals in Mexico Wind Power
AP By Mark Stevenson
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is putting up wind power turbines at a breakneck pace and the expansion is pitting energy companies against the Indians who live in one of the windiest spots in the world.
The country is posting one of the world's highest growth rates in wind energy, and almost all of it is concentrated in the narrow waist of Mexico known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where winds from the Pacific meet winds from the Gulf of Mexico, spawning places so wind-blown that one town's formal name is simply "Windy."
The largely indigenous residents of the Isthmus complain that the wind farms take control of their land, affect fish and livestock with their vibrations, chop up birds and pit residents against each other for the damage or royalty payments. They also claim they see few of the profits from such projects.
President Felipe Calderon has made the inauguration of wind parks one of the main focuses of his administration's ambitious pledge to cut Mexico's carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020, and on Tuesday — as he has done before — he stopped by the state of Oaxaca to inaugurate a new clutch of wind turbines, praising the extra income they provide for some farmers.
"Yes, you can fight poverty and protect the environment at the same time. This is a clear example," Calderon said at the opening ceremony. Read more.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is putting up wind power turbines at a breakneck pace and the expansion is pitting energy companies against the Indians who live in one of the windiest spots in the world.
The country is posting one of the world's highest growth rates in wind energy, and almost all of it is concentrated in the narrow waist of Mexico known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where winds from the Pacific meet winds from the Gulf of Mexico, spawning places so wind-blown that one town's formal name is simply "Windy."
The largely indigenous residents of the Isthmus complain that the wind farms take control of their land, affect fish and livestock with their vibrations, chop up birds and pit residents against each other for the damage or royalty payments. They also claim they see few of the profits from such projects.
President Felipe Calderon has made the inauguration of wind parks one of the main focuses of his administration's ambitious pledge to cut Mexico's carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020, and on Tuesday — as he has done before — he stopped by the state of Oaxaca to inaugurate a new clutch of wind turbines, praising the extra income they provide for some farmers.
"Yes, you can fight poverty and protect the environment at the same time. This is a clear example," Calderon said at the opening ceremony. Read more.
Oct 18, 2012
Indigenous Groups Protest Mexico's Biggest Wind-Energy Project
Fox Business, October 17, 2012.
Mexican fishermen and indigenous groups from the southern state of Oaxaca protested Wednesday in front of the Mexico City offices of participants in a wind-energy project that would be one of the largest ever in Latin America, targeting Coca-Cola bottler and convenience-store operator Femsa (FMX), the Inter-American Development Bank and the Danish government, among others.
The few dozen protesters called for the cancellation of the Marena wind-farm project in a windy area of Oaxaca known as Tehuantepec on the grounds that construction and operation of the 132 windmill towers would hurt the livelihoods of local residents by damaging a delicate ecosystem in which fishermen eke out a modest living.
The energy project is part of a sustainability initiative by Femsa to provide clean energy for its operations and for that of its former beer unit, Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, which is now owned by Heineken NV (HEIA.AE), according to Femsa's 2011 annual report.
Femsa didn't have an immediate comment on the protest, which was made symbolically outside the Mexico City office of the Coca-Cola Co. (KO), since Femsa's corporate offices are in the northern city of Monterrey. Read more.
Mexican fishermen and indigenous groups from the southern state of Oaxaca protested Wednesday in front of the Mexico City offices of participants in a wind-energy project that would be one of the largest ever in Latin America, targeting Coca-Cola bottler and convenience-store operator Femsa (FMX), the Inter-American Development Bank and the Danish government, among others.
The few dozen protesters called for the cancellation of the Marena wind-farm project in a windy area of Oaxaca known as Tehuantepec on the grounds that construction and operation of the 132 windmill towers would hurt the livelihoods of local residents by damaging a delicate ecosystem in which fishermen eke out a modest living.
The energy project is part of a sustainability initiative by Femsa to provide clean energy for its operations and for that of its former beer unit, Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, which is now owned by Heineken NV (HEIA.AE), according to Femsa's 2011 annual report.
