Sobre los Defensores de DH en Guerrero y la construcción de la indentidad

SOCIALJUSTICE,COMMUNITYORGANIZINGANDACTIVISM MMNPROGRAM

REGISUNIVERSITY MARCOSVILLA

RegisUniversityMasterinNonprofitManagement672Socialjustice,communityorganizingandactivismMarcosVilla

April30,2009

FINALPAPERTHEHUMANRIGHTSWATCHERSINGUERRERO,MEXICO:

THECONSTRUCTIONOFIDENTITY

Abstract.

Human Rights has been an important issue especially in the last years, since

December10th,1948whenthegeneralAssemblyoftheUnitedNationsadoptedand

proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Countries have agreed to

promotethemasaconsequenceoftheexistenceofdemocracyandasthesymbols

that express that the governments are working for building the infrastructure for

makinglifeoftheircountrymenpossibleandfullofopportunities.

There are many documents signed by different countries that commit to those

nationstooverseethoserights;eventhou,someofthesecountriesdevelopinternal

politicsthatquestionoreliminatetheguaranteesofthoserights.

InthispaperwetrytoreflectMexico’ssituationinHumanrightsthroughthelensof

thelastexperiencesthatsomeofthecivilsocietyorganizationsfromGuerreroState

have lived in order to share the experience and learnings to other states or

countries. We will reflect in possible actions that might help to strengthen the

identity ofHumanRights groups and try to remove the social image governments

aretryingtoimposeonthesegroups.

DarkrealityinMexico

RaúlLucasLucía,presidentofOrganizationfortheFutureoftheIndigenousMixtecos

Indigenous,OFPM1escaped four times fromdeathduring tenyears. In1999,after

1OFPMfortheSpanishname:OrganizaciónparaelFuturodelosPueblosIndígenasMixtecos



the slaughter of “el Charco”, hewas tortured and threatened bymembers of the

MexicanArmy.Twoyearslater, inSeptember2001,hewasagaintorturedwithhis

brothers and brother in law. He was also threatened in October 2006 after the

Zapatista Army of National Liberation EZLN2 marched in peace through his

community. In 2007, the 15th of February somebody tried to kill him and he was

woundedwithabulletinhisneckinapreparedambush.(Hernández,2009)Finally,

thepast13thFebruary,acoupleofmonthsagoheandManuelPonce,thesecretary

ofthesameOIPMorganizationwere“levantados”3inanpubliceventinthecityof

Ayutla. Around 1:30 pm three men with heavy weapons got in the building

screaming:“police!”TheyhitManuelandRaúl,tookthemoutandputthemintoa

blackLibertythatwaswaitingforthemoutside.

Half an hour later his wife, Guadalupe Castro Morales got a warning call: “Stop

fucking.Bequietorwewill kill yourhusband.This isaconsequence fordefending

Indians”.

The20thofFebruarytheybothappeareddeadwithtorturemarks(González,2009)

andwithashotintheirheadshalfburiedinanearmountain.Itwaswellknownthat

Raúl Lucas had documented 4 cases of violations of Human Rights during 2008

againsttheMexicanArmyandtwopolicecorporationsof“Ayutlaofthefreemen”.

The 16th of February, before they appeared dead, International Amnestymade a

public statement ‐AI: AMR 41/007/2009‐ asking the Army, State and Federal

authorities to investigate the situation

and doing everything for bringing the

possibleauthoritiesintojustice;nothing

wasdone(AI,2009).Ontheotherside,

the National Commission of Human

Rights hadn’t made any declaration

before different international

organization like Human Rights Watch,

2EZLNforthespanishname:EjércitoZapatistadeLiberaciónnacional3Spanishnameusedforthepeoplethatiskidnappedwithoutreclaimingarewardforthevictim’slife.

GuerreroStateinMexico

Amongthethreepooreststatesofthecountry



LatinAmericaWorkingGroup,WashingtonOfficeon LatinAmerica and Front Line

confirming the lack of justice in the country on Human Rights issues (Saavedra,

2009).

Asaconsequenceofthese

casestheHighCommissionof

theUnitedNationsAlberto

Brunoricametothestateof

Guerreroandvisited

GuadalupeCastroMoralesand

MargaritaMartíndelas

Nieves,widowsofRaúlLucasy

ManuelPonce.Heexpressed

thatfortheHighCommission

theextraofficialexecutionof

RaúlandManuelwereoneof

theworstcasesthataredocumentedattheUnitedNations.Healsonoticedtherisk

conditionsthatexistedforthemandheexpressedhisconcernaboutit

Somelightbroughtmorecasesup

The17thAprilof2008anotherorganizationthatiswellconnectedtotheOFPM,the

IndependentOrganizationofMixtecosNativesOPIM4,werealsopersecutedandfive

ofitsmemberswerepointedoutasmurderersofaninformantoftheMexicanarmy.

