Joint Communique from the CNI and the EZLN Denouncing the Repression Against the Purépecha community of Arantepacua, Michoacán

To the Purépecha Community of Arantepacua, Michoacán,
To the alternative media,
To the peoples of the world.

The peoples, nations, and tribes who make up the National Indigenous Congress express our outrage at the bad government’s cowardly attack against the Purépecha community of Arantepacua, Michoacán, on April 4 and 5 of the present year.

As a commission of community members sought dialogue with the bad government of the state of Michoacán, the governor Silvano Aureoles Conejo betrayed them: first, by obstructing their path with hundreds of riot police and dozens of trucks as they made their way to Morelia to try to come to agreements on the resolution of an old agrarian conflict; and again when, as the commission negotiated with government, large contingents of the Michoacán Police and the State Ministerial Police together with federal forces attacked the community, sowing terror, entering houses to detain community members, and opening fire indiscriminately, killing three Arantepacua community members:

• José Carlos Jiménez Crisóstomo (age 25)
• Luis Gustavo Hernández Cuenete (age 15)
• Francisco Jiménez Ajejandre (approximately age 70)

In addition, an unspecified number of community members were injured, two of whom are in critical condition, as well as 38 arrested by the Michoacán government on April 4 and 18 more on April 5 on fabricated charges that seek to criminalize their demand for their rights.

Brothers and sisters of Arantepacua, your pain over the murder of your compañeros is ours. We struggle because we are certain that punishment for the guilty will come from the dignity, resistance, and rebellion of our peoples. Sowing truth and justice amidst the destruction brought upon us by the powerful is what our peoples know how to do.

The bad governments think that by spreading terror in the indigenous territories of Michoacán and across a large part of the nation they will be able to silence the peoples and their voice, but this will not happen, because the words shouted collectively today by the originary peoples are born precisely of our rage, our frustration and the decision to not allow ourselves be killed, dispossessed, divided, or bought off.

We pronounce jointly with the communal assembly of Arantepacua our demands for:

1. An immediate halt to the escalated repression against Arantepacua and the Purépecha communities of the region.
2. The immediate release of the compañeros detained by the bad government.
3. Justice for the victims of this cowardly aggression and indemnification for all damages caused.
4. Punishment of governor Silvano Aureoles and all those responsible, materially and intellectually, for the crimes committed.
5. The withdrawal of the police and military forces from Aratepacua, given that as long as they are present the harassment of the community members will not cease.

Attentively
April 6, 2017

Justice for Arantepacua
Justice for the Purépecha People
For the Full Reconstitution of our Peoples
Never Again a Mexico Without Us
National Indigenous Congress
Zapatista Army for National Liberation

Convocation to the Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS CONGRESS

CONVOCATION

Given the decision made in the second phase of the Fifth National Indigenous Congress December 29, 30, and 31, 2016 and January 1, 2017, during which it was agreed:

FIRST: “…to name an Indigenous Governing Council with men and women representatives from each one of the peoples, tribes, and nations that make up the CNI. This council proposes to govern the country. It will have an indigenous woman from the CNI as its spokesperson, which is to say, a woman of indigenous blood who knows her culture. This indigenous woman spokesperson from the CNI will be an independent candidate for the presidency of Mexico in the 2018 elections.”

SECOND: “…[to call] on the originary peoples of this country, the collectives of the Sixth, workers, coalitions and committees who struggle in the countryside and the city, students, intellectuals, artists, scientists, the elements of civil society that are not organized, as well as all good-hearted people to close ranks and go on the offensive. We call on you to dismantle the power of above and to reconstitute ourselves now from below and to the left, not only as peoples but as a country, to come together in a single organization where dignity will be our final word and our first action. We call on all of you to organize with us to stop this war, and to not be afraid to sow our seeds and build ourselves upon the ruins left by capitalism.”

THIRD: “…[to convoke] a constituent assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico in the month of May 2017…to make the earth tremble at its core, to overcome fear and recuperate what belongs to humanity, what belongs to the earth, and what belongs to the peoples, to recuperate the territories that have been invaded or destroyed, for the disappeared of this country, for the freedom of all political prisoners, for truth and justice for all of those who have been murdered, for the dignity of the countryside and the city…making dignity the epicenter of a new world.”
We have agreed to convoke the authorities, representatives, delegates, and councilpersons named by the indigenous peoples, nations, tribes, barrios, communities, and organizations that participate in the CNI to celebrate the:

CONSTITUTIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE INDIGENOUS GOVERNING COUNCIL FOR MEXICO

To be held May 26, 27, and 28 of 2017 at the facilities of the Indigenous Center for Integral Learning (CIDECI-UNITIERRA) in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Zapatista territory, in accordance with the following schedule:

PROGRAM (Continuar leyendo…)

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Esperamos  que las redes sociales nos permitan abrir un camino de acercamiento con las y los otros, un camino de información generado desde nosotr@s, y que será el espacio en el que se irán anunciando las diferentes actividades y acontecimientos concernientes al camino que recorreremos en los próximos meses como CNI.

