Abraham Ramírez Vásquez, Juventino García Cruz and Noel García Cruz, the first political prisoners of the Ulises Ruiz regime in Oaxaca, are from the Zapotec town of Santiago Xanica. The three members of the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) and the Popular Anti-neoliberal Oaxacan Magonista Coordinating Body (COMPA) were arrested on January 15, 2005, after hundreds of preventive and judicial police opened a crossfire on a group of 80 men, women, children and old people who were unloading bricks from a truck as part of a community work project. Abraham, Noel and Juventino were seriously wounded by gunshots. The people responded to the attack with sticks and stones, but more police came in, dragged the three wounded people out of the clinic, and took them to a house to be tortured by the police. After a few days, they were taken to the Ixcotel prison and then to the prison at Pochutla. Despite their serious wounds, they received no medical treatment until 36 hours after being admitted to the Pochutla hospital.

The comrades were jailed under prefabricated charges of homicide, attempted homicide, kidnapping, and felonious assault. In truth, they were being punished for daring to choose their own local officials according to their own customs and traditional decision-making process, and for protecting the rivers, forests, and ecosystem from the destruction caused by the big Huatulco hotel chains.

Several hours after the January 15 shooting, around 300 police showed up in Xanica and stayed for six months. Townspeople were subjected to constant searches, interrogations and surveillance. The police profaned their houses, held children at gunpoint, and harassed the men when they went out to work in the fields. Arrest warrants were issued for many people, who have lived with the constant threat of being detained. When Subcomandante Marcos was on his way to the area with the Other Campaign in 2006, Sergio Ramírez Vásquez, Leoncio Cruz and César Luis Díaz were arrested while putting up posters to announce an event. Policemen and their civil henchmen tortured Sergio and tried to hang César, who was rescued by the women and children of Xanica.

2009 was no exception to five years of mistreatment and abuse. At the first of the year, Abraham Ramírez Vásquez submitted a denunciation of torture to the National Human Rights Commission and sent this message to the public: “…Today, January 15, 2009, marks the fourth year we’ve been held captive by tyrants protected by laws that give them the right to kidnap, kill, and disappear our brothers and sisters who go against their projects. We say to the neoliberal puppets headed by the killer Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO) and to his scroungy dogs turned loose on a crime spree to fill the prisons with innocent people, that our people’s only crime is demanding their rights. As these killers well know, our rebellion comes from the heart and we’ll never just sit back and watch this injustice go on. All their chains and cells and walls aren’t strong enough to keep our voice from being heard… They sell our resources to the highest bidder while our people bear the brunt of the direst poverty, and then they act like they’re so concerned about how terrible the economic crisis is….”

On January 31, 2009, a heavily armed police commando made a surprise appearance at the San Pedro Pochutla prison to move Abraham Ramírez Vásquez to the higher security Miahuatlán prison. Calls for urgent action in his support were sent out by CODEDI, Indian Organizations for Human Rights in Oaxaca (OIDHO) and the Magonist Autonomous Collective (CAMA); the three groups make up the Zapatista-Magonista Alliance. On Tuesday, February 10, CAMA called a press conference and rally at the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico City.

In a letter sent to Josefina Jaime Quiroz on March 5, 2009, Abraham wrote: “When they took me out of the Pochutla prison, I wasn’t informed of anything. They didn’t give me time to get my things together, and my wife along with my three children, who are four, six and eleven years old, were left inside, putting their lives and physical integrity at risk. What do you have to say about the rights of women and the rights of children that sound so nice in the articles of our Constitution? The psychological damage inflicted on my children is irreparable, as is the loss of my belongings, kitchen equipment, products used in food preparation, refrigerator, grills, gas tanks, paintings and handicrafts that were thrown out into the street. All this simply reflects the scorn that you have for the life of your fellow man”.

On March 19, 2009, Abraham began a short hunger strike to demand his release from the punishment area of the security prison where he is isolated and barely fed, where his family members are unable to visit him, and where he is only allowed to go outside for exercise one hour a day.

On Friday, March 20, around 30 members of Nodo Solidale demonstrated outside the Mexican Embassy in Rome, Italy. They reported: “Despite the presence of an overly large deployment of police and guards, we shouted out our rage and demanded the immediate freedom of the comrades for more than two hours.”

At the beginning of May, the family members and APPO militants who make up the Xanica Prisoners Committee, set up camp to demand freedom for the three political prisoners.

On May 19, 2009, Carolina Cruz of CODEDI sent out a denunciation of a foiled search of the town of Xanica on the night of April 25: “Once again the intimidation of the marginalized peoples in our state is on the rise. They send us military troops, supposedly to disarm the citizens when the reality is that entire families have nothing to eat. Many children didn’t eat breakfast before going to school today, and the federal government is shoring up its battalions sent out to intimidate Mexican people. Troops came to Santiago Xanica on April 25 to do a general house search in the town that night. Under federal orders they had searched towns in the surrounding area in the early morning hours the day before. In a show of power, they went in raping people, stealing their money and jewels, and they came to Xanica the next day with the same intentions. They weren’t able to do what they wanted, thanks to the intervention of citizens and comrades, but they stayed in the town for three days. Today they went up into the mountains, and we ask: What is their next plan? The children are terrorized. They’re afraid. When will they come back? Are they nearby? What will they do to us? In this region, everybody lives with this fear….”

On June 10, 2009, members of the Xanica Prisoners Committee demonstrated outside the 4th Criminal Court to demand freedom for Abraham, Noel and Juventino.

On August 4, 2009, the First Penal Court at Santa María Huatulco dictated a prison sentence of 8 years for Juventino and Noel García Cruz.

On October 2009, a Pulque Fair was organized by CAMA at the Libertarian Social Center to raise funds for the political prisoners of the Zapatista-Magonista Alliance.

On November 5, 2009, the Xanica Prisoners Committee demonstrated outside the State Human Rights Commission to demand the intervention of the state Ombudsman in the case. Their representative Yolanda Ramírez Vásquez, Abraham’s sister and also member of the Sentenced Prisoners Committee for Absolute Freedom, denounced the Commission’s failure to act.

On November 11, 2009, Yolanda Ramírez Vásquez stated that even though Juventino and Noel’s sentence was dictated on August 4, it was only recently that one of the parties was notified of this sentence. She said: “They were forced to sign a document that was their sentence although they didn’t know it, thereby leaving the youth with no right to appeal. Neither their family members nor lawyers were informed of the decision.”

On November 23, 2009, members of the Xanica Prisoners Committed demonstrated outside the Court at Santa María Huatulco to pressure the Judge Magaly Medina to release Abraham Ramírez Vázquez and the two brothers, Noel and Juventino García Cruz. A banner and graffiti demanded freedom for the three and an end to the hostile acts against Abraham.

