October 4, 2008

The Stakes Rise and So Does the Violence at Lomas del Poleo
 

“When there’s blood on the streets, buy land.”
                                                                   —Wall Street saying

ABOUT FORTY ARMED Zaragoza paramilitary thugs have surrounded the Lomas del Poleo colonia for the last three days, preparing for what human rights organizations say may be further actions to violently evict the remaining residents on the contested land targeted by binational developers.  The thirty-year-old home of a Lomas del Poleo couple who have been outspoken in the Mexican national media was destroyed by the Zaragoza guards on September 26, 2008. The last electric generator was forcibly removed three weeks ago from the elementary school that has been up on the mesa since the 1980s.

After Carlos López Avitia, the attorney who represented the largest group of Lomas del Poleo residents was assassinated two blocks away from the Chihuahua City courthouse on June 20, 2008, internationally-renown Mexico City human rights lawyer Barbara Zamora has taken up the case of the colonos who continue to resist violent attempts to displace them and has filed a lawsuit on their behalf. Although the Agrarian Court in Chihuahua has been stalling, it is believed they will formally accept her lawsuit against the Grupo Zaragoza on Tuesday, October 7. The Zaragosas want to prevent a legal solution which would deny their claims to control of this property and have done everything within their power to obstruct this.

The pending legal action, as well as the recent developments in the San Jeronimo-Santa Teresa area—including the proposed rail crossing and the Taiwanese-based Foxconn twin plant—appears to have provoked the escalation of violence and the sense of urgency felt by the Grupo Zaragoza and their hired guardias blancas (paramilitary shock troops) to evict the remaining families.  

Here is a short chronology of the recent violence against the residents of Lomas del Poleo sent to us by Juárez human rights organizations:

August 18, 2008—The Zaragoza guards block elementary students and their parents from entering the Lomas del Poleo neighborhood to attend classes at the Alfredo Nava Sahagún elementary school that has served the surrounding Anapra community’s children for more than two decades.

September 12, 2008—The Zaragoza guardias blancas dig ditches (2 meters deep and 1.5 meters wide) to block the public roadways leading to the Alfredo Nava Sahagún Elementary School.

September 19, 2008—The guards, together with the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, remove the electric generator in Lomas del Poleo and leave scores of families without electricity or water.

September 20, 2008—In a kind of carrot-or-stick approach, better known in Ciudad Juárez as the plata o plomo (silver or lead) question, Zaragoza “lawyers” begin making daily rounds to Lomas del Poleo homes offering the residents about $5,000 for their 2-acre farms (a miniscule amount of what the land is actually worth to developers.) The “lawyers” wave the money in the faces of the residents and urge them to accept it because they are going to be “kicked out” anyway.

September 23, 2008—The only way the residents get water for drinking and their daily needs is by buying it from trucks that make weekly rounds inside Lomas del Poleo. Adela Plasencia and Vicente Estrada, two residents who are represented by the Mexico City advocate Barbara Zamora are told that water will no longer be sold to them. The truck driver informs them that he has been told by the Zaragoza guards at the gate not to sell it to them any more.

September 26, 2008—The residents returning to their homes after attending a legal defense meeting are not allowed to enter the gate. “Llegaron tarde Cabrones!” (You’re too late fuckers!), they are told by the Zaragoza guards.
       That same evening a group of men with bulldozers, pickaxes and shovels, led by Fernando Carrillo and Catarino Del Río Camacho (Grupo Zaragoza overseers), raze the home of Adela Plasencia. They destroyed her furniture and left in ruins a home that she and her husband Vicente built thirty years ago on Lomas del Poleo mesa. Both of them have been the victims of threats and harassment recently, especially after they hired Mexico City attorney Barbara Zamorra and decided to continue fighting for their homes through the legal system despite the assassination of their previous attorney.

September 28, 2008—While the colonos attend a mass at their chapel in Lomas del Poleo, guards inside a black SUV with dark tinted windows park outside during the mass as an act of intimidation.

March Against the Wall

July 31, 2008

US-Mexican Peace and Unity March

“One Community United Against the Wall”
 

To the Residents of the Borderlands,

The people of the border share and are united by a history, a language, a culture. While this land may be separated by an international boundary, the people cannot be divided. As construction begins on the proposed border wall, it stands to not only further divide the land but to divide the people as well.

As the border wall cuts the land, it cuts the communities of the border and tries to create differences among them. This wall, imposed upon us by those who do not live on the border, is said to be a form of “security” but there is no security when division and hate are created. In order to protest the wall a Peace and Unity March will take place on both sides of the border. Over four days, marchers will walk from McNary to El Paso to display a united front against the wall. Tentatively, the march will begin on August 26 to end on Labor Day.

We of the border are one community. We are all affected when our neighbors are displaced from their homes, are all affected by waves of violence, by unemployment and immigration. As the borderlands experience a difficult time, we cannot be passive and simply hope for change. We cannot allow our community to be divided and so it is for our well-being that we must stand together in an act of solidarity. Now is the time to act and create the change we want to see.
Those wishing to take part in the march can do so in a number of ways. Marchers are invited to participate either for the entire four days or for whatever time they can. Donations of food, water, and transportation as well as monetary contributions are needed. Whether or not you take part in any other way, everyone can help the march by publicizing it and discussing the issues with your friends, family, and neighbors. With this march, we will show the world that we are one community united against the wall; one voice speaking out for peace.
Join the march! Let us know if you are willing to participate in any way.

Carlos Marentes

On behalf of the Planning Group

More details and information will be provided next week.

July 12, 2008

 
Police Have No Leads on Assassination of Lomas del Poleo Lawyer
 

by Mexico Solidarity Network 

May 17, 2008
 

Protest Against Dispossession and Repression in Lomas del Poleo

Demonstration against represssion and dispossession in Lomas del Poleo

Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 5 pm

Guadalupe Mission, Ciudad Juárez

April 9, 2008
 

Catholic Diocese of Ciudad Juárez denounces human rights abuses by Mexican military

ARMANDO VILLAREAL MARTA, a farmworker leader was assassinated on March 12 in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. Carlos Chávez, Villareal’s colleague was arrested for having taken part in a demonstration at the international bridge in Juárez. Cipriana Jurado, a social activist, was arrested by masked men of the Agencia Federal de Investigación (Federal Investigation Agency) and incarcerated at the CERESO prison on April 3 for the same reason. She was released on bond the next day.

The Procuraduría General de la Republica (Federal Attorney General) has stated that it has arrest warrants for more than 40 leaders of different social organizations for having taken part in various events.
Three police women accuse the military of having stripped them of their clothing and sexually violated them. Several government agents targeted as suspects say they have been tortured. City police officers have also come forward with statements they they have been tortured in various ways.

Soldiers have entered the homes of citizens without a search warrant or without an explanation and left entire families—including children, women, elderly—in a state of fear. As if this weren’t enough, the soldiers have also been accused of stealing people’s property.

The citizens of Ciudad Juárez want and demand security in our daily lives. However, in addition to this insecurity now we are under a state of intimidation, impunity, illegality, persecution and torture that leaves many afraid to speak out since this situation has been created by government forces.

