Change coming slowly in Hondo

By Zeke MacCormack, Express-News

HONDO — A new era begins here Monday when Hispanics gain control of a city council long dominated by Anglos, a minority in this community of 9,000 people.

Despite pledges of cooperation, distrust has already emerged since the May 10 election when Virginia Gonzalez, Lucio Torrez and Chavel Lopez solidly beat council incumbents.

The incoming council members campaigned on a platform promising “real change.” Lopez is a community activist who has long accused city leaders of ignoring the needs of working class residents of the Medina County seat.

The three wanted to be sworn in May 19, but instead watched the outgoing council take actions with which they disagree.

Most upsetting to them was a special meeting May 21 in which the council added a year to City Manager Robert Herrera's contract, extending it through 2012 and sweetening its severance pay provisions.

Mayor Jim Danner acknowledged the action was taken in anticipation of a new council majority, saying, “A couple of council members were concerned (the newcomers) might go after Mr. Herrera.”

Lopez, the outspoken leader of The Hondo Empowerment Committee, said of the contract changes, “I don't think it's a show of good faith.”

He noted that the city charter adopted by voters last year requires a three-fourths majority of the five council members to fire a city manager. It also lengthened city council terms to three years from two.

Ambiguous charter phrasing on when new council members take office has caused some of the discontent leading up to Monday's swearing-in ceremony.

It says, “Each newly elected person to the City Council shall be inducted into office at the first regular City Council meeting following the official canvassing of the election.”

A handout the city gave candidates stated the canvassing and oaths of office would occur at the May 19 regular council meeting. But city officials told the winners on election night that the handout was wrong — they wouldn't be seated until Monday,based on the city attorney's interpretation that the canvassing and oaths aren't done at the same meeting.

The May 19 meeting was canceled due to a lack of a quorum, leading to a special meeting May 21 to canvass votes.

“Its obvious to everybody that I talk to,” Torrez said. “They say, ‘These guys pulled a fast one on you.'”

Danner called the charter “a little confusing” but said there was no conspiracy to delay convening the new council.

Two members of the panel that drafted the charter disagreed on what the intent was. Jim Tomey, committee vice-chair, said its aim was to seat new members in June. But Bob Heyen, a former councilman on the panel, said oaths should have been taken May 19, had the meeting occurred.

Gonzalez said the old council's last-minute changes to Herrera's contract showed that “there's going to be friction.”

“I'm totally open to working with anyone, but we haven't been given a chance yet,” she said.

The incoming council members campaigned for more open government, improved services, expansion of local educational opportunities and boosting the local pay scale.

Despite running on a slate and being Lopez's brother in law, Torrez said he'll be independent.

“I think the way I think,” he said. “I don't follow anybody.”

Their victories have supporters like Armando Gonzalez hoping for smoother streets and better water pressure.

“All I want is for the Spanish community to be treated equally,” said Gonzalez, 65, who is not related to Virginia Gonzalez. “Before now ... white people controlled the city council. We don't want (council members) to fight. We want the city to be fair to both sides.”

Lopez led a protest last fall in which he accused city leaders of “environmental racism” over pollution from downtown grain silos and overflowing sewer lines.

Councilman J. Gruber said he's looking forward to working with the new members. “I think he'll realize we're not racists,” he said of Lopez.

Herrera said, “I don't have any preconceived opinion that they're coming in with a negative agenda. I believe they want to improve the quality of life and employment conditions.”

He expects Lopez's view of the city to change, adding, “He's part of the establishment now.”

Pushback Network: SxSW report from Texas

South by Southwest: Report back from Texas

“The knowledge and experience our three sister organizations (CVH, S. Echo and SWOP) bring to table is invaluable. This type of sharing and work is a corner stone to our learning and vital for building a strong movement.”
– Genaro Rendon

SWOP, CVH and Southern Echo, three Pushback Network anchor organizations from New Mexico, New York and Mississippi respectively, went to San Antonio Feb. 15-16 to support the Southwest Workers Union (SWU) in its 2-day training entitled, “’Mobilizing Grassroots Voting Power”. We had members of the Pushback Network collaborating together to assist a key grassroots network in a fourth state to build their organizing process from the bottom up. This assistance actually arose out of the SWU, SWOP and Echo South x Southwest Experiment that focused on building black-brown bridges across the south and southwest. Through this Experiment, the Pushback Network developed a relationship with SWU. All in all, a great time was had by all.

