The Sixth Commission of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation convokes a ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (or seedbed, depending on who you ask): “To Watch, to Listen, to Speak: No Thinking Allowed?”

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION
Sixth commission of the EZLN.

Mexico.
March, 2018.

To the persons, groups, collectives and organizations throughout the world who understood and took on as their own the initiative of the Indigenous Governing Council and its spokeswoman:

To the national and international Sixth:

To everyone who contributed their signature in support of the Indigenous Governing Council’s spokeswoman:

CONSIDERING:

First and only:

The Happy Family.

A town, or a city, or whatever it’s called. A place in the world. A wall. Hung on the rough surface of the huge wall is a flyer, a poster, or whatever you call it. In the image, a man and woman smile in front of a table brimming with a wide variety of food. To the couple’s right, a smiling girl; to their left, a boy grinning to display gleaming teeth. Above them in large and intimidating letters reads “THE HAPPY FAMILY”. The poster is old by now, time’s march forward having muted the colors that, we assume, were once bright and, yes, happy. Anonymous hands have added small paper signs to the wall: “The happy family is happy only with God’s blessing”; “No to gay parenting! Death to faggots and dykes!”; “Motherhood is what defines a happy woman”; “We unclog pipes: no-obligation estimates”; “Happy home available for rent to a happy family. Unhappy families need not apply”.

 Along the sidewalk that runs in front of the wall, people hurry from one place to another without paying any attention to the opaque image. Occasionally, someone is crushed to death under a huge chunk that falls off the decrepit wall. In fact, these partial rockslides are becoming more and more frequent. Loose pieces of the wall break off and crush sometimes one person, sometimes a small group, sometimes whole communities. The crowd is thrown into commotion only for an instant before resuming its trajectory under the pale gaze of the happy family.

Catastrophes big or small, these should not distract us from what is most important now: every so often, the supreme maker of “happy families” announces the free and democratic election of who will preside over the poster.[i] And precisely at this moment, you are just now noticing, a happy calendar that can be seen behind the happy family indicates that it’s election season. Around this time, a feverish activity runs through the crowd that, without stopping, discusses, offers opinions and argues about the different options presenting themselves as potential stewards of the enormous poster.

There are those who point out the danger posed to the image on the already battered poster—the symbolic identity of the city or town or whatever—by their opponents’ obvious inexperience. One person offers to renovate the poster and return to it the brightness and color it once had (in reality, nobody remembers that time, so we can’t be sure that it actually existed—if, of course, we can in fact attribute existence to time). Someone else says that previous administrations have neglected the image, and that this is what has caused its visible deterioration.

The different proposals ignite arguments among passers-by: accusations, insults, fallacies, arguments of a purely ephemeral base, condemnations and apocalyptic predictions fly back and forth. People reflect on the importance and transcendence of this moment, on the necessity of conscious participation. It wasn’t for nothing that they struggled for so many years to be able to choose who presides over the happy image of the happy family.

Factions are formed: on one side are those who insist on a sensible renovation; on the other are those who insist on the scientific postulate, “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”; another faction consists of those calling for proper behavior, good taste and modernity. A few here and there shout, “Don’t think! Vote!”. A giant placard obstructs the flow of people; it reads “Any call to think rationally about voting is a call to abstention. This is not a time to think, it is time to take sides”.

The discussions are not always level-headed. The selection of the steward of the image is so important that many times the competing groups resort to violence.

Some talk of the boundless happiness that accrues to whomever ends up the victor, but, far from mundane worldly interests, the severe faces of the contenders belie the seriousness of the matter: it’s an historic task; the future is in the trembling hands of those who must choose; this most serious responsibility weighs heavily on the shoulders of the people. Happily, though, this weight will be lifted once the winner is known and sets him or herself to the task of procuring happiness for the happy image of the happy family.

