Vancouver Events:
REPORT BACK: AFTER THE
ZAPATISTA WOMEN'S GATHERING
~WOMEN SHARING OUR IMPRESSIONS, HOPES, DREAMS~
Rhizome Café, 317 E. Broadway
Thursday, April 10th 2008
7:30pm
Everyone welcome.
**speakers, multi-media presentation & participatory group discussion**
The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) and Zapatista communities have
been organizing in rebellion for over 20 years.
Join us at Rhizome to hear back and participate in discussion about the First
International Zapatista Women's Gathering: "La Comandanta Ramona and the
Zapatistas". Several women who live in Vancouver traveled to the Zapatista
Women's Gathering in La Garrucha, Chiapas, Mexico, in December 2007, and will
be sharing our experiences and impressions of the Gathering and of our inspiring
Zapatista compañeras. The Gathering paid tribute to the work and life
of Comandanta Ramona, a powerful community leader of the Zapatista movement.
From young to old, the Zapatista women shared with us countless stories, challenges
and victories, as part of their movement for autonomy, land, freedom, equality
and dignity.
Aptly, April 10th is also the anniversary of the assassination of Emiliano Zapata – after
whom the Zapatistas are named - who fought for land, freedom and dignity in the
beginning of the 20th century. Zapata Vive! Ramona Vive!
Beautiful Zapatista hand-woven and embroidered blouses, skirts and other creations
will be available for sale, as well as Café Ramona coffee.
FURTHER INFO: http://zeztainternazional.ezln.
org.mx
Endorsed by the Other Campaign Vancouver/La Otra Campaña Vancouver
For more information please contact: caferamona (at) yahoo (dot) com, 778.895.5878
Towards the Zapatista Women’s
Gathering:
Women Coming Together
Rhizome
Café, 317 E. Broadway
November 1st 2007
7 pm
All genders welcome.
**2 speakers followed by participatory group discussion**
**we will create solidarity messages for the Zapatista women’s
gathering**
**Day of the Dead altar**
Join us at Rhizome Café to find out more about the struggle of
the Zapatista women in Chiapas, Mexico. Before the Zapatistas rose up
on January 1st, 1994, the Zapatista women (including Comandanta Ramona)
had already begun their struggle within the movement to ensure that women’s
demands were included within the Revolutionary Laws. These laws included
some laws specific to the needs of women in the grassroots indigenous
communities from which the EZLN garners its support, membership, leadership,
as well as powerful spirit of resistance and dignity.
The evening will include short report backs from previous Zapatista gatherings
in 2006 and 2007. The rest of the evening will be open to a larger discussion
and exchange of experiences, knowledges, stories about the Zapatista
women and communities. The hope is that women and others present can
exchange knowledge/experiences with others who would like to know more.
There are some women who are going to the Zapatista Women’s Gathering
in December of this year, and others who would love to, but will not
be able to. Perhaps those who can go can carry with them some of the
desires and dreams of those who cannot go. Maybe you have a question,
a curiosity about something, or you want someone to take a photo, bring
back a paliacate, or tell you what they experienced. This is a chance
for people who are interested in the struggle of the Zapatista women
and in the struggle for dignity in general to get to know each other
and talk. And have some fun! After the short report backs and larger
discussion, we hope to ease into a more laid back evening with music
and informal talk among those who want to keep talking about a world
where many worlds fit.
Our hope is to have another gathering in February 2008 after the Zapatista
Women’s Gathering (to take place Dec. 28-31, 2007). We hope to
have it at Rhizome again so we can once again share this experience of
a Zapatista gathering.
There will also be Zapatista stuff available
for purchase, wonderfully rich and rebellious Café Ramona (coffee
straight from the liberated Zapatista territory) as well as beautifully
hand-woven and loomed blouses
and other creations - all made by the Zapatista women themselves (visit
the Other Campaign Vancouver store).