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A LOS PUEBLOS, COMUNIDADES, ORGANIZACIONES Y PERSONAS DEL ESTADO DE MORELOS Y SUS CERCANÍAS:

La palabra de los pueblos hizo retemblar la tierra, convocada/invocada por vientos del sureste. Las voces de la tierra hablan, preguntan, crean. Quienes queremos escuchar y acompañar, nos preguntamos también a nuestro modo. Sabemos que en las preguntas compartidas se bordan horizontes, caminos, en el paisaje del silencio. Para entrecruzar los colores de esos hilos caminados y por caminar, es que invitamos a este ENCUENTRO-DISCUSIÓN EN TORNO A LA PROPUESTA POLÍTICA DEL CONGRESO NACIONAL INDÍGENA respecto a la formación de un Concejo Indígena de Gobierno para nuestro país, y la propuesta de una Vocera Indígena que lo represente en la coyuntura política de 2018.

¿Qué significa para nosotr@s, para el país y más allá, en nuestro contexto histórico y en los tiempos que corren? ¿Cómo dimensionamos las tareas, en una perspectiva histórica y de largo plazo? ¿En qué condiciones toca hacerlo?

Es para explorar en conjunto esas y otras preguntas, que estamos convocando, hermanas, hermanos, hermanxs, a reunirnos en un conversatorio que además es HOMENAJE AL GENERAL EMILIANO ZAPATA SALAZAR EN SU 98 ANIVERSARIO LUCTUOSO, y conmemoración del CENTENARIO DEL MAYOR FÉLIX SERDÁN NÁJERA, Hermano Mayor, gran caminador y preguntón, compañero, guía y ejemplo.

La cita es en el Instituto Cultural Rubén Jaramillo, domicilio conocido en la Colonia Azuchilera, en Tehuixtla, Morelos, los días 8 y 9 de abril de 2017, a partir de las 10 horas del sábado 8. L@s organizador@s proveeremos alimentación y hospedaje en caso necesario, y desde luego será bienvenido el itacate y/o aportaciones para la “compartición”, y la previsión de llevar sleeping bags, colchonetas, cobijas etc., para reforzar la logística.

La agenda de discusión es abierta a partir de las preguntas expresadas arriba, y la organización pormenorizada del conversatorio se implementará al iniciarse el mismo.

Favor de confirmar asistencia detalladamente al correo encuentromayorfelix@gmail.com

Vaya y vuele este avioncito de papel amate, con el viento rebelde, abriendo grietas de abajo y a la izquierda.

Invitan Fraternalmente:

FAMILIARES DEL MAYOR HONORARIO FÉLIX SERDÁN NÁJERA

INSTITUTO CULTURAL RUBÉN JARAMILLO

Tehuixtla, Morelos; marzo de 2017.

Photo: Agencia Infomanía

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Communique from the National Indigenous Congress

March 9, 2017

To the national and international Sixth
To the free media
To civil society in general

Compañeros, compañeras, as our peoples continue to organize ourselves, each in our own ways and forms, analyzing and making agreements in order to form a Concejo Indígena de Gobierno [Indigenous Council of Government], the war against our peoples doesn’t stop. The three levels of bad government continue to act against our mother earth, our peoples, and our autonomous organizations through plunder and repression.

In the state of Oaxaca

We denounce and condemn with outrage the events in the community of San Francisco del Mar in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, Oaxaca, where violent actions were carried out, including the use of firearms, in order to try to impose approval of wind power projects that would dispossess the community of a good part of their common use lands and seriously affect the rich and delicate ecosystem there.

These events unfolded during the assembly of the comisariado de bienes comunales [communal resources or the commons] of San Francisco del Mar which was convoked to discuss authorization of the use of over 15,000 hectares for shrimping projects in Pueblo Viejo in the zone known as bocabarra. Various speakers expressed their opposition to the authorization, giving evidence that its true purpose was for wind power projects. They explained that bocabarra is a vital area for thousands of fishermen, that approval of the project would remove their source of livelihood, and that such an important decision required the participation and decision of the whole population.

Bocabarra is part of the Isthmus lagoon system and a vitally important area for its role as a key fishing zone and for its sacred and spiritual sites. In this part of the region, fishing provides the most important source of economic livelihood and food for the population. It is also a highly coveted zone for wind power companies because of its powerful winds, and there has already been an attempt by Mareña Renovables to construct a wind power plant in the Barra of Santa Teresa which provoked large mobilizations in opposition from the surrounding communities.