The frenzy is such that everyone forgets entirely about the image portrayed. But on the lonely wall, the happy family still displays its perennial and useless smile.

t the foot of the long, high wall, a little girl raises her hand, asking to speak. The factions barely take notice, but someone finally says, “Poor little thing, she wants to talk, we should let her.” “No,” says another faction, “it’s a trick from the opposition group, an attempt to divide the vote, a distraction designed to stop us from reflecting on the gravity of the moment, a clear call to abstention.” Another faction objects: “What capacity could a little girl have to even opine about the poster? She needs to study, grow, and mature.” And from another wing: “We’re not going to waste time listening to a little girl. We should concentrate on what’s important: deciding who is best suited to take care of the poster.”

The “Commission on Transparency and Legitimacy for the Election of the Person in Charge of Stewarding the Image of the Happy Family” (abbreviated CTLEPCSIHF) released a brief and serious memo, in accordance with the gravity of the times: “The rules are clear: NO LITTLE GIRLS ALLOWED.”

Specialized analysts publish new reflections: “The only thing the little girl achieved was the legitimization of the CTLEPCSIHF. In asking for the floor, the girl entered the game and lost; the rest is consolation.”; “The failure of the girl is symptomatic of the failure of the renovation process, the institutions should let the girl talk”; “It was very moving, the little girl with her little hand raised, asking for attention, poor little thing”; “It was an adverse outcome, the product of an erroneous analysis of the conjuncture, the context and the correlation of forces. This signals the absence of a revolutionary vanguard to direct the masses”; “Etcetera”.

 But the discussions lasted only a few minutes before the coming and going of footsteps and injustices continued its course. No one listened to the girl speak as she pointed, not to the image, but to the wall upon which the happy family shone its by now deteriorated tranquility.

Standing on a pile of rubble, surrounded by the cadavers of little girls and broken stones, she stated, flatly, the obvious:

“It’s going to fall.”

But no one listened…

Just a minute…no one?

(To be continued?)

-*-

Based on the above statement, the Sixth Commission of the EZLN convokes:

A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION (or seedbed, depending on who you ask):

“To Watch, to Listen, to Speak: No Thinking Allowed?”

 In which various participants from the National Indigenous Congress, the Indigenous Governing Council, the arts, the sciences, political activism, journalism and culture will share with us what they are seeing and hearing.

The roundtable will take place from April 15-25, 2018, at the CIDECI-Unitierra in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.

The following, among others, have confirmed their participation:

Marichuy (spokeswoman for the Indigenous Governing Council).
Lupita Vázquez Luna (councilwoman of the Indigenous Governing Council).
Luis de Tavira Noriega (theater director).
Mardonio Carballo (writer).
Juan Carlos Rulfo (filmmaker).
Paul Leduc (filmmaker).
Cristina Rivera-Garza (writer).
Abraham Cruzvillegas (visual artist).
Néstor García Canclini (anthropologist).
Emilio Lezama (writer and political analyst).
Irene Tello Arista (columnist and activist).
Erika Bárcena Arévalo (lawyer and anthropologist).
Ximena Antillón Najlis (psychologist specializing in victims of violence).
Jacobo Dayán (academic and human rights activist).
Marcela Turati (investigative journalist).
Daniela Rea Gómez (journalist).
Carlos Mendoza Álvarez (philosopher).
John Gibler (journalist).
Javier Risco (journalist).
Alejandro Grimson (anthropologist).
Enrique Serna (novelist).
Paul Theroux (writer).
Juan Villoro (writer).
Pablo González Casanova (sociologist and Zapatista, not necessarily in that order).
Gilberto López y Rivas (anthropologist).
Alicia Castellanos Guerrero (anthropologist).
Magdalena Gómez Rivera (lawyer).
Bárbara Zamora (lawyer).
Margara Millán Moncayo (feminist sociologist).
Sylvia Marcos (psychologist and feminist sociologist).
Jorge Alonso Sánchez (anthropologist).
Fernanda Navarro y Solares (philosopher).
Néstor Quiñones (graphic artist).
Raúl Romero (sociologist).
Rafael Castañeda (political militant).
Luis Hernández Navarro (journalist).
Carlos Aguirre Rojas (sociologist and economist).
Sergio Rodríguez Lascano (political militant).
Carlos González (lawyer and activist for the struggles of originary peoples).
Adolfo Gilly (political militant, historian and analyst).
Carolina Coppel (video artist).
Mercedes Olivera Bustamante (feminist anthropologist).
María Eugenia Sánchez Díaz de Rivera (sociologist).
“Lengua Alerta” (musician).
“Panteón Rococó” (musicians).
“El Mastuerzo” (guacarocker[ii]).
“Batallones femeninos” (feminist musicians).
“Los Originales de San Andrés” (Zapatista musicians).
“La Dignidad y la Resistencia” (Zapatista musicians).