SWU was most interested in hearing how New Mexico, Mississippi and New York explained their different models of grassroots community organizing, both historically and programmatically, and how each state brought their community into the political process. SWU’s goal was both to understand what others have done and to see what it could take from each of the models that would be most useful in the south Texas context. What was interesting to me was that SWU was not seeking a singular black and white roll out of do-this and do-that, but an opportunity to obtain a more complex overview of vision and strategy, as well as the critical details of program, to assess the best that each of the models had to offer that flowed from the variety of approaches and experiences based on their different circumstances.

The Texas process brings to life one of the principal values that we projected from the outset as a goal of the Pushback process, and also in the South x Southwest process. The question was, can we build bottom up grassroots models of work that would not only further the work in our own states, but be useful to like-minded communities in other states? I think the answer is affirmative.

Reported to Pushbacknetwork.org by Mike Sayer, Southern Echo, MS
By Samiya Bashir

Mobilize your power II: Cast your vote

I will make my VOICE heard.

With more presidential hopefuls and allies visiting San Antonio this week than in the past 50 years, it's hard to forget that the primaries are March 4th. Here is some info to help you navigate through the process.

**Any registered voter can cast a ballot EITHER in the democratic or the republican primary

** Bring your voter registration card or a form of ID

Early Voting: Now through Friday Feb. 29th
(you can go to ANY site listed to the left)

Election Day: March 4th 2008 7am - 7pm
Where do i vote? what is my precinct? who is on the ballot? Find out here

More Info: Check the Bexar County Elections Dept , 210.335.VOTE

or call SWU at 210.299.2666

You too can Mobilize Grassroots Voting Power: Feb 16th

Equal Voices in the Valle

Organizers say San Juan Equal Voice event saw launch of national movement
21 January 2008
Steve Taylor and Joey Gomez, Rio Grande Guardian

Marguerite Casey Foundation President and CEO Luz Vega-Marquis speaks at the Equal Voices town hall meeting in San Juan on Saturday.

SAN JUAN, January 21 - Coordinators of the Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign believe the 400 Rio Grande Valley residents who attended a town hall meeting on Saturday may have just sparked a national movement.

“With the weather being so bitterly cold, we were not sure we were going to hit our 300 target figure. We ended up with about 400 people and no spare chairs,” said a delighted Armando Garza, South Texas regional coordinator for the Equal Voice campaign.

“I also saw folks that have never been involved in civic participation before get excited. This campaign is about movement building and I think we started building a national movement here in San Juan, Texas.”

The $5 million Equal Voice campaign is being funded by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and facilitated by the 200 non-profit groups the Foundation supports.

Among the Valley grassroots groups participating are La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), ARISE, AVANCE, the Azteca Community Loan Fund, the Brownsville Community Health Center, the Community Action Council of South Texas, Colonias Unidas, Proyecto Azteca, Proyecto Digna, Proyecto Libertad, SCAN (Serving Children and Adolescents in Need), the South West Workers Union, Su Casa de Esperanza, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.

The Equal Voice campaign starts off with the premise that no American family should live in poverty. Through the development of a national platform of issues of concern to families, Equal Voice wants to spark a national dialogue, preferably including the 2008 presidential candidates, about the policies and attitudes that negatively impact families.

The campaign wants to ensure that the working poor are part of that national discussion, build a movement of families to sustain long-term change, and increase civic engagement among families.

Saturday’s town hall meeting, held inside a big tent on LUPE’s grounds in San Juan, was the first of 40 to be held across the country this year. Two similar events are planned for Brownsville and Rio Grande City later, with a special gathering for the region’s youth at South Texas College’s campuses in McAllen, Weslaco, and Rio Grande City.

Once the 40 town hall meetings have been held, the campaign moves to the national stage, by bringing together approximately 10,000 families in a multi-city convention of families on Sept. 6 in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Birmingham, AL. The platform approved at the national town hall meetings will then be presented to the presidential candidates in October.

Luz Vega-Marquis, president and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, was present to see the launch of Equal Voice campaign in San Juan. She said the enthusiasm of the participants and the organizational skills of the grassroots groups that hosted the San Juan event have set the bar high for the town hall meetings to follow.

“I’m thrilled. I’m very touched by the level of participation, by the preparation, by the groups in the Valley,” Vega-Marquis said. “The training of leaders and bringing families out and the families realize the importance of their voices being heard. I am elated.”

