TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO AND THE WORLD
TO ALL THE WOMEN OF THE GREAT TRIQUI NATION
TO ALL THE COMPAÑERAS OF SOCIAL AND CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE BRAVE WOMEN OF OAXACA
TO THE BROAD WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
We are the women of the red huipil who have always remained silent when the powerful has sent pain and death to our soil, those who have seen a son, a father, a brother, a comrade die without saying a word. This has been convenient for those interests who have turned our silence into a great business, filling their pockets with money, while our communities, in the midst of the 21st century, continue to be marginalized and forgotten with hundreds of women caring for their children by themselves because our men are murdered, persecuted or in the best of cases have to migrate in order to maintain their family.
We as women have decided to raise our voices and to become a part of this great autonomous project. Today, we are also in resistance, with much pain and hurt, and introduce ourselves to you in order to communicate to you that the first great action called for and coordinated by us, alone, as Triqui women has not been allowed to happen.
Today, August 23, 2010, a mobilization-march was planned that was to leave from our Triqui region and was to pass by the encampment we have in the city of Oaxaca, arriving in Mexico City, a march that was to be led by us, as women, from the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, where as you all know, we continue living under the constant harassment of this paramilitary group linked to the government and which for more than nine months has impeded the normal development of our lives.
This past August 21, a group of comrades from our Autonomous Municipality were attacked in the community of Hierba Santa, as they were carrying out actions to coordinate the march. But this attack was not the only one. Unfortunately on this occasion three of our comrades died and several more were wounded, but since that day and up to now the violence has increased and has blocked our comrades from carrying out the planned mobilization.
After the August 21 ambush, around San Juan Copala, in the communities of Agua Fría Copala, several shootings have occurred against the houses of comrades who belong to our movement, there have also been attacks on the streets of some nearby communities, which has prevented our comrades from being able to leave their communities.
While in their statements to the media the other organizations that are not a part of this autonomous project have said that they have the intention of seeking peace talks, in their actions their message is different, and we don’t need any more speeches nor do we need to continue to be under the control of leaders who use us as figures or numbers to meet their needs and to obtain money, we need for there to be in action and amongst our communities true respect and no more violence, the facts are those which our comrades are communicating and we will not allow ourselves to be fooled.
In order to support our movement, on the seventh of this month a group of us women with our children decided to begin an indefinite encampment in the zócalo of the city of Oaxaca and to not leave until the conditions exist that will allow us to live in our community. To another group of women we have tasked with the work of raising our voices and sharing it with all of society so that we are heard.
This same group of women who today write this statement want to report that our struggle and resistance continues, that today we suffered yet another blow but this has strengthened our resolve to continue onward, we want to report to you that a delegation of ours will attend the National Feminist Meeting in the city of Zacatecas next week in order to seek solidarity from our comrades from all over the country and to denounce the politics of violence that we are living under in our region.
Finally, we want to denounce that the comrades in the Oaxaca encampment have informed us that they have seen several suspicious men around the area of the encampment, some of whom have been identified as members of these armed groups that have besieged and terrorized our Autonomous Municipality, we only desire that civil society is aware of these facts should they take any aggressive or provocative action against our peaceful encampment.
WOMEN IN RESISTANCE FROM THE AUTONOMOUS MUNICIPALITY OF SAN JUAN COPALA