On December 12, 2009, the State Assembly of the Section 22 Teachers Union issued a statement “supporting freedom for the Xanica prisoners: Abraham Ramírez Vásquez and Noel and Juventino García Cruz and repudiating the unjust sentence of 8 years in prison for the latter two”.

In closing, we go back to Abraham Ramírez Vásquez’s message of January 15, 2009: “We must always remember, people, that if we bow down to this treatment, our children will suffer the consequences. We were born free. We love freedom. So seeing as how all those puppets still don’t wear chains, we’ll never slack off in our struggle. And since so many of us have been killed, disappeared, or locked up, we can’t take one step backward.”

To support the prisoners of Santiago Xanica, come to the dance on February 18 at 6:00 pm at the Multiforo Cultural Alicia, Av. Cuauhtemoc 91- A, Col. Roma. $40 pesos. Groups include Santocho Antifa (on their second anniversary), Salario Mínimo, Son Solidaridad and the Tlaxiqueros. Sponsors: Colectivo Autónomo Magonista, Cruz Negra Anarquista and Alianza Magonista Zapatista.

Please accept warm greetings from the San Pedro Pochutla Regional Prison on behalf of Noel García Cruz, Juventino García Cruz, and Abraham Ramírez Vásquez of the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) and the Magonista-Zapatista Alliance (AMZ).

Once again, we want to let you know that instead of resolving our problem, the just demands of our organizations, and our demand for a decent life, the tyrant Ulises Ruiz Ortiz has responded with repression. He is holding us in terribly unhealthy conditions, thereby trampling on our constitutional rights. In spite of our constant denunciations of this situation, the murderer has turned a deaf ear to our petition. He keeps us under constant surveillance, using other inmates to do his dirty work and placing us in a critical situation. He thinks he will be able to humiliate us with his threats. THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. Three months from now, we will have spent four years behind bars without having committed a single crime, and we can tell you that with every passing day, we feel stronger and more certain that we will never desist in our struggle. Our just demands are non-negotiable.

The tyrants who now rule our country are dragging it to the edge of chaos. Every day there are fewer jobs; everyday there is less support for the countryside. They continue to privatize our beaches and are using all means possible to privatize PEMEX. Their projects of ethnocide are well underway, aimed at doing away with our ethnic groups and our culture, dividing our peoples, and profiting from our misery.

We indigenous people are a stumbling block for the State, that’s why they don’t think twice about ordering the death of our brothers and sisters or sending them to jail to stop our organizational process.

We will continue to denounce the injustices that our brothers and sisters suffer in our country and our state.

We will continue to demand a democratic country.
We will continue to demand justice for our APPO members who’ve been killed and disappeared.
We will continue to demand justice for our indigenous peoples and the right to a life of dignity.
We demand respect for our autonomy as indigenous peoples.
We will continue to seek peace––but peace with justice.
We will hold firm in our struggles and will not take one step backwards.

San Pedro Pochutla Regional Prison, Oaxaca, October 5, 2008.

Noel García Cruz
Juventino García Cruz
Abraham Ramírez Vásquez

We, the undersigned, Abraham Ramírez Vásquez, Noel and Juventino García Cruz, members of the Committee for Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) and the Popular Anti-neoliberal Oaxacan Coordinating Group (COMPA), denounce the following:

Ever since our arrest in 2005 for the offenses of aggravated homicide and kidnapping, which we never committed and will always insist were fabricated by the tyrant Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, the current governor responsible for the crimes against humanity against our comrades in the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca, we have been subjected to violations of our basic human rights that should be respected.

In the regional San Pedro Pochutla Prison of Oaxaca, we have not had the right to health, food, and honorable work. According to Mexican law, prisons are centers of crime prevention and social rehabilitation. What a pretty name! But the reality is very different. Approximately three weeks ago, there was a significant reduction in work for the previously mentioned prisoners, with no other source of work in sight. State monthly support for each inmate is two hundred and sixty pesos, or approximately eight pesos and fifty centavos a day, which supposedly covers the cost of our food.

Due to the scarcity of work and the lack of food for the inmates on Friday, July 18, the day that we’re writing this letter, our fellow inmates have decided to engage in other actions.

This situation is hazardous for our lives and the lives of our family members who constantly visit us. For these reasons, we ask for your support in making complaints to the appropriate federal authorities, the National Human Rights Commission, and the state Human Rights Commission of Oaxaca in order to avoid a major tragedy.

SAN PEDRO POCHUTLA REGIONAL PRISON, OAXACA, JULY 18, 2008

RESPECTFULLY YOURS,

ABRAHAM RAMIREZ VASQUEZ
NOEL GARCIA CRUZ
JUVENTINO GARCIA CRUZ

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Los presos de Xanica denuncian escasez de trabajo y comida en el reclusorio de Pochutla

A LAS ORGANIZACIONES DEFENSORES DE LOS DERECHOS
HUMANOS, NACIONALES E INTERNACIONALES

Los que suscribimos Abraham Ramírez Vásquez, Noel y Juventino García Cruz. Integrantes del Comité por la Defensa de los Derechos Indígenas (CODEDI) y de la Coordinadora Oaxaqueña popular antineoliberal (COMPA) denunciamos los siguientes hechos:

Desde nuestra detención en el 2005 por los delitos de homicidio calificado y secuestro, delitos que nunca cometimos y nosotros siempre diremos sin cansancio que fueron fabricados por el tirano de Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, actual gobernador responsable de los crímenes de lesa humanidad cometidos en contra de nuestros compañeros de la Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (APPO), hasta la fecha siempre se ha violado nuestros derechos que como humanos deben ser respetados.

En el reclusorio regional de San Pedro Pochutla Oaxaca no hemos tenido derecho a la salud, alimentación, a un trabajo digno. Según nuestras leyes mexicanas las cárceles son centros de prevención y rehabilitación social. “Bonito nombre”. Lo triste de la historia es que la realidad es otra. Hace aproximadamente tres semanas se empezó a escasear el trabajo que realizan los internos en el reclusorio antes mencionados y no existe otra fuente de trabajo; el apoyo mensual para cada interno es de doscientos sesenta pesos aproximadamente ocho pesos con cincuenta centavos al día según prevención es para cubrir nuestros gastos de alimentación.

Lo que nos preocupa a nosotros debido a la escasez de trabajo y la falta de comida para los internos el día de hoy viernes 18 de julio del 2008, fecha en que escribimos esta carta, nuestros compañeros internos decidieron realizar otras acciones.

