On March 8, some 500 women and men, adherents to the Other Campaign held a march/rally in the plaza of the San Cristóbal de las Casas cathedral to mark International Women’s Day. In a joint statement they denounced “the war that the bad governments are orchestrating through shock troops, paramilitaries and their armed forces, in which we women in rebellion are made targeted, exploited and plundered by heartless people. (…) The bad governments use their power to control the mass media, create their own reality and as a result mask their strategies of terror and death. But we, both men and women, are struggling against this. We understand that their intention is to create conditions for a military intervention against the Zapatista Army of National Liberation bases of support, communities and organizations affiliated with the Other Campaign, as well as all those that obstruct the capitalist interests that only seek to benefit the richest individuals at the cost of the people and life itself.”
The day before, a pre-gathering of reflection and analysis of the violence in Chiapas took place at the Comprehensive Indigenous Training Center (CIDECI-Unitierra, Centro Indígena de Capacitación Integral).
For More Information (Spanish):
- Political Declaration of the Women from the Other Campaign (complete text)
- PStatement from the Other Campaign on International Day of Women in Rebellion (complete text)
- The government spreads violence to launch a new offensive, warn zapatistas (La Jornada, 9/3/2010)
- Women complain of backward steps in their rights (La Jornada, 9 de marzo)
- Video of the March (@EvaBlancaProduccion)
- Audio of the Gathering and interviews found at www.radiozapatista.org
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