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RALLY FOR INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IN MEXICO TOMORROW - SOLIDARITY, VIVA ZAPATISTAS!

RALLY FOR INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IN MEXICO
MAY 18TH 4-6 PM
MEXICAN CONSULATE, 300 N. MICHIGAN AVE.

RALLY FOR INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IN MEXICO
MAY 18TH 4-6 PM
MEXICAN CONSULATE, 300 N MICHIGAN AVE.

The Chicago/Mexico Solidarity Coalition will rally on Friday, May 18th at the

Mexican consulate to demand the implementation of the COCOPA
proposal on
Indigenous Rights. This protest is part of an international mobilization in
opposition to the "fake" law on indigenous rights recently passed by the
Mexican Senate. We will echo the voices of thousands of indigenous
communities throughout Mexico as they reject the Senate law and demand
passage of the COCOPA proposal for Indigenous Rights.

Background information:

On April 28th, Mexico's 12 million indigenous people and their supporters
throughout Mexico and the world were startled to learn that the Mexican
Senate passed a law claiming to address the problems regarding the
Indigenous rights, culture and land issues.

President Fox, the corporate media, and political pundits in Mexico
proclaimed success at the passage of the law, and (again) declared that
peace had been achieved in the Zapatista conflict. However, many
indigenous
people were left angered and disappointed with Congress' action.
Immediately, the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) and the Zapatistas
denounced the law as deceptive and a betrayal of the dialogue process.

The original proposal, known as the COCOPA Law, was based on the San
Andres
Accords, signed between President Zedillo's government and the
Zapatistas in
Feb. 1996. The Zapatistas have called for the passage of this measure as
a
pre-condition to re-start the dialogue that has been suspended since Sept.
1996.

The COCOPA proposal provides autonomy for indigenous communities
throughout
Mexico by giving them control over land, natural resources, local
governance, judicial matters, education and health care. This law creates
The Senate altered the COCOPA proposal in significant ways and
indigenous
people are left with a flowery document that sounds nice but does little to
change the oppressive relationships that have characterized the past 509
years.


For more information contact us at:
Chicago/Mexico Solidarity Coalition
773-583-7728
 
 

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