Femsa didn't have an immediate comment on the protest, which was made symbolically outside the Mexico City office of the Coca-Cola Co. (KO), since Femsa's corporate offices are in the northern city of Monterrey. Read more.
Jul 15, 2012
A Priest Stands Up for the Migrants Who Run Mexico’s Gantlet
NY Times: OAXACA, Mexico When the Rev. Alejandro Solalinde chose to dedicate himself seven years ago to helping Central and South American migrants traveling to the United States, he was an obscure country priest and the migrants moved in the shadows.
Since then, both Father Solalinde and the plight of the people he serves have emerged into a very public light.
The crimes the migrants face — extortion, rape, kidnapping and murder — have become so brazen and brutal that Mexicans can no longer ignore them. As the horrors have multiplied, Father Solalinde’s demands for the migrants’ protection have begun to resonate. Read more.
Jul 8, 2012
Mexico’s Election: A Personal Commentary from Oaxaca
Upside Down World: When we lose an election, and feel angry with or without cause, it’s natural to shout “Fraud!” However, the count of votes cast on July 1, 2012 provoked a scream of rage which didn’t indicate baseless anger, or that no fraud actually occurred. Enrique Peña Nieto the PRI presidential victor, feels safe saying he will go along with a recount. The fraud won’t show up on the paper ballots.
In Mexico, how much fraud decides an election? President Felipe Calderon never permitted a true examination of his 2006 electoral results, and that refusal supported a public perception of fraud, not diminished it. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, his left-leaning opponent, never stopped saying Calderon is illegitimate. Six years later we hopefully embarked on the same scenario, this time with Peña Nieto. Read more.
In Mexico, how much fraud decides an election? President Felipe Calderon never permitted a true examination of his 2006 electoral results, and that refusal supported a public perception of fraud, not diminished it. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, his left-leaning opponent, never stopped saying Calderon is illegitimate. Six years later we hopefully embarked on the same scenario, this time with Peña Nieto. Read more.
May 15, 2012
Mexican priest who denounced abuse, kidnapping of migrants flees death threats
Washington Post: An outspoken priest who runs a shelter for migrants in southern Mexico has temporarily left his facility after receiving death threats.
The shelter run by the Rev. Alejandro Solalinde says the Roman Catholic priest is “protecting his physical safety” until state and federal prosecutors thoroughly investigate the threats.
Prosecutors in southern Oaxaca state have said they are investigating and are providing police security for Solalinde.
Solalinde has become widely known in Mexico for publicly denouncing corruption and abuse of mainly Central American migrants who cross into Mexico seeking to reach the United States. read more
The shelter run by the Rev. Alejandro Solalinde says the Roman Catholic priest is “protecting his physical safety” until state and federal prosecutors thoroughly investigate the threats.
Prosecutors in southern Oaxaca state have said they are investigating and are providing police security for Solalinde.
Solalinde has become widely known in Mexico for publicly denouncing corruption and abuse of mainly Central American migrants who cross into Mexico seeking to reach the United States. read more
Apr 4, 2012
Intolerance in Chiapas and Oaxaca
La Jornada: (Original translation) It is not a new issue, but its resurgence is worrying. Cases of religious intolerance against evangelicals are occurring once again in Chiapas and Oaxaca, states with the highest portion of indigenous populations. Their persecutors are political and religious authorities. This is a dangerous partnership, because they do not value the freedom of belief and worship enacted by Benito Juárez, and indigenous man, on December 4, 1860.
According to the veteran reporter Isaín Mandujano, about one hundred families in the ejido (communal farm space) of Matamoros, in the municipality of Venustiano Carranza, were stripped of their land and animals and not allowed to bury their dead in the community cemetary because they publicly profess their religion to be other than that of Catholicism or Protestantism. He adds that about a thousand families’ lands were dispossessed and Catholics destroyed their fields and scattered their cattle (www.proceso.com.mx/?p=303135).
