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I traveled with the Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas (MITF) to Mexico. First, we joined the Oaxaca Solidarity Network and Rights Action for a humanitarian/educational delegation to Oaxaca from July 7-14, 2007. From July 17-22, 2007 we were updated about the current political situation in Chiapas and attended the opening of the "Intergalactic Meeting Between the Zapatistas and the World."
A Particular Resistance: A Solidarity Delegation Report Back on Social Justice Movements in Oaxaca, co-authored with Gwendolyn Meyer (Inverness, California: Vision Road Publishing, 2007). Also available as a download.
Read my essay "Gender and Power in Indigenous Communities in Mexico" (Upside Down World, August 7, 2007) (an earlier version includes a couple more pictures)
Listen to reports from this trip on WORT, community radio in Madison, Wisconsin:
- Subcomandante Marcos' talk on En Nuestro Patio: Part one on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 (Play / Download, about 45 min in); Part two on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 (Play / Download). Original audio.
- Miguel Pickard of the Center for Economic and Political Investigations for Community Action (CIEPAC) in Chiapas presents an overview of Mexico’s recent history to help us understand the current crisis in that country on Third World View for Sunday, July 29, 2007 (Play / Download; 30-min feature segment starts 30 min in. play or download original audio)
- Miguel Pickard analyzes current issues facing Mexico’s social movements – in particular the Zapatistas in Chiapas on Third World View for Sunday, August 5, 2007 (Play / Download; 30-min feature segment starts 30 min in. play or download original audio)
Read blog postings in roughly reverse chronological order, or listen to recordings of many of the talks (be aware that the files are large). Go to a specific meeting:
Oaxaca (July 7-14)
- Pedro Matias, journalist for Las Noticias who has covered the popular movement (play or download audio, 2hr10min, 89MB)
- Dolores Villalobo from the Consejo Indígena Popular de Oaxaca “Ricardo Flores Magón” (CIPO-RFM) (play or download audio, 1hr53min, 77MB)
- Jesús León from the Center for the Integral Development of the Campesinos of the Mixteca Alta (CEDICAM) in Nochixtlan who has worked for ten years to create alternative and sustainable agricultural models. (play or download audio, 1hr35min, 66MB)
- CMPIO, the Oaxacan Coalition of Indigenous Teachers and Promoters (play or download audio, 2hr15min, 93MB)
- Estela Río Gonzalez and Itandehuí Santiago Galicia of the Coordinadora de Mujeres Primero de Agosto (COMO) (play or download audio, 1hr30min, 62MB)
- Padre Manuel Arias Montes, parish priest in the Jukilita neighborhood of Oaxaca (play or download audio, 2hr25min, 100MB)
- Sergio Beltrán, Universidad de la Tierra (UniTierra) (play or download audio, 2hr, 84MB)
- Isthmus of Tehuantepec where we visited opponents to the Bénito Juárez hydro-electric dam project at Santa María Jalapa de Marqués (horrible audio--almost inaudible, 1hr30min, 60MB) and with Carlos Beas from the UCIZONI (the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Isthmus Zone) that is organizing opposition to La Venta wind farm project (play or download audio, 2hr, 84MB).
Chiapas (July 17-22)
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San Cristóbal de las Casas where we met with Rafael Pérez Gutiérrez at the CEDECI (Centro Indígena de Capacitación Integral Fray Bartolomé de las Casas) (play or download audio, 52min, 36MB), SIPAZ (Servicio Internacional para la Paz) (play or download audio, 2hr, 85MB), and Miguel Pickard from CIEPAC, the Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Políticas de Acción Comunitaria (play or download audio, 1hr50min, 76MB) - Caracol Morelia, that included short meetings with their Junta de Buen Gobierno and the autonomous Zapatista municipality of Olga Isabel.
- Mesa Redonda: Ecuentro entre campesin@s del mundo. Frente al despojo capitalista. Defendamos la tierra y el territorio, with talks by representatives of rural struggles in India, South Korea, Brazil, USA, and Mexico. I have audio (3hr, 131MB) of the entire roundtable that I have not uploaded but am willing to share (just ask!), but I have uploaded as separate pieces the comments from EZLN Comandante Tacho and Lieutenant Colonel Moises (play or download audio, 36min, 33MB), and Subcomandante Marcos (play or download audio, 21min, 19MB). (The text of their talks is available on the Enlace Zapatista site.)
- Acteal and Las Abejas
- Encuentro Zapatista con los pueblos del mundo, with audio of the plenaries on women (play or download audio, 42min, 29MB), collective work (play or download audio, 1hr, 43MB), organization of communities (play or download audio, 18min, 13MB), and autonomy (play or download audio, 17min, 12MB). (See the Chiapas Indymedia for more reporting on this meeting.)
View my photo gallery, divided into four sections:
- Oaxaca
- Chiapas
- Monte Alban (archaeological site)
- Palenque (archaeological site)
Also see G. Meyer: Photography