Conferencia Anual de Derechos Humanos
Annual Human Rights Conference
page 2

CONFERENCE DOCUMENT

Declaration of Aztlan
Submitted to the Second Session of the
United Nations Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues - Economic and Social Council
New York, NY May 2003

Declaration on the Sacred Birth Right of Indigenous Children and Youth

In the spirit of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples 2003 theme addressing Children

We the representatives of Indigenous Peoples attending the Tlahtokan Aztlan affirm our inherent and inalienable rights as the Indigenous Peoples of the world. These rights, bestowed upon us by our Creator are reaffirmed each dawn through our sacred relationship to Mother Earth and by our collective responsibility to our elders, women, men, youth and children to uphold peace, equity and justice, in harmony with all our relations in the natural world. As representatives of the Confederation of the Eagle and the Condor, the Indigenous Nations and Pueblos of Tlahtokan Aztlan hereby reaffirm our mutual commitment under our Treaty of Teotihuacan, and proclaim to the world the following, with a view to our responsibility to safe guard Mother Earth, our traditions, our cultures and our lifeways for our children, youth and the generations yet unborn:

Extract:

Economic globalization constitutes one of the main obstacles for the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Unsustainable extraction, harvesting, production and consumption patterns lead to climate change, widespread pollution and environmental destruction, evicting us from our lands and creating immense poverty and disease. We are deeply concerned that the activities of multinational mining corporations on Indigenous lands have led to the loss and desecration of our lands. These activities have caused severe health problems, interfered with access to our sacred sites, destroyed and depleted Mother Earth and devastated our cultures.

Extract:

PLAN OF ACTION TO ASSURE THE SACRED BIRTHRIGHT OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN AND YOUTH

To invite the Food and Agricultural Organization, United Nations Environment Program and other relevant U.N. agencies to advance the work relating to Indigenous peoples’right to safe and adequate food, food security and food sovereignty focusing particularly on:

(a)     those areas where Indigenous peoples face starvation;

(b)     those areas where Indigenous peoples, especially women,children and the elderly are threatened by starvation and malnutrition;

(c)     the effects of biotechnology on the health of Indigenous communities, food systems and resources including species of sacred plants, shoots, seeds, animals, birds and fish;

(d)     the main factors weakening Indigenous agricultural systems and agro-related activities including traditional trade through barter,and traditional trade routes - factors such as
-lack of access to land and resources including safe and adequate water
-energy and climate change
-invasive large-scale agro-industries
-contamination and destruction of the soil, water and food sources by pesticides and toxic-related substances and chemicals
-large-scale infrastructure projects
-militarization

(e)    immediate measures to correct the situation, with the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples, through initiatives that include the recognition and protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources, the restoration, strengthening and protection of Indigenous food and agricultural systems, their traditional knowledge, innovations and practices in agriculture, their agro-related activities, and their trade routes and trade practices;

A community report back by the legation which submitted the Delaration of Aztlan at the UN will be part of the TONATIERRA Annual Human Rights Conference agenda on Saturday, September 13th at the NAHUACALLI, Embassy of the Indigenous Peoples.

For more information please contact:
TONATIERRA
P.O. Box 24009 Phoenix, AZ 85074
Tel: (602) 254-5230 Fax: (602) 252-6094
Email: chantlaca@aol.com
www.tonatierra.org

Agricultura, fuera de la OMC,
principal reclamo de miles de manifestantes en Cancún

Agriculture OUT of the WTO:
Main Demand of Thousands of Protesters in Cancún (English version)

Miles de indígenas y campesinos de todas partes del país se encuentran apostados en diversos campamentos en el corazón de Cancún. Los acompaña su música y un infatigable espíritu de Rebeldía.

Thousands of indigenous Mexicans and peasants from across the country are now in several camp sites in the heart of cancun. Their company is music and the rebel spirit that never tires.

* Scroll Down for English Version *

Cancún, Quintana Roo.- El rechazo total a la inclusión del tema agrícola en las negociaciones de la V Reunión Ministerial de la Organización Mundial de Comercio (OMC) así como la entrega de los resolutivos del Foro Internacional Campesino al presidente de la ronda de negociaciones y comisionado de la delegación mexicana, Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista, serán parte de las principales acciones que este 10 de septiembre realizarán alrededor de 15 mil personas de todo el mundo participantes en la gran marcha campesina.