Those who have been stripped of their lands are indigenous Tzotil. They accuse Salomón Suárez Balcázar, president of the ejido, and local official Eduardo Belázquez Balcázar, of leading the hostilities against them. A delegation of the persecuted is in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the Chiapas capital, to demand the Secretariat for Religious Affairs fulfill its obligation to guarantee the free exercise of their beliefs by intervening and penalizing those who restrict that freedom. Will the authorities comply with those lawful obligations this time, or as in previous similar cases, lengthen the conflict?
In regards to Oaxaca, Elías Betanzos Luis, head of at least 400 congregations united by the Oaxaca Evangelical Unity Council, announced that 17 communities in the 415 municipalities which are governed by the system of laws and customs set up by the organization, have registered cases of serious religious intolerance (noted by Sofía Valdivia, Oaxaca a Diaro, 4/2).The Protestant leader explained that the higher incidences of intolerance against their coreligionists occurs in La Mixteca, the Sierra Norte, and now the coast.
The persecution against protestant indigenous populations is not widespread in the communities governed by custom. For the most part, as is clear from the testimony given by the leader of the Oaxaca Evangelical Unity Council, indigenous people of different faiths live together without aggression and respect the growing pluralization taking place in their villages. However, the number of cases in which evangelicals are harassed by threats of the closure of services, like water, or of expulsions should be more than enough to mobilize human rights organizations in order to demand respect for constitutional guarantees of those attacked. Or are the rights of indigenous evangelicals worth less?
It is time to abandon the habit of blaming the victims of persecution as the cause of their own suffering. The very conservative idea comfortably states that protestant Indians are the causes of their own misfortune, by converting to beliefs which differ from their traditional religion. This is deeply discriminatory and denies proper human rights to an important part of the Mexican population.
We can’t expect the conservative right to lift a finger to defend the freedom of belief for Protestant Indians. Their spirit and attitude of absolute submission to the will of the head of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI, of making religious minorities invisible was fully and shamelessly on display in the recent visit by the pope to our country. There is historical continuity there: yesterday they adamantly opposed the removal of catholicism as the official religion of the Mexican state. Today, now that they can’t reverse historical gains in the decolonization of Mexico, they push the government to return some of the privileges they held in the past.
The left would do well ideologically, culturally, and politically to resurrect the liberal leftists of the nineteenth century. They were strong advocates for freedom of religion. None more so than the native Ignacio Manuel Altamirano (born in Tixtla, Guerrero). He often wrote newspaper articles (beginning in 1869) documenting cases of intolerance against indigenous protestants.
Altamirano was present when San José de Gracia (Mesones 139) was first opened up to Protestant worship. On April 23, 1871, Manuel Aguas, a former Dominican turned evangelical Christian, preached there. According to his account, the 1500 seats were not enough to accommodate the crowd that gathered to see the event. He said that the audience was composed of all classes, ages, and sexes: men, women, artisans, many indigenous people; everyone was gathered in a sense of true brotherhood, in the spirit of the Gospel (El Federalista, April 24, 1871, p.3). Indigenous people have played a historic role in the development of Protestantism on Mexican soil.
Why is the left hedging the right of Indians to exercise freedom of conscience and stigmatizing them when they choose an option other than Roman Catholicism? Spanish original
By: Carlos Martinez Garcia
Translation by Michael Kane, Americas Program
According to the veteran reporter Isaín Mandujano, about one hundred families in the ejido (communal farm space) of Matamoros, in the municipality of Venustiano Carranza, were stripped of their land and animals and not allowed to bury their dead in the community cemetary because they publicly profess their religion to be other than that of Catholicism or Protestantism. He adds that about a thousand families’ lands were dispossessed and Catholics destroyed their fields and scattered their cattle (www.proceso.com.mx/?p=303135).
Those who have been stripped of their lands are indigenous Tzotil. They accuse Salomón Suárez Balcázar, president of the ejido, and local official Eduardo Belázquez Balcázar, of leading the hostilities against them. A delegation of the persecuted is in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the Chiapas capital, to demand the Secretariat for Religious Affairs fulfill its obligation to guarantee the free exercise of their beliefs by intervening and penalizing those who restrict that freedom. Will the authorities comply with those lawful obligations this time, or as in previous similar cases, lengthen the conflict?
