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On October 12, the Day of Indigenous, Black and Popular Resistance, dozens of native peoples and communities gathered in Oaxaca City to commemorate 527 years defending their territories, cultures, languages and ways of life. This year’s event was organized in response to a call from Mexico’s National Indigenous Congress to honor the memory of Samir Flores Soberanes, an Indigenous activist…

The following is a translation of the statement read at the closing ceremony of the conference, "Communal Maize from Oaxaca for the World," held September 27 – 28, 2019 in Oaxaca City in commemoration of National Maize Day. "... Quetzalcoatl put maize on the lips of the first men, Oxomoco and Cipactónatl, an ancient pair of human beings, corn growers,…

1994 was the year of the uprising. That year we rose up. With the Zapatista rebellion we saw not only the awakening of consciousness of millions of people but also a hope for change in Mexico. For a group of young people who had been doing social work in ecclesial spaces, this uprising also meant organizing and taking alternatives. Political…

On August 15, 2019, communities of the Southern Sierra and coastal regions of Oaxaca held a press conference to announce their rejection of a new hydroelectric project promoted by a private company on the Río Verde. Authorities of six Indigenous and farming towns questioned the campaign promises of Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador to respect Indigenous rights and protect…

The Guelaguetza is a cultural event that draws thousands of national and international tourists to Oaxaca, Mexico each July. This year, Indigenous Zapotec communities recuperated the popular, collective spirit of the event with the "Guelaguetza against Mining", which celebrates 10 years of resistance to extractive projects in Oaxaca's Central Valleys region. Read their statement (original in Spanish): On July 22,…

In southern Mexico, a multi-ethnic network of towns has halted the construction of a mega-dam. Now they are organizing to manage their own natural resources and revitalize their culture as native water protectors. At dawn on March 14—celebrated internationally as the Day of Action against Dams and in Defense of Rivers—Afro-Mexican, Indigenous, and mestizo peoples met on the shores of…

In Oaxaca, the Indigenous community of Magdalena Ocotlán passed a prohibition on mining in its territory, and demanded the cancellation of the Canadian San José mine, which threatens residents' only source of water.   Magdalena Ocotlán, Oaxaca, 10 April, 2019 — On the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Emiliano Zapata, local authorities of the Zapotec town of Magdalena Ocotlán,…