“No vamos a avalar ninguna negociación que esté por encima de los intereses de los productores”, declaró Olegario Carrillo Meza, de la Unión Nacional de Organizaciones Regionales Campesinas Autónomas (UNORCA), una de las organizaciones participantes en el primer día de trabajo del Foro Campesino que se lleva a cabo del 8 al 11 de septiembre en las inmediaciones de la Casa de la Cultura de esta ciudad.

Agregó que un virtual acuerdo comercial en materia agrícola afecta al agro mexicano ya que los términos en que éste es planteado por la OMC solamente beneficia a las grandes transnacionales “en contubernio con el Banco Mundial, el Fondo Monetario Internacional, la Unión Europea, Japón y Estados Unidos”.

En materia agrícola, una de las principales demandas que plantea el movimiento campesino es que el maíz y el frijol queden fuera de cualquier acuerdo comercial pues actualmente las condiciones de este tipo de comercio son desiguales colocando en una gran desventaja a pequeños y medianos productores respecto a sus contrapartes de Estados Unidos.

De igual forma, el foro campesino hará un pronunciamiento para desmentir al recién nombrado Secretario del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat), Alberto Cárdenas Jiménez quien recientemente declaró que el maíz transgénico no daña a la salud, al medio ambiente ni a los granos criollos.

A juicio de Carrillo Meza, la lucha no terminará con las movilizaciones de Cancún, sin embargo, considera un avance el hecho de haber logrado la unidad de numerosas organizaciones sociales, indígenas y campesinas de México como el Movimiento de El Campo No aguanta Más, que aglutina a 13 organizaciones de productores, el Congreso Agrario Permanente (CAP), integrado por 12 organizaciones agrícolas, El Barzón y la Unión Nacional de Trabajadores, entre otras.

Los organizadores campesinos coinciden en que la lucha será a largo plazo por lo que esperan revisar las estrategias para poder incidir en otros asuntos clave para el país como la soberanía alimentaria, la reforma agraria, la privatización de los recursos naturales y la introducción de transgénicos, entre otros.

Durante el encuentro campesino, Dena Hoff de una asociación de granjeros de Estados Unidos estimó que la actual crisis en la agricultura es una crisis mundial porque se trata de un modelo que afecta a la agricultura familiar en una escala planetaria como consecuencia de las políticas agrícolas neoliberales que ya han alcanzado un dimensión sin precedentes en la historia de la humanidad.

El aumento del hambre a nivel mundial y el hecho de que existan mil millones de personas desnutridas en todo el mundo con el consecuente padecimiento de enfermedades cardiovasculares, es un ejemplo de ello.

Los efectos de estas políticas de globalización económica están causando que en el mundo haya “más hambre, destrucción de la economía local, una alteración en la identidad de los pueblos y un enorme proceso migratorio”, sostuvo la representante estadounidense.

Al respecto, dijo que el mundo rural se está quedando despoblado con una notoria ausencia de jóvenes y además, subrayó que del total de la población campesina mundial un 70 por ciento está compuesta por mujeres.

Por otra parte, alertó que en esta cumbre ministerial se estará negociando un acuerdo migratorio en el que por ejemplo, una industria de Chicago pueda contratar migrantes en sus lugares de origen pero que laboren bajo las condiciones laborales que prevalecen en su país, lo cual consideró como condición de esclavitud.

Dijo, asimismo, que bajo el esquema neoliberal, la privatización de recursos naturales como el agua, la tierra y las semillas adquiere un valor especulativo que afecta en gran medida a los pueblos.

Criticó el papel y la injerencia en la vida cotidiana por parte de las grandes empresas transnacionales como la Nestlé que controla la producción de café, te, leche, cereales, que además de ser la cuarta propietaria del agua del planeta y estar ligada a otro gigante de agroquímicos como es la empresa Bayer, domina prácticamente toda la cadena alimenticia de la humanidad.

La OMC impone un modelo de producción intensivo agroexportador -agroquímico y también impone un modelo de consumo que destruye la salud de los consumidores, dijo.

En el foro internacional “Por los campesinos y la soberanía alimentaria” participan numerosas asociaciones indígenas y campesinas de Oaxaca, Guerrero, Yucatán, Zacatecas, Sinaloa y el Distrito Federal, entre otras entidades, de las que destaca la participación de organizaciones chiapanecas, con alrededor de 400 delegados.

La presencia de las numerosas delegaciones campesinas han hecho de los campamentos verdaderos tianguis de color en los que impera el ánimo de salvar el campo y sus riquezas.