We are for life, civil rights, justice and dignity for every single person.  One does not defeat organized crime by killing the criminals, nor does one straighten out the police by torturing them. Recent history in our city has shown us that torture only led to accusing the wrong people for the murders of women.

We demand that the authorities correctly perform their assigned duties. Their positions cannot continue to be funded by public taxes if they do not stop the situation of terror our city is suffering. What is needed is for them to carry out their investigation and intelligence duties in a professional manner to insure that accusations of criminal activity or police participation in organized crime are backed up by solid evidence.

Those of us who call for human rights to be respected DO NOT support criminals, although some illegitimate voices are claiming that we do. Instead, we believe the violation of human rights in fact supports criminal activity given that torture fabricates false culprits and allows the true criminals to remain out in the streets and in criminal organizations.

It’s also disturbing to hear declarations that provide a justification for the violation of human rights. We do not believe that “this is the price that must be paid,” as some City Council representatives have stated; nor that these are “necessary acts despite their illegality” as some of the attorneys have argued; nor that “we are all responsible for the violence” in our city as some of the media claim; nor is it about “killing the criminals to reduce their numbers” as one military commander stated.

The organizations and individuals who support human rights and that subscribe to this declaration affirm the following:

WE WILL CONTINUE to struggle for a society that respects the dignity of everyone.

WE WILL CONTINUE to denounce human rights violations committed by the three levels of government.

WE WILL CONTINUE to express our concerns and proposals not only because it is part of our mission, but because the law itself gives us the right to defend human rights.

Signed,

The Catholic Diocese of Ciudad Juárez

April 5, 2008
 

Juárez activist is arrested for blocking the Santa Fe Bridge in 2005

Juarez activist Cipriana Jurado during the Border Social Forum in 2006.

LONGTIME JUÁREZ ACTIVIST Cipriana Jurado was arrested this week by federal officers wearing masks. She was charged with "obstruction of communication" in connection with a protest she helped organize along with dozens of other activists at one of the international bridges in 2005 protesting the Minutemen. Over the years, Jurado, a respected activist who helped found Centro de Investigación y Solidaridad Obrera (CISO) in 1990, has advocated for justice for laborers, the families of slain women and undocumented workers in the United States. 

Yesterday a group of human rights activists including Ester Chávez Cano, Casa Amiga director, protested her detention. "This is ridiculous and repressive," Chávez Cano told a Juárez newspaper. "They arrest the poor and vulnerable women who demand justice but they let the murderers of women in this city go free." The protest by about 50 women was held at the offices of the federal detention center in Juárez where she was escorted by 15 armed police agents and 20 soldiers who arrived in a Humvee behind the police camper that transported her.

Relatives said Jurado's children were left home alone after the officers took her away by force. She was returning from the city morgue after checking on one of the femicide cases.

She is being held at the request of CAPUFE, the Mexican federal agency that oversees federal highways and bridges; its headquarters is in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

This arrests comes at the heels of of the assassination of a farm worker leader three weeks ago and accusations of human rights violations against the 2,500 soldiers recently sent by Mexico's president to Ciudad Juárez to control narcotraffickers in the border city.  According to local activists, in the recent weeks there has been "a wave of repression in Chihuahua against social and civic movement leaders."

March 29, 2008
 

Invitation to Cesar Chavez March

March 23, 2008
 

City Council Changes Tune!?: – “No Land Grabbing in our City!.”  

“The motion to deny permission to the U.S. Corps of Engineers to cross city property came from West Central city Rep. Susie Byrd, who also requested that the city base its opposition in part of the lack of consultation regarding the fence project with the city and its residents.”           

                                                                                               —NPT

NEWSFLASH! – the El Paso City Council feels that is unlawful and morally repugnant for an outside entity to come into specific parts of our city and dictate the future fate of the land and property that currently exists.  Ortega, Byrd, O’Rourke and Lilly all agree that that putting up barriers that would forever change the culture, landscape and relationships in a specific area of our city is wrong and immoral.  Collectively they echo that survey’s that have been conducted in the area that show evidence of widespread plan support are nothing more than bogus examples of selective propaganda.  These esteemed members of city council also note that any plan to alter a section of our city that excludes the direct input of the leaders and residents affected most by this plan is absurdly illegitimate.   It is great to see our progressive City officials bravely protecting the rights and integrity of our region’s many helpless victims who would inevitably face displacement and irreversible personal losses at the expense of the powerful.  

March 22, 2008
 

THE HIPSTERS ARE COMING!

Damn. There goes the neighborhood.

By JENNI BURTON

"PUSHING OUT YOUR NATIVES because they’re not cool enough to bring in big time investment is a crappy way to repay them for the hard work of making El Paso what it is. I’m at a point in my life where that too-cool-for-school attitude is just sickening, and I think it’s an absolute folly that cities are actively courting a generation of consumer-product-obsessed, substance-abusing, under-employed snobs so they can replace a group of hard-working, family-oriented immigrants in any given neighborhood so consumption-based industries can thrive and raise property values." Read more...

Also click here to watch  a recent episode of "King of the Hill" in which a group hipsters infests Arlen and drives up the rents in a traditionally Mexican-American neighborhood.

Will this happen to us once Sanders, Foster and Hunt take over South El Paso?

March 19, 2008
 

MORE CONNECTIONS

Pedro Zaragoza Fuentes and Eloy Vallina sat on Binational Commission headed by New Mexico governor in 2003

IN 2003, THE VERDE GROUP bought 21,000 acres in Santa Teresa, directly across from San Jeronimo. In that same year, Eloy Vallina Lagüera, who owns 49,000 acres in San Jeronimo, became a board member of the Verde Group. That's also the year the Eloy Vallina and Pedro Zaragoza Fuentes became official "public members" of the New Mexico-Chihuahua Commission that was co-chaired by New Mexico governor Bill Richardson.

Stay tuned in future updates for more connections between the major players behind the Santa Teresa-San Jerónimo binational development project and the Lomas del Poleo-Sunland Park binational crossing. See "Verde Denies Any Connection to Binational Development Project."

March 15, 2008

FORMER CITY COUNCIL REP and current Paso Del Norte Group member Raymond R. Telles pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of mail and wire fraud, admitting he attempted to bribe El Paso County commissioners and Socorro Independent School District trustees. He is the second PDNG member, out of seven, to plead guilty of having bribed city, county and school officials in exchange for contracts. The El Paso Times has reported that PDNG member Bobby Ruiz, with the help of a fellow banker, obtained more than $1.5 billion dollars worth of work through bribery. County Commissioner Betti Flores has also pled guilty to FBI charges that the C.F. Jordan construction firm, owned by PDNG member Paco Jordan, paid her $10,000 to obtain a 20 million dollar contract to build a parking garage downtown.

At least ten of the El Paso business leaders who have been linked to the FBI corruption investigation belong to the secretive group behind the Downtown-Segundo barrio “redevelopment” plan.  See list.

March 13, 2008

AN INOFFENSIVE DOWNTOWN

El Paso City leaders are doing what Porfirio Díaz did

 By ENRIQUE MEDRANDO, ESQ.