AmnestyInternationaldeclaredallofthemconscienceprisoners:

“Theyareprisonersofconscience,detainedsolelyforthepeacefulopposition

to the cacique while defending the rights of members of their indigenous

community. According to their families, since themen have been detained,

theirchildrenhavebeenstigmatizedanddiscriminatedagainstintheirschool

4OPIMforthespanishname:OrganizacióndelPuebloIndígenaMephaa

CDHMTlachinollan

AlbertoBrunori(blackcloth)listenedtoGuadalupeCastroMoralesandMargaritaMartínwidowsofRaúl

LucasandManuelPonce



bytheheadteacher,whothefamiliessay isoneofthecacique'ssupporters,

andotherstudentshavecalledthem"sonsofcriminals"(AI,2009)

SusanLee,DirectoroftheProgramforAmericaofAmnestyInternational,visitedthe

five indigenous people in jail and also visited the communitieswere these groups

work towards Human Rights noticing the level of poverty and the significant

presenceoftheMexicanArmy.

The20thofOctober2008,a

Federal Judge ordered the

release of them but the

Public Prosecutor of the

“ProcuraduríaGeneraldela

República, PGR” appealed

this resolution and it was

received even thou they

didn’t give more evidence.

Afterbeingoneyearinjail,

the 18th of March 2009,

fourofthemwerereleased;RaúlHernandezisstill injail.Susanastated:“It istime

that theauthorities recognize that thetrialagainst these indigenouspeoplearean

answer for their legitimate activities towards the Human Rights within their

communitiesandtheircontinuousdenouncementagainstthelocaloppressionofthe

authorities and the landowners. When social workers are punished for their

legitimate work, authorities send a

message: to promote and protect human

rightsaskahighcost”(AI,2009).

Interviewing to amemberof theOFPM5,

s/he referred two other historical cases:

ThefirstonewasFelipeArreagawhowas

in jail for defending land that was

5Askednotmentioningthename

Tlachinolan/RodrigoACruz

FelipeArreagaSánchezinjail

CDHMTlachinollan

IndigenousValentinaRosendoCantúwithLouiseArbourHighCommissionateofthe

UNforHumanRights



exploitedby“caciques”.Between1992and200040%ofthetreesinGuerreroforest

were lost(Calvillo,2005).The“caciques”triedtogethiminto jailbycharginghim

forassassination.Thelocalauthoritiesaskedthejudgetofindhimguiltyandasked

for 40 years in prison while Tlachinollan, A Human Rights Organization provided

information that questioned the credibility of the assassination charges. They

provided more information of two previous cases against the Ecological Farmers

OrganizationfromPetulantyCoyucadeCatalán,OCESP6:RodolfoMontielyTeodoro

CabrerawhoworkedinthesameorganizationthatFelipeArriagadid.Theywerealso

jailedbuttheinternationalpressurefromGreenpeaceamongotherorganizationsto

theNationalGovernmentsetthemfree.Oneofthenon‐sensesofthechargeswas

that, therewere twoaccused:Felipeandasecondperson.Theotheraccusedwas

already dead two years before the assassination happened. After this trial there

werestillapprehensionordersagainstmembersof thegroupand Iconfirmedthat

therewerestillthirteenapprehensionordersleft(Ballinas,2005).

The second casewas ame´phaa indigenous, Valentina RosendoCantú. She is one

exampleofthemanyviolationsthattheMexicanArmyhas infringedto indigenous

women.Thelocalgovernmentdonotdoanythingandwhenthesecasescameinto

themedia they just say that theyare lying, that theyarepartof the communities

thatproducedrugsandtheywantthearmyoutofthere.

Otherfactstoconsider

Guerrero State has been

historically one of the three

poorest of the country and some

of itsmunicipalities are ranked as

poor as some of the African

regions.Guerrero state is the first

ranked in national migration and

the fifth in USmigration reaching

6OrganizacióndeCampesinosEcologistasdelaSierradePetatlányCoyucadeCatalán

Guerreroendatos

ThreepooreststatesofMexico



around73,000peopleeachyear.Therearenearof300,000migrantsfromGuerrero

only in Chicago, US that has become the second larger city with people from

Guerrero,justafterAcapulco.