In regards to Oaxaca, Elías Betanzos Luis, head of at least 400 congregations united by the Oaxaca Evangelical Unity Council, announced that 17 communities in the 415 municipalities which are governed by the system of laws and customs set up by the organization, have registered cases of serious religious intolerance (noted by Sofía Valdivia, Oaxaca a Diaro, 4/2).The Protestant leader explained that the higher incidences of intolerance against their coreligionists occurs in La Mixteca, the Sierra Norte, and now the coast.
The persecution against protestant indigenous populations is not widespread in the communities governed by custom. For the most part, as is clear from the testimony given by the leader of the Oaxaca Evangelical Unity Council, indigenous people of different faiths live together without aggression and respect the growing pluralization taking place in their villages. However, the number of cases in which evangelicals are harassed by threats of the closure of services, like water, or of expulsions should be more than enough to mobilize human rights organizations in order to demand respect for constitutional guarantees of those attacked. Or are the rights of indigenous evangelicals worth less?
It is time to abandon the habit of blaming the victims of persecution as the cause of their own suffering. The very conservative idea comfortably states that protestant Indians are the causes of their own misfortune, by converting to beliefs which differ from their traditional religion. This is deeply discriminatory and denies proper human rights to an important part of the Mexican population.
We can’t expect the conservative right to lift a finger to defend the freedom of belief for Protestant Indians. Their spirit and attitude of absolute submission to the will of the head of the Catholic Church, Benedict XVI, of making religious minorities invisible was fully and shamelessly on display in the recent visit by the pope to our country. There is historical continuity there: yesterday they adamantly opposed the removal of catholicism as the official religion of the Mexican state. Today, now that they can’t reverse historical gains in the decolonization of Mexico, they push the government to return some of the privileges they held in the past.
The left would do well ideologically, culturally, and politically to resurrect the liberal leftists of the nineteenth century. They were strong advocates for freedom of religion. None more so than the native Ignacio Manuel Altamirano (born in Tixtla, Guerrero). He often wrote newspaper articles (beginning in 1869) documenting cases of intolerance against indigenous protestants.
Altamirano was present when San José de Gracia (Mesones 139) was first opened up to Protestant worship. On April 23, 1871, Manuel Aguas, a former Dominican turned evangelical Christian, preached there. According to his account, the 1500 seats were not enough to accommodate the crowd that gathered to see the event. He said that the audience was composed of all classes, ages, and sexes: men, women, artisans, many indigenous people; everyone was gathered in a sense of true brotherhood, in the spirit of the Gospel (El Federalista, April 24, 1871, p.3). Indigenous people have played a historic role in the development of Protestantism on Mexican soil.
Why is the left hedging the right of Indians to exercise freedom of conscience and stigmatizing them when they choose an option other than Roman Catholicism? Spanish original
By: Carlos Martinez Garcia
Translation by Michael Kane, Americas Program
Mar 16, 2012
Human Rights/Rule of Law: Oaxaca activist killed in ambush
La Jornada: The Attorney General of Oaxaca confirmed the death of Bernardo Vázquez Sánchez in Santa Lucía Ocotlán, through which he was traveling with relatives, who were injured.
Oaxaca: The main opponent of the operation of a silver mine in the indigenous community of San José del Progreso and the leader of the United Peoples Coordinator in the Ocotlán Valley, Bernardo Vázquez Sánchez, was killed in an ambush in Santa Lucía Ocotlán, confirmed the Attorney General of Oaxaca (PGJO).
The agency reported the attack was perpetrated on a stretch of road leading to Santa Lucía Ocatlán.
It is presumed that the unknown assailants fired their high-caliber weapons at the compact car the victim was riding in with his relatives, who were also injured, from a distance.
Just this past January 19, Vázquez Sánchez harshly accused the government of Gabino Cué of being incapable of resolving the conflict that prevails in San José del Progreso and attending to the interests of the Cuzcatlán mining company. During a press conference he gave at the time, he said the mayor of San José del Progreso, Mauro Alberto Sánchez, was the one who ordered a shooting a few days earlier during the municipal police’s crackdown on protesters of the laying down of a pipeline to bring water to the factory, leaving two people injured.
