SOCIALJUSTICE,COMMUNITYORGANIZINGANDACTIVISM MMNPROGRAM
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RegisUniversityMasterinNonprofitManagement672Socialjustice,communityorganizingandactivismMarcosVilla
April30,2009
FINALPAPERTHEHUMANRIGHTSWATCHERSINGUERRERO,MEXICO:
THECONSTRUCTIONOFIDENTITY
Abstract.
Human Rights has been an important issue especially in the last years, since
December10th,1948whenthegeneralAssemblyoftheUnitedNationsadoptedand
proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Countries have agreed to
promotethemasaconsequenceoftheexistenceofdemocracyandasthesymbols
that express that the governments are working for building the infrastructure for
makinglifeoftheircountrymenpossibleandfullofopportunities.
There are many documents signed by different countries that commit to those
nationstooverseethoserights;eventhou,someofthesecountriesdevelopinternal
politicsthatquestionoreliminatetheguaranteesofthoserights.
InthispaperwetrytoreflectMexico’ssituationinHumanrightsthroughthelensof
thelastexperiencesthatsomeofthecivilsocietyorganizationsfromGuerreroState
have lived in order to share the experience and learnings to other states or
countries. We will reflect in possible actions that might help to strengthen the
identity ofHumanRights groups and try to remove the social image governments
aretryingtoimposeonthesegroups.
DarkrealityinMexico
RaúlLucasLucía,presidentofOrganizationfortheFutureoftheIndigenousMixtecos
Indigenous,OFPM1escaped four times fromdeathduring tenyears. In1999,after
1OFPMfortheSpanishname:OrganizaciónparaelFuturodelosPueblosIndígenasMixtecos
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the slaughter of “el Charco”, hewas tortured and threatened bymembers of the
MexicanArmy.Twoyearslater, inSeptember2001,hewasagaintorturedwithhis
brothers and brother in law. He was also threatened in October 2006 after the
Zapatista Army of National Liberation EZLN2 marched in peace through his
community. In 2007, the 15th of February somebody tried to kill him and he was
woundedwithabulletinhisneckinapreparedambush.(Hernández,2009)Finally,
thepast13thFebruary,acoupleofmonthsagoheandManuelPonce,thesecretary
ofthesameOIPMorganizationwere“levantados”3inanpubliceventinthecityof
Ayutla. Around 1:30 pm three men with heavy weapons got in the building
screaming:“police!”TheyhitManuelandRaúl,tookthemoutandputthemintoa
blackLibertythatwaswaitingforthemoutside.
Half an hour later his wife, Guadalupe Castro Morales got a warning call: “Stop
fucking.Bequietorwewill kill yourhusband.This isaconsequence fordefending
Indians”.
The20thofFebruarytheybothappeareddeadwithtorturemarks(González,2009)
andwithashotintheirheadshalfburiedinanearmountain.Itwaswellknownthat
Raúl Lucas had documented 4 cases of violations of Human Rights during 2008
againsttheMexicanArmyandtwopolicecorporationsof“Ayutlaofthefreemen”.
The 16th of February, before they appeared dead, International Amnestymade a
public statement ‐AI: AMR 41/007/2009‐ asking the Army, State and Federal
authorities to investigate the situation
and doing everything for bringing the
possibleauthoritiesintojustice;nothing
wasdone(AI,2009).Ontheotherside,
the National Commission of Human
Rights hadn’t made any declaration
before different international
organization like Human Rights Watch,
2EZLNforthespanishname:EjércitoZapatistadeLiberaciónnacional3Spanishnameusedforthepeoplethatiskidnappedwithoutreclaimingarewardforthevictim’slife.
GuerreroStateinMexico
Amongthethreepooreststatesofthecountry
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LatinAmericaWorkingGroup,WashingtonOfficeon LatinAmerica and Front Line
confirming the lack of justice in the country on Human Rights issues (Saavedra,
2009).
Asaconsequenceofthese
casestheHighCommissionof
theUnitedNationsAlberto
Brunoricametothestateof
Guerreroandvisited
GuadalupeCastroMoralesand
MargaritaMartíndelas
Nieves,widowsofRaúlLucasy
ManuelPonce.Heexpressed
thatfortheHighCommission
theextraofficialexecutionof
RaúlandManuelwereoneof
theworstcasesthataredocumentedattheUnitedNations.Healsonoticedtherisk
conditionsthatexistedforthemandheexpressedhisconcernaboutit
Somelightbroughtmorecasesup
The17thAprilof2008anotherorganizationthatiswellconnectedtotheOFPM,the
IndependentOrganizationofMixtecosNativesOPIM4,werealsopersecutedandfive
ofitsmemberswerepointedoutasmurderersofaninformantoftheMexicanarmy.