Since it is the Day of the Dead, we invite you to bring a small gift
to put at an altar for our dead. Our idea is to create an altar together
to commemorate and celebrate those who are no longer with us. Flowers,
candles, fruits, bread, or any contribution is welcome for our altar.
As each person arrives, please put your gift at the altar. We hope to
see you on the 1st.
Organized by Latina women through a process of informal gathering and
discussion of ideas, dreams and hopes for this and other gatherings… together
with our compañeras at Rhizome!
Event is endorsed by the Other Campaign Vancouver/ La Otra Campaña
Vancouver
For more information please contact: caferamona@yahoo.com; 778.895.5878
Thursday, July 19th, 2007
The Other Campaign and La Surda Present
*Mexico*
A New Face of Fascism in Latin America
- Plan Mexico
- Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
- United States Military Intervention
- Paramilitarism
- Narco-Trafficking
- Repression and Social Movements
Round Table for Analysis and Discussion
With Presentations by The Other Campaign Vancouver and La Surda Latin American Collective
Thursday, July 19th, 2007
7:30 PM
Rhizome Café
317 E. Broadway (at Kingsway)
Vancouver
Friday May 4, 2007 at 12 noon
Picket outside the Mexican consulate in Vancouver
On
the first anniversary of the brutal police raid in San Salvador Atenco!
For the release of the political
prisoners!
End the paramilitary attacks against indigenous Zapatista communities
in Chiapas!
Where: 1177
West Hastings St. (between Bute St. and Thurlow St .) - MAP
The Fox administration ended leaving a disastrous record in all aspects.
Just last year two communities where massively attacked by the government’s
militarized police, the PFP. In the town of San Salvador Atenco, hundreds
of villagers and supporters where detained one year ago - and many were
severely beaten and tortured. Thirty
of them continue to be incarcerated on trumped up charges as political
prisoners.
Over
30 women
were raped or sexually assaulted by police. Two youths were confirmed
killed by police. Their “crime” was
to defend their right to land, life and freedom and to stand in solidarity
with flower vendors that were to be evicted from the local market where
a
Wal-Mart
is to be built.
At the end of 2006, in Oaxaca, Mexico,
people rose up to demand the resignation of their corrupt and repressive
governor, Ulises Ruiz. These
demands were met with severe repression, and again, hundreds of people
where arrested, and scores tortured, dissappeared and killed - and
at least forty three continue in jail.
The new president, Felipe Calderon is proving to be even more of a
fascist than
Fox;
a low intensity conflict/ counter insurgency warfare strategy is being
used against indigenous Zapatista communities in Chiapas. Now, the
government is using
paramilitary
groups
to attack the communities.
Come to the picket on May 4 to mark the first anniversary of the repression
in Atenco and to demand the Mexican government to release the political
prisoners, and stop the repression against the Zapatista communities.
Organized by: The Other Campaign Vancouver
laotravancouver@resist.ca
Vicente Fox Not Welcome in Vancouver!
(Fox: a danger to Mexico)
Vancouver-Based Human Rights Organizations Denounce and Oppose former Mexican President’s presence and talk on leadership at Power Within event
Rally at 2:00 PM;
Thursday, March 8th, 2007
GM Place, Vancouver
For complete press release in PDF format click here.
On March 8, 2007 the former president of Mexico Vicente Fox and his wife Martha Sahagun will be speaking in Vancouver at a motivational event organized by Toronto based company, Power Within Inc.
As you might know March 8th is international women's day. We believe it is unacceptable to have Fox speak on that day, particularly given his atrocious record on women's rights. Power Within Inc. is advertising Fox as an authority on leadership and successful democratic reform. We believe this is a fraudulent claim, and another reason why he should not be allowed to speak.
The Other Campaign sent the letter of protest at the end of this page to the company demanding they drop Fox and his wife from the program.
The letter outlines Fox's notoriously poor record on women's rights, human rights, political repression, corruption and antidemocratic practices.
To download a verision of the letter in PDF format click here.
Letter of protest regarding the visit of Vicente Fox to Vancuver on March 8, 2007.