As the rest of those invited confirm their attendance (and whose names are not listed here so as to protect the innocent) the complete list will be made public, as well as the dates and times of each participant’s contribution.

The email address to register as a listener-observer, or member of the free or paid press, is:

asistentesemillero@enlacezapatista.org.mx

Please include your name, city, state or country, and whether you are attending as an individual or member of a collective.

That said, don’t miss it… or do miss it, the point is that you watch, listen, and think.

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.

For the Sixth Commission of the EZLN (Department of “Invitations and Stating the Obvious”).

SupGaleano.

Mexico, March, 2018.

[i] The original Spanish used here is “cartel,” which can mean a poster or sign, but also literally means cartel, as in, for example, a drug cartel.

[ii] “Guacarock” was coined by Mexican rock band “Botellita de Jerez” (of which “El Mastuerzo” was a member) to describe their unique style of fusing Mexican popular rhythms with the sounds of rock’n’roll. The term combines the Mexican word for avocado (aguacate) with rock.

Convocation for the Next Step in our Struggle

Sisters and brothers, compañeras and compañeros of the countryside and the city, in Mexico and around the world:

The National Indigenous Congress (CNI), the Indigenous Governing Council (CIG), the Civil Association “The Time for the Flourishing of Our Peoples Has Come,” and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation here address those individuals, groups, collectives, organizations, peoples, barrios, tribes, and nations that, in Mexico and in other countries, took on as their own the initiative to register the CIG spokeswoman, María de Jesús Patricio Martínez, as candidate for the Mexican presidency.

The information that we have been able to verify is the following:

• Signatures received by the National Electoral Institute (INE): 281,955. Of these, 10,624 were registered on paper, rather than via the digital application. Of those paper registrations, the vast majority came from community assemblies.
• According to the INE’s own criteria, 94.5% of the signatures collected were found to be valid.
• Auxiliaries: 14,117 people registered as auxiliaries, with 5,704 actively registering signatures. With respect to the difference between registered and active auxiliaries (8,413), of 5,322 emails that were sent to those who registered as auxiliaries but did not document any signatures, there were 2,137 replies. Of those replies, 1,618 explained that they did not have an adequate mobile device with which to gather signatures, either because of the requirements of the INE application or because of the quality of the camera on their device.
• Average number of signatures per active auxiliary: 49.43 (information from the webpage of our brothers and sisters at Cryptopozol, who processed this information from November 3, 2017, through February 24-26, 2018. See: https://criptopozol.github.io/avance_marichuy/
• The following is an approximate (but not precise) count of auxiliaries by state:

Location not listed        4930

Aguascalientes             89

Baja California              251

Baja California Sur        69

Campeche                    42

Chiapas                        864

Chihuahua                    188

Mexico City                 3398

Coahuila                       92

Colima                          30

Durango                       42

Mexico State                1070

Outside Mexico            105

Guanajuato                  345

Guerrero                       99

Hidalgo                         179

Jalisco                          1040

Michoacán                    264

Morelos                        274

Nayarit                          63

Nuevo León                  257

Oaxaca                         242

Puebla                          407

Querétaro                     301

Quintana Roo               189

San Luis Potosí             197

Sinaloa                          98

Sonora                          149

Tabasco                        48

Tamaulipas                   69

Tlaxcala                        94

Veracruz                       367

Yucatán                       151

Zacatecas                    89

(Note: the final count does not match the registered auxiliaries because, we are told, some auxiliaries registered more than once out of desperation because the INE did not respond in a timely manner).

