Tenacatita March on the Governor

(11AM EST – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

To keep you up to date, I have written about Tenacatita there, here and here.

This post is an update about real activism, people whose very lives are on the line, and their attempts to address injustice by any means necessary. My friend Dobie, the author of the update is an American Ex-pat that has my full respect. She does not live separate or above the people she chose to live among, she lives as one of them, family. She does not direct them what to do, she listens and offers help in any way she is needed. She is a lifelong activist, pressed into service for her people once again… and for her? Her people are where ever she is. I respect and admire her to no end.  She works so hard, and when pressed to deliver the contributions as one of the sole people with a truck, had to be pressed to take anything for herself. “Others first” is my impression of Dobie. She is my kind of kind.

So Wednesday, she joined hundreds of others on a long overnight bus ride to Guadalajara to protest to the Governor, and be heard.  

This is the Power of the People in Action. This Unity.

Here is her brief account, hindered by dial-up internet…

We left just before midnight – 2 buses full. Got to Guadalajara early

and sat around a restaurant parking lot waiting for the people from

Temaca to arrive..By the time the march started there were people from

Temaca, Tenacatita, lots of students, ElBarzón (El Barzón is a

movement of low and low-middle class farmers and small businesspeople)

and a group of indigenous dancers who led the march.

For those who know Guadalajara, we started by going around the Minerva

fountain, then went down Avenida Hidalgo all the way to the center of

the city – we walked for about 4 hours, chanting, carrying the

Tenacatita banners, signs and handing out fliers. Friendly police on

bicycles controlled the traffic. The march stopped in front of the

Palacio del Gobierno where people asked to be able to talk to Emilio

(the governor), but, unsurprisingly, there were police in front of the

closed doors, and wouldn’t allow anyone in.

For me the best thing about these kind of marches is the feeling of

solidarity – that other people are dealing with the same kind of

issues and by coming together, we make a larger presence and a louder

voice. Seems like all around the world, whenever people want to make a

strong statement to their government, they take to the streets.

Later in the afternoon, 2 students from the University ITESO moderated

a 2 hour forum about Tenacatita, which was very well organized and

very informative. It started out with a 15 minute video to give a

context to the forum. The panel was composed of Lorena Sahagún (owner

of El Riscal), Ildefonso Enciso (marine biologist who did his thesis

on the coral reef at Playa Mora and talked about the relationship

between the mangrove ecosystem and the coral reef), Salvador Magaña

(ex-local official who’s been actively showing his support since the

desalojo) and Miguel Medrano (ejido lawyer who spoke about some of the

legal issues).

Each person on the panel was asked a few specific questions, then the

floor was open for people in the audience to make comments or ask

questions. Magaña and Madrano were both very positive about the legal

battles. Lorena spoke about how the children are being affected – some

want to know when they can go back to their homes and what did they do

wrong that the police kicked them out.

The group that put on the forum are the ones who came to El Rebalsito.

To see a few photos from the march:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ca…

Saludos,

dobie

For info and to donate visit;

http://cyberpueblo.com/group/t…

Checks mailed to TENACATITA FUND

                         308 ALPERT AVE.

                         FORT COLLINS,CO. 80525

Here is a video of said march.

Here is Dobie’s bio, and I hope to soon have her on WWL Radio as a guest.

About me, I grew up in NYC, moved to Berkeley in 1967 and to Albion

(Mendocino City) in 1971. I’ve always been an activist – my parents met

on a picket line. In Albion the big issues were poor logging

practices, land use planning, the threat of off shore oil development

and old nuclear submarine dumping. I worked as a carpenter and salmon

fisher, spending winters in Mexico (it was a lot cheaper and

healthier) since 1974. I’ve also worked as a computer programmer, a

federal  fishery observer in Alaska, a worker in a collectively run

organic food store and probably a dozen other odd jobs.

Help us get the word out please, and donate if you can.