English Version:

Agriculture OUT of the WTO: Main Demand of Thousands of Protesters in Cancún

Cancun, Quintana Roo.- The total refusal to include the subject of agriculture in the negotiations of the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) [and the rejection of] the submission of resolutions from the International Famers Forum (Foro Internacional Campesino) to the chairman of the round of talks and the commissioner of the Mexican delegation, Luis Ernesto Derbez Basutista, will be part of the main actions that will be taken on September 10th next by around 15,000 people from all over the world who are taking part in the big famers march.

"We're not going to answer for any negotiation that doesn't take the interests of the producers into account" said Olegario Carrillo Meza, of the National Union of Independent Regional Farmers' Organizations (UNORCA), one of the organizations taking part in the first day of the Farmers' Forum workshops, which are taking place between 8th and 11th September in the area around the Casa de la Cultura in this city.

He added that a commercial agreement on agriculture affects Mexcian farm worker because the terms in which this agreement are set out by the WTO work only to the benefit of big multinationals "in conspiracy with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, Japan and the United States".

In the area of agriculture, one of the main demands set out by the famers movement is that maize (corn, in U.S. English) and beans remain outside any commercial agreement because current conditions in this trade are unequal, putting small to medium producers at a great disadvantage compared their counterparts in the U.S.

Likewise, the farmers' forum is to make a statement to refute what the recently nominated Secretary for the Environment and National Resources (Semarnat), Alberto Cardenas Jimenez, said recently about genetically modified maize being safe to eat, for the environment and for native maize crops.

In Carrillo Meza's view, the struggle will not end with the actions in Cancun, but in any case he considers it an advance to have achieved unity amonf so many social, indigenous and farmers organizations in Mexico such as the Movimiento de El Campo No aguanta Mas ("the land can't take anymore") which brings together 13 producers organizations, the CAP ("Permanent Agrarian Congress"), made up of 12 farming organizations, El Barzon and the National Workers Union, among others.

The farmers' organizers agree that this will be a long-term struggle, in which they hope to revise their strategies in order to be able to have an influence in other key issues for this country such as food sovereignty, agricultural reform, the privatization of natural resources and the introduction of genetically modified crops, among others.

During the farmers' meeting, Dena Hoff, from a farmers' association in the United States, said that the current crisis in agriculture is a world crisis because we were dealing with a model that affected familiy farming on a planetary scale as a result of neoliberal agricultural policies that had reached a dimension that had no precendent in the history of humanity.

The increase in hunger worldwide and the fact that there were a thousand million undernourished people in the world who suffered cardiovascular diseases as a consequence, is an example of that.

The results of these economic globalization policies were casuing "more hunger, destruction of the local economy, a change in the identities of peoples everywhere and an enormous process of migration", the US representative maintained.

In this respect, she said that the rural world was becoming depopulated with a notable absence of young people and besides, as she underlined, the of the total world farming population, 70% were women.

On another note, she drew attention to the fact that the ministerial summit was going to negotiate a immigration agreement by which, for example, an industry in Chicago could hire immigrants in their places of origin under the labour conditions that prevailed in their countries, which she considered would be slavery conditions.

Additionally, she said that according to the same neoliberal scheme, privatized natural resources such as water, land and seeds could take on a speculative value, which would greatly affect country people.

She criticized the role of big transnational companies and their intrusion into daily life, such as Nestle which controls production of coffee, tea, milk and cereals and which was also the fourth largest water owner on the planet and, linking with another agrochemical giant, Bayer, dominated practically the entire human food chain.

The WTO imposes a model of intensive production for export and the use of chemicals and also imposes a consumer model which destroys the very health of the consumers, she said.

Taking part in the international forum "For farmers and food sovereignty", are many indigenous and farmers' associations from Oaxaca, Guerrero, Yucatan, Zacatecas, Sinaloa and the Distrito Federal, among other bodies, the organizations from Chiapas standing out with about 400 delegates.

The presence of several farmers delegations have turned the camps into real street meetings full of colour where the main feeling is the need to save the countryside and its riches.