Power Within Inc.
462 Wellington St. W., Suite 201
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1E3
T. 416.591.4000
F. 416.591.4020
February 22, 2007
Dear Sirs,
We are writing in connection with the visit to Vancouver by Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, and his wife, Martha Sahagun, as part of your Power Within Event on March 8, 2007.
We strongly urge you to cancel their participation.
There are several matters of grave concern that prompt us to make this request. The web site for the event says Mr. Fox and Ms. Sahagun will speak on the subject of leadership. We believe that both proposed speakers are unqualified to speak on this topic.
Also as you might be aware, March 8 is International Women’s Day. We consider it a deep insult to women to have Mr. Fox and Ms. Sahagun held up as examples of successful democratic leaders, especially on this day. On March 8, the world remembers and celebrates the struggles for women’s rights and gender equality, and against violence directed at women. Mr. Fox’s atrocious record on women’s rights is outlined below.
Contrary to the statements on the event web site, we believe the legacy of the Fox presidency is nothing to be proud of. It is one of serious human rights abuses, particularly against women, of missed opportunities for true democratic reform, of continued political corruption, of increased poverty and inequality, and of severe political repression and state sponsored violence against social movements and minority groups. The evidence is well documented by such organizations as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and has been broadly covered in the Mexican national media, as well as numerous international sources.
And if that were not enough, Mr. Fox also leaves behind a bungled foreign policy, having at various times insulted, or made inappropriate remarks leading to public spats with the presidents of Argentina, Cuba, Bolivia, and Venezuela.
Consider this:
1. On women’s rights and state sponsored violence against women:
On May 4, 2006 about 3,000 federal, local and state police under orders from the Public Security Secretary, who in turn answers directly to the president, carried out an operation against the town of San Salvador Atenco near Mexico City. Grievous human rights abuses ensued, and two youths were confirmed killed. These facts are not controversial as they have been well documented by major international and national human rights organizations and media.
Particularly heinous were the incidents of systematic rape, and sexual and physical assault against women detained during the operation.
In a report entitled “Mexico: Violence against women and justice denied in Mexico State” Amnesty International published testimonies from some of the women of Atenco. For example: “I was arrested on 4 May in the morning. (…) They pushed me to the ground and also kicked and punched me as well as hitting me with sticks and truncheons. They pulled my hair and stamped on me and then picked me up and pushed me face down into a police van, all the while beating me. (…) Once inside the police bus, I realized that they were beating everyone else inside it. In my case, amid all the blows, insults and pushing, they started to grope me, first around my buttocks, then to rub up against my trousers, they touched my breasts and then they put their hands inside, ripping my bra and making my nipples very sore. (…) We couldn’t move and, if we did, they beat us. We’ve asked about filing a complaint but they took no notice of us.”
The report goes on to state that “the manner in which police reportedly made most arrests – of both men and women – highlighted the serious human rights violations committed, including torture, ill-treatment and excessive use of force.”
Concerning the treatment of women the report says that “the experiences described by the women interviewed by the organization show several similarities: police officers groped their private parts, bit them on the breast, forced them to strip and subjected them to vaginal and anal rape using fingers. Amnesty International was also informed that one woman was reportedly forced to have oral sex with one of the police officers. Obscene remarks and threats of a sexual nature were also common.” The full report can be read here.
It is important to note that all this took place under Mr. Fox, and the systematic nature of the crimes suggests the operation was well planned and directed from the highest levels. The federal government continues to reject the recommendations of Amnesty International and other human rights bodies, and to this day no officials connected to the police operation have been brought to trial.
Then there is also the well know case of the missing and murdered women of Ciudad Juarez. Since 1993 almost 400 women and girls have been murdered in the cities of Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, at least a third suffering sexual violence. The on-going pattern of federal negligence, corruption, and unwillingness to take meaningful action continued unchanged throughout Mr. Fox’s term.