THE CORE OF DOWNTOWN El Paso, the area around San Jacinto Plaza, will change primarily as a result of the relocation by Joyce Wilson of the downtown bus terminal away from San Jacinto Plaza. The relocation of the downtown bus terminal is the key to potentially realizing the desires expressed by those who partcipated in the Glass Beach study and pined for Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz look-alikes to swarm downtown El Paso.

The 20,000 or so daily pedestrian border crossers from Cd. Juarez (represented by the old Mexican, sombrero-wearing viejito in the Glass Beach study), whose buying power was responsible for forming what the City rechristened as the "Golden Horseshoe" between the two downtown international bridges and the downtown bus stops at San Jacinto Plaza, will, for the time being, have to make their way to the City Parking Garage and Trolley Terminal south of the Civic Center on West Overland Street in the Union Plaza District.

In a recent article by Leon Metz on Porfirio Diaz in the El Paso Times (March 3, 2008), he wrote: "In 1910-11, Mexico celebrated its centennial of independence, Diaz inviting the world's most powerful and wealthy to the capital, plying them with imported delicacies and pageantry. This man, whose own blood was predominantly Indian, ordered other Indians off the streets `less their poverty offend visitors'."

Those whose poverty may "offend visitors" are being relocated away from San Jacinto Plaza. But hey, this is par for the course in redevelopment and gentrification efforts throughout the country.

Mr. Foster's revitalization project will become a reality in terms of a refurbished Mills Building, Plaza Hotel, and Centre Building (White House Department Store building). Will he be able to fill his buildings with tenants paying prime rental rates? Will his retail merchant and food service tenants have enough customers to run their businesses in the black long term?

It is time for City Council to scrap the Redevelopment Zone portion of its downtown revitalization plan, or at least put it on the back burner for at least five years. Let's see if the relocation of the downtown bus terminal away from San Jacinto Plaza and Paul Foster's project "revitalizes" the core of downtown El Paso.

If Foster's plan succeeds, City Council can revisit the need for a plan which calls for forced redevelopment of the area around the core of downtown using eminent domain. If Foster's plan doesn't succeed, it simply means the redevelopment zone scheme, which is much more grandiose, will never succeed. 

March 12, 2008

Senator Bingaman Meets With Mexico’s Ambassador to the United States to Discuss Border Violence and Lomas del Poleo

March 11, 2008

DONA ANA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PASS RESOLUTION 

THE DONA ANA COUNTY COMMISSION today unanimously voted for a resolution asking for an amicable settlement of the land dispute at Lomas del Poleo, emphasizing that they are not "judging" the Mexican government and realizing they have no jurisdiction. 

Here is the resolution that was  read by County Commissioner Bill McCamley at today's meeting:

“Whereas the Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners has heard the concerns of the residents of Lomas De Poleo.  And whereas the State of New Mexico U.S. Federal Agencies and Dona Ana County are committed to investing in successful bi-national development of our border for the benefit of all residents.  And whereas the Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners believes that a successful bi-national community with manageable immigration and border security requires that residents are safe and healthy on both sides of the border.  And whereas the residents of Lomas De Poleo inhabit a parcel of land immediately adjacent to the proposed Sunland Park/Anapra Port of Entry.  And whereas the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission Paso Del Norte Center for Human Rights and other organizations have documented the concerns of the residents of Lomas De Poleo.   And have taken an active role in pursuing a resolution for the land dispute.  And whereas the Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners as a governing body immediately adjacent to the Mexican Border;  acknowledges its respect for the Mexican Government and due process limits its direct intervention and assistance to the residents.  But asks that the public scrutiny of this issue and public resources be directed toward a just and expeditious resolution of the immediate needs of the residents. 
Now therefore The Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners does hereby respectfully request that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico Senators Bingaman and Domenici, Bishop Ramirez and the council of Bishops, local state and national leaders from the El Paso Texas and Juarez Mexico areas and the human rights groups that have been noted meet immediately to implement a peaceful and just resolution to the situation in Lomas De Poleo including:

1.    An expeditious resolution of the land dispute that is pending the Mexican Judicial system.

2.    Reinstallation of electric power and a functioning potable water system for the community to ensure that as due process procedures for resolution of this dispute proceed, basic human necessities are available for residents.

3.    An examination by the US Delegation from New Mexico as to what international aid resources may be available to assist in providing basic services to these residents as  this situation is being resolved.
Passed approved and adopted this 11th of March 2008
 

Today's resolution was considerably milder than the original resolution: (see Feb. 26, 2008 update below). According to a reliable source, the county commissioners all got several phone calls and a bit of arm twisting from Governor Richardson's office and from Juan Massey, director of Mexican Affairs for New Mexico. They were warned not to support the resolution calling for taking down the barbed-wire fence and respect for the human rights of the Lomas del Poleo residents in order not to offend the government of Mexico and to not jeopardize future binational development plans in the region. After the vote Zaragoza attorney, Mario Chacon Rojo, was the only person allowed to address the commissioners. One journalist who regularly covers the commissioners meeting called this limitation to one speaker during the open comment section of the consensus agenda item an extremely rare occurrence.  Chacon, on behalf of the wealthy land developers who claims ownership of the area, invited the Commissioners and sponsors of the resolution to visit Lomas del Poleo.  (Will rocks be thrown at them too from the guard towers?!)

"I would like to extend an invitation to you so that you can see that the situation there is not as serious as they say it is," Mario Chacon Rojo told the commissioners. "Personally, I would like to recommend that Mexico City name New Mexico as Mexico's favorite state, el estado mas favorecido de Mexcio, because of the conduct and expressions of support by governor Richardson. "

March 8, 2008

THE OTHER PART OF THE REPORT

The North American Human Rights Delegation Connects Displacement at Lomas del Poleo with the Segundo Barrio
 

"There is strong economic motivation for displacement.”  —NAHRD final report

HERE IS A PORTION of the final report of the North American Human Rights Delegation that the local media conveniently ignored, namely the part titled “Connections between Lomas del Poleo and Segundo Barrio.”

*****
Commercial Development to Support the Movement of Goods

An additional crossing at Anapra is being advocated by interested parties on both sides of the border (c.f. SP-026-06 letter from Chihuahua Governor José Reyes Baeza Terrazas to Minister of Foreign Relations Luis Bautista and letter from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice dated April 17, 2006).

The new international transportation hub is projected to include an intermodal facility which would transfer rail payloads onto heavy vehicles. Currently, Mexican railways are being improved to leverage the possibility of increased traffic.

A border crossing at Anapra would lead into Sunland Park, New Mexico. Any expansion of existing crossings, or additional border crossings (e.g. Anapra), would substantially relieve some of the traffic on El Paso’s international bridges while potentially providing an economic windfall to Sunland Park’s coffers. There is construction in Sunland Park, which points to this area being one of projected growth and current development. Sunland Park Racetrack Recreation and Casino is paying $12 million of the infrastructure costs for a border crossing at Sunland Park, anticipating a large increase in patrons.

