El Enemigo Común

Oaxaca, March 6, 2008.

Comrades:

It is with much joy and vitality that we bring you the news that yesterday, Wednesday, March 6, 2008, our comrade DAVID VENEGAS REYES “ALEBRIJE” PROVED HIS INNOCENCE AND BY SO DOING RECOVERED HIS PHYSICAL FREEDOM. After 11 long months of imprisonment, the doors of the central penitentiary in the state of Oaxaca opened for the first time to let “el Alebrije” walk out.

Outside the prison, dozens of people awaited his release. Meanwhile, the state police brandished their arms to try to intimidate the people who have struggled all these months to win David’s freedom and that of the other comrades still locked up.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., “el Alebrije” came out of the prison with his arm raised and his head held high.

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SU Students write: On February 21st, 2008, over fifty students from Seattle University, the University of Washington and community activists protested against the presence of Sergio Rios, the trade commissioner of Mexico, who spoke on Seattle University’s campus about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). During the year Rios travels throughout the west coasts of Canada and the US and encourages trade with Mexico (which has become increasingly efficient for corporations as a result of NAFTA). SU students were moved to action after having organized a panel discussion on free trade, indigenous rights and migration earlier this year.

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Dear comrades, We are writing to introduce the Solidarity Without Borders Campaign, a coordinated, sustained, three-pronged campaign in solidarity with
immigrant and indigenous struggles across North and Latin America. Anti-authoritarian groups from across the Northeast and Midwest USA have come
together to form the Solidarity Without Borders Group. —- This working group came out of the recent Consulta of the Northeast Anarchist Network (NEAN) and Midwest Action Network (MAN). The proposal was initiated by the Boston Anti-Authoritarian Movement (BAAM) and NYC Local Union of the North East
Federation of Anarchist Communists (NEFAC), and has been joined by anarchists from over a dozen other towns and cities.

The campaign emerges in light of the escalating war on indigenous communities in Mexico and immigrant communities in the United States: In light of military and paramilitary aggression against the peoples of Oaxaca and Chiapas, in light of Plan Mexico and the Security & Prosperity Partnership, in light of recent attacks on immigrants here in the USA, and in light of the corporate invasion and displacement of their communities.

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Root Force writes:

Dear friends and supporters of Root Force,

After a long process of discussion, reflection and consultation, we have decided to shift the focus of the Root Force campaign. As part of this change, we are creating a broader place within Root Force for autonomous anti-infrastructure organizing in the US, while maintaining the emphasis on Latin American solidarity. We are excited about this new direction, and hope you will read on to find out more about the changes and how you can get involved.

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Students from Seattle University and the University of Washington will protest against the Trade Commissioner of Mexico, Sergio Rios, who is a concrete representative of NAFTA in the Northwest. He will be speaking at SU’s campus this Thursday, February 21st on México-US Business Relations before and after NAFTA. He has worked for the Foreign Trade Bank of Mexico (Bancomext) and currently encourages a wide use of trade throughout North America, which has become increasingly easier due to NAFTA.

Many students involved are personally moved to action after attending an immigration panel discussion on January 23rd held at SU where the devastating effects of NAFTA and CAFTA on Mexican and Central American farmers were exposed through personal stories of individuals impacted. For example, through the major flow of cheap agricultural products (particularly US subsidized corn), small subsistence Mexican farmers continue to be in dire poverty and are forced to migrate. According to a 2004 report published by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, “At least 1.5 million Mexican farmers lost their livelihoods to NAFTA”. In addition, the weakening of environmental laws and labor laws has hurt millions throughout North America, and students from SU and the University of Washington feel that the falsification of this reality is intolerable.

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February 14th, 2008: In view of the threats of repression against our comrades, we declare our solidarity with the APPO as it faces widespread media accusations with regards to the killing of the police torturer Alejandro Barrita Ortiz.

We strongly condemn the effort to condemn the heroic Oaxacan movement in this dirty media campaign that is tying our comrades to the EPR without any grounds whatsoever, while hounding this armed group and trying to criminalize their legitimate demands…

We denounce this campaign as one more effort by the assassin Ulises Ruiz to justify a new barrage of repression.

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February 12th, 2008 - Sofia Jarrin writes: Cambridge, Mass—A group of protesters unveiled their banners and signs in freezing temperatures last night to greet President of Mexico Felipe Calderon who spoke at Harvard’s JFK Forum. “Boston doesn’t appreciate visits from those who violently suppress Indigenous movements and work to create desperate economic conditions that force millions of their citizens to migrate in search of better lives,” read a press release that the Zapatista Bloc circulated previous to the protest. The bloc is formed by a group of local anarchists who value indigenous rights of self-governance, but many other Boston activists were present at the rally as well.

At the forum Calderon talked about his plans for investment and privatization of Mexico as a main focus for generating jobs. “The goal is to make Mexico the best place for foreign investment in the world,” he said. As a strong supporter of free trade agreements like NAFTA and Plan Puebla Panama, Calderon wants to develop infrastructure from “coast to coast” and apply a strong hand (ie, through the national armed forces) to accomplish the stability required for foreign investment. “There are a lot of investors who are looking for a safe place to invest,” he said.

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PROTEST MEXICAN PRESIDENT FELIPE CALDERON’S VISIT TO CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts
Monday, February 11, 2008 – 6:00pm
In front of: Harvard’s John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum 79 JFK Street, Cambridge.

Massachusetts Global Action writes: A growing coalition of local progressive organizations and individuals has decided to protest the policies of the Mexican government represented by its President, Felipe Calderón as he addresses Harvard’s JFK Forum. Calderon came to power after another undemocratic “election” in Mexico. His government continues to repress indigenous people, the labor movement, in particular in Oaxaca, and is responsible, together with the government of the United States for the situation of millions of undocumented Mexican workers in the U.S. At the same time, Calderon is now advocating for the Security and Prosperity Partnership, which strengthens the NAFTA agreement that is detrimental to workers in Mexico and the U.S.

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