¡Feliz año nuevo from the CASA Collectives!

The end of December in Oaxaca proved to be a little calmer than the month before, at least on the surface. The majority of the federal police left the town square, which had been turned into a military base since late October, presumably in order to make way for the poinsettia flowers and Christmas lights and to create a general atmosphere of the holiday season for the arriving tourists.

Despite the Christmas season warmth in the streets of Oaxaca, the human rights violations instigated by the government continue to plague the state, as you will read in Yakira’s article, “Oaxaca Burning: Reflections on the Popular Movement and State Repression”, which reflects on her experience as a participant on the first Human Rights Delegation to Oaxaca coordinated by the Oaxaca Solidarity Network. Continuing to organize in solidarity with the people of Oaxaca from the United States, Yakira designed a webpage for the artists collective ASAR-O and is in the process of setting up exhibits around California: Support Oaxacan Artists Collective- ASAR-O!

Violence against peaceful demonstrators and arbitrary arrests continue to be common practice for the state government, and many who have been active participants in the movement are forced to remain in hiding. Only last Saturday, on January 13, municipal and federal police violently displaced the families of political prisoners who had organized a sit-in in front of the prison where their family members were being held. A second human rights delegation, scheduled in February, is currently seeking applicants: 2nd EMERGENCY HUMANITARIAN DELEGATION TO OAXACA, MEXICO. You can also read more in depth about the human rights situation and sign the CCIODH manifesto: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION IN OAXACA / COMISION DE DERECHOS HUMANOS EN OAXACA.

Despite the abuses, the People’s Assembly of Oaxaca has begun to reorganize, with two marches this month, and several extremely successful cultural events, including a night of music, theatre, and dance, which highlighted the performance of Oaxacan singer Lila Downs, an impressive Night of the Radishes on Christmas Eve, and a festival for Three Kings Days, where thousands of toys were given away to children.

CASA de la Paz had an extremely busy and exciting month as the Intergaláctico, a huge gathering of civil society from all over the world, in solidarity with the Zapatistas and enthusiastic about proposing alternatives to neoliberalismo, took place from December 30 to January 2nd. For a full report from the Intergaláctico, including summaries of the proposals at each of the tables (Education , Health , Women , Communication , Economy, Land and Territory ) : 1st Meeting of the Zapatistas with the People of the World. Dec 30th - Jan 2nd. Oventic, Chiapas, Mexico..Planet Earth. During the Intergaláctico, CASA de la Paz ended up hosting many of the participants, including compañeros from CASA Chapulin, who were coming to Chiapas for the first time.

In addition to these news updates, in this month’s newsletter you will find a report on December’s State Forum of Indigenous Communities of Oaxaca by Riccardo as well as an article by Rachel: Microcredit: Selling Bootstraps to the Global Poor, providing a solid critique of microcredit, which has been revered as the solution to poverty, especially since the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was given to the Grameen Bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus.

As 2007 begins, we’re looking forward to evaluating ways in which the work of CASA in Chiapas and Oaxaca can be more effective, and to creating stronger links with the struggles in Mexico and those happening in the U.S.

Wishing you all a happy new year,
In peace and solidarity,

Colectivos de Apoyo, Solidaridad y Acción
Chiapas and Oaxaca, México.