It is here in Sunland Park that bi-national economic interests converge. These interests include entities such as the Verde Group, Zaragoza Enterprises, and the civic association known as Paso del Norte Group. These groups share both the desire to profit from conditions onthe U.S. and Mexican border and also, in some instances, common corporate directors and officers.

William Sanders, CEO of the Verde Group, owns 26,000 acres, 5,000 of them in Sunland Park.
Elloy Vallina, one of the board member of the Verde Group [joined in 2003], is one of the richest men in the state of Chihuahua. Mr. Vallina was part of a bi-national commission exploring and advocating border development called the 2003 New Mexico-Chihuahua Commission. Mr. Vallina’s son, Eloy Vallina Garza, is member of the Paso Del Norte Group.

The Verde Group has been involved in the advancement of two development plans, namely the Santa Teresa and San Jeronimo plans. These trade zones would “create a niche between the United States and Mexico where the best elements on either side of the border can be accessed by companies.”

Connections between Lomas del Poleo and Segundo Barrio

Displacement of poor local communities is currently taking place due to potential industrial and corporate development on both sides of the border. In addition to Lomas Del Poleo, Segundo Barrio, one of the oldest neighborhoods in El Paso with many historic buildings of rich cultural significance, is also at risk of disappearing. the pedestrian bridges from Ciudad Juárez currently terminate in El Paso’s Segundo Barrio. Segundo Barrio has been called “a localized version of Ellis Island” for the Mexican community crossing into the United States.

Much like Lomas del Poleo, residents are being displaced by a closed and non-public process which benefits some of the same developers. According to one resident, Maria Guadalupe Ochoa, in lieu of violence, residents of the Segundo Barrio are faced with dilemmas such as developers “offering $20,000 for your house and you have to take it because your children have needs.” In Segundo Barrio, the displacement would impact roughly 1,800 current residents.

Again, like the displacement happening in Lomas del Poleo, there is a strong economic motivation for the displacement. Developers, like the Paso Del Norte Group stand to gain huge profits from appropriating a portion of this neighborhood. The proposed use of eminent domain to recuperate property for private development is effectively a land grab, which benefits real estate developers. Rather than being used for the common good, in this instance the land being “reclaimed” would be turned over to a private Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) whose goals are determined by the trustees and not by the general public and thereby not accountable to the community or city government. To a certain degree, when faced with the possibility of losing their homes through eminent domain, the residents are facing economic coercion.

According to Father Edwin Gros, residents went to a City Council meeting to speak on a proposal that would limit the use of eminent domain. The proposed ordinance would have limited the use of eminent domain to declaring a specific building a blight, but not a whole area. They were told to go home because consideration of the proposal had been postponed. The Council then went ahead and voted down the proposal after residents left. To add insult to injury, residents said a City Council member who in the past had recused himself on the issue due to conflict of interest voted against the proposal.

“The is the day we stopped living in a democracy and started living a dictatorship,” an El Paso resident said.

CONCLUSION

The North American Human Rights Delegation concludes that human rights violations are taking place against the residents of Lomas del Poleo, with the tacit consent of the local government. The land development driving the displacement of residents in Lomas del Poleo is reflected in other areas of the immediate border region, including Segundo Barrio in El Paso, Texas. Rather than being isolated cases of displacement, the cases described in this report appear to be interconnected.

Read entire report 

North American Human Rights Delegation to release report today on displacement and dispossession on the El Paso-Juárez border

"Stop Verde Group Subsidies Until it Straightens out its Mexican Collaborators"

By DR. JAMES KADLECECK (New Mexico Politics)

THE DOÑA ANA COUNTY Board of Commissioners heard a tragic presentation today from citizens concerned about the human rights violations going on just across our border in Lomas de Poleo. This little village sits right in the path of development for the bi-national city that some wealthy Mexican developers want to develop in partnership or collaboration with the El Paso-based Verde Group. The commission listened attentively as citizens, a priest, the bishop’s representative and others recited the list of horrors that have been inflicted upon the humble residents of this village (homes being torn down or burned, several deaths, their village fenced in with armed guards, etc).

The politically well-connected Mexican developers say they own the land, and the residents (who have lived there for more than 30 years) say they do. The issue is in the Mexican courts, but the developers are impatient and have been allegedly committing these atrocities to force the people off the land.

Our commissioners unanimously expressed outrage but failed to take any action, citing process as their excuse. They did agree to contact the governors of New Mexico and Chihuahua and write letters of protest. Here’s my suggestion on what they can do: Tell Verde that there will be no action on its request for public subsidies until it straightens out its Mexican collaborators. We don’t want to do business with people who commit such acts of violence and violations of human rights.

Read more 

February 26, 2008

DOÑA ANA COMMISSIONERS EXPRESS OUTRAGE AT BINATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ABUSES

DOÑA ANA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS today heard Father Bill Morton, colonos from Lomas del Poleo and a room full of supporters from Las Cruces, El Paso and Juárez ask that they pass a resolution calling for a stop to binational development plans until the Grupo Zaragoza ceases the violation of human rights in Lomas del Poleo. The resolution titled “Resolution of the Dona Ana Board of County Commissioners Regarding Lomas del Poleo” read as follows:
 
Whereas:  The state of New Mexico, US Federal Agencies, and Dona Ana County are committed to investing in successful bi-national development of the Santa Teresa, San Jeronimo,  El Paso, Juarez metropolitan area for the benefit of all of their citizens.
 
Whereas:  A successful bi-national community with manageable immigration and border security requires that citizens are safe on both sides of the border.
 
Whereas:  The Dona Ana BOCC is committed to protecting the human rights and property rights of all residents of Dona Ana County, and allowing violations on the Mexican border to go unresolved will undermine the confidence of Dona Ana County residents in that commitment.
 
Whereas:  The owners of Grupo Zaragoza have claimed ownership of Lomas del Poleo, a critical parcel of land at the intersection of the San Jeronimo  / Santa Teresa project  and the proposed Anapra / Sunland Park port of entry.
 
Whereas:  Grupo Zaragoza, against the wishes of residents who have lived at Lomas del Poleo for up to 30 years, continues to surrounded the area with a barbed wire fence, guard towers and entry gates, and pays armed guards to control access to the community.  
 
Whereas:  The beating death of Luis Alberto Guerrero, destruction of Jesus de Nazaret Church and many homes by the guards, death threats and numerous injuries inflicted by guards, and the deaths of 3 year old Maria del Carmen Cassango, and 4 year old Magdeleno Cassango in a suspicious house fire have created an atmosphere of fear that is driving residents out.
 
Whereas:  The Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission, Paso del Norte Center for Human Rights, and other organizations have documented these violations, and failure to remedy the situation opens US government organizations and business interests alike to charges of complicity in human rights violations.
 
Whereas:  The owners of Grupo Zaragoza, a Verde Group board member and New Mexico and Chihuahua government officials have served together on Governor Richardson's New Mexico – Chihuahua commission promoting bi-national trade and border development.
 
