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¡Alto al Despojo!
TWO COUNTRIES, ONE CAUSE
Protest in front of the Mexican & U.S. Consulates
in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez
Noon, January 14, 2008—Protesters at the Mexican Consulate in El Paso denounce displacement and human rights violations in Lomas del Poleo.
Residents of Lomas del Poleo carry out a simultaneous protest at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez against the planned displacement of hundreds of Mexican immigrant families in the heart of the Segundo Barrio.
Tear Down the Barbed Wire Fence at Lomas del Poleo!Open Letter to the Consul General of México:
Beginning in March of 2004, the residents of Granjas Lomas del Poleo have resisted a campaign of intimidation and harassment by one of the wealthiest families in northern Mexico: the Zaragoza Fuentes family. Supported by the municipal, state and federal governments, the Zaragoza Fuentes family has attempted to illegally strip us of 345 hectares of land where we have lived for over thirty years. In 1975, the Department of Agrarian Reform declared the lands we live in as property of the nation.
The 55 families, who continue resisting this attack, have suffered a series of crimes and an endless number of violations to our basic human rights at the hands of armed paramilitary groups hired by the Zaragozas. We have had to endure the murder of our friend Luis Guerrero, the murder of two children, Magdaleno and Maria del Carmen Casango, three and four years of age, who were inside their home when it was purposely set on fire by the Zaragoza guards.
Read letter.
No Displacement and Cultural Destruction in the Segundo Barrio!
Open Letter to the Consul General of the United States:
If the historic landmarks of the Segundo
Barrio that are part of the cultural patrimony of all Mexicans are
destroyed, it will be a barbaric and racist act of cultural
destruction...
Beyond this act of historical destruction, what is even more urgent is
the effect that this demolition plan in the name of “redevelopment”
will have on the current inhabitants of the Segundo Barrio. More than 1,800 residents of the Segundo
Barrio will be forcibly displaced from their homes because they are
obstacle to “progress.”
The neighborhood is home to thousands of mostly low-income people. What
will happen to them when they are displaced in order to make room for
big box stores like Wal-Mart or trendy coffee houses and stores? Who is
watching for their interests? Certainly not the City of El Paso nor the
Paso del Norte Group.
Read letter.
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