Chiapas, Mexico: Fearless Resistance in Defense of the Earth

from Pozol Colectivo

translated by Earth First! Journal

From the San Sebastián Bachajón region, adhering to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle, Chiapas, Mexico, November 20, 2015.

Comrades of good hearts, honest and combative hearts, let us manifest through this means from the bottom of our hearts our compromise to defend our territory as indigenous people and as a united town, for those people and communities that resist daily the repression of the evil government, their damned war against the people and communities of Mexico and the world that fight for a better world, a world where many worlds fit, free from Mr. Money, free from Mr. Power that destroys all in order to make more money in the name of progress and development, which we Tseltales People of Bachajón call death, destruction, displacement, and discrimination.

Our town is aware of the fight to defend life and dignity of the communities, the towns, Mother Earth, and we wish to do more for all the brothers and sisters that fight but we also find ourselves fighting a battle for the defense of our lands that the evil government wants to take from us via violent and repressive means, lands which out ancestors left us, and that is how we demand freedom for our political prisoners and all prisoners of Mexico and the world who are unfairly incarcerated for the great crime of defending life and Mother Earth. Even though we are not with you, brothers and sisters, our prayers, thoughts, and struggles strive to make an input in the defense of live and human rights that the evil government always wants to exterminate because they do not care about the dignity of people; they only care for money to be more rich and powerful, as if everything were about money, as if it could be taken with one after death. Our mindset differs greatly from that of the evil government and that is why they are so bothered by us because we have this love and respect for Mother Earth and all that she gives us so that we may live.

On this day [November 20] let us remember with dignified rage the fight and the exemplary revolutionary life of General Emiliano Zapata, who gave his life in defense of Mother Earth, and to attain better conditions for the people of Mexico.

We want to tell the evil government that we are not scared of their repression, jail, or death, because Mother Earth is everything for this town, because the land is of who cares for it, not who destroys it, and we are willing to give our lives in order to defend it, no matter what, just as our comrade gave his life, the defender of human rights and former Secretary General of the Sixth Declaration from the Lacandona Jungle, Juan Vázquez Guzmán, murdered on the 24th of April, 2013, and comrade Juan Carlos Gómez Silvano, coordinator of the regional organization, murdered with over 20 gunshot wounds from high-caliper weapons on the 21st of March, 2014, near the community Virgin of Pain (Virgin de Dolores). We make this call out to our resisting comrades, communities, and towns in order to unite our forces, and incorporate our struggles so that we can work together in order to stop such evil and injustice from the bad governments, from the capitalist governments, and thus build a world where there will be life, peace, and justice. We do not care that we may have differing ideas and thoughts or if the tactics used are different; we respect diversity and consider it necessary for strength in order to build a world in which many worlds fit. We are tired of so much displacement, forced disappearances, murders, arrests, discrimination from bad governments; we raise our voices and our hands demanding freedom to our political prisoners Esteban Gómez Jiménez, jailed in Cintalapa de Figueroa, Chiapas (inmate #14) Santiago Moreno Pérez and Emilio Jiménez Gómez, jailed in the Beaches of Catazaja, Chiapas (cereso [sic] #17) whom were arrested for their compromise to fight and defend Mother Earth, as do other comrades jailed in Mexico and around the world.

From the Northern zone of Chiapas, women and men of San Sebastián Bachajón send combative salutations to everyone, brothers and sisters, communities and towns of Mexico and the world who resist, we salute the dignified struggle of San Francisco Xochicuautla, Coyotepec, Atenco, Tocuila, Acuexcomax, and the neighboring communities in resistance to the State of Mexico; communities of the Tehuantepec Isthmus, Oaxaca against displacement from their lands, and in defense of autonomy such as the towns of Binissa, Ikoots, Chol de Tila, Banavil, the Llanos, Viejo Velasco, Acteal,towns and communities of Dignified Seed, the towns of Guerrero of the Regional Authority Coordinators, their prisoners who are still jailed for defending dignified life; the town of Yaqui and all the comrades who, even if they don’t know what name they are fighting under are resisting and are seeking to improve lives, seeking better conditions of life, justice and peace.