-*-

Compañeras and compañeros, sisters and brothers:

As is evident, we did not reach the necessary number of signatures to register Marichuy as a presidential candidate.

We think explanations for and evaluations of this fact should stem from a serious and rigorous analysis.

Had we reached the number of signatures necessary we would have been able to take advantage of this space to continue to reveal the suffering and struggle of the originary peoples and to point to the criminal character of the system, as well as to echo the pain and rage that seethes across the entire national territory and to continue to promote self-organization, resistance, and rebellion.

We did not reach that goal, but we must continue on our path, seeking out other ways, methods and forms with ingenuity, creativity, and boldness to achieve what it is that we want.

Our purpose was never to take Power, but was and will be for self-organization, autonomy, rebellion and resistance, for solidarity and mutual aid and for the construction of a world built on democracy, freedom, and justice for all.

The National Indigenous Congress’ initiative to form the Indigenous Governing Council and run its spokeswoman, Marichuy, as candidate for the Mexican presidency has completed another stage. The first stage was marked by the decision made during the Fifth National Indigenous Congress on our twentieth anniversary in October of 2016 to hold a referendum on this initiative among all of our peoples and communities. The second stage consisted of the CNI’s internal referendum from October through December of 2016 on whether to form the CIG and name its spokeswoman. The third stage culminated in the Constitutive Assembly of the CIG and the naming of María de Jesús Patricio Martínez, by consensus of that Assembly, in May of 2017. The fourth stage consisted of the collection of signatures for Marichuy’s presidential bid, a process that we have just concluded.

Our path continues. The fundamental difference between the current moment and the previous stages is that there are now many more originary peoples walking together with us, and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, that there are many more people, groups, collectives, and organizations focused on finding our own solutions, solutions that we know will never come from above.

This last stage was marked by the involvement of many more people and sectors, beyond the originary peoples and the CNI, in a civil, peaceful, and inclusive struggle for a just cause using legal, legitimate, and honest methods toward a horizon of the radical transformation of the reality we all suffer today. This is something that no member of the institutional political class can say.

Faced with the undeniable fact that we did not reach the number of signatures required by law to continue this stage, we call for an analysis and evaluation that, like the entire process so far, is collective, participative, inclusive, honest, and true.

For these reasons, and for others for which we have no words:

First: We thank with all our hearts the people who, in Mexico and in other countries, gave their signatures. For us, each of them is an embrace and encouragement to continue on without fail. We salute each and every one of them and, in response, reaffirm our commitment to not falter on this path.

Second: We offer special thanks to those who, with or without the label of “auxiliaries,” understood the reach of our initiative and made it their own, offering their time, resources and labor in the process of creating, growing, and consolidating collective and communitarian organization in order to be able to confront in better conditions the storm that we are all living through.

Third: The Civil Association “The Time for the Flourishing of Our Peoples Has Come,” the National Indigenous Congress and all who constitute it, the Indigenous Governing Council, and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation have begun a serious internal analysis and evaluation of the stage which has just concluded.

Fourth: We think this analysis is not just up to us. We believe that, given the collective effort put into this initiative which far surpassed the horizon of the originary peoples, we want to consolidate and maintain this broader desire to build another way of doing politics.

