Mobilizations in Mexico on the 104th anniversary of the death of Emiliano Zapata

Yesterday the 104th anniversary of the assassination of General Emiliano Zapata was commemorated in Mexico. In various cities marches and protest actions took place on the anniversary of his death.

We reproduce the article “Breves iniciando semana” of Corriente del Pueblo – Sol Rojo (CP – Red Sun) calling for marches:

“Mexico. In the framework of the 104th anniversary of the assassination of General Emiliano Zapata, the Resistance Network has called for mobilizations in various parts of the country such as Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, State of Mexico, Puebla, Nayarit, Mexico City, among others. One of the main objectives of this mobilization is to continue denouncing the high electricity prices charged by the CFE [author’s note: Comisión Federal de Electricidad – Federal Comission of Electricity], which are keeping dozens of communities and millions of consumers on strike in different states of the country. The main demands are:

– Constitutional recognition of the right to electricity as an unwaivable and undeniable human right.

– Socially fair electricity prices according to socio-economic conditions.

– Cease of public and private investment projects that threaten the rights of peoples and communities.

– Disappearance of all energy debts as they are unpayable “clean slate”.

– Stop the policy of criminalization and harassment developed by the CFE against the consumers in Resistance.

At the time of publishing, actions such as marches, rallies, takeovers of CFE offices and road blockades are reported in different states of the country.”.

The protests were linked to the struggle against the Interoceanic Corridor – Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) that is being carried out by the organized masses in Mexico. This corridor, as CP-Sol Rojo denounces, plunders the lands of the peasants and indigenous people, seizing them unfairly and militarising the area to prevent the revolts of the peasants and indigenous people through repression.

In Oaxaca, Corriente del Pueblo Sol Rojo (CP-Sol Rojo), UCIZONI (Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Norte del Istmo) and Asamblea de Pueblos Indígenas del Istmo en Defensa de la Tierra y el Territorio (APIIDTT), marched together to denounce the high prices of the CFE and the imposition of the CIIT.

They marched together, taking over two CFE offices in Matías Romero and Zanatepec. A blockade was also set up on the Pan-American Highway at Huamol and four other blockades were set up on the Transistmica Highway at the 99th Infantry Battalion, SADER, Puente Madera and Mongoñé del Viejo. At the latter location, on 9 April, it was the 42nd day of occupation in the fight against the CIIT, reports UCIZONI. The joint statement is attached for those interested in reading it.

CP – Sol Rojo also denounced the impunity of the murder of community activist Luis Armando Fuentes Aquino, head of the Civil Resistance and opponent of wind farms and mining in the Isthmus area. He was murdered on 11 April 2019 in an ambush in his home town of San Francisco de Ixhuatán, local media report.