El asunto pone en riesgo la paz en este lugar y por lo consiguiente nuestras vidas y la vida de nuestras familia quienes constantemente vienen de visita. Por todo lo anterior solicitamos el apoyo de ustedes, que hagan llegar su queja a las instancias correspondientes del gobierno federal, a la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos de nuestro país y a la comisión estatal de derechos humanos de Oaxaca y de esa manera evitar una tragedia mayor.

RECLUSORIO REGIONAL DE SAN PEDREO POCHUTLA OAXACA A 18 DE JULIO DEL 2008

ATENTAMENTE

ABRAHAM RAMIREZ VASQUEZ
NOEL GARCIA CRUZ
JUVENTINO GARCIA CRUZ

–

C. DIRECTOR DE PREVENCION Y RADAPTACION SOCIAL
OAXACA, OAXACA
P R E S E N T E

El que suscribe Abraham Ramírez Vásquez integrante del Comité por la Defensa de los Derechos Indígenas, interno del Reclusorio de San Pedro Pochutla Oaxaca.

Me dirijo a usted para exponerle lo siguiente:
Este reclusorio ya lleva más de tres semanas sin contar con su principal fuente de trabajo, la cosida de balones. Situación bastante complicada y grave para los reclusos ya que es la única manera para obtener míseros ingresos y de esta forma sufragar sus gastos de alimentación, higiene personal y de sus familias. Como es de su conocimiento el apoyo que percibe cada interno es de doscientos sesenta pesos. Aproximadamente ocho pesos con cincuenta centavos dinero que no al cansa par comprar medio kilogramo de arroz para nosotros es una grave violación de los derechos humanos, además el recluso no cuenta con medicamentos básicos para atender diferentes tipos de enfermedades padecidas por los internos, los cuartos conyugales están en mal estado. En los últimos días el descontento de la población es de una manera preocupante.

Para no llegar a una situación difícil que después tengamos que lamentar solicito a usted nos envíe a un representante lo mas pronto posible con capacidad de resolver el problema responsablemente, así como también solicitamos la presencia de un representante de la comisión nacional de los derechos humanos, un representante de la comisión estatal de los derechos humanos y la presencia de un representante del regidor de derechos humanos del honorable ayuntamiento de San Pedro Pochutla para que sean testigos de los acuerdos y la solución al problema antes mencionados.

En busca de una vida más justa, mas humana esperamos una respuesta positiva Reclusorio regional de San Pedro Pochutla a 18 de julio del 2008.

ATENTAMENTE

ABRAHAM RAMIREZ VASQUEZ

On Thursday June 12 around 10:00 o’clock in the morning, the political prisoner Abraham Ramírez Vázquez was taken out of his cell for an audience with prison warden Raúl Dávalos Zavala. Without allowing time for anyone to interview him, he was handcuffed and put into a patrol car and taken to the court in Santa Maria Huatulco, without his consent, to sign a legal document.

According to the authorities, Abraham petitioned for the closure of his legal process, but he says that he never presented such a document to the court through his lawyer. If the procedure is closed, his sentence will be dictated and it will surely be unfavorable in the current political conditions.

CODEDI continues to demand Abraham’s freedom as well as that of the brothers Juventino and Noel García Cruz; recent defense efforts have centered on getting them out on bail.

The three Zapotec indigenous men –– the first political prisoners of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz’s regime–– were shot, arrested, and unjustly imprisoned on January 15, 2005, after the state police opened fire on approximately 80 men, women, children, and elderly people who were busy with a community project in Santiago Xanica. The CODEDI members had resisted the imposition of an illegitimate municipal government that denied them the right to elect their own local officials in an assembly according to their traditional practices. They opposed government and corporate interests intent on developing the Huatulco corredor and eradicating their culture and grabbing land, forests and water.

In a recent message, CODEDI reiterates that more than three years and four months after the illegal arrests of their members, the organization has not stopped struggling for the freedom of these indigenous prisoners in spite of all the government threats against their family members and comrades.

The lawyers handling the case think that Juventino and Noel García Cruz may well get out on bail, while the case of Abraham Ramirez has proceeded.

CODEDI denounces the actions of the judge who obliged Abraham to sign the document although he had repeatedly refused to do it. The organization says that the judge and her corrupt henchmen use torture and threats against people who often aren’t familiar with all the legal processes, in many cases just because they are indigenous. “A lot of abuses goes on in this prison that can’t be denounced because of the constant death threats. Ever onwards towards victory! Yes to a future of freedom! Not one step backwards!”

Economic support is needed for the legal expenses of political prisoners Abraham Ramiírez Vázquez, Noel García Cruz, and Juventino García Cruz. Contributions can be deposited en:

Cuenta # 09400 575666
a nombre de Maria Carolina Cruz García
Banco SCOTIABANK INVERLAT
Sucursal Pochutla

To make a bank transfer from the United States it is necessary to use the SWIFT /ABA codes:
MBCOMXMM
021000021

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El Comité por la Defensa de los Derechos Indígenas (CODEDI) denuncia atropello contra Abraham Ramírez Vázquez y exige la libertad de los presos políticos de Santiago Xanica

El día jueves 12 de junio alrededor de las 10:00 de la mañana el preso político Abraham Ramírez Vázquez fue sacado de su celda y llevado a una audiencia con el director del reclusorio Raúl Dávalos Zavala. Sin darle tiempo para que alguien le entrevistara, lo esposaron y lo subieron a una patrulla para llevarlo al Juzgado de Santa Maria Huatulco, sin su consentimiento, a firmar un escrito.

Según las autoridades, el compañero Abraham solicitaba el cierre de su proceso, pero él afirma que nunca ha presentado semejante escrito de manera personal a través de su abogado. Con el cierre de su caso le dictarán sentencia, que seguramente le será muy desfavorable en las condiciones políticas actuales.

CODEDI sigue exigiendo la libertad del compañero Abraham igual que la de los de los hermanos Juventino y Noel García Cruz; los esfuerzos recientes de la defensa se centran en lograr su salida bajo fianza.

Los tres indígenas zapotecos –– los primeros presos políticos del régimen de Ulises Ruiz Ortiz–– fueron baleados, detenidos e injustamente encarcelados el 15 de enero de 2005, después de que la policía estatal abrió fuego contra alrededor de 80 hombres, mujeres, niños y ancianos haciendo un tequio en Santiago Xanica. Los integrantes de CODEDI se habían resistido a la imposición de una autoridad ilegítima municipal que les negaba su derecho a elegir sus oficiales en asamblea según los usos y costumbres. Se oponían a los intereses gubernamentales y corporativos del corredor Huatulco para erradicar su cultura y despojarles de sus tierras, bosques y agua.

En un reciente comunicado CODEDI afirma que a más de tres años con cuatro meses de las detenciones ilegales, la organización no ha dejado de luchar por la libertad de estos presos indígenas a pesar de las amenazas del gobierno a sus familiares y compañeros.