Thus, we convoke:

All those individuals, groups, collectives, organizations, nations, tribes, peoples, and communities of the countryside and the city, indigenous and non-indigenous, in Mexico and in other countries, who committed themselves to this process and took it on with work, dedication, and honesty: we invite you carry out an analysis and evaluation of this effort using the objectives announced by the CNI and the CIG and above all, the objectives you yourselves established, and to send it to us at the following email:

valoraciones@congresonacionalindigena.org

We would also like to announce that, parallel to these analyses and evaluations, the Civil Association “The Time for the Flourishing of Our Peoples Has Come,” the National Indigenous Congress, the CIG, and our Zapatista brothers and sisters will convoke a series of public activities open to all those who participated in the process in order to follow through with this struggle that, as we know, has only just begun. These activities will be announced by the convoking bodies.

We also invite you to hold your own activities for analysis and evaluation of what is happening in Mexico and around the world according to your own ways, times, and criteria. As the CIG and its spokeswoman Marichuy have said time and again, the horizon of our struggle is not marked by July 1, 2018, nor does it apply only to Mexico.

Resistance, rebellion, and the endeavor to build a world where many worlds fit is an international one and is not limited by the calendars or geographies of those above who exploit, disrespect, rob, and destroy us.

Mexico, March 2018.

NEVER AGAIN A MEXICO WITHOUT US

NEVER AGAIN A WORLD OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS CONGRESS

INDIGENOUS GOVERNING COUNCIL

CIVIL ASSOCIATION “THE TIME FOR THE FLOURISHING OF OUR PEOPLES HAS COME”

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION

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Eugenia Gutiérrez. Colectivo Radio Zapatista.

México, 8 de marzo de 2018.

¿Cómo describir el momento que viven hoy las luchas feministas a nivel mundial? ¿Cómo analizar sus alcances y sus límites? Enarbolando la bandera del feminismo, hoy se movilizan miles de personas para organizar debates, marchas, huelgas o celebraciones. Las protestas contra la violencia patriarcal permean hoy todos los ámbitos que determinan nuestro entorno. Las luchas feministas se despliegan en lo social, lo cultural, lo económico y lo político. En el marco de este 8 de marzo, día que concentra esfuerzos de reflexión y acción a nivel mundial, la violencia machista se discute en foros, artículos, libros, medios de comunicación y todo tipo de esfuerzos organizativos. Y, sin embargo, la violencia sexista no cesa. Por el contrario, los datos duros indican que crece y se consolida. (Continuar leyendo…)

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Cuernavaca, 07/Marzo/18.- El pasado 5 de febrero, el Instituto de Educación Básica del Estado de Morelos (IEBEM) envió al ingeniero Alejandro de la Tejara, del Colegio de Arquitectos de Morelos, a dictaminar los daños estructurales de la escuela primaria Emiliano Zapata de la comunidad de Amilcingo tras los sismos de septiembre del año pasado. En esa visita, el arquitecto le aseguró a la Comunidad que la escuela sólo tenía daños menores y los niños no corrían riesgos al estudiar allí. Una semana después, la comunidad de Amilcingo acudió al IEBEM para confirmar y recibir de manera oficial este dictamen, pero las autoridades postergaron la entrega hasta el día de ayer, 6 de marzo de 2018.  Sin embargo, en la sala de juntas las autoridades del IEBEM dieron lectura a un dictamen correspondiente a otra primaria, la llamada “primaria nueva”, espacio inacabado, irregular –no cuenta con todos los permisos ejidales- y menos seguro –se encuentra a las afueras de la comunidad- promovido desde hace 15 años por grupos de choque cercanos al PRI. Ante ello, la comunidad de Amilcingo optó por quedarse en las instalaciones del IEBEM en espera de una resolución final, pues se han cumplido ya seis meses de que los niñxs de Amilcingo no puedan tener sus clases de manera regular en la primaria del centro de su comunidad. “Ayer mismo ellos empezaron a desalojar el IEBEM cuando estábamos en la sala de juntas. Nosotros no hemos tomado las instalaciones. Sólo venimos por nuestro dictamen y nuestros maestros. Desconocemos porque suspendieorn labores hoy (7 de marzo). Nosotros nos quedamos toda la noche en vela, sin comida, sin agua, sin cobija. Sin nada porque no veníamos preparados para quedarnos. A quienes han venido hoy les hemos aclarado que no hemos tomado las instalaciones. Los candados que tiene la reja son los de ellos. A nosotros nos dejaron en la sala de juntas y ahí seguimos esperando”, comentó en entrevista la profesora Jessica Velásquez:

Síntesis de la entrevista con Jessica Velásquez, profesora de la comunidad de Amilcingo (5 ”43 min.)