Several human rights organizations issued a statement condemning the attack and demanding that the state authorities punish those responsible. They also urged a halt to the operation of the plant, which has caused the widespread violence and left five people dead. Spanish translation
Translation: Michael Kane, Center for International Policy intern
Oaxaca: The main opponent of the operation of a silver mine in the indigenous community of San José del Progreso and the leader of the United Peoples Coordinator in the Ocotlán Valley, Bernardo Vázquez Sánchez, was killed in an ambush in Santa Lucía Ocotlán, confirmed the Attorney General of Oaxaca (PGJO).
The agency reported the attack was perpetrated on a stretch of road leading to Santa Lucía Ocatlán.
It is presumed that the unknown assailants fired their high-caliber weapons at the compact car the victim was riding in with his relatives, who were also injured, from a distance.
Just this past January 19, Vázquez Sánchez harshly accused the government of Gabino Cué of being incapable of resolving the conflict that prevails in San José del Progreso and attending to the interests of the Cuzcatlán mining company. During a press conference he gave at the time, he said the mayor of San José del Progreso, Mauro Alberto Sánchez, was the one who ordered a shooting a few days earlier during the municipal police’s crackdown on protesters of the laying down of a pipeline to bring water to the factory, leaving two people injured.
Several human rights organizations issued a statement condemning the attack and demanding that the state authorities punish those responsible. They also urged a halt to the operation of the plant, which has caused the widespread violence and left five people dead. Spanish translation
Translation: Michael Kane, Center for International Policy intern
Nov 24, 2011
Drug War: South Mexico Land Conflict Aggravated by Drug Gangs
InSight Crime: "A land conflict in southern Mexico is heating up, with the danger heightened by the prospect of intervention by drug trafficking groups and illegal logging interests.
The Chimalapas rainforest, located on the border between the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, is the largest tract of tropical rainforest in Mexico. Its 2,300 square miles are home to a wealth of natural resources, as well as a large percentage of the country’s biodiversity. However, it is also home to a decades-old land conflict, one that could get worse as criminal activity increases in the region." read more
The Chimalapas rainforest, located on the border between the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, is the largest tract of tropical rainforest in Mexico. Its 2,300 square miles are home to a wealth of natural resources, as well as a large percentage of the country’s biodiversity. However, it is also home to a decades-old land conflict, one that could get worse as criminal activity increases in the region." read more
Sep 27, 2011
MexicoBlog Story: A Rite of Purification and Rededication in the Sacred Space of Monte Albán, Oaxaca
On September 12, the Caravan to the South of Mexico, organized by the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, was in Oaxaca City. Early in the morning all 300-400 of the caravaneros, those traveling with the Caravan in 13 buses and many cars, joined by their host organizations from Oaxaca, went up a mountain to Monte Albán, one of the oldest sites of Mesoamerican civilization. There they were received by an indigenous Zapotec ceremony of healing.
Women and men whose families have lost someone in the drug war, the victims, led the procession. Everyone else descended the steep stairs into the plaza holding hands five abreast. They were walking in the footsteps of Zapotecas and Mixtecas who have trod those stones for nearly three thousand years.
The victims of the war formed an inner circle, around an altar constructed in the style of an ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, with flowers, candles and burning copal incense. The rest of the caravaneros and their Oaxacan hosts formed a large circle around them. A Zapotec woman, speaking in a clear, strong voice, explained the significance of each act and item in the ritual and recited prayers to the gods.
Each one of the victims was then blessed with copal by curanderas, woman healers in traditional dress. They passed the copal smoke slowly from head to foot, side to side and front and back of each person, totally bathing and purifying them with the sacred fumes.
The leader then had the assembled call on the four cardinal directions: holding both hands up, palms outward, everyone first faced East, the source of the warmth and fierce power of Father Sun; then to the North, whose cold makes us strong and able to endure, then to the West, towards the darkness of night, the underworld and the source of our dreams, and finally to the South, the direction of Mother Earth, the source of fertility.
