Mexico’s Peace Movement and Javier Sicilia: One Year On
Little over a year ago, Javier Sicilia was simply a journalist, poet, teacher and father; he would finish 2011 as one of TIME magazine’s “People of the Year”. […]
Mexico
Mexico: Calderón Government Monitoring Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity Leaders
After the Mexican government set the scene to sit down and have a “dialogue” with the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD), and after President Felipe Calderón supposedly engaged with its members, now we learn that his government has files on the movement’s leaders, including Javier Sicilia. This information is part of an extensive file that includes profiles with public and private data of the activists.
Women of Las Patronas Aid Central American Migrants in Mexico
For seventeen years, a group of women in La Patrona, Veracruz, has been handing out food and water to Central American migrants riding cargo trains north in search of work. Most are hoping to make it to the US to find work but first they must make it through Mexico, where they risk being robbed, beaten, kidnapped, murdered. The passage through La Patrona is one of the few bright spots on their trip.
Dying in Defense of Land in Mexico
Tucked between sand dunes and the Pacific Ocean, perched on a small hill, is Xayakalan, home to members of the indigenous community, Santa Maria Ostula. Here, a group of Mexican Nahua people are fighting to keep control of their land. The cost has been high. Since 2009, this small community of around 3, 000 people has seen 28 of its members killed. Another four are missing.
Mexico: Blood for Silver, Blood for Gold
In the dry and dusty town of San José del Progreso south of Oaxaca, Mexico, a funeral was held on March 17 for a slain community leader who actively opposed a Canadian silver and gold mining project in his community. But in spite of the fear and intimidation, anti-mining activists from San José together with other surrounding communities affected by the mine, will continue on in their resistance.
Will Mexico’s Drug Cartels Influence the Country’s Presidential Election?
The pre-campaign hype surrounding Mexico’s presidential election on July 1st has been largely dominated by one topic: will the country’s “drug cartels” influence the outcome of the race – whether by cash or by bullet?
Mexico: The Bonfires of Cherán
We bring you this translation of a Mexican journalist’s take on Cherán, Michoacan, to bring more light to a community that has been building autonomous resistance to organized crime and corrupt officials since last year.
Epidemic of Sexual Assault on Migrant Trail in Mexico: Excerpt from book “Migrants Don’t Matter”
The reality for women, transgender and transsexual persons on the migrant trails of Mexico is, horrifically, that many have learned to expect rape and sexual abuse as part of the journey. Óscar Martinez’ book, Migrants Don’t Matter, brings to light both the fortitude and resilience of some of these victimized persons as well as the systemic impunity of their offenders. Warning: this article contains graphic descriptions of assault and the scene of a rape.
The Mexican Election and the Split on the Left
According to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Mexico’s considerable income gap is widening while the National Council of the Evaluation of Social Development Policy reports that 3.2 million more Mexicans have been plunged into poverty in the last three years; a striking commentary on the economic policies of right-wing, pro-US President Felipe Calderón. […]
Gulf of Mexico Agreement: Increased Oil Cooperation in a Time of War
The U.S. is about to get a whole lot more involved in extracting Mexican oil, according to an agreement which promises to open up offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf Coast, signed Monday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Mexican counterpart Patricia Espinosa.