Los abogados que están manejando el caso piensan que es probable que Juventino y Noel García Cruz puedan alcanzar su libertad bajo fianza mientras el caso de Abraham Ramirez ha quedado en proceso.

CODEDI denuncia que la juez encargada del caso obligó a Abraham a firmar el escrito a pesar de que él se había negado a firmarlo repetidamente. La organización dice que la juez y sus achichincles corruptos emplean la tortura y las amenazas contra personas que no conocen bien el proceso legal, en muchos casos simplemente por ser indígenas. “Son muchos los atropellos que se viven en este reclusorio y no pueden ser denunciados por que de manera constante están las amenazas de muerte. ¡Hasta la victoria siempre! ¡Por un futuro con libertad! Ni un paso atrás!”

Hace falta apoyo económico para los gastos legales de los presos políticos Abraham Ramiírez Vázquez, Noel García Cruz y Juventino García Cruz. Se puede hacer un donativo en:

Cuenta # 09400 575666
a nombre de Maria Carolina Cruz García
Banco SCOTIABANK INVERLAT
Sucursal Pochutla, Oaxaca
Para hacer una transferencia bancaria desde Estados Unidos también hace falta los códigos SWIFT /ABA:
MBCOMXMM
021000021

Three years and four months after the imprisonment of Noel Garcia Cruz, Juventino Garcia Cruz and Abraham Ramirez Vasquez, members of the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI XANICA), we have not stopped struggling for their freedom in coordination with the Alianza Magonista Zapatista (AMZ). We continue to struggle despite government threats against family members and comrades of our organization with the obvious intention of leaving these indigenous comrades behind bars for protesting against the corrupt system in our country and our state.

The lights of Xanica

In effort to achieve their speedy release we have sought legal assistance, and the lawyers think it is highly probable that Juventino and Noel García Cruz can be released on bail. The case of our comrade Abraham Ramirez is now being reviewed. In view of this situation, we need to raise money for bail and legal fees and expenses as quickly as possible, and so we ask for your economic support in solidarity with the freedom of these comrades.

Deposits can be made at:
SCOTIABANK INVERLAT
Branch: Pochutla
Maria Carolina Cruz Garcia
Account number
09400 575666

* If you make a deposit, please send a mail to codedi98@yahoo.com.mx and to alianzamagonistazapatista@yahoo.com.mx letting them know the date and amount of the deposit.

————–

A LAS ORGANIZACIONES SOCIALES
A LOS COLECTIVOS DEL PAÍS
A LOS GRUPOS ANARQUISTAS
A LAS ORGANIZACIONES HERMANAS
AL PUEBLO EN GENERAL

A más de tres años con cuatro meses de encarcelamiento de los compañeros Noel Garcia Cruz, Juventino Garcia Cruz y Abraham Ramirez Vasquez perteneciente al Comite Por la Defensa de los Derechos Indigenas (CODEDI XANICA), en coordinación con la Alianza Magonista Zapatista (AMZ), no hemos dejado de luchar por la libertad de estos compañeros nuestros, aunque el gobiernos amenaza a sus familiares y compañeros de la organización y que pretende dejarlos de tras de las rejas a estos indígenas que protesta ante un sistema corrupto en nuestro país y estado.

Para una pronta libertad nos fuimos a la vía jurídica pues los abogados tienen la certeza que Juventino y Noel Garcia Cruz tienen la probabilidad de alcanzar su libertad bajo fianza por lo que nos vemos necesitados en reunir una cantidad para viáticos, pago de abogados y el pago de la fianza de los dos compañeros a la brevedad posible. El caso del compañero Abraham Ramirez queda en proceso, por lo que pedimos solidariamente su apoco económico, por la libertad de estos compañeros.

No. de cuenta
09400 575666
a nombre de Maria CarolinaCcruz Garcia
en el banco SCOTIABANK INVERLAT
Sucursal Pochutla

Behind all this, there are hidden interests of economic groups and regional power bosses that are handing over the COPALITA River to Huatulco businessmen, thus robbing the people of Santiago Xanica of one of our most vital resources—WATER. The same greed and ambition is seen in the purchase of LA SIRENA ranch with municipal funds; their rationale disguises the fact that 160 hectares will be designated for the San Antonio Ozolotepec Agency, and the large part belonging to the townspeople will be left in the hands of the state government under the agency CONOAFOR with the pretext that it will be a protected area. This is just a farce designed to take control of the spring that supplies the town of Xanica; behind all this are other dirty business and political interests that aim to take all the natural resources for themselves.

In view of this brutality and these outrageous acts generated by the inability of the supposed president to govern, on October 11, 2007, the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) held its second, peaceful, public, informational event in the municipal esplanade, openly speaking of the injustices of the Sergio García Cruz administration.

One day later, the ministerial police force was shored up by Sergio García and the state preventive police returned to the town, creating a climate of fear. Once again threats were made to drive us out of our own town or, if we refused to go, to imprison or kill CODEDI members at any moment, at any place. This is the way that Sergio García and the state government of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz plan to destroy our organization, no matter what the cost, in order to carry out their economic plans. They are the main forces that have provoked and deepened the divisions in our community to satisfy their own greed, through actions ordered by the state government itself.

In view of all this, we hold Sergio García Cruz and the state government responsible for any harm that may be done to the comrades in our organization.

STOP THE REPRESSION IN XANICA

COMITÉ POR LA DEFENSA DE LOS DERECHOS INDIGENAS (CODEDI)

————–

XANICA RESISTE

Martes 30 de octubre de 2007. Con la imposición de Sergio García Cruz al municipio de Santiago Xanica, nuestra comunidad ha vivido bajo una ingobernabilidad total, soportando injusticias, mentiras, manipulación promesas que el mismo Sergio prometió días antes de llegar a la presidencia para si tener mas votos a su favor comprando la conciencia y la dignidad de los indígenas y que hasta la fecha no lo ha cumplido, teniendo un claro proyecto de destrucción, saqueo de nuestros recursos naturales y económico de nuestro municipio logrando su objetivo engañando y manipulando a los ciudadanos, utilizando los diferentes proyectos estatales y federales, para servir fielmente a los candidatos, senadores, el mismo presidente de la republica, impulsando abiertamente los votos a PRI cuando antes se autonombraba defensor de los pobres. De igual forma haciendo mal uso de los vehículos del municipio, el abandono de las maquinarias y la venta de los carros patrimonio del pueblo.