Saturday’s town hall meeting was conducted entirely in Spanish. Participants were asked to list the issues that matter to their families. Gathered around tables, they were then encouraged to discuss those issues with those they were sitting next to. At the end of the discussions, priority lists were drawn up.

Garza said it was empowering just to watch the dialogue emerge.

“Participation is the way to affect change and I saw a group people who had frustration on their faces. They wanted to verbalize those frustrations, write them down on paper, and then share them with the person next to them, who they may or may not have known. It was, hey, we can do this together. I think it was this shared experience that was so empowering,” Garza said.

Lorena Rodriguez, a young mother from San Juan, listed immigration reform as a top priority. Rodriguez and her family live in a colonia with no electricity. Her three-year-old son Daniel has a heart condition and the family cannot afford health insurance.

“Living in house with no electricity makes it hard. I want the politicians to know that we have arms, we have legs; we can work like anybody else. But they do not take us into consideration. Give us the right to be here legally and we can change our situation,” Rodriguez said.

Alamo resident Elsa Rangel said education and immigration reform were key concerns. Her daughter Adaida is a student at South Texas College hoping to become a registered nurse. “We do not qualify for financial aid and we cannot afford the textbooks my daughter needs,” Rangel said.

The Caravan is On the Road...

Rolling out with painted buses, this stylish crew of 100 from across the state of New Mexico (including folks from California) launches the People's Freedom Caravan. With a new vision of democracy, the buses head across 7 states over 6 days through the southwest and hurricane alley to land at the 1st US Social Forum in Atlanta. Along the way over 75 community-based organizations and thousands of people in each city will converge to share cultures and work towards grassroots solutions to issues of poverty, globalization and pollution.

The New Mexico Delegation consists of residents from Pajarito Mesa fighting for basic services, Immigrants fighting for a just immigration reform, Indigenous people protecting sacred sites, African Americans preserving historical traditions and culture, policy organizations fighting for working families and other allies from around the state.

“The caravan will unite across racial, cultural, geographic and language barriers to advocate for people-based solutions and to create a democracy that works for everyone not just a selected few,” says Bineshi Albert, Board President of SouthWest Organizing Project.

The caravan is scheduled to arrive in San Antonio Friday evening.

*************************************

From ABQ journal

Activists Join People’s Caravan

Bus tour to focus on social, economic disparities on way to forum in Atlanta

BY DEBRA DOMINGUEZ-LUND
Journal Staff Writer

They are seeking another form of U.S. democracy — one they say is based on “equality, living wages, sustainability and human rights.”

About 100 community members and civil rights activists will gather as the sun comes up Friday morning at Washington Park near Downtown Albuquerque to launch a “People’s Caravan” across the nation.

The bus caravan, a grassroots effort by participating groups such as the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Southwest Organizing Project, was created in remembrance of the first Freedom Ride that was met with violence in Jackson, Miss., in 1961.

New Mexicans from civil rights advocacy groups like SWOP, Enlace Comunitario, the Martin Luther King Dream Team and Somos un Pueblo Unido, will launch the bus tour from Albuquerque and visit at least six other U.S. cities until reaching their destination: the U.S. Social Forum, which is expected to draw some 1,000 attendees in Atlanta on Wednesday.

“During the tour, we’ll be meeting up with allies in other cities for rallies, press conferences, meetings with legislators and to even do community work,” SWOP communications organizer Jo Ann Gutierrez-Bejar said.

The caravan will make stops in San Antonio, Texas; Houston; Lake Charles, La.; New Orleans; Jackson, Miss.; Selma, Ala., and finally, Atlanta.

“Our primary mission is to bridge the nation’s democratic divide,” Gutierrez-Bejar said. “We live in a country with structural inequities. Lowincome people of color are divided amongst each other.

“We need to bridge the gap between us with this tour and realize we’re all fighting the same struggles and seeking the same opportunities,” she said.

“We want to look at how certain policies in this nation are tailored for the rich by the rich. We want to get the poor involved so policies are tailored to help get them out of poverty.”

Organizers say that as the freedom riders of the 1960s brought a new vision for the South based on desegregation, this year’s “People’s Caravan” will demonstrate that another United States is possible — one that bridges racial, geographic and cultural divides and moves beyond the status quo “pay to play” politics.

“We are going to Atlanta to build a unified voice of the people,” said Agnes Rivera, New York’s Community Voices Heard leader and a caravan participant.