Relayed from:
http://cancun.mediosindependientes.org/

English

EHECATL
El Viento de Aztlan
Verano     Xihuitl Nahui Acatl     2003 Summer

TONATIERRA

Conferencia de la Comunidad de Derechos Humanos

Sabado Septiembre 13, 2003
Sabado 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

NAHUACALLI     802 N. 7th Street
Phoenix, Arizona

Fué en el año 1977 aquí en el Valle del Sol, en el Arrowhead Ranch por lado de Tolleson donde se manifestó la huelga mas grande protaganizada por trabjadores indocumentados en toda la historia del movimiento laboral de los Estados Unidos. Los campesinos, en mayor parte Mexicanos, se lanzaron en huelga por la necesidad de hacer la lucha en defensa de su dignidad humana y para terminar con el abuso y la discriminacíon. Los poderosos rancheros hecharon La Migra encima a los campesinos, tratando de quebrar el esfuerzo dela Gente, pero ellos respaldados por el Proyecto Organizador del Condado de Maricopa (MCOP) aguantaron el golpe y lograron obtener contratos con los rancheros que les reconocían como seres dignos del respeto y tratos justos. Nos dejaron a todos nosotros una herencia de lucha, una experiencia de saber como organizarse bajo las más malas condiciónes y la inspiración de la dignidad humana que todavía nos guía. En al año 1994, la organización comunitaria MCOP se transformó en el movimiento del pueblo ahora reconocido por todo el continente como TONATIERRA. Decía la Llorona cuando se miraba pa' el norte -
"Y mis hijos -
Que les pasará?
Reconocerán la lucha
de sus tatas?
Sentirán el calor
de su historia indígena,
como yo los enseñe?
Serán ahogados
en el río
de la historia europea, o
nomás
mojados?"

Ahora nos toca a nosotros a responder con la misma fuerza de la unidad, con claridad de experiencia y con el respeto mútuo, a la llamada que hace la nececidad de nuestro pueblo. Invitemos a todo individuo, organización, y comunidad que nos juntemos a señalar un camino para la generaciónes de un milenio por venir, con el propósito de definir con nuestros propios pensamientos, valores y historia una estratégia proactiva y comunitaria en el tema de de inmigración. Con una énfasis en el aspecto de la educación de nuestra comunidad, esta conferencia proyecta tres areas de discusión y trabajo, que son los siguientes:

DERECHOS CIVILES: Los derechos civiles son expresión de la ley domestica, se encuentran plasmados en las constituciónes del gobierno federal y de cada estado, municipio y condado. La trayectoria histórica de las leyes de derechos civiles en este país es una respuesta a la legalización de la esclavitud humana y el racismo de la sociedad Europeo-Americano, como elementos definitivos en la formación de la nacionalidad. Como los otros movimientos populares de derechos civiles, se trata de una campaña consistente y comunitaria que daría respuesta efectiva contra las violaciónes de derechos civiles, (incluyendo casos de justicia medio-ambiental) que afectan nuestra comunidad en terminos de la descriminación. Una limitación de este area de la ley se tiene que reconocer que el Derecho Civil se aplica solamente a individuos y nunca podrá decribir mucho menos defender los derechos de nuestra comunidad como cultura original del territorio, antecesores de la llegada de los Europeo-Americanos.

DERECHOS HUMANOS: Mas allá de los derechos civiles, los Derechos Humanos son obligaciónes y proteciónes las cuales todos los gobiernos y sus autoridades son obligados a reconocer como parte de la Ley Internacional, un resultado de la adopción por la Asemblea General de las Naciones Unidas de la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos. El gobierno de los Estados Unidos ha firmado de este acuerdo internacional. Los Derechos Humanos incluyen los derechos culturales y comunitarios, como el el derecho a la auto-determinación y los derechos de Trabajadores Migratorios. Desde 1987, TONATIERRA ha mantenido un enlace con la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de las Naciónes Unidas, participando como delegados en este foro internaciónal en Ginebra, Swiza. Como organización fundadora de la Comisión de Organizaciónes y Naciónes Indígenas del Continente (CONIC), también participa TONATIERRA en el Grupo de Trabajo sobre Pueblos Indígenas de las Naciones Unidas y el Foro Permanente de Cuestiones Indigenas.

DERECHOS INDÍGENAS: Cada derecho implica una obligación. La fundación de nuestros derechos legales nace de nuestra identidad y historia como pueblos indígenas del continente, por la sencilla razon de que es nuestra obligación principal que los valores y sabiduria que son nuestra herencia milenaria como pueblos lo transmitemos a las generaciónes de mañana. Esta es la responsibilidad la que si nosotros no lo cumplimos, nadie más lo va hacer. Es aquí donde los sistemas de jurisprudencia establecidos por más de 500 años de colonización chocan con las responsibilidades y el destino de nuestra gente. La resolución del problema lo logremos cosechar en un camino donde nuestros pueblos, comunidades y familias encontramos el respeto y la dignidad como Pueblos Indígenas, tanto en el aspecto interno como en la arena social y global.