Guerrerohassevenregionsaswe

can see in the right box. The

region of “LaMontaña” (brown)

is the poorest region of the

country;mostofthepeoplethat

live within this region are

indigenous. 73.9% of the

municipalities that keep

indigenous languages haven’t

developed income sources

(Guerrero, 2009) so they become

themainsourceofmigrationinall

levels. In the rightbox, the green

are indigenousmunicipalities and

blue ones are the main

municipalities receiving people as

a result of migration. If we

compare both maps we can see

thatmatchbetweenpovertyandmigration.

Guerrero has also become an

important source of marihuana

and “amapola” or poppy. As we

canseeinleftmaptherearesome

areas of “La Montaña” that have

some drug producing areas but

themain ones of the state are inGuerreroendatos,DrugsAreas:

Green–MarihuanaandRed‐Amapola

Guerreroendatos,GuerreroRegions

Municipalitieswithindigenouspopulation



the“CostaGrande”and“TierraCaliente”.Aswecanseeinthenextmapthemost

military prescience is concentrated in “La Montana” region where most of the

HumanRightsinfringementsarecommitted(Yellowmarked).

Theindigenouspopulationsof“LaMontaña”havethesecharacteristics:

• 96% of their population has no access to health services with qualified

medics.

• 50%ofthepopulationisanalphabet.

• Between80%and100%ofthehousesdon’taddresstheminimumconditions

ofdignity

• There is one hospital located in Tlapa de Conmonfort that is supposed to

attend300,500peoplefrom17municipalities.Inthemostmarginedareasit

reachesto88%(SanMarcos)

• 46%ofthepeopleabovethe15yearsoldhasnosourceofincome

• 24%ofthepopulationthathasanincomeearns5USDperday

• 1gynecologistforattending17,654womeninfertilestage

• 97%ofthehouseshasnosewagesystem

• 45.4% of the indigenous population above 15 years old never went to a

schoolandthemajorityofthemarewomen.



CriminalizationofHumanRightsWatchers

After recognizing the reality that

our indigenous people lives and

trying to imagine the fight they

arestrugglinginaneverydaybasis

I understood that they have

realized some of the developed

tactics by Saul Slinky in his Rules

for Radicals. One of them is the

Ninthrule:“Anyeffectivemeansis

automatically judged by the

opposition as being unethical”

(Alinsky, 1989) and they are also

developingthemediaasanallyto

face the different issues they are

facing.Weneedtorecognizethat

they appear in the printedmedia

but they have no appearance in

thetelevisionnews,mostlybecausenobodyaccesstotheircommunities.InMexico

veryfewpeoplereadsnewspaper,eventhouithasapowerfulsymbolicimpact.An

important actionmightbe toprovide themwith several tools thatmight let them

recordvisualimagesthattheymightbesendingtonationalandinternationalallies.

ManynationalcountrymenthatjoinedsofaithfullytotheEZLNin1994forexample,

was because the media coverage they achieved. A similar campaign should be

addressed.

Themajorstrengthof theorganizationsofhumanrightsofGuerrerohasbeenthe

presenceandcoverageofinternationalagenciesthathasanimportantmoralimage

around theworld. Therefore theirmost effective source of power comes from an

outside third actor and thismakes themvery vulnerable. IN thepicture abovewe

canseehowtheycreatedanalliancecalled:“RedGuerrerensedeOrganismosCiviles




de Derechos Humanos” but they do not have a web page nor other tool for

communicationandtheirmostclosestorganizationisTlachinollanthathastospeak

foralltheHumanRightsviolationsofthestate.Ithasbecomeaknownactorandas

consequence people from government or private sector refuse to dialogue with

them.InascenariowhereTlachinollancouldbetheobjectiveofanopenattackthey

wouldbeleftalmostwithoutcontactstotherestofthecountry.

They have few resources

for defending themselves

but what they have they

use it very effectively and

they “clothe it with moral

garments” which makes

their testimonials very

strong‐tenthSlinky‘srule‐.

An effective suggested

action for impacting this

ruleistogetfinancialhelpformakingadocumentalorashortaboutthisissueand

toshowuptheeverydaylifeaboutindigenousHumanRightsViolationsandsharing

thedocumentedinformation.