Detrás de todo esto se esconde un gran interés de los grupos económicos y casiquiles de entregar el rió COPALITA a los empresarios de Huatulco, arrebatando uno de los recursos mas vitales EL AGUA a los habitantes de Santiago Xanica, de la misma forma egoísta y ambiciosa compra con recursos del municipio la finca LA SIRENA disfrazando su discurso que 160 hectáreas será destinado para la Agencia de San Antonio Ozolotepec y la gran parte que le corresponde al pueblo, pretende dejárselo en manos del gobierno del estado diciendo que será un área protegida dejándolo a cargo de una de las dependencias de gobierno como es la CONOAFOR todo esto es una farsa para si apropiarse del manantial que abastece el pueblo de Xanica. Puesto que detrás de esto hay otros negocios sucios y otros intereses de saquear todo los recursos naturales. Por esta brutalidad y atropellos que ha generado la incapacidad del supuesto presidente. El día 11 de octubre del 2007, el Comité por la Defensa de los Derechos Indígenas (CODEDI) hace una segunda información pública y pacífica en la explanada municipal, mencionando abiertamente las injusticias de la administración de Sergio garcía Cruz.

Un día después de esta información Sergio García refuerza a la policía ministerial y vuelven los policías preventivos del estado, generando un clima de miedo, y empiezan nuevamente las amenazas en desterrarnos de nuestro propio pueblo de lo contrario nos encarcelarían o en matar a los integrantes de CODEDI en cualquier momento y lugar. De esa manera Sergio García y el gobierno del estado Ulises Ruiz Ortiz pretende destruir a toda costa nuestra organización para consumar sus planes económicos siendo los actores principales que han profundizado y dividido muestra comunidad bajo interés mezquinos y acciones que son dirigidos del mismo gobierno del estado. Por todo esto responsabilizamos a Sergio García Cruz, al gobierno del estado si alguno de nuestros compañeros que integra nuestra organización les llegue a suceder algo en su contra.

CESE LA REPRESIÓN EN XANICA

COMITÉ POR LA DEFENSA DE LOS DERECHOS INDIGENAS (CODEDI)

August 22nd, 2007 – Carolina writes: The road to Xanica climbs up from Huatulco through a beautiful forest. It’s rough and unpaved, but the driver of our wooden-railed pick-up knows all the ruts and curves, even in the rain. He’s lived there all his life. His name is Isaías.

He talks to the two of us, who were lucky enough to be riding up front, about the woods and the deer and possums and armadillos that live there. Then he says, “See those lights? They’re the lights of Xanica.” On our two-hour ride they look really distant, then closer, then even further away, but there they are, shining clearly through the mist, always visible in this part of the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca. Isaías answers our questions and tells about the state of siege in his town.

Only later did I learn that he’s one of eight people from Xanica with warrants out for his arrest.

When we get to the Zapoteco town of Santiago Xanica, the folks from the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) welcome our caravan with the arc of a sky rocket, a brass band, warm words, hot coffee, bowls full of steaming tamales made with chepil leaves, and a dance.

CODEDI-Xanica is part of the alliance known as the Popular Anti-neoliberal Oaxacan Magonista Coordinating Body (COMPA), adherent to the Other Campaign, and one of the founders of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO). It is also part of the Magonista-Zapotista Alliance (AMZ) together with the Indian Organizations for Human Rights in Oaxaca (OIDHO) and the Autonomous Magonista Collective (CAMA)––the organizers of our caravan of solidarity with this community that has resisted an extremely high level of repression during the last decade.

Around 45 people, including visitors from Italy and Spain, left Mexico City on August 5 and got back on the 9th. We stayed at the OIDHO center in Atzompa on the way, where we talked for a while with their members about the threat to local autonomy from all the major political parties in the upcoming elections.

We also stopped at the prison in Pochutla so that ten people could visit Abraham Ramírez Vázquez and the brothers Juventino and Noel García Cruz, the first political prisoners of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz’s regime. They were all shot, then arrested, after the state police opened fire on CODEDI members on January 15, 2005. The three are still in jail on false charges of homicide, attempted homicide, and kidnapping. The eight people with arrest warrants have the same generic charges.

In Xanica, the doctors of the Salud Autogestiva collective treated patients, the Hormiga Libertaria collective presented handmade books to the community, and we participated in several workshops ranging from theater to sexuality, reproductive health, puppets, children’s games, artwork from recycled paper, and human rights.

In the human rights workshop and subsequent conversations, Abel Ramírez Vázquez (Abraham’s brother) gave us a historical overview of the current crisis, and at least 15 Xanica residents told us of abuses that the government has committed against CODEDI simply because they have defended their indigenous rights and autonomy.

Abel said:

“We have experienced the violation of our indigenous rights both collectively and individually. Your life changes when your rights are violated…. We try to conserve our cultures, but the super-rich force another way of life on us. They impose ideas on us through the mass media that are totally alien to our reality. Then some people are tempted to live like the people on TV live, but it’s not our thing. We’re never going to be like them. They’re inflicting a kind of death on us. They kill what we are and another way of life is born. The government tells us not to worry, that it’s normal, but it’s hurting us….

…Meanwhile, they’re robbing the water from our rivers like the Copalito. They never asked our permission. We’re the ones who’ve taken care of the forest. They’re doing away with the ecosystem. There are people who are dying because they don’t have water to drink, but the water is for the luxury hotels in Huatulco. The Plan Puebla-Panamá opens up the Huatulco tourist corridor, and the money goes to the rich while the rest of the people fall deeper into poverty.”

Private property and the market

According to Abel, many of today’s problems can be traced back to the 19th century. He says that communal property, “which is the most important thing for indigenous people,” was fenced off before 1900. Many people who only spoke the Zapotec language didn’t find out about the laws setting up the new private property regime, and consequently, their lands were stolen from them. They were left with only a small patch of land or no land at all.

Abel explained that around 1930, many farmers began to grow coffee, and by the 40s and 50s they had stopped growing corn, beans, and chili—just coffee. There were two big plantations near Xanica: Alemania and San Pablo, both of which had company stores that kept the laborers permanently indebted.

Since then, jobs in the area have mainly depended on the international price of coffee. When the price went down from 1980 to 1990, a lot of plantations were abandoned, which was a heavy blow for people who didn’t have land of their own for growing coffee: they had nowhere to work. Some started growing corn, bean, and chili again. When prices rise, there’s a lot of work in the coffee picking season from November to January, but it’s badly paid. Maybe they’ll pay a farm worker 300 pesos (? $27 USD) to work 15 days cleaning the coffee field.

In other cases, they may pay as much as 80 pesos (? $7.20 USD) a day, from 7:00 in the morning until 5:00 or 6:00 in the afternoon, depending on the boss. It takes the farm workers two hours to walk to work and two hours to get home and then they have to carry wood. They don’t even have a burro (donkey); they carry it on their backs.

Since the Free Trade Agreement was signed, coffee prices have gone down even more. Now there’s hardly any work. Ever since the 1990s the emigration from Xanica has been heavy.