AmnestyInternationaldeclaredallofthemconscienceprisoners:
“Theyareprisonersofconscience,detainedsolelyforthepeacefulopposition
to the cacique while defending the rights of members of their indigenous
community. According to their families, since themen have been detained,
theirchildrenhavebeenstigmatizedanddiscriminatedagainstintheirschool
4OPIMforthespanishname:OrganizacióndelPuebloIndígenaMephaa
CDHMTlachinollan
AlbertoBrunori(blackcloth)listenedtoGuadalupeCastroMoralesandMargaritaMartínwidowsofRaúl
LucasandManuelPonce
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bytheheadteacher,whothefamiliessay isoneofthecacique'ssupporters,
andotherstudentshavecalledthem"sonsofcriminals"(AI,2009)
SusanLee,DirectoroftheProgramforAmericaofAmnestyInternational,visitedthe
five indigenous people in jail and also visited the communitieswere these groups
work towards Human Rights noticing the level of poverty and the significant
presenceoftheMexicanArmy.
The20thofOctober2008,a
Federal Judge ordered the
release of them but the
Public Prosecutor of the
“ProcuraduríaGeneraldela
República, PGR” appealed
this resolution and it was
received even thou they
didn’t give more evidence.
Afterbeingoneyearinjail,
the 18th of March 2009,
fourofthemwerereleased;RaúlHernandezisstill injail.Susanastated:“It istime
that theauthorities recognize that thetrialagainst these indigenouspeoplearean
answer for their legitimate activities towards the Human Rights within their
communitiesandtheircontinuousdenouncementagainstthelocaloppressionofthe
authorities and the landowners. When social workers are punished for their
legitimate work, authorities send a
message: to promote and protect human
rightsaskahighcost”(AI,2009).
Interviewing to amemberof theOFPM5,
s/he referred two other historical cases:
ThefirstonewasFelipeArreagawhowas
in jail for defending land that was
5Askednotmentioningthename
Tlachinolan/RodrigoACruz
FelipeArreagaSánchezinjail
CDHMTlachinollan
IndigenousValentinaRosendoCantúwithLouiseArbourHighCommissionateofthe
UNforHumanRights
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exploitedby“caciques”.Between1992and200040%ofthetreesinGuerreroforest
were lost(Calvillo,2005).The“caciques”triedtogethiminto jailbycharginghim
forassassination.Thelocalauthoritiesaskedthejudgetofindhimguiltyandasked
for 40 years in prison while Tlachinollan, A Human Rights Organization provided
information that questioned the credibility of the assassination charges. They
provided more information of two previous cases against the Ecological Farmers
OrganizationfromPetulantyCoyucadeCatalán,OCESP6:RodolfoMontielyTeodoro
CabrerawhoworkedinthesameorganizationthatFelipeArriagadid.Theywerealso
jailedbuttheinternationalpressurefromGreenpeaceamongotherorganizationsto
theNationalGovernmentsetthemfree.Oneofthenon‐sensesofthechargeswas
that, therewere twoaccused:Felipeandasecondperson.Theotheraccusedwas
already dead two years before the assassination happened. After this trial there
werestillapprehensionordersagainstmembersof thegroupand Iconfirmedthat
therewerestillthirteenapprehensionordersleft(Ballinas,2005).
The second casewas ame´phaa indigenous, Valentina RosendoCantú. She is one
exampleofthemanyviolationsthattheMexicanArmyhas infringedto indigenous
women.Thelocalgovernmentdonotdoanythingandwhenthesecasescameinto
themedia they just say that theyare lying, that theyarepartof the communities
thatproducedrugsandtheywantthearmyoutofthere.
Otherfactstoconsider
Guerrero State has been
historically one of the three
poorest of the country and some
of itsmunicipalities are ranked as
poor as some of the African
regions.Guerrero state is the first
ranked in national migration and
the fifth in USmigration reaching
6OrganizacióndeCampesinosEcologistasdelaSierradePetatlányCoyucadeCatalán
Guerreroendatos
ThreepooreststatesofMexico
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around73,000peopleeachyear.Therearenearof300,000migrantsfromGuerrero
only in Chicago, US that has become the second larger city with people from
Guerrero,justafterAcapulco.