Next, the assembled group was instructed to walk in a circle to the left and reflect on all the burdens of life that they carried. Then the direction was reversed. Walking to the right, they were to let go of those burdens.
Finally, as an act of communion with the gods of life and death and with one-another, a symbolic meal of corn tortillas, honey and mezcal -- an alcoholic drink made from the maguey or agave plant -- was shared by everyone.
In silence, all then walked back up the stairs, leaving the ancient, sacred place, blessed -- and hopefully purified -- to re-enter the mundane world and the sacred work of the Caravan.
Sep 21, 2011
Movement for Peace with Justice: Caravan to the South of Mexico - a Photo Album
The Caravan to the South of Mexico took place from Sept. 9 to 19, 2011. It was organized by the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, which seeks to end the Mexican government's use of Mexican armed forces to fight the drug cartels. This strategy has led to further violence and the deaths and disappearances of innocent people.
The Movement and the Caravan are led by Javier Sicila, a Mexican poet whose son was killed in Cuernavaca by a cartel in March of this year.
The Caravan features powerful testimonies of women and men who have lost family members to the war.
The Caravan features powerful testimonies of women and men who have lost family members to the war.
In June, the Caravan traveled to the northern states most affected by the war. The second Caravan's thirteen buses and many cars traveled for eleven days and 1800 miles through the southern states of Morelos, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, Veracruz and Puebla.
Local citizen groups in each state, whose focuses - in addition to the drug war - are on issues such as migration, repression of indigenous communites and government corruption, joined the Caravan's marches at its numerous stops and sought its support.
Local citizen groups in each state, whose focuses - in addition to the drug war - are on issues such as migration, repression of indigenous communites and government corruption, joined the Caravan's marches at its numerous stops and sought its support.
Jul 16, 2008
Back to Oaxaca
I was in Oaxaca City last week for a workshop on the Security and Prosperity Partnership, Plan Mexico, privatization reforms to Social Security, and job insecurity. That sounds like a wide range of issues, and it is—especially considering the complexity of each one.
But that was the point—to give workers from the state a broad picture in which to understand what´s happening to them. It turned out to be one of those very fruitful gatherings where those of us who analyze “broad pictures” got a chance to work together with those who experience the worst consequences on a daily basis. The workshop was sponsored by the Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras and Mujeres Sindicalistas (Women Union Members), bringing together Oaxaca maquiladora workers, state employees from the Health and Transportation departments, and teachers.
Being back in Oaxaca was a strange experience in itself. I had been back since the uprising but still the images burned into my mind were from late 2006 when federal troops were sent in to put down the teachers’ strike that spread into a popular uprising.
Then it was a city occupied by machine guns and fear. Where you’d turn a corner on a quaint colonial street and run into a row of shield-yielding, riot-geared cops. Where groups playing music or selling crafts shared the sidewalk with heavily armed federal police looking like they didn’t quite know what they were supposed to be doing.
If those images are burned into my memory, they’re branded into the flesh of the participants of the movement. But despite lingering trauma from the torture, repression, assassination and imprisonment they faced, Oaxacans continue to fight back. Now the tourists have returned en force and the hated Governor Ulises Ruiz repeats ad nauseum that everything is back to normal. The crimes committed during and after the uprising have gone unpunished and in most cases the government has failed to carry out even a pretense of an investigation. Given the lack of response from the state government, the Mexican Supreme Court agreed to form a commission to investigate what happened. Oaxaca will be yet another test case of the highest court’s commitment to justice when entrenched political interests are involved.
Apparently “normal” in Oaxaca means a fresh onslaught of offensives. The women workers discussed the way privatization of social security is cutting back their hard-earned pensions and benefits, intensification of work in the maquiladoras means obligatory overtime under the threat of closure, President Calderon’s labor reform—on his checklist of neoliberal “reforms” after social security and privatization of PEMEX—would create “flexible” working conditions and further erode job security and working conditions. The Plan Mexico discussion was lively as participants asked about the plan and discussed the already dire situation of human rights violations in the state.