The Dona Ana County Board of County Commissioners urges New Mexico Governor Richardson, New Mexico Senators Bingaman and Domenici, and the Verde Group to immediately begin working with Mexican government agencies and the Grupo Zaragoza to insure a peaceful and just resolution to the situation in Lomas del Poleo by doing the following:
 
1.    Remove all fencing and allow unimpeded access into and out of the community.
2.    Remove all private guards and militia from the community.
3.    Vigorously investigate and prosecute all acts of violence and intimidation.
4.    Expedite a transparent and fair legal process to determine land ownership rights in the community, and reinstate rights where residents have been induced to leave through coercion.

The County Commissioners expressed their outrage and voted unanimously to officially take action on this at the next County Commissioner meeting within two weeks.

Click here listen to a KRWG radio broadcast of today's meeting.

February 24, 2008

A CALL FOR ACTION!

"Successful  development on the U.S. side hinges, in part, on taking Lomas de Poleo as part of the larger section of land the Mexican developers lay claim to.  They are going after Lomas not just because they want that specific plot of land, but because allowing [Lomas residents] to keep it will undermine their claim to the whole area they say they purchased from the state/feds.  The Lomas situation reveals symbolic, class, and other practical problems with binational development. So, the U.S. is implicated in economic and moral/human rights terms: the more we want the U.S. side developed, the more we place Lomas in the center of the crosshairs."  

INVITATION TO DOÑA ANA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING 

I FREQUENTLY SEND you notices of meetings  which I hope you will attend.  This time I PLEAD with you to attend: Tuesday, Feb. 26,  9 AM.  the regular Doña Ana County Commission meeting at County headquarters,  845 N.  Motel Blvd in Las Cruces, New Mexico (go west on Picacho until you come to Motel Blvd., then turn left).   There will be a brief presentation about the horrors happening at LOMAS DEL POLEO just across the border in Juarez.   The Commission will be given the opportunity to make a difference in the life of the residents of Lomas. 

Lest you think this doesn't  affect you I urge you to read Pulitzer Prize winner ('92 for national reporting) Eileen Welsome's narratives of the corruption, violence and billions of dollars developers stand to make for the proposed bi-national development affecting Juarez, El Paso and Dona Ana County.  The proposed mega-development will affect all our lives.  The recent huge Las Cruces land annexation is very small potatos next to what is projected.

http://www.eileenwelsome.com-a.googlepages.com/lomasdelpoleo
http://newspapertree.com/features/1976-making-a-killing-land-deals-and-girl-deaths-on-the-u-s-mexico-border
http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=2483

For  information on the Lomas del Poleo dispute download this hourlong movie:  http://www.archive.org/details/Poleo_Speaking 

PLEASE COME on Tuesday and show the County Commission that you care about your quality of life!  And please urge everyone you know to come.

Thank you.

Charlotte Lipson, Las Cruces Quality Growth Alliance member                                               

February 23, 2008

Sin Fronteras Organization Celebrates 25 Years of Struggle

February 20, 2008

Zaragoza Guards Impede Chihuahua State Human Rights Official from Carrying out Inspection

PARAMILITARY GUARDS hired by the Grupo Zaragoza attacked Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson of the Comisión Estatal de los Derechos Humanos (Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission) yesterday during an official inspection to monitor human rights abuses in Lomas del Poleo.

The human rights inspector told the Diário de Juárez that around 11:30 a.m. yesterday he arrived at the gate entering Lomas del Poleo to conduct a scheduled observation of the Anapra neigbhorhood surrounded by barbed wire. The gate was open, but when he attempted to enter, he was immediately stopped and shoved back by several Zaragoza guards, two whom witnesses identified as Ramiro Luna and Fernando Carrillo. (Carrillo was identified as the guard responsible for causing injuries to Lomas del Poleo resident Guadalupe Pineda a few weeks ago.) When De La Rosa was about ten meters inside the gate, one guard ran to shove him back and others to attack him with blows to the face and the body, the human rights official told the Diario de Juárez. 

De La Rosa said he was then pushed back to the gate that was locked to prevent him from leaving. He was not allowed to use his cell phone, but was forcefully detained inside the compound for about 15 to 20 minutes until the Zaragoza guards received orders to release the human rights official.

De La Rosa, said the police refused to intervene on his behalf despite the fact that he is a government official. He had informed the Juárez police of his scheduled observation at Lomas del Poleo and asked for them to send protection during his inspection, but although one policeman showed up, De La Rosa explained he “practically refused to intervene and had orders to do nothing.”

In addition to being a human rights observer, Gustavo de la Rosa is an attorney who is the father of Leon de la Rosa, the film maker who shot the documentary "Poleo Speaking"—a video testimony to injustice and human rights violations taking place behind the barbed-wire fence at Lomas del Poleo.

There have been many documented cases in the past where Ciudad Juárez police officers have stood by while Zaragoza guards physically threaten residents of Lomas del Poleo and members of human rights organization. (See "Forum at Lomas del Poleo is blocked" video.)

One member of a Juárez grass roots organization who helped organize the first two forumas at Lomas del Poleo said, “If the Zaragoza people can get away with attacks against a member of an official Mexican government entity, imagine what they can get away with in regards to the Lomas del Poleo residents. We see again that the Zaragozas have absolute impunity in this city.”

February 19, 2008

AN ACTUAL ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT

Massive explosion at Texas refinery renews fears of El Paso plant

 

There are thousands of working- and middle- class residents who live in the neighborhood surrounding the refinery in Trowbridge street. About 2,500 people live immediately within a 1.5 mile radius of the plant, according to the El Paso City-County Office of Emergency Management.

“It’s scary that this can happen with the refinery but we can’t afford to move. We are stuck,” Rebecca Delgado, 56, told the El Paso Times.

The El Paso newspaper reported that, “The last major fire at Western Refining was in November when a hydrogen leak sparked a blaze that took firefighters hours to extinguish.”

According to the Diario de El Paso:

“Neighbors have complained for decades about the contamination produced by this plant right in the middle of one of the most highly populated areas in El Paso. They say they have seen health problems ranging from headaches, to respiratory problems to lead poisoning.

“My son was diagnosed with high levels of lead in his blood. This was two years ago and every six months doctors have to check his blood to see if his lead levels are high,” said Lourdes Medina, who has lived four years on Seville street near Western Refining.

Medina attributes her son’s health problems to the toxic smoke and ashes spewed daily by the El Paso refinery.She said that from 8 pm to dawn, the noxious smell and heat (in addition to loud noises that come from the inside of the refinery) makes life rather unbearable for her and her family.

Raul Quiñonez, another resident in the area and former Western Refining employee said that a tanker that was transporting oil blew up near the plant, and spewed chemicals on dozens of homes and cars in his neighborhood.

After this, he explained, a hotline was set up by Western Refining to take complaints. However, when residents call to complain they get a voice message or “non-responses,” Quiñonez said. “They tell us that they have the permit to spew these chemicals during the night time and that nothing can be done about that. Sometimes, they just hang up the phone and don’t respond,” said Mariano Medina, also a resident of the neighborhood surrounding the refinery. He said that during the last accident the affected residents were paid $250 each so that they would keep quiet about it and not go to the news media.