“We want to make connections across the country to create a domino effect of action and organizing.

“On the caravan and at the forum, we will discuss our social safety net, jobs and public housing,” she said. “We’ll learn from each other and strengthen our work for another world.”

Sandra Ortsman, a member of Albuquerque’s immigrantrights group Enlace Comunitario, said costs, harsh working conditions and distance typically keep the poor apart and away from organizing opportunities.

“This caravan will allow us to unite,” she said. “It will give us a chance to form a partnership and come up with strategies and solutions to do away with injustice and inequities in the United States.”

Freedom Caravan Across Nation

For Immediate Release:

May 25, 2007

Contact: Genaro Rendon 210.286.6271 (SWU)

JoAnn Gutierrez Bejar 505.247.8832 (SWOP)

Brenda Hyde 601.982.6400 (S Echo)

Kimberly Richards 504.722.3213 (NOLA)

Freedom Caravan Across Nation

Bringing a new grassroots vision and innovations to overcome the democracy divide

In remembrance of the courage of the first Freedom Ride that met racist violence in Jackson on May 25, 2006, community leaders again will unite on the People's Freedom Caravan to promote a new vision of democracy. This is a vision based on human rights, a vision that bridges racial, geographic and cultural divides and moves beyond the status quo 'pay to play' politics. From Boston to California, Chicago to Florida, people are getting on buses, vans and cars to share their story as they make their way to the 1^st United States Social Forum in Atlanta, Ga. Every one person is a story and the masses of voices are bringing solutions to issues of violence, racism, pollution and poverty. As the freedom riders of the 1960s brought a new vision for the South based on desegregation, the People's Caravan will demonstrate that another US is possible, one that is based on equality, living wages, sustainability and human rights.

"We are going to Atlanta to build a unified voice of the people! We want to make connections across the country to create a domino effect of action and organizing," said Agnes Rivera, Community Voices Heard Leader from New York caravanning to the USSF. "On the caravan and at forum, we will discuss social safety net, jobs, and public housing, learn from each other, and strengthen our work for 'another' world."

The southern part of the People's Freedom Caravan will take off in Albuquerque where organizations are protecting sacred sites and bringing clean water and solar power to unincorporated communities. 100 people will journey to San Antonio to meet another 100 leaders and march for a living wage for all and call for a just, peaceful border. Continuing to Houston, the hub of the oil industry, the group will promote a clean renewable energy for marginalized neighborhoods that struggle against pollution and sickness.

"The stories of Houston will be on the bus, promoting our right and everyone's right to breathe clean air and live in healthy communities. With 250 people joining us here, the local people can share their vision with this social forum on wheels and get their voices to Atlanta," explained Bryan Parras of the Southern Human Rights Organizing Network in Houston.

With over 4 buses, the caravan will stop in Lake Charles, La. to promote education instead of incarceration and protect communities from contamination. In New Orleans, 4 buses will join to highlight the commitment to rebuild, the protection of the right to return, promotion of affordable safe housing and human rights for all workers. The caravan will split as some buses head down the Gulf Coast, tracing the path of the hurricanes, while other head to Jackson to remember the legacy of the civil rights movement and the steps needed to achieve true equality. Converging in Selma, Alabama, the caravan representing young and old, indigenous, migrants, Latinos, African-Americans and Asians will call for a renewed struggle to overcome the democracy divide and recognize the human rights of all people. As over 1000 people head the Atlanta, they will launch the USSF with a march into the city.

"The People's Freedom Ride is our opportunity to find the wisdom in a united struggle for justice. Post-Katrina life in New Orleans has shown that there is no recovery of the Gulf Coast, but only a massive a privatization scheme that takes away our homes, communities, and human rights. Any hope for displaced hurricane survivors to return to our homes with dignity and justice relies on a mass movement that begins with the People's Freedom Ride to the US Social Forum," said Monique Harden, Co-Director of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights.