Guerrerohassevenregionsaswe
can see in the right box. The
region of “LaMontaña” (brown)
is the poorest region of the
country;mostofthepeoplethat
live within this region are
indigenous. 73.9% of the
municipalities that keep
indigenous languages haven’t
developed income sources
(Guerrero, 2009) so they become
themainsourceofmigrationinall
levels. In the rightbox, the green
are indigenousmunicipalities and
blue ones are the main
municipalities receiving people as
a result of migration. If we
compare both maps we can see
thatmatchbetweenpovertyandmigration.
Guerrero has also become an
important source of marihuana
and “amapola” or poppy. As we
canseeinleftmaptherearesome
areas of “La Montaña” that have
some drug producing areas but
themain ones of the state are inGuerreroendatos,DrugsAreas:
Green–MarihuanaandRed‐Amapola
Guerreroendatos,GuerreroRegions
Municipalitieswithindigenouspopulation
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the“CostaGrande”and“TierraCaliente”.Aswecanseeinthenextmapthemost
military prescience is concentrated in “La Montana” region where most of the
HumanRightsinfringementsarecommitted(Yellowmarked).
Theindigenouspopulationsof“LaMontaña”havethesecharacteristics:
• 96% of their population has no access to health services with qualified
medics.
• 50%ofthepopulationisanalphabet.
• Between80%and100%ofthehousesdon’taddresstheminimumconditions
ofdignity
• There is one hospital located in Tlapa de Conmonfort that is supposed to
attend300,500peoplefrom17municipalities.Inthemostmarginedareasit
reachesto88%(SanMarcos)
• 46%ofthepeopleabovethe15yearsoldhasnosourceofincome
• 24%ofthepopulationthathasanincomeearns5USDperday
• 1gynecologistforattending17,654womeninfertilestage
• 97%ofthehouseshasnosewagesystem
• 45.4% of the indigenous population above 15 years old never went to a
schoolandthemajorityofthemarewomen.
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CriminalizationofHumanRightsWatchers
After recognizing the reality that
our indigenous people lives and
trying to imagine the fight they
arestrugglinginaneverydaybasis
I understood that they have
realized some of the developed
tactics by Saul Slinky in his Rules
for Radicals. One of them is the
Ninthrule:“Anyeffectivemeansis
automatically judged by the
opposition as being unethical”
(Alinsky, 1989) and they are also
developingthemediaasanallyto
face the different issues they are
facing.Weneedtorecognizethat
they appear in the printedmedia
but they have no appearance in
thetelevisionnews,mostlybecausenobodyaccesstotheircommunities.InMexico
veryfewpeoplereadsnewspaper,eventhouithasapowerfulsymbolicimpact.An
important actionmightbe toprovide themwith several tools thatmight let them
recordvisualimagesthattheymightbesendingtonationalandinternationalallies.
ManynationalcountrymenthatjoinedsofaithfullytotheEZLNin1994forexample,
was because the media coverage they achieved. A similar campaign should be
addressed.
Themajorstrengthof theorganizationsofhumanrightsofGuerrerohasbeenthe
presenceandcoverageofinternationalagenciesthathasanimportantmoralimage
around theworld. Therefore theirmost effective source of power comes from an
outside third actor and thismakes themvery vulnerable. IN thepicture abovewe
canseehowtheycreatedanalliancecalled:“RedGuerrerensedeOrganismosCiviles
Tlachinolan/RodrigoACruz
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de Derechos Humanos” but they do not have a web page nor other tool for
communicationandtheirmostclosestorganizationisTlachinollanthathastospeak
foralltheHumanRightsviolationsofthestate.Ithasbecomeaknownactorandas
consequence people from government or private sector refuse to dialogue with
them.InascenariowhereTlachinollancouldbetheobjectiveofanopenattackthey
wouldbeleftalmostwithoutcontactstotherestofthecountry.
They have few resources
for defending themselves
but what they have they
use it very effectively and
they “clothe it with moral
garments” which makes
their testimonials very
strong‐tenthSlinky‘srule‐.
An effective suggested
action for impacting this
ruleistogetfinancialhelpformakingadocumentalorashortaboutthisissueand
toshowuptheeverydaylifeaboutindigenousHumanRightsViolationsandsharing
thedocumentedinformation.