Charla completa (20 min.)

(Video vía Tejemedios)

BOLETIN DE PRENSA de la Asamblea General de Amilcingo:

(Continuar leyendo…)

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Al pueblo purépecha de Nahuatzen, Michoacán
Al pueblo de México y el mundo.

Ante la pretensión de mantener la política del mal gobierno mediante el sistema de partidos políticos en Nahuatzen, Michoacán, el Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y el Congreso Nacional Indígena, nos pronunciamos a favor de nuestros  hermanos y hermanas del pueblo purépecha de constituir su voz colectiva en el Concejo Ciudadano, que desconoce a la pervertida política que representan los colores de arriba y sus partidos.

Repudiamos las acciones violentas de todos los partidos políticos en contra de la oficina de bienes comunales  de Nahuatzen, y reconocemos el pleno derecho de la comunidad y el municipio  a regirse como mejor lo decida, convenciendo y no venciendo, como sabe hacerlo la clase política, representando la voluntad del pueblo y no suplantándola, como son las supuestas consultas del mal gobierno, por lo que rechazamos la división,  simulación, cooptación e intimidación que usan los malos gobiernos en su intento de mantenerse dañando los tejidos de nuestros pueblos.

Nosotros, nosotras, de forma respetuosa saludamos la formación del Concejo Ciudadano de Nahuatzen, Michocán, que busca elegir a sus autoridades por usos y costumbres. Les invitamos a no rendirse, a no venderse ni claudicar en la lucha por construir desde abajo un gobierno que mande obedeciendo. A seguirse escuchando para que el poder y la ambición de los de arriba, basado en la corrupción y desarticulación de la organización de nuestros pueblos, no siga gobernando mas los territorios de este país.

Por la Reconstitución Integral de Nuestros Pueblos
Febrero de 2018
Nunca mas un México sin Nosotros
Concejo Indígena de Gobierno
Congreso Nacional Indígena

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Este pasado diciembre el Cideci / Universidad de la Tierra Chiapas publicó el libro Podemos gobernarnos nosotros mismos: La autonomía, una política sin el Estado, de Jerôme Baschet, que explora la posibilidad de la autonomía y el autogobierno en tiempos de la barbarie ejercida por el sistema capitalista en todos los sentidos de la vida.

(Descarga y/o lee el libro aquí.)

Entrevistamos a Jerôme Baschet, quien nos habla sobre el sentido del libro y su relación con la iniciativa del Concejo Indígena de Gobierno (CIG).

Estamos aquí con Jerôme Baschet, platicando sobre el libro Podemos gobernarnos nosotros mismos: La autonomía, una política sin el Estado, que acaba de salir en publicación del Cideci/UniTierra, aquí en Chiapas. Jerôme, tú planteas básicamente dos preguntas en este libro: ¿qué puede ser la política de la autonomía? y ¿qué opciones tenemos frente a la devastación capitalista? ¿Por qué estas dos preguntas, y qué tienen que ver una con la otra?