On October 3,1977 the first large scale strike by undocumented workers in U.S. labor history began at the Arrrowhead Ranch, located in the East Valley community north of Tolleson. Despite strike breaking efforts of the Border Patrol, the predominantly Mexican national workers persevered in their efforts to negotiate formal contracts with the powerful growers. Supported by the Maricopa County Organizing Project (MCOP), the courageous efforts of the Arizona Farmworker movement left a legacy of struggle, organizing under extreme adversity, and belief in Human Dignity that continues till today. In 1994, MCOP made the organizational transition into the community empowerment movement TONATIERRA. Now, over twenty years after the Arrowhead Ranch labor strike, a call goes out to all interested individuals, organizations, and communities to come together again in unity, with respect and clarity, to define into the millennium of generations to come a community based strategy to deal proactively with the diverse issues of immigration in our communities. With an emphasis on the issue of education and immigration, three main themes for the conference have been defined:

CIVIL RIGHTS: A consistent and ongoing community based campaign of ADVOCACY in response to the violations of civil rights (including environmental justice cases) which affect our community in terms of discrimination. This area of work is described by the domestic Civil Rights laws and procedures of due process which are in place within the framework of the U.S. and State constitutions. A limitation of this area of law to be recognized is that Civil Rights only apply to individual cases and cannot describe or defend the right we have as a Community or culture pre-existing in the territory before the arrival of the European-Americans.

HUMAN RIGHTS: INVOKE and ORGANIZE. Beyond Civil Rights, Human Rights are obligations and protections which all governmental entities are obliged to abide by as a matter of International Law, a result of the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights to which the U.S. is signatory. Human Rights are construed as community rights, such as the right to self-determination and the rights of Migratory Workers. TONATIERRA maintains a linkage with the United Nations Human Rights Commission, having participated as delegates to the Commission in Geneva, Switzerland since 1987. As part of the Continental Commission of Indigenous Nations and Organizations (CONIC), we also participate in the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

INDIGENOUS RIGHTS: The foundation of our legal rights and obligations lies in our indigenous history and identity as original nations of the continent. This is the where the systems of jurisprudence established by over 500 years of colonization clash with the responsibilities and destiny of our peoples. The resolution of the problem revolves around the issues of community empowerment, self-determination and dignity for Indigenous Peoples. These principles are the essence of our community life, for they describe the time tested values and wisdom that is our inheritance as an Indigenous People and culture.

Mesas de Trabajo - Working Groups

Derechos Civiles - Civil Rights
Derechos Humanos - Human Rights
Derechos Indígenas - Indigenous Rights

La Frontera : Cicatriz del Continente - The Border : Scar on theContinent
Justicia por Los Jornaleros - Justice for Day Laborers - Border Issues
Unión de Jornaleros Macehualli
Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras
Derechos Humanos - Tucson

State and Federal LegislativeIssues - Legislación Estatal y Nacional
Licencias - Matricula Consular - Programa Huésped - Dream Act
Acuerdos de San Andrés, México
Protecting Sacred Sites

Legislation Internacional : International Legislation
Obligaciónes de los Pueblos Indígenas : Declaración de Aztlan
Obligations of the Indigenous Peoples : Declaration of Aztlan
Declaración sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas : OEA y ONU
Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples :
Organization of American States and the United Nations
World Trade Organization - CANCUN - Organización Mundial de Comercio

La Tierra no es de nosotros, nosotros somos de la Tierra.
The Land does not belong to us, we belong to the land.

XINACHTLI

Actividades Educativos para los Niños y Jovenes

!COMIDA !

!TEATRO DEL BARRIO !

NAHUACALLI
Embassy of the Indigenous Peoples

TONATIERRA
Tel: (602) 254-5230 Fax: (602) 252-6094
P.O. Box 24009 Phoenix, AZ 85076
Email: tonal@tonatierra.org
www.tonatierra.org

Annual Human Rights Conference

Saturday, September 13th, 2003
NAHUACALLI
802 N. 7th Street Phoenix, AZ
Tel: (602) 254-5230

Working Group: Human Rights and Immigration

Theme: COMMUNITY FOOD SECURITY: The Right to Self -Sufficiency

Background: Over a span of eight thousand years, the Mexican civilization developed a self-sustaining agricultural system based primarily on the cultivation of corn which served as nutritional foundation for the economic and social stability of the indigenous cultures, recognized in the Mexican constituion as the foundation of the Mexican nationality. Up until January 1st of 1994 and the implementation of the NAFTA trade accord, Mexico was self sufficient in terms of its own nutritional infrastructure in relation to corn production, an independence in the most critical economic indicator for any society.

