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El Rebalsito trip to Guadalajara

Posted by Dopbie on November 13, 2010, 11:26 am, in reply to "To Add Tenacatita link - November"
187.146.110.156

On Wed. 11/10, 2 busloads of people from El Rebalsito went to Guadalajara to participate in a march organized by the people of Temacapulin (where governor Emilio wants to build a dam that would flood this town, which is over 400 years old, and 2 others) and to attend a forum about Tenacatita, sponsored by some students in the University ITESO.

We left just before midnight. Got to Guadalajara early and sat around a restaurant parking lot waiting for the people from Temaca to arrive.By the time the march started there were people from
Temaca, Tenacatita, lots of students, ElBarzón (El Barzón is a movement of low and low-middle class farmers and small businesspeople)
and a group of indigenous dancers who led the march.

For those who know Guadalajara, we started by going around the MInerva fountain, then went down Avenida Hidalgo all the way to the center of
the city - we walked for about 4 hours, chanting, carrying the Tenacatita banners, signs and handing out fliers. Friendly police on bicycles controlled the traffic. The march stopped in front of the Palacio del Gobierno where people asked to be able to talk to Emilio (the governor), but, unsurprisingly, there were police in front of the closed doors, and wouldn't allow anyone in.

For me the best thing about these kind of marches is the feeling of solidarity - that other people are dealing with the same kind of issues and by coming together, we make a larger presence and a louder voice. Seems like all around the world, whenever people want to make a strong statement to their government, they take to the streets.

Later in the afternoon, 2 students from the University ITESO moderated a 2 hour forum about Tenacatita, which was very well organized and
very informative. It started out with a 15 minute video to give a context to the forum. The panel was composed of Lorena Sahagún (owner of El Riscal), Ildefonso Enciso (marine biologist who did his thesis on the coral reef at Playa Mora and talked about the relationship between the mangrove ecosystem and the coral reef), Salvador Magaña(ex-local official who's been actively showing his support since the desalojo) and Miguel Medrano (ejido lawyer who spoke about some of the legal issues).

Each person on the panel was asked a few specific questions, then the floor was open for people in the audience to make comments or ask questions. Magaña and Madrano were both very positive about the legal battles. Lorena spoke about how the children are being affected - some want to know when they can go back to their homes and what did they do wrong that the police kicked them out.

The group that put on the forum are the ones who came to El Rebalsito last weekend to interview people for a video they're putting together.

To see a few photos from the march:

http://picasaweb.google.com/casitaamistad/MarchaGuadalajara111010?authkey=Gv1sRgCIO8_IzAz_6JsQE#

Saludos,
dobie

For info and to donate visit;
http://cyberpueblo.com/group/tenacatita

Checks mailed to TENACATITA FUND
308 ALPERT AVE.
FORT COLLINS,CO. 80525
2
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