The El Paso refinery is co-owned by Paso Del Norte Group members Paul Foster and Bill Sanders. Both are major contributors to Republican causes at the local, state level and national level. Foster recently donated $25,000 to right wing candidate Dee Margo, a personal friend of president Bush. They are also major contributors to the self-designated “progressive” local leaders such as Mayor Cook, city rep O’Rourke and state senator Shapleigh who are leading the efforts against ASARCO because the smelter plant will potentially cause major pollution if reopened.

Even critics who support the closure of ASARCO, believe these city leaders are using the legitimate enviromental concern as a "populist fig leaf to conceal their own hidden agenda," namely, the seizure of the ASARCO land for their binational mega-development projects driven by the same big money players funding their campaigns.

A government funded study in the 1990s showed that Fort Bliss and Western Refining are currently the two major causes of pollution in El Paso. While the city leaders have spent nearly a million dollars in their fight against ASARCO and to study what City will do with the land once it is expropriated from the smelter, no funds have been spent to gauge the environmental harm on the communities surrounding Western Refining. 

February 18, 2008

El Paso Community College Will Host Forum Against Binational Displacement

AN EDUCATIONAL FORUM against displacement and land seizures in Lomas del Poleo and the Segundo Barrio will be held on Tuesday, February 19th at the El Paso Community College Administrative Center auditorium.  Several documentaries including Poleo Speaking by Leon de la Rosa and El Segundo Barrio No Se Vende by Paso Del Sur will be shown at the forum. Panelists include residents from the Lomas del Poleo and the Segundo Barrio, Sacred Heart pastor Edwin Gros and Father Bill Morton, a Columban missionary who was deported from Mexico for his work on behalf of the colonos of Lomas del Poleo. There will also be a photography exhibit by Bruce Berman. The forum is free to the public.

Where:  EPCC Administrative Services Center Auditorium, 9050 Viscount.
When:  Tuesday, February 19 at 6 to 8 pm

PDNG Speculator Finally Cashes in on the Downtown Plan  

THE PASO DEL NORTE GROUP Mike Dipp Jr. finally cashed in on the downtown plan he so fervently supports.  He just sold his Plaza Hotel to fellow PDNG oil refinery mogul Paul Foster was recently named “Man of the Year” by the El Paso Times. Mr. Dipp, a local land speculator who has owned the Plaza Hotel for decades without doing a thing with it, was able to reduce his taxes on his buildings more than $150,000 last year after a protest at the Central Appraisal District. The hotel was appraised last year by the El Paso Central Appraisal District at $894,965, and reduced to $731,532 after a protest. There’s a bit of hypocrisy here since the whole misinformation talking point of the PDNG supporters is that downtown merchants don’t pay their fair of taxes. Although Central Appraisal District research done by attorney Enrique Medrano has shown that most of the downtown businesses actually pay more taxes foot per foot than those outside this area, it seems to actually hold true for some of the major PDNG players. PDNG founder William Sanders, who also owns several buildings downtown, also is in the habit of fighting property valuation increases at the Central Appraisal District. One of his Verde properties in the Lower Valley was lowered in value by one million dollars after he protested. (Those developers sure like to protest, don’t they?)

The new owner of the Plaza Hotel, Paul Foster, who is also the owner of one of the top two major polluters in the city, Western Refining, now owns three vacant Downtown office buildings: the 16-story Blue Flame building; the 12-story Mills Building; and the Luther Building. Foster bought the Blue Flame building right before City manager Joyce Wilson announced that City Hall is considering selling out its present structure and possibly plans to purchase Foster Blue Flame building as its future site. Doesn’t that sound a bit like insider trading?

Foster’s message to the City politicos is clearly—mi casa es su casa. This will give the term "embedded politicians" a whole new twist.

February 12, 2008

EVENT:

Segundo Barrio-Lomas del Poleo Forum at the University of Ciudad Juárez

What:  Forum:  What Side of the Fence Are You On? Lomas del Poleo-Segundo Barrio: Two Communities Under Siege

Where:  Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juárez, Sala Francisco R. Almada, edificio "I" en ICSA (Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Administración)

When: Wednesday, February 13 at 6 pm 

February 11, 2008

IS BILL SANDER'S BUILDING BLIGHTED?

The "sign of the changing times" can't withstand a strong wind.

A FEW MONTH ago the El Pasoan, a glossy magazine owned by the fervent plan booster and TIRZ board member Keith Mahar, (who also owns NPT), ran a short article listing the new blue sign put up by Bill Sanders on the roof of the Chase Bank building as a wonderful example of Downtown “revitalization” and as a “sign of the changing times.” The headquarters of the Verde Group and the Paso Del Norte Group are located inside the Chase Bank building that was bought last year by Bill Sander’s Borderplex REIT as the first acquisition of the Downtown plan.

Apparently the signs of revitalization can’t stand up to a strong wind.

In January 7, 2008, the El Paso Times reported that “firefighters have closed a section of Main Street in front of the Chase Bank Building Downtown because some aluminum sheets at the top of the building have become loose because of the wind and possibly may fall off, according to firefighters at the scene. A section of Stanton Street near Chase Bank has also been blocked off because of the potential danger.”

A month later, the street is still closed.

Recently, community groups have approached the City Council in support of an ordinance to make sure that only buildings that are genuinely a threat to the community should be condemned as “blighted.” O’Rourke and three other City Council reps voted the ordinance down because they prefer a free-for-all defintion in which all buildings in the TIRZ zone can be declared blighted not because they are truly blighted but because Sanders and his Borderplex REIT need those property for their own private development projects.

Ironically, Sander’s own building has proven to be the greatest threat in the area. No one, however, expects O’Rourke to use this incident to show that the Chase Bank building is a “danger” to the community. That argument will be used by Mr. O’Rourke only against his own political enemies, not against his own father in law.

Question: If Sander’s revitalized sign can’t withstand a strong wind will the signs of his “revitalization plan” withstand the downturn in the local housing market and the bust of the REITS at a national level?

More on that at a later date.

February 7, 2008

FACT CHECK 

O’Rourke claims 2007 election gave him mandate from Segundo Barrio residents 

AFTER TUESDAY’S SUCCESSFUL action at City Hall by a group of Sacred Heart Parishioners, barrio residents and their supporters from various organizations demanding that City rep Robert O’Rourke acknowledge his conflict of interest in his vote against the proposed eminent domain ordinance, O’Rourke held a press conference to defend himself. According to NPT:

“O’Rourke believed the protest to be a ‘ruse by the Paso Del Sur Group to make it look as though Segundo Barrio is united in protest against what we’re doing at the city.’ He stated that he believes a majority of South El Paso residents approved of what he is doing in office as they re-elected him as the city representative last year’ ...If you look at the election returns from 2007, that’s just not the case,’ he said.”

Here's our response to Mr. O’Rourkes claims and misinformation.

Claim #1: Tuesday’s protest was “a Paso Del Sur ruse.”