Rebellion in Xanica in the 50s

In keeping with the rebelliousness of the Zapotecos against the lords of Monte Albán, their battles under the command of José María Morelos and Vicente Guerrero, their resistance against the French, their enlistment in the ranks of Emiliano Zapata’s army, the town of Xanica rose up in the 1950s.

Abel tells us that “there were problems much like the ones we have now.” People came from Miahuatlán to sell clothing and bread, and they also set up big butcher shops. They wanted the people of Xanica to work for them, and they also wanted to establish their own local authorities. They refused to respect the community assembly, the council of elders, and the traditional practices and customs for choosing public servants.

The people of Xanica, unwilling to accept this domination, rose up in arms. The army soon came in and there were deaths on both sides. “Some of the local people went to jail because they killed a soldier. The army was in the area for three months looking for the rebels, who hid in the mountains. The army finally left and people either returned or kept on hiding out.”

“But we paid a price,” Abel says. “A lot of children died and houses were burned. It was a small war that jeopardized our traditional practices and customs.”

The current conflict shapes up

Gildardo García tells us that the current conflict in Xanica began ten years ago. “Up until 1998, we chose our town president according to our usos y costumbres, or traditional practices and customs. Whether or not a person was elected depended on his or her record of community service and other requirements for holding office. A potential official would be evaluated by the townspeople.”

In June of 1998, the method of choosing officials according to traditional practices and customs in a general assembly in indigenous communities, with no interference from the political parties, was legalized in a constitutional reform in the state of Oaxaca.

Nevertheless, according to one of the coordinators of CODEDI, César Luis Díaz, this reform coincided with the arrival of all the major political parties, “offering people positions and cash,” which was very attractive to some people. “Really though,” says César, “there’s even less respect for indigenous rights in Oaxaca now than there was before.”

Abel Ramírez Vázquez adds that the governor promoted the reform to “clean his dirty conscience.” Really though, says Abel, “they refuse to let us develop our culture, our language, our collective form of work. This is directly opposed to our way of life, our autonomy. International law doesn’t allow them to disappear an entire people.”

In 1998, the election of Alejandro Díaz Ramírez by traditional practices and customs in Xanica was contested, and the PRI party’s Juan Cruz López was imposed as municipal president. In response, the people took over the municipal building and set up a popular government with majority support from the townspeople. Almost instantly, both state police forces and army units arrived to besiege the legitimate town government.

CODEDI was founded in this situation of extreme tension to fight against indigenous rights violations. Through constant pressure, the organization got Cruz López to resign, and Alejandro Díaz Ramírez was elected in the community assembly in 2001.

For three years, Xanica made advances in self-government. The CODEDI coordinators Abraham Ramírez Vázquez, César Luís Díaz, and Froylan González Cruz initiated projects to open a pharmacy, library, and computer center. They also started a housing project and got funds to build 60 houses. Up to that time, townspeople lived in huts made of reeds or tin. Abel Ramírez says, “We tried to reinforce collectivity, working together to build the houses. Everyone unloaded the building materials and went to work. In 2004, we were almost finished.”

In August of 2004, however, another abuse was committed against us. Sergio García Cruz violated the system of traditional practices and customs and took over the presidency, supported by the PRI, PAN, PRD and some of the religious leaders. The ministerial police came in to protect him.

The tension mounted during the first days of 2005. At the first of January, CODEDI made the decision not to participate in the community service projects known as tequio convened by the illegitimate president. On January 2, army trucks arrived, supposedly looking for (non-existent) marihuana and poppy fields.

January 15, 2005

According to the testimony of a number of different people, about 10 o’clock in the morning, 80 men and women, young and old, were engaged in a tequio project convened by CODEDI, unloading bricks from a truck. A patrol truck pulled up about 11 o’clock, and Commander Cipriano Hernández García of the state police arrogantly ordered them to get the truck off the road. His tone of voice was threatening. Several people told him that they would only take a few minutes to finish up, but he radioed to another patrol truck that people were blocking the roadway and wouldn’t let him go by. He called for reinforcements, and when he gave the order, they got ready to fire. Abraham Ramírez stepped forward and tried to talk to the Commander, who put his gun to his stomach. When Abraham pushed the rifle downwards, the officer shot him in the leg. At that point, the police opened fire, wounding two youth, Noel y Juventino García Cruz. The municipal president Sergio Cruz García also participated in the attack along with several armed civilians.

According to Abraham’s mother, Ángela Vázquez García, “They didn’t think twice about shooting him. Abraham went down immediately. Bullets were flying from all directions. We came running down from our house up on the hill, and when we got to the church, bullets from all sides were falling around our feet. There was crossfire.”

According to Gildardo García, the townspeople defended themselves with bricks and stones, and after about twenty minutes forced the police to retreat. They then took the wounded men to the clinic, where they were given serum and a few pills. The clinic didn’t have the medicine that Abraham needed for his more serious wound, however. It was impossible to take them to the hospital because by this time the entrance to the town was blocked by the police.

Carolina Cruz Garcías says that it was late at night before the three left for the Health Center in Pochutla in a Red Cross ambulance, accompanied by Alejandro Díaz Cruz and escorted by more than twenty patrol trucks. When they got to the Río Copalito, there were many more policemen, supposedly investigating the death of a policeman. They stopped the ambulance and demanded that the three wounded men get out, but the medic said it was impossible and refused to allow a search. Even so, the police pulled Alejandro Díaz Cruz out of the ambulance and threw him into a patrol truck. They asked him the names of the men in the ambulance and beat him savagely when he refused to reply, prompting the three men to identify themselves. Upon hearing the name Abraham Vázquez Ramírez, the commanding officer said, “Oh, so you’re the head honcho. Well, you’re really fucked now.” The police accused the three of killing the officer, who, in fact, was killed by “friendly fire” from his own men during the shooting. The ambulance took a long time to get to Pochutla due to the leisurely pace of the escorts, and, as a result the men received no medical attention for 36 hours. The police took Alejandro Díaz Cruz with them in their patrol truck, interrogating and torturing him on the way.

In the hospital

Abel Ramírez says that at the Health Center in Pochutla, the doctors intended to cut off Abraham’s leg, saying that there was no remedy for his bullet wound. A call went out, however, and successful mobilizations by the COMPA prevented the amputation.

Later, the three were transferred to the General Hospital in the city of Oaxaca, Abraham in a small plane and the other two in an ambulance. Upon arrival, 400-500 supportive people were on hand to receive him, as well as several hundred police. Abraham Ramírez Vázquez had surgery, and immediately afterwards was chained to his bed. In the hospital he was always under police guard.