TheyalsowerepartofacampaignwhereothernationalHumanRightsorganizations
havepositionedthe“Criminalizationofsocialmovements”thatgoesdirectlytothe
FederalGovernmentthathasdevelopedandstrengthenedthemilitarytactics(Villa,
2009).Theyshouldmakeastatecampaignsearchingforlocalorganizationsthatare
wellknownfortheirmoralcapitalsuchastheCatholicchurch,privateuniversities,if
possibleCivilSocietyOrganizations thatare focusedtotheassistanceof theupper
classestothepoorestareasofGuerreroandideallyprivatefor‐profitorganizations
knowingthatthismightbeunlikely.Theyneedthehelpoftheactorstheynowrely
onlikeHumanRightsWatch,AmnestyInternational,Greenpeace,FrontLineandof
courseallthesupportofthenationalsthatlaunchedthecampaignwhereimportant
allies will be: AcademiaMexicana de Drenches Humanos,Artículo XIX, Asistencia
MilitarArmyinthecommunityofBarrancaPiña,
municipalityofAcatepec
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Legal por los Derechos Humanos, AC (ASILEGAL),CENCOS (Centro de Nacional de
ComunicaciónSocial),CentrodeDerechosHumanos“FrayFranciscodeVitoriaOP”,
AC, Centro de Derechos Humanos “Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez”, AC, Centro de
DerechosHumanosFrayBartoloméde lasCasas,AC,CentroMexicanodeDerecho
Ambiental (CEMDA), CentroRegional deDerechosHumanos JoséMaríaMorelos y
Pavón, AC, Colectivo Contra la Tortura y la Impunidad, AC, Colectivo por la
Transparencia, Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos
Humanos, AC, Consejo Ciudadano del Premio Nacional de Periodismo, AC, DECA‐
Equipo Pueblo, AC, El Caracol, AC, Fundar Centro de Análisis e Investigación, AC,
IncideSocial,AC, Iniciativaspara la Identidady la Inclusión,AC, InstitutoMexicano
de Derechos Humanos y Democracia, AC,RedNacional deOrganismos Civiles de
Derechos Humanos “Todos los Derechos para Todas y Todos”, Mujer y Medio
Ambiente,PromotoresdelaAutogestiónparaelDesarrolloSocial(PADS),Proyecto
de Derechos Económicos
Sociales y Culturales, AC
(PRODESC) and Alianza
Cívica,AC.Theboldedones
are nationally well known
and has important social
and political capital, the
rest has important
grassroots development
and might join in to a
futuremovement.
Identity
It isa fact thathumanbeingshavecometogethertoorganizethemselvestogeta
specificobjective;nomatterifitwasadecision,forgettingfood,forsurvivalorfor
establishing a society. “Human being” is a structurally social being, socially
constructed and with the capacity to modify himself as a consequence of this
construction (Zubiri, 1986). Our identity is build by others that are ‘like me’, the
CDHMTlachinollan
MilitaryArmyinElLlanocommunity,Acatepec
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“others”defineprettymuchaboutmewhilemakingmy lifepossible, even if they
werenotawareortheywerenotconsciousaboutthe importanceoftheiractions.
This is thewayweall learn to see theworldand theothers, thewaywe learn to
distinguishmyselffromthingsandtheothers;this isthefirstapproachwehaveto
reality,thewaywearesociallyconstructedatthebeginningofourlives.
It is very importantwe realize
that“theother”istheonethat
allowsmetogrow,“theother”
allows the possibility to
choose; “the difference” gives
us possibilities. The difference
provides me with the
possibility to enhancemyown
life or to confirm my own
practice, the possibility to
confirmmyselfonwhatIamandwhatIdo,ornotto.Thisprocessisonlyachievable
throughdifference,inthisprocesswebuild/confirmouridentity.
Theidentityoftheindigenousgroupsisbeing“attacked”‐asweall‐inacontinuous
basis and with all the existing available media. The western culture that arrived
hundredsofyearsagohasmadeatremendousefforttobringthoseculturesintoa
standardization trying to establish a typical/average way of life that responds to
specificinterests.Tobeabletogetsomeindependenceofthatwayoflivingweneed
to develop critical thinking (Ore, 2009). The indigenous has kept most of their
traditions not only through this critical thinkingbut alsobecause the geographical
difficultiestheyhavehadhistorically.Withinthesedaystelevisionhasbeenableto
arrive even to those places and they are learning the western culture and
understanding that beingmenandbeinghappy is equal tobeingoppressors They
arestartingtounderstandthatlivingandthemeaningofthepursuitofhappinessas
goingintothecitiestomakemoney.Thecosmos‐visionthatreliesintheirtraditions
isbeingquestioned.