Fact:

The protest was not organized by Paso Del Sur but by a newly formed Segundo Barrio neighborhood committee called “Voces Del Barrio” that has been organized with the help of Sacred Heart pastor Edwin Gros and organizers of the Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project. They hold their meetings on a regular basis at Sacred Heart Church. Mr. O’Rourke, like most self-proclaimed members of the elitist "Creative Class," apparently does not believe the Southside residents and parishioners of Sacred Heart Church are capable of protesting and thinking for themselves.

Claim #2: The 2007 city election gave Robert O’Rourke a mandate from the Segundo Barrio residents to proceed with the demolition plan

Fact:

To respond to O’Rourke’s claim we must first examine what exactly are the returns for the May 2007 election that O’Rourke is citing as evidence of El Segundo Barrio’s alleged support for him and the PDNG plan.

The one polling booth in South El Paso, precinct 35 at Padre Pinto (about 10 blocks away from the “redevelopment zone” in the heart of the Segundo Barrio) saw a total of 158 voters last May. Only 86 barrio residents out of 2,800 registered voters in the Segundo Barrio voted for O’Rourke. The total population of the Segundo Barrio is more than 15,000.

O’Rourke outspent his opponent almost nine to one. Thanks to heavy political contributions from more than 170 members of the Paso Del Norte Group and their spouses—including major developers, bankers and CEOs from the region—O’Rourke raised $60,283. His opponent, Trini Acevedo, raised $7,100. While his Acevedo didn’t even have money to put up a single poster in the Segundo Barrio, O’Rourke managed to decorate the freeway with large billboards showing his face. Despite this huge inequity in support from the city’s major developers and CEO’s (a handful of them who have been mentioned as targets of the FBI’s corruption investigation for offering county and city officials bribes in exchange for public contracts) Mr. O’Rourke only beat his opponent in the Segundo Barrio by 14 votes!

In other words, only 3% of all registered Segundo Barrio residents voted for O’Rourke. Only 86 out of a total population of 15,000 residents hardly constitutes an overwhelming mandate.

The real question here is why do so few barrio residents bother to vote at all? Could it be that they feel that it makes no difference? After all, the plans that deeply affect their own communities are always presented as “done deals.” It’s the experience of barrio organizers that many barrio residents express feelings of “impotence.” They feel incapable of standing up against that powerful business and political interests. Many of them are disgusted by the political corruption they see. When some of them get enough courage to participate and go speak before City Hall, as we saw last Tuesday, those in power (such as Mr. O’Rourke) do everything to make sure the residents feel insignificant and incapable of affecting the outcome of decisions that affect their community.

Historically, everything has been done by the ruling class in El Paso to make sure that the residents of the Segundo Barrio continue to be as disempowered as possible. That explains why the district represented by O’Rourke is one of the most gerrymandered districts in the entire country.

Any politician who claims to have an overwhelming mandate to demolish the heart of a neighborhood because 86 out of 15,000 of its residents voted for him in the last election is either disingenuous or outrageously deluded.

February 6, 2008

A CALL TO CONSCIENCE 

"You cannot do this to people," Father Edwin Gros, Sacred Heart pastor tells City Council 

A GROUP OF Sacred Heart Parishioners who call themselves (Comite Voces del Segundo Barrio) and their supporters from the Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project, Paso del Sur, Anunciation House and other organizations addressed city council yesterday asking them to reconside their vote prohibiting the misuse of eminent domain on non-blighted property. They asked that O'Rourke recuse himself due to conflict of interest.

Watch the video.

AN UNETHICAL VOTE

Part I:

City Rep Robert O’Rourke casts deciding vote despite admitted conflict of interest

ALTHOUGH CITY REPRESENTATIVE Robert O’Rourke has signed sworn affidavits in the past admitting to conflict of interest regarding all issues related to the Downtown-Segundo Barrio “redevelopment plan,” he failed to recuse himself during yesterday’s vote on an ordinance that would disallow “blight” condemnations on buildings that are in perfect condition. Instead he cast the deciding vote with the 4 to 3 majority of City Council that wants the local government to have broad powers to condemn and forcibly confiscate any building it wishes within the “redevelopment zone” even if the building is well-maintained. The homes and small businesses that are thus expropriated will be handed over to private developers including O’Rourke’s father-in-law William Sanders.  As owner of the Verde Group, the Borderplex Community Trust (that is currently buying property within the redevelopment zone) and founder of the Paso del Norte Group, Sanders is the major driving force behind the plan to demolish a 30 acre-zone of the Segundo Barrio and displace more than 1,800 residents from this historic neighborhood.

Since December 2006, O’Rourke has consistently recused himself because of admitted conflict of interest from votes related to the redevelopment zone, a 302-acre area also known as the TIRZ (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone) that includes the heart of the Segundo Barrio. For instance in October 17, 2007, he signed a sworn affidavit stating that “I, and or a person or persons related to me have an interest in property in the proposed TIRZ district.” Oddly enough, instead of admitting the obvious conflict of interest involving his father in law who is currently buying up land in the TIRZ zone, O’Rourke states that “my wife’s employer is a landowner in the proposed district.” In other affidavits he states that his wife, Amy Sanders O'Rourke,  works for the La Fe Community Development Corporation, a for-profit entity that owns apartments and several businesses within the TIRZ zone. Ms. O'Rourke is currently the executive director of the La Fe Preparatory charter school.

The executive director of La Fe Clinic, Sal Balcorta is a member of the executive committee of the Paso Del Norte Group that developed the PDNG plan and charted the zone within the Segundo Barrio where residences and small business could be forcibly expropriated.

O’Rourke gave no explanation why, if has signed sworn statements in the past admitting to conflict of interest in the TIRZ zone, he believes it is ethical to cast the deciding vote on a matter related to this same zone.

Was it that O’Rourke felt he could safely recuse himself from votes in the past where the outcome was safely on the pro-eminent domain side, but now things have changed with the recent resignation of former city rep Alejandro Lozano? Yesterday’s vote would have resulted in a 3 to 3 tie if O’Rourke had chosen to continue to abstain and the Mayor would have been forced to cast the tie-breaking vote.

In the past, Mayor John Cook has stated publicly that he supports the use of eminent domain condemnation only against “specific properties” that fit the definition of blight and not properties whose only crime is to have the misfortune of being located within a TIRZ zone. If Cook had been forced to break the tie, it would have been a lose-lose situation for the pro-PDNG crowd. Either Cook would have been forced to drop his mask of being against forced expropriations for non-blighted properties, or he would have cast the winning vote for the ordinance to limit eminent domain abuse.

O’Rourke could not afford either of these scenarios. That’s why he now has to explain why one day he swears to conflict of interest and another day, although nothing has changed, he decides his sworn statements no longer apply.

Part II:
A Real Bad Taste in Their Mouth:

The voice of the Segundo Barrio residents is squelched again.

Why can’t we at least pretend there’s a democracy here? one speaker asked O’Rourke at City Council chambers yesterday. “Some Segundo Barrio residents were told the vote on the ordinance was postponed for a week and they left. It’s not going to hurt you to postpone it for a week. You should always err on the part of the citizens. You’ve obviously already made up your mind how you’re going to vote anyway. But at least let them speak before you cast your vote. Please postpone it for a week. It’s not going to hurt anything. Otherwise the people will go with a real bad taste in their mouth.”