His wife, Graciela Merced Cruz, was forbidden to visit him for three months. The visits of other family members were prohibited at times or permitted only during the daytime with many obstacles. According to Celerino Jaime Martínez López, “They wouldn’t let us spend the night with him in the General Hospital in Oaxaca. He needed help to get up and go to the bathroom in the night, but there was nobody there to help him.”

Carolina Cruz says that family members were not permitted to bring badly needed crutches into the hospital. She adds that on another occasion, Abraham Ramírez borrowed a cell phone from Isaías Martínez López and made a call to the National Commission on Human Rights. When the police guards found out, they beat Isaías vindictively.

For several weeks, Abraham, Noel and Juventino were chained to their beds and threatened by their police guards. They were then taken to the Santa Maria Ixcotel Prison in the city of Oaxaca. Galdino Castro Hernández says that “at Ixcotel they didn’t take Abraham in on a stretcher; he had to walk in at gunpoint. He didn’t receive medical attention there and visits were prohibited.”

Mobilizations

The mobilizations called by the COMPA began in the city of Oaxaca, where people camped out to demand justice and freedom for the three men from Xanica. On Friday night, January 21, 2005, three hundred people from the “caravan of women, girls, and boys against injustice and oblivion” got to the Zocalo in Mexico City, where they stayed for three months. En route, Bertín García Cruz was arrested and jailed for two days.

On February 3, the president of the National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) invited COMPA members in the city of Oaxaca to a meeting to discuss the abuses with the new governor Ulises Ruiz, but the meeting became a trap in which Alejandro Cruz López of the OIDHO was arrested.

State of siege

About two hours after the shooting on January 15, 2005, approximately 300 policemen arrived in Xanica, where they stayed for six months. They searched and interrogated local people and also searched their houses.

Celerino Jaime Martínez López reports that “we were all under surveillance, kidnapped, besieged. There was a cordon around our simple, wooden houses. They not only surrounded the houses, but also followed people around. The dogs barked when the police came right up to the houses. The policemen pointed their guns at us.”

According to Ángela Vázquez García, “The police in Xanica told us we couldn’t walk around, but we have the right to do that. We keep on walking around no matter what they said.”

Angelina Gerónimo García tells us that she was there when they shot Abraham and when people took him to the clinic:

“I left the door of my house open. When I got back, the police were in my kitchen, cooking. They had used my tablecloth to wipe themselves after using the bathroom. They took several of my pots and placemats and 50 pesos (? $4.50 USD) I had saved. I couldn’t do anything about it. They also went into my daughter’s house. She found one of them asleep on her kitchen table. They cut off her electricity and she hasn’t had light for three years. Some of the women who used to be in our organization joined up with Sergio [García Cruz], and they all have light. He’s the municipal president and he used to work with us, but he went for the big money. He used to say he was against the police, but now he always goes around with a police escort.”

Abel Ramírez Vázquez says that the police were digging trenches for 15 days, looking for arms. They wanted to terrorize people. The Special Ops forces known as the UPOE were there, too. Gildardo García Martínez adds: “The children couldn’t leave the house without the police pointing their guns at them just like they were animals.”

For six months, according to Froylan González Cruz, both police and army patrols held people at gunpoint and searched them when they walked to work between 6 and 8 o’clock in the morning. They knocked their machetes out of their hands and made it impossible for them to work. They asked: Why are you leaving home so early? Why are you walking by here? Why do you get home so late? Who did you go to see? Where? “We don’t have a fixed schedule,” says Froylan. “Only people under orders from the government live that way. They asked people for identification but the compañeros resisted. They know their rights. There’s strong resistance here.”

There aren’t so many police units in Xanica now, but there are permanent agents guarding the town hall. On the other hand, there’s an increase in army checkpoints between Xanica and Huatulco. According to Froylan, the soldiers set up their check points every two weeks. They may stay 15 or 20 days, searching and questioning people. Ángela Vázquez García says that the last time she and her grandchildren visited the prisoners in Pochutla, the army searched them.

Torture, arrests, threats, and harassment

Looia Esther Morales Acevedo has this to say: “When Marcos was on his way here with the Other Campaign, Sergio Ramírez Vazquez, César Luiz Díaz, and Leoncio Cruz went out to put up posters. When the police tried to stop Sergio, he answered, ‘I live here. I have the right to do it.’ They beat the men on the way to the jail and charged them falsely with hitting a policeman.” Looia says that she saw the police stomping on her husband Sergio and called out, “Don’t you treat him that way!”

Sergio Ramírez Vázquez (Abraham’s brother) says that the police tortured him and tried to hang César Luís Díaz. They held them for several hours and beat them. Sergio says, “They hung me up with my arms chained to the railing on the church for three hours. Then they took out a club from somewhere and wrote in my file that I had tried to kill a policeman with a club.”

Sergio affirms that Alejandro Díaz Cruz was tortured with plastic bags placed on his head and that he was falsely charged with the sale of cocaine.

The police were trying to hang César Luís Díaz; as a matter of fact, they had the rope around his neck, when around 25 women and children rescued him. How did they do it? “They were furious when they rushed into the jail,” says César. “There was a lot of pushing and pulling, and they just grabbed hold of me and pulled me out of the policemen’s hands. There’s nothing weak about the women of Xanica; they’re really courageous.”

Since then, César has received anonymous threats in the form of letters tucked under the door of his house. On June 18, 2007, he was arrested and charged with homicide, attempted homicide, resisting arrest, threatening an officer, and possession of arms. He was tortured and a gun was planted on him. The charges of homicide and attempted homicide are in connection with the police killed on January 15, 2005. The more serious charges were dropped, César believes, due to the support he received from the Oaxacan teachers, the APPO, and people in other parts of Mexico and the world. He is now out on bail for the lesser charges.

María Carolina Cruz García is another person who is extremely vulnerable. She has received several threats by e-mail and has been identified and followed by plainclothes policemen in Huatulco, who called her name, “Caro,” four times. The following day, a member of the OIDHO went to visit someone in the Ixcotel prison, and the police seem to have confused her with Carolina. They said, “You’re Carolina from Xanica. You like the APPO marches. You went to visit Abraham, Noel, and Juventino. You’re Caro”. She said, “No, I’m not.”

Someone else found a file on the internet with photos of Carolina taken a year ago at the marches in the city of Oaxaca, and others from the encampment, cooking, talking to other people. The file is labeled “the radical of the APPO. CODEDI”.

Carolina Cruz says that she was in the room when they arrested Alejandro Cruz López at gunpoint. She said to the policeman: “Don’t mistreat our compañero”. “You shut up,” he replied, with his gun to her head.

