Atenco Victory Celebration in New York City

An invitation to members and families of organizations, community members, and people of good conscience who are fighting for justice.

From: Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York

THE LIBERATION OF ATENCO: A NYC VICTORY CELEBRATION

Wednesday, October 13th at 7 pm Judson Memorial Church Assembly Hall 239 Thompson St. New York City

Join us to celebrate this triumph for humanity and against displacement.

From East Harlem to Chiapas, from New Orleans to South Africa to Salford, from Chinatown to Morocco to San Salvador Atenco and in all of the places in between, there are humble and simple people like ourselves rising up in dignified rage and fighting back against neoliberal displacement to keep their homes, their land and save their communities.

In Mexico, a member organization of the Zapatista initiated Other Campaign, the People’s Front in Defense of the Land, organized in their community of San Salvador Atenco and in 2002 successfully put a halt to the federal government’s project to take away their land in order to build an international airport.

In May of 2006, the government of Mexico avenged this victory by savagely attacking the population of Atenco. During this military and police attack, two youth were killed, thirty women were tortured and raped, and they incarcerated more than 200 people. Some of the political prisoners were sentenced to up to 112 years.  

In response to the repression, our sisters and brothers Zapatistas, Movement for Justice in El Barrio and other organizations belonging to The Other Campaign and beyond expressed our commitment to  “an injury to one is an injury to all” by launching a worldwide campaign to ensure the liberation of the political prisoners. This fight for the freedom of our compañeros, led by the People’s Front in Defense of the Land, recently resulted in the liberation of all the political prisoners of Atenco.

Despite the government’s attempt to destroy the community of Atenco’s powerful struggle, the People’s Front in Defense of the Land is now stronger than ever.

Their resistance and courage has been an inspiration to us as well as a powerful reason to keep fighting. We invite you to join us in celebrating this remarkable triumph.

Let us share our joy together.

At the celebration we will also premiere our new film: “Atenco Vive: 2001 to 2010”. The film includes our most recent visit to Atenco where Movement for Justice in El Barrio celebrated with our compañer@s.