It is necessary to add that what happened in San Francisco del Mar is not an isolated event but rather a comprehensive plan of plunder and dispossession to be applied to the territories of the communities of the Isthmus in order to allow the imposition of megaprojects in the region via the Special Economic Zone of the Tehuantepec Isthmus [ZEE by its Spanish acronym] which undergirds this second phase of wind power development.

In the state of Michoacán

On February 24, in the community of Calzonzin, the bad government of the state of Michoacán in complicity with the federal government savagely repressed the P’urhépecha people of Caltzontzin who were protesting in defense of their right to restitution of communal territory.

That day the repressive forces of the Mexican State laid siege to the community of Caltzontzin, not allowing anyone to enter or exit, and then proceeded to launch tear gas bombs from a helicopter over the community and invaded community territory to arbitrarily arrest 17 community members, of which 13 are still being held and one of which is mentally disabled. At the same time, they entered various homes in the community without search warrants, destroying what they found and violating human rights in their mission to defend the privileges of the transnational railroad company Kansas City Southern.

We demand the immediate release of the political prisoners of the originary peoples of Michoacán, in particular the 13 community members detained in Caltzontzin whose only crime is the defense of communal property, of dignity, and of life for their communities and for future generations.

On the coast, the Nahua community of Santa María Ostula is under attack by criminal organizations which have penetrated the territory to the southeast of the municipality of Aquila and, through death and looting, attempt to dismantle the community’s autonomous organization and community security in order to bring back to the area terror and the extraction and exploitation of natural resources and communal lands.

On February 5 of this year, five community police from San Pedro Naranjestil, to the south of the municipality of Aquila affiliated with the municipal police, were kidnapped by members of the Marines who later turned them over to the organized crime groups led by Jesús Cruz Virrueta (alias Chuy Playas), Fernando Cruz Mendoza (alias El Tena), José María Cruz (alias el Tunco), Federico González Medina (alias Lico) and Mario Álvarez López (alias El Chacal). This act has been followed by actions impeding operations by the self defense groups of the Aquila, Chinicuila, and Coahuayana municipalities to detain members of organized crime.

To the former we must add the frequent instances in which the armed forces of the bad government have acted in coordination with criminal gangs against the indigenous community of Santa María Ostula, which has contributed to the collective grief and the demand for justice for the 34 community members who were murdered and the 5 who are disappeared.

In the state of Querétaro

The bad government is unjustly holding prisoner the indigenous Ñhañhú compañero Raymundo Pascual García, of San Ildefonso, Amealco, Querétaro, who was detained along with other compañeros for participating with his community in the protests against the gas hikes. We also denounce the continued plunder of the lands of the Fundo Legal of the Galeras and La Peñuela communities in the municipality of Colón though the corrupt actions of the bad governments and political parties.

As a consequence, the peoples, nations, and tribes who make up the National Indigenous Congress declare that:

1. We hold the municipal president and the commissioner of the bienes comunales of San Francisco del Mar responsible for the violent acts in Ikoot territory and the attempt at land dispossession. We denounce the complicity between well known state and federal authorities and politicians and we demand clarification of the events and punishment of those responsible for the shots fired during the assembly. We demand respect for the legitimate right of the people of San Francisco del Mar to determine the destiny of their lands and natural resources.
2. We demand that the autonomy and communitarian organization of Santa María Ostula be respected. We demand the arrest of Jesús Cruz Virrueta (alias Chuy Playas), Fernando Cruz Mendoza (alias El Tena), José María Cruz (alias el Tunco), Federico González Medina (alias Lico), and Mario Álvarez López (alias El Chacal), the dismantling of the political and economic structure that sustains them, the punishment of the soldiers and politicians responsible for the murder of the child Hidelberto Reyes Garcia and all of the murdered community members, the cancellation of arrest warrants for the [community police] commanders in Ostula and the Sierra Costa region, the return of the disappeared, and absolute respect for the communal territory of Ostula.
3. We demand immediate and absolute freedom for the compañero Raymundo Pascual García from San Ildefonso, Amealco, Querétaro, who was detained for protesting with his community against the gas hikes imposed by the bad government, a halt to land dispossession in the communities of Galeras and La Peñuela in the municipality of Colón, Querétaro, and punishment of those responsible for the unjust imprisonment of over 3 years of the Ñhañhu indigenous compañeras of Amealco, Querétaro, Jacinta Francisco Marcial, Alberta Alcántara Juan and Teresa González.