Bueno, las dos nos llevan a la idea de la autonomía, que es la propuesta de los pueblos indígenas, del CNI y del Concejo Indígena de Gobierno. Y bueno, partiendo quizás del título, “Podemos gobernarnos a nosotros mismos”, es una lección que la maestra de la escuelita zapatista Eloísa nos dejó en ocasión de esta escuelita zapatista en 2013, y pues es como un resumen de esa otra política que no se centra en el Estado. El mensaje central es que hay otra política que no es la que conocemos, que no es la de los partidos políticos, que no es la del Estado y sus instituciones, sino que parte de la capacidad de la gente común para organizarnos, tomar las decisiones y finalmente gobernarnos, y de hacerlo sin las instituciones del Estado o afuera de ellas. En parte es un sueño, porque claro, nosotros sobre todo en los medios urbanos se ve muy difícil, pero sí es posible, y muchos pueblos indígenas, en los territorios rebeldes zapatistas en Chiapas pero también en otras regiones como Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, están demostrando que sí lo pueden hacer, con sus propias formas de organización, su propio sistema político, con sus cargos y los diferentes niveles de gobierno, en el caso de la autonomía zapatista, y eso es una experiencia, un experimento político, que además de ofrecernos un camino para resolver los problemas dramáticos que enfrentamos en el país y en el mundo, también es una aportación a la reflexión sobre qué es o qué podría ser la política, que merecería mucho más atención de toda la gente que se interesa en hacer que el mundo sea menos dramático y caótico de lo que es, y también al nivel de la reflexión de las ciencias políticas tendría que ser un objeto de reflexión absolutamente central.

(Continuar leyendo…)

Em uma ação histórica do movimento brasileiro de luta pela reforma agrária, a União Nacional Camponesa (UNC) e a Confederação Nacional de Agricultores Familiares e Empreendedores Familiares Rurais (CONAFER) reuniram mais de 3.000 camponeses e camponesas, indígenas, quilombolas e ribeirinh@s acampad@s em um ato de resistência na Esplanada dos Ministérios em Brasília.

A Jornada Nacional de Luta, batizada como Carnaval Vermelho, teve como objetivo atrair a atenção do poder público para as necessidades e reivindicações de direitos dos trabalhadores rurais espalhados pelos 24 estados brasileiros representados na Jornada.

A Jornada começou na segunda-feira, dia 19 de fevereiro, com um ritual emocionante dos irmãos indígenas Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe do Sul e extremo sul baiano, onde pediram à Tupã e aos Encantados que abençoassem as lutas dos próximos dias.

Unindo forças em busca por seus direitos, grupos como Movimento de Luta pela Terra (MLT), Movimento de Trabalhadores por Direitos (MTD), Associação Indígena Ybityra Porang Tupinambá (AIIPT), Ligas Camponesas e Urbanas do Brasil (LCU-BR), Frente Revolucionária Mulheres de Luta (FRML), Movimento da Agricultura Familiar (MAF), Movimento Brasileiro dos Sem Terra (MBST), e diversos outros, marcharam durante quatro dias pelos Ministérios e Órgãos Públicos de Gestão protocolando pautas com suas demandas e exigindo uma data para se reunir com os representantes legais.

A pressão popular se mostrou precisa e eficaz quando diversos Ministérios abriram suas portas para o movimento. Justiça, Saúde, Agricultura, Trabalho, Cultura, Desenvolvimento Social, Direitos Humanos, Meio Ambiente, Cidades e INCRA foram algumas das entidades públicas que se mostraram dispostos a escutar e dialogar com os trabalhadores rurais, que reivindicavam nada além de seus direitos, em tese assegurados pela constituição, para garantir uma existência digna e saudável, com acesso à educação e segurança.

Ao final da jornada, os presentes embarcaram de volta para suas comunidades com um sorriso no rosto, com grande parte de suas reivindicações atendidas de imediato por mérito da resistência do povo. Milhares de famílias voltarão a ter alimentos em suas mesas e terra para plantar e produzir, poderão dormir tranquilas sem medo de reintegrações de posse, e muitas crianças poderão frequentar as escolas e ter acesso a saúde básica.

Só através da luta e do poder do povo essas conquistas puderam ser garantidas pelo movimento. A UNC e a CONAFER trouxeram uma nova perspectiva de vida para milhares de famílias Brasil afora. Avante!