The speaker, who is a regular at City Hall meetings, spoke in support of a group of Segundo Barrio residents who had shown up at City Hall on Tuesday morning to sign up to speak on the eminent domain ordinance but left after they were told that the vote and discussion on the issue had been postponed for a week.

“We arrived at City Hall at 8:30 in the morning to sign up to speak and we were told by a City employee at the sign-up table that the issue was postponed for a week,” say Gaby Garcia of the Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project. “She showed me a postponement notice that said “postpone one week as per representative Castro.”

Segundo Barrio resident Lupe Ochoa was also told the vote on the issue was postponed but then she found out the City Council decided to rescind the postponement. When she found out she rushed back to City Hall, but this time by herself because it was too late to inform the other residents.

Both Lupe Ochoa and Gabby Garcia returned and asked the council members why they had been told that the eminent domain abuse ordinance vote was postponed but now they were actually going to vote on it. “Could you wait until next week so that the Segundo Barrio residents get a chance to speak? Or at least put it back a few items on today’s agenda so that we can call them and they can come back today” Gabby Garcia asked.

Representative Melina Castro, who introduced the ordinance on forced expropriations, apologized whatever misunderstanding occured and moved to postpone the vote for a week to give the barrio residents a chance to speak.

O’Rourke responded with a clear-cut no. “I’m ready to hear and decide on this issue now. I represent the residents of the Segundo Barrio. I met with them a numbers of times to the point of going door to door. I’ve met with groups of barrio residents twice. Once at the Boys and Girls Club and another time I met at Sacred Heart Church where I was ambushed by the Paso Del Sur Group. [editors note: The meeting that took place in the summer of 2007 was in fact organized not by Paso Del Sur but by the church and a group of lawyers representing the residents.] You can see my meeting with the residents there on YouTube. We’ve heard this issue ad naseum for two years and I’m ready to vote on this. I moved to deny this proposed postponement,” he said.

Guadalupe Ochoa approached the podium and addressed O’Rourke, “Why are you excluding us from your plan again? Many of the people of the Segundo Barrio were here this morning but we were turned away, then I find out you’re going to vote today after all. Why can’t you understand that we love our barrio and we’re happy there before your plan came along? Why can’t you fix our homes and property rather than destroy it? We are willing to defend our barrio because we love it. But I know not everyone shares this love for it. Remember (looking at O’Rourke) that you are where you are because we put you there, so think carefully before you do what you intend to do.”

At this point, O’Rourke interrupted Mrs. Ochoa and asked, “Señora Ochoa, is it not true that you live in Eighth Street outside the redevelopment zone? [Mrs. Ochoa actually currently lives on Ninth Street but lived on Mesa Street for close to 20 years.] I have many projects to repave that street and add additional lighting and security there.”

Mrs. Ochoa responded: “I’m not here to fight only for my street. I’m here to fight for my barrio and my people."

The City voted 4-3 to deny the request for postponement. O’Rourke again cast the deciding vote.

“The residents are free to come back next week and address the council if they wish during the open comments period,” O’Rourke told Mrs. Ochoa. He did not inform her that next week whatever the residents have to say will not affect City Council's vote on Segundo Barrio expropriations. That vote has already been cast.

January 28, 2008

ANOTHER ATTACK BY CATARINO DEL RIO'S GOONS

The Violence Against Lomas del Poleo Residents Continues to Escalate

 
 Zaragoza thugs armed with sticks  and chains threaten human rights 
observers during a forum in December 2007.

by ALERTA LOMAS DEL POLEO

AN ARMED PARAMILITARY group led by Zaragoza representative Catarino del Río violently attacked the residents of Lomas del Poleo at 10:45 am on Monday, January 28. Two days before this, Catarino del Río had threatened Guadalupe Pineda, one of the leaders of Lomas del Poleo, with the destruction her home and that of her son Margarito Cervantes.

Yesterday, Del Río returned with a group of 20 thugs armed with bats, pick axes, shovels and crow bars to keep his promise. They would have destroyed most of Margarito Cervantes’ home had it not been because a group of colonos interfered with them. In the ensuing confrontation, Lomas resident Esther Gómez was beaten with a club in her right hand and arm. The Juárez police, who have consistently taken the side of the powerful Zaragoza family, arrived at the scene but refused to take a report of the assault. Instead they dismissed the incident as a mere “verbal confrontation between the residents.”

The only way to get into the neighborhood surrounded by barbed-wire is through a gate controlled by the Zaragoza guards who do not allow family members, friends or human rights groups who support the residents to enter. When the newspaper and television media showed up this morning at Lomas del Poleo, they were turned away at the gate by the guards who “informed” them that “nothing had taken place.”

At 12:30 pm, Guadalupe, Esther and Margarito went to the offices of the Chihuahua State Department of Justice to file charges against Catarino del Río for assault and theft of property. They remained at these offices for twelve hours, yet the state authorities refused to initiate an investigation into the matter.

Meanwhile, Margarito Cervantes’ home is partially destroyed and his furniture and possessions are strewn in the road in front of his home and Esther Gómez arm is in a sling.

January 27, 2008

THE LATEST ILLEGAL EVICTION THREAT BY GRUPO ZARAGOZA

A PRESS CONFERENCE will take place at noon today, Sunday (1-27-08) to denounce yesterday’s attempt by Catarino del Río, representative of Pedro Zaragoza, to destroy the home of Lomas del Poleo resident Margarito Cervantes Pineda. Margarito is the son of Guadalupe Pineda, one of the community leaders resisting the Grupo Zaragoza’s violent eviction campaign. When Guadalupe Pineda intervened, Catarino del Río promised to come back with a group of armed Zaragoza guards to carry out the illegal demolition. All supporters of the Lomas del Poleo residents are invited to attend the press conference at the Tonantzin Women’s Center in Anapra, Ciudad Júarez at 12 noon.

For the latest updates on the Zaragoza eviction campaign read ¡Alerta Lomas del Poleo!

January 25, 2008

 JUST A BUNCH OF ILLEGAL ALIEN HUGGERS

Anti-immigrant group congratulates El Paso City Council for “reclaiming your city.”

AMERICANS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRATION, a website dedicated to the criminalization and mass deportation of undocumented Mexican immigrants in the U.S., congratulates the pro-PDNG political leadership of El Paso for their support of the demolition plan of the heart of the Segundo Barrio.

“I say KUDOS to you El Paso for attempting to reclaim your city! Proud home of Fort Bliss,” writes one forum participant who identifies himself as a truck driver whose youngest child formerly attended Aoy School in South El Paso. “What do you want to bet a greater (sic) percentage of (those who oppose displacement in the Segundo Barrio and Lomas del Poleo) are I(llegal) A(lien) huggers and smugglers. Many of them.”

Read more.

A REASONABLE AND JUST PROPOSAL 

“This plan calls for a total REDEVELOPMENT of the District. If the plan is to achieve critical mass and create a ‘state of the art’ environment for existing businesses as well as new businesses it is important that the Plan be approved (sic).”