PHOTO: The march commemorating Mariano Abarca.

Hundreds of people gathered in Comalapa, Chiapas, Mexico this past week for three days of information sessions, training and to exchange of experiences to challenge the impacts of mining companies. The gathering coincided with the third anniversary of the killing of Mariano Abarca and a large march commemorated his life and his struggle against the Canadian company Blackfire in Chicomuselo.

The statement from this gathering declared (in Spanish):

  1. Gustavo Castro, Coordinator of the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining (REMA), speaks; Raul Burbano, Coordinator of Common Frontiers, with camera in the background.

    Gustavo Castro, Coordinator of the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining (REMA), speaks; Raul Burbano, Coordinator of Common Frontiers, with camera in the background.

    We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters fighting in Guerrero and Veracruz, but also to all people and organizations fighting against mining in Mexico.

  2. We send greetings to our brothers and sisters in struggle and resistance against mining in Guatemala and Central America. We send solidarity greetings to the people of Barillas and Totonicapan.
  3. We send greetings to Canadian organizations of solidarity and union of metalworkers and metal (SWU) and joining us in solidarity with our struggle.
  4. We call for strengthening unity among movements and organizations against the extractive mining model. Mining is a problem that affects all peoples, partisan considerations, ideological, or religious organization.
  5. We call generating processes prevention through meetings, consultations, workshops, training processes, mobilization, education, community agreements to prevent passage of mining companies. We uqe strengthen our ties and struggles against mining extractive model in this predatory capitalism.
  6. We demand the definitive cancellation of the mine’s Revenge, and Santa Maria in Chicomuselo ejido, as well as the entire region conseciones Sierra and Soconusco.
  7. We send solidarity greetings to workers and ejidatarios fighting against Canadian mining in the state Excellon duranto and demand the departure of this mining company.
  8. We demand justice for the murder of Mariano Abarca, Bety Cariño, Bernardo Vasquez, Bernardo Mendez, Ismael Solorio, Eustacio Manuela Solis and Vasquez, wrestlers and fighters against Canadian mining Fortuna Silver, Blackfire and MagDilver.
  9. We warn the violence in the state where there is the presence of large concessions and mining interests and in Venustiano Carranza. We reject violence, harassment and repression of the state police, municipal, judicial, and AFI sector against the people of Venustiano Carranza.

The fuller article (in Spanish) is at http://www.papelrevolucion.com/2012/11/marcha-en-el-encuentro-chiapaneco-en.html#!/2012/11/marcha-en-el-encuentro-chiapaneco-en.html.

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Brent Patterson

Brent Patterson is a political activist, writer and the executive director of Peace Brigades International-Canada. He lives in Ottawa on the traditional, unceded and unsurrendered territories of the Algonquin...