Blog

1 - NEWS FROM THE OTHER CAMPAIGN
2 - PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SEASON
3 - OBAMA’S CONFLICTING IMMIGRATION POLICIES
4 - CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM EXPANDS ROLE OF CATHOLIC CHURCH
5 - HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CONDEMNS STUDENT MURDERS

On March 22, Francisco Santiz Lopez reached the front gate of the Chiapas prison where he had spent the past three months, charged with a murder he couldn’t have possibly committed. Just as he was about to walk out the door a free man, prison officials pulled him back, fabricating a new set of charges. According to the Junta of Good Government in Oventic, “The fabrication of charges against our companero comes directly from Los Pinos [Mexico’s equivalent of the White House], in an effort to destroy the resistance of the Zapatista communities. They are trying to impede at all costs the construction of autonomy among the indigenous population. It is part of a plan of low intensity warfare against our communities in resistance.”

1 - NEWS FROM THE OTHER CAMPAIGN http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/
2 - BIDEN VISITS MEXICO
3 - CARLOS SLIM RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD
4 - RATZINGER VISITS MEXICO
5 - FRENCH CONVICT MAY WIN NEW TRIAL
6 - POLITICAL PARTIES IGNORE GENDER JUSTICE LAW

The Junta of Good Government in Oventic demands the immediate release of Francisco Santiz Lopez, a Zapatista support base, and Lorenzo Lopez Giron, both held in prison since last December.

2 - BIDEN VISITS MEXICO

Vice President Joe Biden, on a hurried two-day visit to Mexico and Central America, tried to tamp down growing calls for decriminalization of drugs in the US. Biden’s message? That won’t be happening, despite the growing impact of drug-trafficking in the region and the inability of southern neighbors to deal with cartels via military force. Biden tried to send a mixed message, intended for both Latin American and US audiences: “It’s worth discussing, but there is no possibility the Obama-Biden administration will change its policy.”

1 - WAR ON DRUGS “NOT A FAILURE?”
2 - TOURIST OFFICIALS REFRAME SAFETY FOR VISITORS
3 - G20 MEETING IN MEXICO CITY

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tread this week where politicians have failed for years - trying to prove a positive with a negative. By characterizing President Felipe Calderon’s war on drugs as “not a failure,” Napolitano highlighted what everyone in Mexico already knows - the policy is a resounding failure. The comments followed Napolitano’s meeting with Interior Minister Alejandro Poire. In public remarks, Napolitano fed a campaign theme trumpeted recently by Calderon’s National Action Party (PAN) concerning Chapo Guzman, Mexico’s most powerful drug lord and one of the world’s richest people. While Guzman remains at large after escaping from a high security federal prison under a previous PAN administration, Napolitano implied it’s only a matter of time before he’s caught. Some political observers are predicting a capture in April or May, leading up to the July 1 presidential elections.

*New job opening* for a full-time professor/community organizer with the Mexico Solidarity Network. Women, people of color, LGBT persons, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join a hardworking team that is dedicated to fighting for justice by building community power, long-term autonomous political projects, and international solidarity.

Work will include a combination of the following:

-Professor/organizer in a master's program in Community Organizing. Responsibilities include teaching political economy, political/power analysis, popular education, and the theory and practice of community organizing. The two-year program is based in the Albany Park Autonomous Center on the northwest side of Chicago in a largely Latino immigrant barrio. Responsibilities also include recruitment of students and accompanying students in community practicum.