The flooding of US corporate corn into Mexico, an industry underwritten by US government subsidies and taxpayer dollars, which is dramatically marked by the NAFTA of 1994, is an example of the practice of deliberate economic warfare that benefits only a small circle of elite corporate collectives on both sides of the border. The pattern is similar to construction of the railroad systems in Mexico during the Diaz Regime, which were built not to develop the economic infrastructure of Mexico as a modern republic, but instead designed with the intention of delivering cheap and disposable Mexican labor ( and raw materials) to the developing agribusiness and industrial needs of the US economy in the North.

Discussion Points:

If Mexico's economy was self sufficient, how would the immigration streams to the North be impacted? What the difference between self sufficiency and sustainability over generations in economic and cultural terms? Why are the rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico still not recognized within the laws of the Republic? Why is our cultural identity as Indigenous Peoples denied respect and recognition on both sides of the border except in terms of either the Mestizo or Hispanic paradigm?

Positions:

What is the position of our political leaders regarding the issue of agricultural subsidies to the US corporate agribusiness industry that is undermining our family and community security with impunity at the local, regional, national, and international levels? What is our position as a community to the adoption of a minimum recognition of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Mexico, such as the Acuerdos de San Andres? What is our position a a community when these issues will be addressed at the upcoming meeting of the World Trade Organiziaton in Cancun, Mexico?

Why Mexico's Small Corn Farmers Go Hungry

The New York Times, March 3, 2003
By TINA ROSENBERG
MEXICO CITY

Macario Hernández's grandfather grew corn in the hills of Puebla, Mexico. His father does the same. Mr. Hernández grows corn, too, but not for much longer. Around his village of Guadalupe Victoria, people farm the way they have for centuries, on tiny plots of land watered only by rain, their plows pulled by burros. Mr. Hernández, a thoughtful man of 30, is battling to bring his family and neighbors out of the Middle Ages. But these days modernity is less his goal than his enemy.

This is because he, like other small farmers in Mexico, competes with American products raised on megafarms that use satellite imagery to mete out fertilizer. These products are so heavily subsidized by the government that many are exported for less than it costs to grow them. According to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis, American corn sells in Mexico for 25 percent less than its cost. The prices Mr. Hernández and others receive are so low that they lose money with each acre they plant.

In January, campesinos from all over the country marched into Mexico City's central plaza to protest. Thousands of men in jeans and straw hats jammed the Zócalo, along side horses and tractors. Farmers have staged smaller protests around Mexico for months. The protests have won campesino organizations a series of talks with the government. But they are unlikely to get what they want: a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta, protective temporary tariffs and a new policy that seeks to help small farmers instead of trying to force them off the land.

The problems of rural Mexicans are echoed around the world as countries lower their import barriers, required by free trade treaties and the rules of the World Trade Organization. When markets are open, agricultural products flood in from wealthy nations, which subsidize agriculture and allow agribusiness to export crops cheaply. European farmers get 35 percent of their income in government subsidies, American farmers 20 percent. American subsidies are at record levels, and last year, Washington passed a farm bill that included a $40 billion increase in subsidies to large grain and cotton farmers.

It seems paradoxical to argue that cheap food hurts poor people. But three-quarters of the world's poor are rural. When subsidized imports undercut their products, they starve. Agricultural subsidies, which rob developing countries of the ability to export crops, have become the most important dispute at the W.T.O. Wealthy countries do far more harm to poor nations with these subsidies than they do good with foreign aid.

While such subsidies have been deadly for the 18 million Mexicans who live on small farms — nearly a fifth of the country — Mexico's near-complete neglect of the countryside is at fault, too. Mexican officials say openly that they long ago concluded that small agriculture was inefficient, and that the solution for farmers was to find other work. "

The government's solution for the problems of the countryside is to get campesinos to stop being campesinos," says Victor Suárez, a leader of a coalition of small farmers.

But the government's determination not to invest in losers is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The small farmers I met in their fields in Puebla want to stop growing corn and move into fruit or organic vegetables. Two years ago Mr. Hernández, who works with a farming cooperative, brought in thousands of peach plants. But only a few farmers could buy them. Farm credit essentially does not exist in Mexico, as the government closed the rural bank, and other bankers do not want to lend to small farmers. "We are trying to get people to rethink and understand that the traditional doesn't work," says Mr. Hernández. "But the lack of capital is deadly."