TheyalsowerepartofacampaignwhereothernationalHumanRightsorganizations

havepositionedthe“Criminalizationofsocialmovements”thatgoesdirectlytothe

FederalGovernmentthathasdevelopedandstrengthenedthemilitarytactics(Villa,

2009).Theyshouldmakeastatecampaignsearchingforlocalorganizationsthatare

wellknownfortheirmoralcapitalsuchastheCatholicchurch,privateuniversities,if

possibleCivilSocietyOrganizations thatare focusedtotheassistanceof theupper

classestothepoorestareasofGuerreroandideallyprivatefor‐profitorganizations

knowingthatthismightbeunlikely.Theyneedthehelpoftheactorstheynowrely

onlikeHumanRightsWatch,AmnestyInternational,Greenpeace,FrontLineandof

courseallthesupportofthenationalsthatlaunchedthecampaignwhereimportant

allies will be: AcademiaMexicana de Drenches Humanos,Artículo XIX, Asistencia

MilitarArmyinthecommunityofBarrancaPiña,

municipalityofAcatepec



Legal por los Derechos Humanos, AC (ASILEGAL),CENCOS (Centro de Nacional de

ComunicaciónSocial),CentrodeDerechosHumanos“FrayFranciscodeVitoriaOP”,

AC, Centro de Derechos Humanos “Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez”, AC, Centro de

DerechosHumanosFrayBartoloméde lasCasas,AC,CentroMexicanodeDerecho

Ambiental (CEMDA), CentroRegional deDerechosHumanos JoséMaríaMorelos y

Pavón, AC, Colectivo Contra la Tortura y la Impunidad, AC, Colectivo por la

Transparencia, Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos

Humanos, AC, Consejo Ciudadano del Premio Nacional de Periodismo, AC, DECA‐

Equipo Pueblo, AC, El Caracol, AC, Fundar Centro de Análisis e Investigación, AC,

IncideSocial,AC, Iniciativaspara la Identidady la Inclusión,AC, InstitutoMexicano

de Derechos Humanos y Democracia, AC,RedNacional deOrganismos Civiles de

Derechos Humanos “Todos los Derechos para Todas y Todos”, Mujer y Medio

Ambiente,PromotoresdelaAutogestiónparaelDesarrolloSocial(PADS),Proyecto

de Derechos Económicos

Sociales y Culturales, AC

(PRODESC) and Alianza

Cívica,AC.Theboldedones

are nationally well known

and has important social

and political capital, the

rest has important

grassroots development

and might join in to a

futuremovement.

Identity

It isa fact thathumanbeingshavecometogethertoorganizethemselvestogeta

specificobjective;nomatterifitwasadecision,forgettingfood,forsurvivalorfor

establishing a society. “Human being” is a structurally social being, socially

constructed and with the capacity to modify himself as a consequence of this

construction (Zubiri, 1986). Our identity is build by others that are ‘like me’, the

CDHMTlachinollan

MilitaryArmyinElLlanocommunity,Acatepec



“others”defineprettymuchaboutmewhilemakingmy lifepossible, even if they

werenotawareortheywerenotconsciousaboutthe importanceoftheiractions.

This is thewayweall learn to see theworldand theothers, thewaywe learn to

distinguishmyselffromthingsandtheothers;this isthefirstapproachwehaveto

reality,thewaywearesociallyconstructedatthebeginningofourlives.

It is very importantwe realize

that“theother”istheonethat

allowsmetogrow,“theother”

allows the possibility to

choose; “the difference” gives

us possibilities. The difference

provides me with the

possibility to enhancemyown

life or to confirm my own

practice, the possibility to

confirmmyselfonwhatIamandwhatIdo,ornotto.Thisprocessisonlyachievable

throughdifference,inthisprocesswebuild/confirmouridentity.

Theidentityoftheindigenousgroupsisbeing“attacked”‐asweall‐inacontinuous

basis and with all the existing available media. The western culture that arrived

hundredsofyearsagohasmadeatremendousefforttobringthoseculturesintoa

standardization trying to establish a typical/average way of life that responds to

specificinterests.Tobeabletogetsomeindependenceofthatwayoflivingweneed

to develop critical thinking (Ore, 2009). The indigenous has kept most of their

traditions not only through this critical thinkingbut alsobecause the geographical

difficultiestheyhavehadhistorically.Withinthesedaystelevisionhasbeenableto

arrive even to those places and they are learning the western culture and

understanding that beingmenandbeinghappy is equal tobeingoppressors They

arestartingtounderstandthatlivingandthemeaningofthepursuitofhappinessas

goingintothecitiestomakemoney.Thecosmos‐visionthatreliesintheirtraditions

isbeingquestioned.