We say to our brothers and sisters of the Ikoot, P´urhépecha, Nahua and Ñhañu peoples in these regions and the rest of the country who everyday sustain our hope, rebellion, and dignity with their struggle: you are not alone. In the colors, tongues, and geographies that make up the CNI, we are you; your yearning for justice is ours, your pain is ours, and your demand, which brings into bloom the birth of another world, is our heart and our unwavering certainty.

Until dignity becomes tradition

Freedom for all of the political prisoners
Return of the disappeared
Justice for San Francisco del Mar
Justice for Calzonzin
Justice for Santa María Ostula
Justice for the Ñhañu people of Querétaro

Attentively,

For the Full Reconstitution of Our Peoples
Never Again a Mexico Without Us
March 2017

National Indigenous Congress

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México. 1 de Marzo del 2017. Chilpancingo Guerrero.

Los comisarios municipales junto con 500 representantes de las comunidades de Papaxtla, Paraíso de Tepila, Rincón de Chautla, Acahuehuetlan, Terrero 1, Xicotlan, Zacapexco, Ayahualtempa, Amatitlan, Tierra Blanca, Buena Vista, Tepozonalco, Alcozacan, Xolotepec, Tula y Coordinadores Regionales de la “Casa de Justicia de Rincón de Chautla”, Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias de los Pueblos Fundadores del municipio de Chilapa y José Joaquín de Herrera. Todos organizados en el Concejo Indígena y Popular de Guerreo Emiliano Zapata, integrante del Congreso Nacional Indígena.

Considerando:

Que hace tres años e 8 Febrero del 2015 se detono el conflicto de violencia en diversas comunidades del municipio de Chilapa de Álvarez, debido a los asesinatos realizados por grupos criminales y después de 7 reuniones con el gobierno del estado de Guerrero, no existe justicia ni una solución a esta problemática.

Que a casi un año del asesinato de Isac Xochitempa Chautla, Ángela Casarrubias Cortez, Ana Orguín Casarrubias y Victoria Díaz Bernabé, el día 20 de Octubre del 2016 y de Florencio Salgado Gonzales el 11 de Junio del 2016. Todos integrantes de nuestra organización. Los actores intelectuales y asesinos continúan en plena libertad. Que a un año y medio de prisión no se ha hecho justicia a nuestro compañero Godofredo Cortes Reyes.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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Les invitamos a la charla
“Constitución: a 100 años de soledad…jurídica”.
Imparte: Compañera y Abogada Bárbara Zamora.
Jueves 2 de marzo de 2017 a las 7pm.
López 23, Colonia Centro. Esquina Independencia. A dos cuadras de Bellas Artes. CD MX.

Agrietemos el muro ahora que un mundo se está derrumbando y uno muy otro está resurgiendo.

!Viva el EZLN!
!Viva el CNI!
!Viva la Autonomía!

Convoca: Espacio de Coordinación Grietas en el Muro, Mujeres y la Sexta y Red Movimiento y Corazón Zapatista.

redmyczapatista@gmail.com

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Rincón Zapatista “El viejo Antonio”

Invita al Ciclo de proyecciones en el mes de marzo
Jueves y sábados a las 5:30 pm

The Walls Above, The Cracks Below
(And To The Left)

February 2017

The Storm On Our Path

For us, as Zapatista originary peoples, the storm—the war—has been going on for centuries. It arrived to our lands with the lies of the dominant civilization and religion. At that time, the sword and the cross bled our people dry.

Over time, the sword was modernized and the cross was dethroned by the religion of capital, but it continued to demand our blood as an offering to the new god: money.

We resisted, we always resist. Our rebellions were displaced by the dispute between various forces for Power. Those forces, always from above, demanded that we struggle and die to serve them. They demanded obedience and submission under the guise of liberating us. Like those who said and say they fight, they came and come to rule. There were supposed independences and false revolutions, those past and those to come.

Since then, those above have taken turns and continue to take turns in order to govern, badly, or aspire to do so. In past and present calendars, their proposal continues to be the same: that we offer our blood, while they lead or pretend to lead.

Before and now, they forget those of us who do not forget.

And always, yesterday and today, the woman is below, even in the collective that we were and are.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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El Rincón Zapatista
y la Cafetería Comandanta Ramona

Invitan al evento político cultural
Música en vivo y lectura de textos relacionados
con la propuesta del CNI-EZLN

El sábado 18 de febrero a las 17:00 horas
En Zapotecos 7, Colonia Obrera.
Cerca de los metros Isabel la Católica y Doctores.

¡JUSTICIA PARA AYOTZINAPA!
¡VIVAN LAS COMUNIDADES AUTÓNOMAS ZAPATISTAS!
¡LIBERTAD A LOS PRESOS POLÍTICOS!
¡VIVA EL EZLN!