The government does subsidize producers, at absurdly small levels compared with subsidies in the United States. Corn growers get about $30 an acre. Small programs exist to provide technical help and fertilizer to small producers, but most farmers I met hadn't even heard of them.

Mexico should be helping its corn farmers increase their productivity or move into new crops — especially since few new jobs have been created that could absorb these farmers. Mexicans fleeing the countryside are flocking to Houston and swelling Mexico's cities, already congested with the poor and unemployed. If Washington wants to reduce Mexico's immigration to the United States, ending subsidies for agribusiness would be far more effective than beefing up the border patrol.

CONFERENCE DOCUMENT

Declaration of Aztlan
Submitted to the Second Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues - Economic and Social Council
New York, NY May 2003

Declaration on the Sacred Birth Right of Indigenous Children and Youth

In the spirit of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples 2003 theme addressing Children

We the representatives of Indigenous Peoples attending the Tlahtokan Aztlan affirm our inherent and inalienable rights as the Indigenous Peoples of the world. These rights, bestowed upon us by our Creator are reaffirmed each dawn through our sacred relationship to Mother Earth and by our collective responsibility to our elders, women, men, youth and children to uphold peace, equity and justice, in harmony with all our relations in the natural world. As representatives of the Confederation of the Eagle and the Condor, the Indigenous Nations and Pueblos of Tlahtokan Aztlan hereby reaffirm our mutual commitment under our Treaty of Teotihuacan, and proclaim to the world the following, with a view to our responsibility to safe guard Mother Earth, our traditions, our cultures and our lifeways for our children, youth and the generations yet unborn:

Extract:

Economic globalization constitutes one of the main obstacles for the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Unsustainable extraction, harvesting, production and consumption patterns lead to climate change, widespread pollution and environmental destruction, evicting us from our lands and creating immense poverty and disease. We are deeply concerned that the activities of multinational mining corporations on Indigenous lands have led to the loss and desecration of our lands. These activities have caused severe health problems, interfered with access to our sacred sites, destroyed and depleted Mother Earth and devastated our cultures.

Extract:

PLAN OF ACTION TO ASSURE THE SACRED BIRTHRIGHT OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN AND YOUTH

To invite the Food and Agricultural Organization, United Nations Environment Program and other relevant U.N. agencies to advance the work relating to Indigenous peoples’right to safe and adequate food, food security and food sovereignty focusing particularly on:

(a)     those areas where Indigenous peoples face starvation;

(b)     those areas where Indigenous peoples, especially women,children and the elderly are threatened by starvation and malnutrition;

(c)     the effects of biotechnology on the health of Indigenous communities, food systems and resources including species of sacred plants, shoots, seeds, animals, birds and fish;

(d)     the main factors weakening Indigenous agricultural systems and agro-related activities including traditional trade through barter,and traditional trade routes - factors such as
-lack of access to land and resources including safe and adequate water
-energy and climate change
-invasive large-scale agro-industries
-contamination and destruction of the soil, water and food sources by pesticides and toxic-related substances and chemicals
-large-scale infrastructure projects
-militarization

(e)    immediate measures to correct the situation, with the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples, through initiatives that include the recognition and protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples to their lands, territories and resources, the restoration, strengthening and protection of Indigenous food and agricultural systems, their traditional knowledge, innovations and practices in agriculture, their agro-related activities, and their trade routes and trade practices;

A community report back by the legation which submitted the Delaration of Aztlan at the UN will be part of the TONATIERRA Annual Human Rights Conference agenda on Saturday, September 13th at the NAHUACALLI, Embassy of the Indigenous Peoples.

For more information please contact:
TONATIERRA
P.O. Box 24009 Phoenix, AZ 85074
Tel: (602) 254-5230 Fax: (602) 252-6094
Email: chantlaca@aol.com
www.tonatierra.org

Communication from
Latin American Workers Project New York, NY


Conferencia Anual de Derechos Humanos
NAHUACALLI
TONATIERRA

Después del 11 de septiembre los ataques no han terminado para los trabajadores Latinos, quienes son los más afectados y los de que menos se hablaron. Ahora ya no solamente se les considera como responsables de los problemas de déficit económico, sino también de terrorismo.