Route and stops:

• June 22^nd – Albuquerque, NM 505.247.8832
• June 23^rd – San Antonio, TX 210.299.2666
• June 24^th (afternoon) – Houston, TX 318.514.9924 / (evening) Lake Charles, LA 504.606.8846
• June 25^th – New Orleans, LA 504.301.9292
• June 26^th (morning) – Jackson, MS 601.982.6400 / (evening) – Selma, AL 617.880. 9208
• June 27^th – March on Atlanta to USSF

Participating Organizations:

Action for Community Education Reform, Mississippi

Activists With a Purpose, Grenada (MS)

Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, New Orleans (LA)

Ashe' Cultural Center, New Orleans (LA)

Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, New Mexico

Circle of Love Center, Selma (AL)

Citizens for Education Awareness, Mississippi

Coalition In Defense of the Community, Houston (TX)

Committee for Environmental Justice Action, San Antonio (TX)

Community In-Power Development Association, Port Arthur (TX)

Concerned Citizens for a Better Tunica County, Tunica (MS)

Concerned Citizens of Greenville, Greenville (MS)

Enlace Comunitario, Albuquerque (NM)

Elwood Community Church, Selma (AL)

Federation of Child Care Centers of Alabama, Montgomery (AL)

Fourth World Movement, New Orleans (LA)

Friends and Families of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, Lake Charles (LA)

Fuerza Unida, San Antonio (TX)

Georgia Stand Up, Atlanta (GA)

Houston Indy Media Collective, Houston (TX)

Indianola Parent Student Group, Indianola (MS)

Latino Health Outreach Project, New Orleans (LA)

League of United Latin American Citizens, Houston (TX)

Left Turn, New Orleans (LA)

Lower 9th Ward Health Clinic, New Orleans (LA)

Mary Queen of Vietnam Church, New Orleans (LA)

Millions More Movement, Houston (TX)

MLK Dream Team, Carlsbad (NM)

Mossville Environmental Action Now, Mossville (LA)

Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Slidell (LA)

National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies, New Orleans (LA)/national

New Mexico Acequia Association/Sembrando Semillas, New Mexico

New Orleans Workers' Center, New Orleans (LA)

Nollies Citizens for Quality Education, Mississippi

One Torch, New Orleans (LA)

Parents and Youth United for a Better Webster County, Webster (MS)

People's Hurricane Relief Fund, New Orleans (LA)

People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, Houston (TX), New Orleans (LA)

People's Organizing Committee, New Orleans (LA)

PODER, San Francisco (CA)

Project South, Atlanta (GA)

SAGE Council, Albuquerque (NM)

Saving Our Selves Coalition, Alabama

Somos Un Pueblo Unido, Santa Fe (NM)

Southern Echo Incorporated, Jackson (MS)

Southern Human Rights Organizing Network, Houston (TX)

SouthWest Organizing Project, Albuquerque (NM)

Southwest Workers Union, San Antonio (TX)

T.E.J.A.S, Houston (TX)

Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Houston (TX)

Vietnamese-American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans, New Orleans (LA)

Youth Innovation Movement Solutions, Mississippi

Youth Leadership Organization, San Antonio (TX)

Youth Media Council, Oakland (CA)

Get on the Bus: People's Freedom Caravan

People’s Freedom Caravan

Albuquerque ♦ San Antonio ♦ Houston ♦ Lake Charles ♦ New Orleans ♦ Jackson ♦ Atlanta

For Immediate Release:

May 4 2007
Contact: Genaro Rendon 210.299.26666 (SWU)
JoAnn Gutierrez Bejar 505.247.8832 (SWOP)
Brenda Hyde 601.982.6400 (S Echo)

Grassroots to Caravan across Southern U.S.
Bridging the Democracy Divide, Bringing Hundreds to US Social Forum

Southwest United States – In the spirit of the freedom rides launched 46 years ago, grassroots organizations and activists from Arizona, Alabama, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi are planning the People’s Freedom Caravan to culminate at the United States Social Forum (USSF), June 27 to July 1, 2007, in Atlanta, Ga. Southwest Workers Union, SouthWest Organizing Project, Southern Echo and the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond initiated the caravan to address the democracy divide that plagues communities in the southern half of the US.

“This is a different kind of event that will take on the democracy divide that exists between races, classes, cultures and regions,” says Genaro Rendon of SWU. “We want to connect the struggles and histories of African-Americans, Latinos and Indigenous peoples in the southern US. The Freedom Caravan is a social movement on wheels, giving us a chance to share and strategize towards achieving ‘another’ US.”

The caravan is a rebirth of grassroots politics that will include hundreds of members from community organizations that share a common vision for a more just world. This is a world where education and healthcare are valued over war, incarceration, and corporate welfare; where worker and human rights are respected; and where families live in a clean environment.