In addressing the government’s response, a report entitled “Mexico: Justice fails in Ciudad Juarez and the City of Chihuahua” by Amnesty International states that “the failures are systemic -- the lack of proper investigations has led authorities to resort to torture to extract confessions where evidence is not available. This has not only led to the imprisonment of individuals who may be innocent, but also means that there is a strong likelihood that the real perpetrators are escaping justice and are free to continue to commit crimes.”
Amnesty International reports on the situation in Ciudad Juarez can be found here, and here.
2. On democratic reform:
Last summer saw the most highly contested elections in Mexican history. The main opposition candidate and party, backed by media investigations and academic research, claimed that a massive electoral fraud, directly overseen by Mr. Fox’s office, took place. Their case was taken all the way to the supreme electoral tribunal in Mexico, which in spite of the recognition of major irregularities in the electoral process, sided with the candidate from Fox’s ruling party, the PAN.
Some of the largest protests in Mexican history took place in the weeks following the contested elections, and to this day the opposition candidate contends that he received the majority of votes and refuses to recognize the victory of Felipe Calderon of the PAN party.
The continued political conflict was highlighted when Mr. Fox was prevented from giving his last state of the union address in Mexico City due to massive protests. This had never before happened in Mexico. Later, fist fights broke out in congress as governing party politicians fought off an effort by the opposition to prevent the swearing in of the new president.
These facts suggest that Mr. Fox’s legacy is far from one of lasting democratic reform, and that, instead, he leaves the country deeply divided with the new presidency facing the greatest crisis of legitimacy in the history of the country.
3. On economic achievements:
Contrary to the claims of the Mexican government, the reality on the ground is that most Mexicans are living a period of unprecedented economic crisis. A report from the Center for North American Integration and Development at the University of California in Los Angeles concluded Mexican migrants contribute more to the economies of the U.S. and Mexico than the entire bilateral trade between them. “Since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) more than 10 million Mexican migrants have crossed the border, and the economic contribution of these 10 million is greater than that generated by NAFTA” states Raúl Hinojosa Ojeda, one of the authors of the report.
The obvious question is, if Mexico’s economy is doing well, why do Mexicans continue leaving their country in record numbers? The answer can be seen in Mexico’s countryside, where economic policies carried out by the government of Mr. Fox have led to severe economic and social depression. Widespread misery abounds and given Mr. Fox’s consistent de-funding of public services such as education, as well as the imposition of economic policies and capital projects that are seen to benefit only a small wealthy elite, all indications are that the situation is likely to worsen in the coming years.
4. On corruption:
Mr. Fox, his wife Mrs. Martha Sahagun, and her children have faced constant accusations of corruption. A recent example are reports in the Mexican press that a close friend of Mr. Fox, Mr. Cosme Mares Hernández, is under investigation for irregularities concerning the illegal purchase of an bay on the pacific coast of Mexico where Mr. Fox’s family intends to build a tourist resort. The peasant farmers who were evicted from the area maintain they were robbed of their lands. They recently sent a letter to the new president stating that they have “all the proof” of “the abuse by Vicente Fox and Martha Sahagun”. They demand that Mr. Fox and his family leave their lands alone.
Mr. Mares Hernández is also being investigated for fraud in connection with the granting of highway construction contracts all over the country to a business run by him and the sons of Mrs. Sahagun.
5. On the general human rights situation and political repression:
In addition to the above-mentioned case of San Salvador Atenco, Mr. Fox oversaw several other social uprisings where major human rights violations were well documented. The largest took place last year (2006) in the state of Oaxaca where a teacher’s strike grew into a generalized social uprising following a violent crackdown by state authorities. The response from the federal government was to send in troops and police and the resulting political repression has been the worst seen in Mexico since the Tlatelolco student massacre of 1968. Having failed to reach a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Oaxaca, Mr. Fox left it up to his successor to deal with the problem. The new government ordered a major crackdown on November 25, 2006 accompanied by human rights violations on a massive scale. Yet the conflict is likely to continue for some time as the core demands of the social movements continue to be ignored by the federal and state governments.