WomenfromanecologicgroupofPetatlánmountains



Identityandhumanrights

Ihavecometorealizethatthe

fight for human rights within

the indigenous people might

haveinthebottomanidentity

fight.Itmightbeafightwhere

theprinciplesexpressedinthe

Pedagogyof theOppressedof

Paolo Frere are practiced in

thosecommunities.

Itistheindigenouspeoplethat

are fighting against different

issues as we saw at the

beginning of the paper. It is

themwhoare in the frontline

assumingtheir“historicalrole”

and several members of an

external community supports

themintheirfights.

Specifically the Human Rights

Center “Tlachinollan” arrived

more that 13 years ago to

TlapadeConmonfortin“LaMontaña”andjusthasopenedanofficeinotherthree

placesinthestateofGuerrero.Theyhavedefinedastheirmission:“Topromoteand

defendthe rightsof theNaua,Nasavi,Me´phaaandnon‐indigenouspeoples inLa

MontañaandCostaChicafromanintegralculturalperspective,andhelpthemcreate

legitimate and peaceful means to ensure respect for their human rights”

(Tlachinollan,1996)

RobertoGarcíaOrtíz

CelsaValdovinosyFelipeArreaga,aftertheyhadapressconferenceinMexicocity.

RobertoGarcíaOrtízCelsaValdovinosyFelipeArreaga,aftertheyhadapress

conferenceinMexicocity.



Itisnotacoincidencethattheyaddthemselvesintothefightofthepeople.Theverb

help means they are doing something and what they are doing is to “create

legitimateandpeacefulmeans”which is a consequenceof the cultural identity of

theMe’phaaculture.

TheindigenousorganizationstheyhavecreatedlikeOPIMandOFPMarearesultof

the construction of the identity they are achieving and through them they are

lookingforwardinkeepingtheirachievements.Weshouldnotforgetthatthenature

ofaninstitutionistokeep,tomaintain,toavoidchanges,tocontinueandifpossible

toreproduceitselfasasystem.Aninstitutionismadetopreventchangesthatwill

go against its defined nature, that’s why we created them. In this sense the

institutions become the foundationof a society. TheOPIMand theOFPMare the

foundations of a different society that isworkingwith the principles of their own

culture with the learning of our western culture about the creation of a “Legal”

institution.

Atthemomenttheyhavecreatedanimportantsocialcapitalwithintheworldwith

theircommitment.Havingpeoplekilledandachievingtheinternationalsupportthey

haveachievedisnotasimpletask.Thesupportandmediacoveragetheyhavehadis

Pictures:CDHMTlachinollan

Military

intimidating

Me’phaawomen

fromthe

community

Caxitepec



consequenceof thecommitmenttheyhavedeveloped.The lackofsocial justice in

theirimmediatecontextmakesthemstrongerandhavingtheMexicanArmywithin

their communities are two sources of union, identity, strength and a continuous

confirmationofthedreamstheywanttoachieve.

Ithinkthatthecoreoftheirstrengthisthegrassroottheyhaveontheirbehalfand

this strength does not appear in themedia. The organization they have responds

geographically and they all know ‐because they have lived it‐ that any attack for

humanrightsorganizationswillaffecttheirecologyorganizations,anyattackintheir

educational structure will affect their identity… they have done this identity

“survival”throughhundredsofyears…

TheHumanRightsOrganizationsof

Guerrero State need to capitalize

their achievements by developing

symbols of their successes. The

EZLN and the Chiapas State

organizations havemuch to share

in this point. For example, the

“Abejas Organization” in Chiapas

has the “Column of infamy”, a

monument built by the Danish

JensGalschiot inhonor for the45

killed people (15 children, 21

women, and 9 men) and the 25

wounded by paramilitaries while

they were praying in the small

chapel they had. They also have

createdachoruswerethechildren

ofthecommunitysingverydiverse

songs. These actions strengthen

Columnofinfamy

Acteal,Chenaló,Chis



theiridentityandprovidethemwithaphysicalreminderofwhattheyareandwhat

theydream,itisanimportantwayofexpandingtheirinstitutionalizationprocess.

The Abejas Organization has also created a coffee cooperative known as “Maya

Vinic”and theydistribute theirproductsunder fair trade toUnitedStatesand the

EuropeanUnion.IntheUSforexampleHigherGroundsTradingCompany,locatedin

Michigandistributestheircoffee.

