Speaking Tours

Past Tours

Maiz y el Pais: Political Violence in Mexico and Corn's Lessons for Justice

11/02/2015 - 11/13/2015

WA, ID, OR

Luz Rivera will speak State-sponsored political violence in Mexico and how corn is a symbol for autonomy and the dignified struggle for a better world. Luz has 20 years of experience constructing autonomy, organizing outside the electoral system, and resisting genetically modified corn while protecting millennia-old varieties.

Housing is a Human Right! The dignified fight for homes in Mexico City and beyond

10/12/2015 - 10/23/2015

California

Our featured speaker is Enrique Reynoso of Mexico City's Organización Popular Francisco Villa de Izquierda Independiente (OPFVII), also known as “Los Panchos.” The Panchos bring together tens of thousands of people who occupy land and build thriving, autonomous communities in the heart of one of the world's grittiest cities. They do this without allying with any political party and by going beyond narrow housing demands to promote urban self-government, community safety, and autonomous education, culture, and health.

“We Are Subjects of History" with Guadalupe Moshan Álvarez of FrayBa Human Rights Center

09/20/2015 - 10/03/2015

Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, VA, & NC

“We Are Subjects of History" - Indigenous communities’ fight for autonomy and human rights in Chiapas, Mexico, and beyond
featuring Guadalupe Moshan Álvarez, attorney
with the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center

Guadalupe Moshan Álvarez is a human rights defender that works as the principal attorney that gives legal advice at the front desk of the Fray Bartolomé Human Rights Center (FrayBa) in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. As an indigenous, Tzotzil woman from the highlands of Huixtan, Chiapas, Guadalupe knows well the context of socio-political struggle against the political class' development plans that threaten communities in her state. For this reason, since she has been accompanying indigenous communities in their pursuit of justice for over 10 years. In the past year alone, Guadalupe attended to more than 1,300 denouncements of human rights violations. The work she and her coworkers do is powerful, unique, and inspiring. This 7-minute documentary gives a brief explanation of their work with indigenous communities and international solidarity activists.

We Question While We Walk: Building Community through Popular Education in Albany Park, Chicago

04/13/2015 - 04/17/2015

Mon 4/13 at 9pm- Manchester University, Peace House (1106 N Wayne St, North Manchester, IN)
Tues 4/14 at 7pm- Marian University (Indianapolis, IN), Ruth Lilly Center
Weds 4/15 at 7:30pm- Butler University (Indianapolis, IN), 141 Jordan Hall
Thurs 4/16 at 6pm- Upland Brewery Banquet Hall (350 W 11th Street, Bloomington, IN)
Fri 4/17 at 9am- University of Louisville, 206 Davidson Hall

The Human Rights Debate: Between the cynicism of Mexican authorities and the dignity of the people

03/09/2015 - 03/23/2015

VT, MA, RI and CT

Pablo Obando of the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center in Chiapas, Mexico will be accompanied by MSN representative Stuart Schussler. Mexico is at a watershed moment: the forced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa rural teachers college students set off a tidal wave of indignation and massive protests. While these heinous acts occur within a larger pattern of State violence, including decades of repression in Chiapas, society's emphatic response shows these communities are not passive victims.