Es así como los dos últimos Alcaldes de la ciudad de New York, lanzaron una campaña agresiva de persecución, arrestos, deportación, y multas en contra de los trabajadores inmigrantes jornaleros y vendedores ambulantes. Ahora en la Avenida Roosevelt y Northern Boulevard en Queens, las autoridades estan arrestando y presionando a los jornaleros, usando como una excusa la busqueda para "terroristas Latinos." Irónicamente, éste es el reconocimiento que los políticos dan a los trabajadores afectados directamente con los acontecimientos del 11 de septiembre.

Ahora quieren hacer público que los trabajadores latinos que laboraron limpiando la zona de desastre fueron expuestos a un alto índice de radiación en los materiales en el área. A estos trabajadores no se les proporcionó equipo de protección, facilidades para el aseo y comedores adecuados. En el mes de Octubre del 2001, El Proyecto de los Trabajadores Latinoamericanos, investigamos esta situación y en Noviembre ya tuvimos un numeroso grupo de trabajadores jornaleros que fueron contratados para realizar la limpieza en el área y fueron despedidos sin que les pagaran sus salarios. En ese mismo mes tuvimos los primeros casos de trabajadores que se sentían enfermos y presentaban síntomas como: sangrado por la nariz, perdida de apetito, dolor de cabeza continuo, perdida del sueño, mal carácter etc, todo esto a causa de la inhalación del polvo contaminado con plomo, asbestos, zinc, sílice y otros. El 4 de Enero del 2002, iniciamos una campaña de salud para estos trabajadores, montamos la clínica móvil en las calles Broadway y Barclay en la zona cero, en donde se hicieron exámenes médicos a todos los trabajadores jornaleros indocumentados y se hicieron referimientos médicos a la clínica de salud Ocupacional del Hospital Bellevue. En ese mismo día se denunció la irresponsabilidad y la indiferencia de los políticos latinos ante esta situación.

Por esta razón resalto las palabras de la Concejal Margarita López, cuando denuncia y reconoce que parte del la culpa para que los trabajadores latinos no hayan recibido ayuda se debe a que los políticos latinos no se involucraron en apoyar a su comunidad afectada. Ahora, dos años después, cuando ya se acaba el tiempo límite para las ayudas, los políticos reconocen su falta y quieren enmendarse cuando todo el mal está hecho.

Por ésta razón, las organizaciones como nosotros, de base de las comunidades, estamos al frente de ésta situación de los primero momentos. Continuaremos así hasta llegar al final de nuestros objetivos, cuando los trabajadores han logrado conseguir todos los beneficios, respeto, y reconocimientos como héroes del 11 de septiembre.

Oscar Paredes Morales,
Director Ejecutivo, P.T.L.A.

Tough Times for Immigrant Communities

Ever since September 11th, the attacks have not stopped coming down on Latino workers, the population that is the most affected and the least talked about. Now they are held responsible not only for the economic recession, but also for terrorism.

The last two mayors of New York City launched an aggressive campaign of persecution, arrests, deportation, and fines against immigrant day laborers and street vendors. Now on Roosevelt Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Queens, the authorities are arresting and pressuring the day laborers, using as an excuse the search for "Latino terrorists." Ironically, this is the recognition that the politicians give to workers directly affected by the events of September 11th.

Now it should be publicly known that the Latino workers who cleaned the disaster zone were exposed to a high level of radiation in the materials of the area. These workers were not provided with protective equipment, cleanup areas, or adequate meals. In the month of October 2001, the Latin American Workers Project investigated this situation, and in November we already had a big group of day laborers who were contracted to do the cleanup and were fired without being paid their salaries. In that same month, we had the first cases of workers who felt ill and showed symptoms like nosebleeds, loss of appetite, constant headaches, insomnia, irritability, etc., all caused by the inhalation of dust contaminated with lead, asbestos, zinc, silicon, and more. On January 4, 2002, we initiated a health campaign for these workers, and we set up a mobile clinic at Broadway and Barclay at Ground Zero. All the undocumented day laborers received medical exams and referrals to the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic at Bellevue Hospital. On that same day, we denounced the irresponsibility and indifference of the Latino politicians to this situation.

That's why the words of Councilmember Margarita López stood out, when she denounced and recognized that part of the guilt for the lack of assistance to the Latino workers belonged to the Latino politicians who did not get involved to support their affected community. Now, two years, later, as the time limits on relief benefits run out, the politicians recognize their failure and want to mend their ways, now that all the damage is done.

That's why organizations like ours, from the grass roots of the communities, were on the front lines of this situation from the very beginning. And we will keep going until we reach our objectives, when the workers have won all the benefits, respect, and recognition they deserve as heroes of September 11th.

Oscar Paredes Morales
Executive Director, LAWP