By bringing together indigenous nations, displaced peoples of New Orleans, migrant workers along the border, and youth and civil rights veterans in Mississippi, the People’s Freedom Caravan will break down the geographic, political, racial and cultural barriers that have been used to marginalize our communities. Starting in Albuquerque, the caravan will weave its way across the country, converging at cities to highlight local struggles for justice, share cultures and hold media events. The Caravan will arrive marching into Atlanta, where participants will be met by thousands of delegates at the first U.S. Social Forum.

“Our current pay to play democracy keeps low income families and communities of color down, no matter the issue- Katrina, immigrant rights, youth rights, education, housing, or the prison industry to name a few,” says JoAnn Gutierrez Bejar of SWOP. “The Caravan recognizes that real change will come from the grassroots, and will speak to the issues of those most affected by the changing economy and globalization.”

Route and stops:

• June 22^nd – Albuquerque, NM (SWOP, Sage Council) 505.247.8832
• June 23^rd – San Antonio, TX (SWU, Fuerza Unida) 210.299.2666
• June 24^th – Houston, TX (People’s Institute) 318.514.9924
• June 24^th – Lake Charles, LA (Mossville Environmental Action Network, Friends and Families of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children) 504.606.8846
• June 25^th – New Orleans, LA (People’s Institute, People’s Hurricane Relief Fund) 504.301.9292
• June 26^th – Jackson, MS (Southern Echo) 601.982.6400
• June 27^th (morning) – Montgomery, AL
• June 27^th (afternoon) – March on Atlanta to USSF

De la base ha la caravana por todo el sur de los EEUU
Un puente en la división democrática, llevando a centenares de personas al Foro Social de los EEUU

El sur oeste de los EEUU – En el espíritu de los viajes de libertad comenzados hace 46 años, organizaciones de base y activistas políticos desde Arizona, Alabama, Nuevo México, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma y Mississippi preparan la Caravana por la Libertad del Pueblo que culminará en el Foro Social de los Estados Unidos (USSF), a celebrarse del 27 de junio al 1 de julio del 2007, en Atlanta, Georgia. La Unión de Trabajadores del Suroeste (SWU), el Proyecto Organizativo del Suroeste (SWOP), el Southern Echo e Instituto del Pueblo iniciaron esta caravana para enfrentar la división democrática que está plagando a las comunidades en la mitad sureña de los EEUU.

“Esto será un encuentro diferente que se enfrentará a la división democrática que existe entre raza, clase, cultura y regiones,” dijo Genaro Rendon de SWU. “Queremos hacer un puente entre las luchas y la historia de los pueblos afro americanos, los pueblos latinos, y los pueblos indígenas del sur de los EEUU. La Caravana por la libertad del Pueblo es un movimiento social sobre ruedas, que nos da la oportunidad de dibujar la estrategia con el fin de lograr “otro” EEUU.”

La caravana es el renacer de las políticas de base que incluirán a cientos de miembros de organizaciones comunitarias que comparten un ideal común por un mundo más justo. Un mundo donde la educación y la asistencia para la salud son valoradas por encima de la guerra, el encarcelamiento y el bienestar corporativo, donde el derecho humano y del trabajador son respetados, donde las familias viven en un medio ambiente limpio.

Al aunar a las naciones indígenas, los desplazados de Nueva Orleanas, los trabajadores emigrantes a lo largo de la frontera y a jóvenes y veteranos de los derechos civiles en Mississippi, la Caravana por la Libertad del Pueblo derribará las barreras geográficas, políticas, raciales y culturales establecidas para marginar a nuestras comunidades. Comenzando en Albuquerque, la caravana se tejerá a lo largo del país, convergiendo en ciudades para resaltar las luchas locales por la justicia, compartir sus culturas y llevar a cabo encuentros con los medios. La caravana llegará marchando hacia Atlanta, donde los participantes serán recibidos por los miles de delegados asistentes al primer Foro Social de los EEUU.

“Nuestro sistema de democracia solo para ellos que puedan pagar la entrada mantiene a las familias de bajos recursos y comunidades de personas de color aplastadas, no importa el tema, como Katrina o derechos de los inmigrantes o el sistema de educaccion” dijo JoAnn Gutierrez Bejar de SWOP. “La caravana reconoce que el cambio verdadero vendrá desde la base, y se dirigirá a los temas que conciernen a los más afectados al cambiar la economía y la globalización.”