Afutureagenda

The human rights organizations have been severely damaged by the image the

governmenthaspositioneduponthemthroughseveralyears.Someoftheneeded

actions are focused to attend and to strengthen the internal identity and some

actionsshouldbefocusedtogetmoremoralcapitalthroughthemediaandthrough

allianceswithdifferentactorswithinsociety.

Sen principles of “picking the good fight”, direct action and leading forward (Sen,

2003)arekeyconcepts that theseorganizationsneedtostrengthen,especially the

lasttwoconcepts.TheyneedtodevelopacontinuouscampaigntopositionHuman

Rightsasaminimuminthestateagenda.Theyarenormallyacting inaresponsive

way.Thelackofresourcesoftheseorganizationsisdeepandatthesametimetheir

appearances in the international media hasn’t been capitalized in a donors

campaign.ItisawfultobeinthepositiontheyarebutwiththeelementsIhadIcan

confirm they haven’t asked any foundation for support to their causes and their

presence in national and international media has been important. What they

actually have developed is good relations that improves them but not necessarily

makes them independent or “individually” stronger, their dependency to

TlachinollanmakesthemweakandIbelieveit istimetostartgoingforwardinthis

specificaspectby“themselves”(Sen,2003).

Their alliances are their stronger area. They are well positioned within the civil

society sector but their presence is only in this sector, they should improve in an



international levelandtrytoconnectwithprivateandgovernmentassuggestedin

thepreviouslines.

Theyhaven’tworkedindevelopingnewleadersandthis isanimportantpowerless

area. They should ask for scholarships to their national allies for their people go

outsideandgetbackdifferenttoolsfordevelopment,notonlyinHumanRightsbut

in helping the rest of the community to improve their reality economically,

medically, or any other aspect of their needs. People that might be able to go

outside will also get a bigger overview of the complexity of their issues and the

context of the state and country so s/he can comeback and share. Even to bring

other indigenous from different national communities (and send) might be an

enlightening experience. Thesemight be part of a complete plan and focusing in

getting small successes will make them stronger and will bring more hope back.

Theseareactionsthathasn’tbeenusedandtheireffectivenesswilltakethemoutof

the experience “of the enemy” (Alinsky, 1989) At the same time developing role

playswillmakethemstrongerandbetterinthelongrun(Dobson,2003)

I believe that they should avoid direct conflict with military army due to the

experiencehasshownthatforthemomenttheyaren’tanaddressableachievement

andtofocusonlocalandstatepoliticiansthathassomethingtododirectlywiththe

issue. The congress might be the most important factor due they do not often

appear.Federalauthoritiesandarmyissuesmightbedocumentedandsupportedby

thembutneverleaded.

Weshouldnever forget theireveryday reality.Weshouldnever fall to remember

thelackofsocialjustice,theabsenceofpossibilitiestodeveloptheirhumanity,the

consequences of our actions as a society that accepts and reproduce unjust

structures because our absence of critical thinking.We need to retake our citizen

roleandtorememberthatthesebrothershavethesamerightsthatIhave.

Animportantlearninginthisjourneyisthatweneedtore‐valuatetherichnesswe

havewithour indigenouspeople,weneedtogobacktoouroriginsandtore‐take



fromthemtheirvisionoftheworld,menandsociety;theirdifferencewillbringus

the possibility to re‐think and to develop a deepest critical thinking in front of

westernculturethattriestoorientateouractionstowardstheindividualismandthe

minimizationofthecommongood.

One of my personal great learning’s among indigenous communities is that their

celebrationof lifeanddeadissoclose,theirpainandhappinessaresoconnected.

One Jesuit friend that was working with Acteal communities while the massacre

occurredsharedhowpeoplecriedthemandmadetheritualgoodbyeonedayafter.

Hehighlightedhowthegoodbyeritualswerefullofdancesthatcelebratedthelifeof

their dead friends, moms, and children… they relate dance with life, and how

dancing isasimilarwayof“living”,ofexpressing life;awayof feelingtheblood in

our veins and a way of celebrating life, in contact with mother earth, under the

blessedskyandexpressingyourselfwithinthecommunity,within“theothers”that

makemylifepossible:“todanceordie”.

Ibelievethatthisdanceistheheart/source

oftheirsocialjusticepassion/inspiration.



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Appendix

Education

Sobre los Defensores de DH en Guerrero y la construcción de la indentidad