Tlachinolan/RodrigoACruz
WomenfromanecologicgroupofPetatlánmountains
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Identityandhumanrights
Ihavecometorealizethatthe
fight for human rights within
the indigenous people might
haveinthebottomanidentity
fight.Itmightbeafightwhere
theprinciplesexpressedinthe
Pedagogyof theOppressedof
Paolo Frere are practiced in
thosecommunities.
Itistheindigenouspeoplethat
are fighting against different
issues as we saw at the
beginning of the paper. It is
themwhoare in the frontline
assumingtheir“historicalrole”
and several members of an
external community supports
themintheirfights.
Specifically the Human Rights
Center “Tlachinollan” arrived
more that 13 years ago to
TlapadeConmonfortin“LaMontaña”andjusthasopenedanofficeinotherthree
placesinthestateofGuerrero.Theyhavedefinedastheirmission:“Topromoteand
defendthe rightsof theNaua,Nasavi,Me´phaaandnon‐indigenouspeoples inLa
MontañaandCostaChicafromanintegralculturalperspective,andhelpthemcreate
legitimate and peaceful means to ensure respect for their human rights”
(Tlachinollan,1996)
RobertoGarcíaOrtíz
CelsaValdovinosyFelipeArreaga,aftertheyhadapressconferenceinMexicocity.
RobertoGarcíaOrtízCelsaValdovinosyFelipeArreaga,aftertheyhadapress
conferenceinMexicocity.
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Itisnotacoincidencethattheyaddthemselvesintothefightofthepeople.Theverb
help means they are doing something and what they are doing is to “create
legitimateandpeacefulmeans”which is a consequenceof the cultural identity of
theMe’phaaculture.
TheindigenousorganizationstheyhavecreatedlikeOPIMandOFPMarearesultof
the construction of the identity they are achieving and through them they are
lookingforwardinkeepingtheirachievements.Weshouldnotforgetthatthenature
ofaninstitutionistokeep,tomaintain,toavoidchanges,tocontinueandifpossible
toreproduceitselfasasystem.Aninstitutionismadetopreventchangesthatwill
go against its defined nature, that’s why we created them. In this sense the
institutions become the foundationof a society. TheOPIMand theOFPMare the
foundations of a different society that isworkingwith the principles of their own
culture with the learning of our western culture about the creation of a “Legal”
institution.
Atthemomenttheyhavecreatedanimportantsocialcapitalwithintheworldwith
theircommitment.Havingpeoplekilledandachievingtheinternationalsupportthey
haveachievedisnotasimpletask.Thesupportandmediacoveragetheyhavehadis
Pictures:CDHMTlachinollan
Military
intimidating
Me’phaawomen
fromthe
community
Caxitepec
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consequenceof thecommitmenttheyhavedeveloped.The lackofsocial justice in
theirimmediatecontextmakesthemstrongerandhavingtheMexicanArmywithin
their communities are two sources of union, identity, strength and a continuous
confirmationofthedreamstheywanttoachieve.
Ithinkthatthecoreoftheirstrengthisthegrassroottheyhaveontheirbehalfand
this strength does not appear in themedia. The organization they have responds
geographically and they all know ‐because they have lived it‐ that any attack for
humanrightsorganizationswillaffecttheirecologyorganizations,anyattackintheir
educational structure will affect their identity… they have done this identity
“survival”throughhundredsofyears…
TheHumanRightsOrganizationsof
Guerrero State need to capitalize
their achievements by developing
symbols of their successes. The
EZLN and the Chiapas State
organizations havemuch to share
in this point. For example, the
“Abejas Organization” in Chiapas
has the “Column of infamy”, a
monument built by the Danish
JensGalschiot inhonor for the45
killed people (15 children, 21
women, and 9 men) and the 25
wounded by paramilitaries while
they were praying in the small
chapel they had. They also have
createdachoruswerethechildren
ofthecommunitysingverydiverse
songs. These actions strengthen
Columnofinfamy
Acteal,Chenaló,Chis
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theiridentityandprovidethemwithaphysicalreminderofwhattheyareandwhat
theydream,itisanimportantwayofexpandingtheirinstitutionalizationprocess.