The International Civil Commission For Human Rights Observation recently presented its “Preliminary Conclusions and Recommendations Concerning The Social Conflict in Oaxaca” which clearly outlines some of the worst human rights violations. The document can be found here.
Another hallmark of Mr. Fox’s human rights record has been the growth in the number of political prisoners. According to various Mexican NGOs the number of political prisoners grew by 50% during Mr. Fox’s term.
It is also worth noting that according to Reporters without Borders in “Mexico - Annual Report 2006”, under Fox “the country became the most dangerous in Latin America for journalists in 2005, with two murdered and a third who vanished, all in early April. Impunity reigns despite apparent efforts by the federal government.” The report can be found here.
In October of 2006 Brad Will, an independent journalist from the U.S., was shot dead while reporting on the conflict in Oaxaca (the estimated number of civilians killed in this conflict is 23). His killers have been identified in pictures of the incident as plain clothes police officers and ruling party operatives, and to this day have not been prosecuted for the crime.
In conclusion
We, The Other Campaign Vancouver, together with the organizations and individuals endorsing this letter, would like to re-state our request that you remove Vicente Fox and Martha Sahagun from your program. International Women’s Day is a very important day for women all over the world, and having these proposed speakers profiled in a highly lucrative engagement on this day is clearly an insult and a mistake. Facts clearly demonstrate that neither Vicente Fox nor Martha Sahagun are qualified to speak on the subjects of leadership and successful democratic or economic reforms.
We thank you for your attention and look forward to your reply.
Yours truly,
The Other Campaign Vancouver
La Otra Campaña Vancouver
laotravancouver@resist.ca
The Other Campaign Vancouver is a collective of Mexicans and Canadians who work for social justice in Mexico, Canada, and other countries.
ENDORSED BY:
Building and Construction Trades Council - BC and Yukon Territory
Hospital Employees Union of B.C. (HEU)
The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women - Canada (GAATW-Canada)
The OPEN Coalition for Human Rights in Migration and Human Trafficking
Latin America Connexions Collective - Vancouver
Building Bridges Human Rights Project - Vancouver
Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver
B.C. Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines
Filipino Nurses Support Group - Vancouver
Philippine Women Centre of B.C.
SIKLAB - B.C.
Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance (Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada) - Vancouver
B.C. Latin-American Collective (Colectivo Latinoamericano
de Colombia
" Britanica")
ALAD Collective
America Latina al Dia - CFRO 102.7 FM Vancouver Co-operative Radio
Bus Riders Union - Vancouver
Grass Roots Women - Vancouver
Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association - Vancouver
Anti Poverty Committee - Vancouver
No One Is Illegal - Vancouver
No One Is Illegal - Toronto
No One is Illegal - Montreal
Block the Empire - Montreal
La Otra Campaña - Montreal
Students Taking Action in Chiapas (STAC) - Montreal
Redwire Magazine - Vancouver
International Workers of the World (IWW) Vancouver
International Indigenous Youth Conference (IIYC)
Justicia For Migrant Workers B.C.
Group of Relatives and Friends of Political Prisoners in Mexico - Vancouver
Latin American Solidarity Committee - Toronto
Circulo Bolivariano Manuelita Saenz - Toronto
Amicus Foundation - Vancouver
R.S. Ratner:
“I strongly disapprove of the invitation to President
Vicente Fox and his
wife to speak in Vancouver about democratic reform. Neither he nor his wife
merit this invitation, given their abysmal record regarding human rights
and democratic reform during the period of Fox's presidency of Mexico.
The invitation should be withdrawn.
Sincerely,
R.S. Ratner
Professor Emeritus, Sociology
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada”
Tom Sandborn (Journalist and Media activist)
Vancouver, BC
Leandro Vergara-Camus, Professor. McMaster University
Paula Hevia-Pacheco, Professor. Collège Glendon, York University
Richard Roman, Professor (retired), Sociology, University of Toronto
Greg Albo, Professor, Political Science, York University