We just put up a new Human Rights section of the website that contains a series on Oaxaca. These are papers presented at the “After the Barricades” conference sponsored by Simon Fraser University a few months back. They cover many aspects of the conflict and its aftermath: the viewpoint of surrounding rural communities, the linkage between freedom of expression and rights the breakdown of the social compact in Mexico and the dynamics of the conflict.
We’ll be posting more there over the next few days, so check back in as documents from the Oaxaca Women’s Coalition, Section 22 of the Education Workers Union and the Human Rights Commission report go up.
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5364
May 26, 2008
Jesus Leon Wins Goldman Prize
It's rare that we get a chance to celebrate in this line of work. It seems we spend most of our time warning of new threats or documenting the devastation of a system that converts human lives and the vast diversity of nature into business ventures for the few.
But April 15 was a time to celebrate. Jesus Leon Santos, our nominee for the Goldman Environmental Prize, became the 2008 prizewinner for the North America region. In a moving ceremony held at the San Francisco Opera House, Jesus received the prize with his characteristic humility and dedication. Thousands of activists, philanthropists and students listened as he spoke out strongly about the displacement of Mexican maize farmers following NAFTA, the threat of genetically modified corn imports, and the importance of restoring and preserving traditional farming methods.
Environmentalists have sometimes had a hard time viewing agriculture as an area for environmental activism. Agricultural activity is usually found on the other side of the fence--as a force that works against the environment, through the use of agrochemicals, depletion of water, deforestation. But Jesus's project in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca is a perfect example of how that can change.
The Americas Policy Program has been following CEDICAM in its project to “build a future” in a homeland where erosion strips away the soil and out-migration strips away the farmers. As global warming, pollution, desertification, erosion and changes in land-use threaten our food supply, small farmers are coming to be viewed not just as victims, which they often are, but also as our possible salvation. And it’s no wonder that indigenous farmers, like Jesus, lead the move to sustainable farming. Find out more about how, watch this video also:
Feb 19, 2008
Human Rights Situation in Mexico "Extremely Critical"
Today the International Civil Commission on Human Rights presented its conclusions, following an intense fact-finding mission in parts of Mexico. The document was a harsh indictment of President Felipe Calderón's government and state and local governments for what the Commission calls the "extremely critical" situation of human rights in Mexico.
The Commission's work bears close examination because it is based not on rhetoric or officially arranged tours, but more than 280 carefully documented interviews with a wide range of victims, their family members, grassroots organizations, human rights groups and government officials. This often heart-breaking reservoir of material forms the basis for its preliminary conclusions and recommendations and the more detailed report that will follow.
I was commissioned as a member of the delegation and assisted with interviews in the Lacandon Jungle in Chiapas, in Oaxaca City and in Mexico City. While the report (available in Spanish at http://cciodh.pangea.org/, English coming up soon) is strong stuff, it can´t compare to the experience of actually listening to individuals who have been beaten and terrorized--like the men and women rounded up during the police crackdown in Oaxaca on November 25, 2006, or Zapatista sympathizers hounded by paramilitary groups. Nor can the words on the page convey the power of the tears on the cheek of a daughter whose father has been imprisoned, killed or disappeared.
I came back deeply dismayed. Although I had been at least somewhat prepared for what we´d find, the impact of the personal contact and the sheer number of violations reported provided a grimmer perspective than I´d expected.
Over the course of three weeks, the Commission examined the situation in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Mexico. This visit was the sixth since the Commission was founded following the massacre of indigenous people in Acteal, Chiapas on December 22, 1997. Although it was intended to follow-up on previous investigations, the delegates heard scores of testimonies regarding new cases from 2007.
