Impunity and Dispossession in Mexico: San Sebastián Bachajón on the Anniversary of the Assassination
Impunity and Dispossession in Mexico: San Sebastián Bachajón on the Anniversary of the Assassination of Juan Vázquez Guzmán
Written by Jessica Davies
Thursday, 01 May 2014 15:31
The bad government, say the ejidatarios: “uses public forces, such as the state preventive police, the army and the federal police to terrorize communities and so imposes terror to achieve its goals.”
In recognition of the first anniversary of the assassination of community leader and defender of the land, Juan Vázquez Guzmán, “Two Weeks of Worldwide Action: Juan Vázquez Guzmán lives! The Bachajón struggle continues!” have been called, from Thursday, April 24 to Thursday, May 8, 2014. As part of this initiative, the screening of the video “Bachajón - Dispossession is death, Life is resistance” is being promoted internationally.
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“What the government does is send people to jail or order their killing like Juan Vázquez Guzmán. Our struggle is not for economic or political power. It is for the people, the mother earth and the territory.” - Marcelo Mariano López, Bachajón
On April 24, 2013, Juan Vázquez Guzmán, much-loved spokesperson and activist in defense of the people, the land and the territory of the ejido (communal landholding) of San Sebastián Bachajón, was killed with six gunshots in the doorway of his home, in what was widely interpreted as a political assassination. His killers, and those who ordered his killing, remain unpunished, and the plans of the government and corporations to dispossess the ejidatarios of their territory, in order to construct a luxury tourist development, continue. But the indigenous Tzeltal community of San Sebastián Bachajón is staying organized, carrying on the struggle for their rights and keeping alive the memory of Juan Vázquez Guzmán and his work in the service of his people.
More:
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/4822-impunity-and-dispossession-in-mexico-san-sebastian-bachajon-on-the-anniversary-of-the-assassination-of-juan-vazquez-guzman