The Abejas Organization has also created a coffee cooperative known as “Maya
Vinic”and theydistribute theirproductsunder fair trade toUnitedStatesand the
EuropeanUnion.IntheUSforexampleHigherGroundsTradingCompany,locatedin
Michigandistributestheircoffee.
Afutureagenda
The human rights organizations have been severely damaged by the image the
governmenthaspositioneduponthemthroughseveralyears.Someoftheneeded
actions are focused to attend and to strengthen the internal identity and some
actionsshouldbefocusedtogetmoremoralcapitalthroughthemediaandthrough
allianceswithdifferentactorswithinsociety.
Sen principles of “picking the good fight”, direct action and leading forward (Sen,
2003)arekeyconcepts that theseorganizationsneedtostrengthen,especially the
lasttwoconcepts.TheyneedtodevelopacontinuouscampaigntopositionHuman
Rightsasaminimuminthestateagenda.Theyarenormallyacting inaresponsive
way.Thelackofresourcesoftheseorganizationsisdeepandatthesametimetheir
appearances in the international media hasn’t been capitalized in a donors
campaign.ItisawfultobeinthepositiontheyarebutwiththeelementsIhadIcan
confirm they haven’t asked any foundation for support to their causes and their
presence in national and international media has been important. What they
actually have developed is good relations that improves them but not necessarily
makes them independent or “individually” stronger, their dependency to
TlachinollanmakesthemweakandIbelieveit istimetostartgoingforwardinthis
specificaspectby“themselves”(Sen,2003).
Their alliances are their stronger area. They are well positioned within the civil
society sector but their presence is only in this sector, they should improve in an
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international levelandtrytoconnectwithprivateandgovernmentassuggestedin
thepreviouslines.
Theyhaven’tworkedindevelopingnewleadersandthis isanimportantpowerless
area. They should ask for scholarships to their national allies for their people go
outsideandgetbackdifferenttoolsfordevelopment,notonlyinHumanRightsbut
in helping the rest of the community to improve their reality economically,
medically, or any other aspect of their needs. People that might be able to go
outside will also get a bigger overview of the complexity of their issues and the
context of the state and country so s/he can comeback and share. Even to bring
other indigenous from different national communities (and send) might be an
enlightening experience. Thesemight be part of a complete plan and focusing in
getting small successes will make them stronger and will bring more hope back.
Theseareactionsthathasn’tbeenusedandtheireffectivenesswilltakethemoutof
the experience “of the enemy” (Alinsky, 1989) At the same time developing role
playswillmakethemstrongerandbetterinthelongrun(Dobson,2003)
I believe that they should avoid direct conflict with military army due to the
experiencehasshownthatforthemomenttheyaren’tanaddressableachievement
andtofocusonlocalandstatepoliticiansthathassomethingtododirectlywiththe
issue. The congress might be the most important factor due they do not often
appear.Federalauthoritiesandarmyissuesmightbedocumentedandsupportedby
thembutneverleaded.
Weshouldnever forget theireveryday reality.Weshouldnever fall to remember
thelackofsocialjustice,theabsenceofpossibilitiestodeveloptheirhumanity,the
consequences of our actions as a society that accepts and reproduce unjust
structures because our absence of critical thinking.We need to retake our citizen
roleandtorememberthatthesebrothershavethesamerightsthatIhave.
Animportantlearninginthisjourneyisthatweneedtore‐valuatetherichnesswe
havewithour indigenouspeople,weneedtogobacktoouroriginsandtore‐take
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fromthemtheirvisionoftheworld,menandsociety;theirdifferencewillbringus
the possibility to re‐think and to develop a deepest critical thinking in front of
westernculturethattriestoorientateouractionstowardstheindividualismandthe
minimizationofthecommongood.
One of my personal great learning’s among indigenous communities is that their
celebrationof lifeanddeadissoclose,theirpainandhappinessaresoconnected.
One Jesuit friend that was working with Acteal communities while the massacre
occurredsharedhowpeoplecriedthemandmadetheritualgoodbyeonedayafter.
Hehighlightedhowthegoodbyeritualswerefullofdancesthatcelebratedthelifeof
their dead friends, moms, and children… they relate dance with life, and how
dancing isasimilarwayof“living”,ofexpressing life;awayof feelingtheblood in
our veins and a way of celebrating life, in contact with mother earth, under the
blessedskyandexpressingyourselfwithinthecommunity,within“theothers”that
makemylifepossible:“todanceordie”.
Ibelievethatthisdanceistheheart/source
oftheirsocialjusticepassion/inspiration.
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