The testimonies of human rights violations were charged with fear, grief and indignation. It rapidly became clear that despite the government´s claims that the crisis is over in Oaxaca and that the conflict in Chiapas has been resolved, not only are both states embroiled in endemic violence, but the violence follows patterns that involve the active participation or at the least the complicity of governments and police forces. This pattern of human rights abuses, the Commission concludes, constitutes a conscious government policy. Practices such as arbitrary arrests of members of social movements are often justified by inventing false evidence for crimes of robbery, sexual aggression or even murder. The logic is to "criminalize members of social movements, thereby also avoiding that they be categorized as political prisoners."
The Commission's investigation and preliminary conclusions provide a wealth of information for analyzing what's really happening on the ground in Mexico. The more active role of the military, increased paramilitary activity and selective violence by police forces combine to create environments where the violation of human rights is commonplace. After the violations have occured they are compounded by a justice system that fails to punish the guilty, especiallywhen on the side of the state, and confuses impunity with keeping the peace.
We´ll talk more about the human rights situation in Mexico and the findings of the VI Commission in later blogs, and in articles on the webpage http://www.americaspolicy.org/. The work of the 51 Commission members deserves a broad airing and the situation they report should be widely known. Mexico is at a critical point at which it can continue down this road of stomping out dissidence and refusing to recognize injustices of the past, or it can reverse the present course and institute firm practices and institutions for the respect of human rights as a top priority.
Here's a video from the commission's interview of political prisoner Flavio Sosa:
The Commission's work bears close examination because it is based not on rhetoric or officially arranged tours, but more than 280 carefully documented interviews with a wide range of victims, their family members, grassroots organizations, human rights groups and government officials. This often heart-breaking reservoir of material forms the basis for its preliminary conclusions and recommendations and the more detailed report that will follow.
I was commissioned as a member of the delegation and assisted with interviews in the Lacandon Jungle in Chiapas, in Oaxaca City and in Mexico City. While the report (available in Spanish at http://cciodh.pangea.org/, English coming up soon) is strong stuff, it can´t compare to the experience of actually listening to individuals who have been beaten and terrorized--like the men and women rounded up during the police crackdown in Oaxaca on November 25, 2006, or Zapatista sympathizers hounded by paramilitary groups. Nor can the words on the page convey the power of the tears on the cheek of a daughter whose father has been imprisoned, killed or disappeared.
I came back deeply dismayed. Although I had been at least somewhat prepared for what we´d find, the impact of the personal contact and the sheer number of violations reported provided a grimmer perspective than I´d expected.
Over the course of three weeks, the Commission examined the situation in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Mexico. This visit was the sixth since the Commission was founded following the massacre of indigenous people in Acteal, Chiapas on December 22, 1997. Although it was intended to follow-up on previous investigations, the delegates heard scores of testimonies regarding new cases from 2007.
The testimonies of human rights violations were charged with fear, grief and indignation. It rapidly became clear that despite the government´s claims that the crisis is over in Oaxaca and that the conflict in Chiapas has been resolved, not only are both states embroiled in endemic violence, but the violence follows patterns that involve the active participation or at the least the complicity of governments and police forces. This pattern of human rights abuses, the Commission concludes, constitutes a conscious government policy. Practices such as arbitrary arrests of members of social movements are often justified by inventing false evidence for crimes of robbery, sexual aggression or even murder. The logic is to "criminalize members of social movements, thereby also avoiding that they be categorized as political prisoners."
The Commission's investigation and preliminary conclusions provide a wealth of information for analyzing what's really happening on the ground in Mexico. The more active role of the military, increased paramilitary activity and selective violence by police forces combine to create environments where the violation of human rights is commonplace. After the violations have occured they are compounded by a justice system that fails to punish the guilty, especiallywhen on the side of the state, and confuses impunity with keeping the peace.
We´ll talk more about the human rights situation in Mexico and the findings of the VI Commission in later blogs, and in articles on the webpage http://www.americaspolicy.org/. The work of the 51 Commission members deserves a broad airing and the situation they report should be widely known. Mexico is at a critical point at which it can continue down this road of stomping out dissidence and refusing to recognize injustices of the past, or it can reverse the present course and institute firm practices and institutions for the respect of human rights as a top priority.
Here's a video from the commission's interview of political prisoner Flavio Sosa:
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