There are also arrest warrants out for the following people: Froylan González Cruz, Gildardo García Martínez, Apolinar García Cruz, Alejandro Díaz Cruz, Aurora García Cruz, Sergio Ramírez Vásquez, Isaías Martínez López and Antonio Martínez López. They all have the same charges stemming from the events of January 15, 2005, even though it is well known that the policeman was killed by his own fellow officers the day of the shooting. It is believed that the charges may be an effort to intimidate and blackmail people so that they will stop their activism, but people are also aware that the danger is real, especially on the eve of the municipal elections of August 26.

Continued abuse of political prisoners

When Abraham Ramírex Vázquez, Noel García Cruz, and Juventino Cruz were in Ixcotel, the guards threatened to lynch them. Telésfora Cruz Crua, the mother of Juventino and Noel, says that the threats and punishments are ongoing at the jail in Pochutla where they are now being held.

Abraham’s mother, Ángela Vázquez García, says that they punish her son because he always defends his rights and speaks up for the other prisoners. “When there’s an abuse, he always denounces it. They shot him and arrested him because he speaks out, and that’s why they’re punishing him now.”

According to Carolina Cruz, the warden is always telling the other prisoners that Abraham, Juventino, and Noel are bad people, that they’re nothing but killers. She says the warden paid another prisoner to beat Abraham up. “Abraham had protested because they were selling cooking oil at 20 pesos (? $1.80 USD) a liter at the prison when the going price is 12 pesos (? $1 USD). A lot of prisoners can’t even cover their basic expenses. Before Abraham began to write up every abuse, the human rights groups had never showed up at the prison. The warden hates him. When a lot of people visit him, they know he’s not alone.”

Cristobal, Abraham’s 10-year old son, says that the guards recently grabbed his dad in front of him and his younger brothers and took him upstairs.

Abraham’s wife, Graciela Merced Cruz, adds:

“They took Abraham up to the punishment cell. They’ve got 11 people packed into a little room that measures 3 by 3 meters. They didn’t give us any explanation, and they wouldn’t let me see the warden. It was nighttime and I had the children with me. I asked them, “Where else can we go? I’m staying right here.” They didn’t let me see him until early the next morning. An officer came down and said, “Your husband is really pissed off.” He offered to give me a special place to sleep, but I said no, that I’d stay in the kitchen. They gave Abraham three days of punishment.”

Cristobal had more to say:

“On January 15, they threatened my dad. They said, “You’re a guerrilla and you’re going to die.” They had him in chains in the hospital. We couldn’t take him anything. I felt really sad. He demands people’s rights. They said on the radio that we had AR15s, but they’re lying. It’s a pretext for keeping my dad in jail for the rest of his life.”

Last year on June 14, I was at the encampment in the city of Oaxaca with my little brother. We had to run. There was a lot of tear gas and some people fell down. We ducked into a school. They hurt César’s little boy when they forced us to get out of there, pointing guns at our heads and shooting tear gas. They threw us down on the floor and beat us.

The teachers are afraid to come to Xanica, but we’re going to defend them. We really love our teachers.

Saying goodbye

In the human rights workshop, we agreed to spread the word about what we had heard there and to encourage human rights organizations to send observers to the municipal elections on August 26 to allay possible fraud and repression.

After the women of Xanica displayed their brightly colored weaving, there were messages of thanks and commitment. It was time to say goodbye, but the people wouldn’t let us go without giving each person in the caravan a beautiful weaving, painting, or carved object. Their generosity knows no limit, nor does their impressive organization and spirit of struggle.

And, oh yes, we saw the lights of Xanica up close. The smiles of the children and their voices, lifting our spirits with poems, songs, and chants as we walked to the bus:

If we get out in the streets ¡Yes, that’s right!
to struggle for the people ¡Yes, that’s right!
we’ll bring about the change ¡Yes, that’s right!
that the people are demanding. ¡Yes, that’s right!
As the Comandante said ¡Yes, that’s right!
Comandante Che Guevara ¡Yes, that’s right!
and Genaro Vázquez, too, ¡Yes, that’s right!
Ever on towards victory ¡Yes, that’s right!
and fuck the government, too. ¡Yes, that’s right!

–

More information:
» Communiqué: “no more injustices against the people”
» Cesar Luis Días arrested without warrant in Xanica
» Video: Santiago Xanica: Six Years of Struggle and Resistance
» Governor Ulises Ruiz; 6 months of harvesting terror in Oaxaca
» Oaxacan Activist Released: The Campaign Continues
» State Repression and Indigenous Resistance in Oaxaca
» Periódico Autonomía
» Alianza Magonista Zapatista (AMZ)
» Colectivo Autónomo Magonista (CAMA)
» Coordinación Oaxaca Magonista Popular Antineoliberal (COMPA)
» Organizaciones Indias por los Derechos Humanos en Oaxaca (OIDHO)

photo by Ricardo García

Camino a Xanica

fotógrafo: Ricardo García

caravana mujeres y niños indígenas

niños

fotógrafo: Ricardo García

women with their embroidery

fotógrafo: Ricardo García

mountains

fotógrafo: Ricardo García

niñas de Xanica con piedras pintadas

fotógrafo: Gerardo

town

fotógrafo: Ricardo García

The members of the Magonista-Zapatista Alliance (AMZ) strongly denounce the little dictator of Oaxaca Ulises Ruin Ortiz (URO).

Today at 4:00 in the afternoon, a heavily armed Oaxaca state police commando unit, along with the police who have the town of Xanica under siege, burst into the house of our indigenous comrade Cesar Luis Días like a bolt from the blue and arrested him without a warrant, disregarding the presence of his three small children.

Comrade Cesar is a member of the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights of Santiago Xanica (CODEDI), a council member of the APPO, one of the founders of the AMZ (adherent to the Other Campaign) and member of the Popular Anti-neoliberal Oaxacan Magonista Coordinating Body (COMPA).

It’s important to mention that, in keeping with this outrageous assault, on January 15, 2005, during the first month of URO’s regime, the same police under his command arrested three members of the same organization, Abraham García Vásquez, Juventino García Cruz, and Noel Garcia Cruz. After more than two years, they have not been sentenced and the government has not been able to prove their responsibility in any of the offenses with which the tyrant of Oaxaca has charged them.

We hold Sergio García Cruz responsible for these acts of repression; he is the municipal president imposed by URO and immediately responsible for informing URO of the participation of our comrades in the mobilizations.

We demand that the Calderón government keep its hands off Oaxaca and that the dictator URO resign.

Freedom for all political prisoners in Mexico

Without freedom there is no democracy.

Respectfully,
Magonista-Zapatista Alliance
Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights of Santiago Xanica (CODEDI)
Indian Organizations for Human Rights in Oaxaca (OIDHO)
Autonomous Magonista Collective (CAMA)
Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Mexico (APPO)