Contra eles e por nós. Avante sempre!!!

Fotos: Webert da Cru

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Fueron casi 130 días observando la caravana del Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y Marichuy, su vocera. Esta banda ha viajado en una furgoneta con recursos mínimos y condiciones precarias por más de 120 lugares en todas las regiones de México, para cumplir una agenda que no era de comicio pero que pretendía atender una demanda de presencia en las comunidades, fomentar la organización y coser la unión de los pueblos (originarios o no) por la vida. El proceso mostró las incompatibilidades y desniveles entre los modelos de representación del sistema de los que están en el poder y los independientes de verdad. El logro de las firmas para constar en la cédula electoral era una buena estrategia para dar visibilidad a las causas y problemas de los pueblos indígenas, pero éste no era el único objetivo: las dificultades encontradas durante el recorrido también revelaron y aproximaron ideas y personas.

Banda sonora:
“Verte regresar” por Belafonte Sensacional y Paulina Lasa (devueltaacasa.org)

“Mujer con corazón” o “La cumbia de Marichuy” por Los Originales de San Andrés

Vídeo y fotografias por André Mantelli

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Por R. Aída Hernández Castillo*

El 19 de febrero finalizó el plazo de registro de los candidatos independientes a la Presidencia de la República. Sólo tres candidatos “independientes” lograron el registro, los tres con gastos diarios iguales o mayores a los que hicieron los candidatos partidistas. María de Jesús Patricio, vocera del Concejo Indígena de Gobierno (CIG), no logró conseguir uno por ciento de las firmas de padrón electoral de 17 estados como se requería para que fuera candidata independiente. Desde el principio supimos que se trataba de una contienda muy desigual en un terreno profundamente marcado por las desigualdades que caracterizan a nuestro país. Mientras Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, El Bronco, gastaba 58 mil pesos diarios y contaba con todo el aparato institucional del gobierno del estado de Nuevo León para juntar las firmas, María de Jesús Patricio gastaba 860 pesos que compartía con los concejales y concejalas que viajaban con ella. Las barreras tecnológicas se enfrentaron en todo el proceso: la necesidad de un dispositivo celular moderno que permitiera bajar la aplicación para juntar las firmas, la conectividad por Internet requerida, el dinero para la movilidad de los auxiliares; cada uno de los pasos representaba una lucha contra las desigualdades y exclusiones que Marichuy y el CIG están denunciando.

Tengo que reconocer que como integrante de la Asociación por el Florecimiento de los Pueblos AC, que apoya su registro, me siento frustrada por no haber logrado superar todas esas barreras y no haber podido hacer más por mover las conciencias de este país en torno a la urgencia de cambios profundos. Este sentimiento se agudiza porque el 19 de febrero estoy en Ahome, territorio yoreme, donde la violencia del crimen organizado coludido con las fuerzas de seguridad ha convertido al estado de Sinaloa en una gran fosa común. Los testimonios de las madres de los desaparecidos nos recuerdan una y otra vez que estamos en un momento de emergencia nacional, que no se soluciona con “capacitaciones” o “modernizaciones institucionales”. Requerimos un cambio profundo que ninguno de los candidatos que aparecerán en las boletas electorales está dispuesto a hacer.

El país está plagado de Ayotzinapas anónimas donde las fuerzas de seguridad coludidas con el crimen organizado están perpetrando un juvenicidio delante de nuestra mirada y con la complicidad de nuestro silencio. Los estudiantes de Conalep masacrados en Juan José Ríos por no acatar el toque de queda establecido por el crimen organizado que controla el ejido más grande de México; la joven yoreme estudiante de la Universidad Intercultural de Sinaloa, cuyo cuerpo apareció en una fosa clandestina en Capomos; los 117 cuerpos encontrados por Las Buscadoras, madres de desaparecidos que con picos y palas buscan a sus “tesoros”, no parecen propiciar ya marchas ni protestas. Nos hemos acostumbrado a esta política de muerte.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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