Event to mark second anniversary of repression against San Salvador Atenco, Mexico

Atenco, 3rd of May 2008

From 10:00 a.m. there took place in Atenco an action in memory of those fallen on the 3rd of May 2006 as a result of the repression of the community meted out by Governor Peña Nieto and then-President Vicente Fox. The event began with an offering to Alexis Benhumea and Francisco Javier Cortes, on the Lechería -Texcoco Highway, the main entrance to Atenco.

At 12:00 p.m. there followed a solidarity action, with the presence of Flavio Sosa and relatives of those assassinated in Ecuador, in front of the Emiliano Zapata auditorium and finally, from 14:00 until the evening, a political-cultural action in front of the auditorium A message from the Molino de Flores prison interrupted this. Rodolfo Cuellar, campesino leader and political prisoner of Atenco, who is awaiting sentence for the alleged crime of kidnapping, relayed a message from prison through a mobile phone. His message was clear and stirring "We continue fighting day by day, night by night, our spirit will not decay and we will stay united". He concluded by affirming and requesting that that "which stays united will always remain, we must continue fighting".

Afterward, there was a formal recognition of the lawyers who were and continue to support the political prisoners, by means of the delivery of machetes; the symbol adopted by the struggle of Atenco. An announcement was made of a counter-demand to the forces of repression to punish the guilty. The lawyers invited the people to join a march to be carried out on the 4 of May from Atenco to Mexico City for the defence of the country.

In interview, Trinidad Ramírez, wife of Ignacio del Valle, member of the Peoples’ Front in Defence of the Land (FPDT) expressed her gratitude to all those that have supported the resistance struggle of the FPDT against the capitalist projects that try to snatch their communitarian birthright: the Earth.

"We have not forgotten the brutal and cowardly repression on the part of the government. We stand firm in the fight, our rage is more alive "said Trinidad Ramirez, Trini. "Our life changed when they tried to take our birthright from us and from our children. We know that we are capable of much more, to defend our homeland." She closed with a message to continue united in the struggle; "Our language, our colour is no impediment to continue as brothers."

Today, the 3 of May, day of Santa Cruz, the townspeople of Atenco go about life as normal, continuing rituals rooted in their culture. Those who do not forget the blood spilled on the ground of Atenco return to give voice to the ideals of their dead; to make clear that they continue the fight.

There are still 16 compañer@s held in two prisons:
In the underground, maximum security prison of ALTIPLANO (Almoloya de Juárez)

1. Ignacio DEL VALLE MEDINA, accused of kidnapping and attacks on the general means of communication.
2. Felipe ÁLVAREZ HERNÁNDEZ, accused of kidnapping and attacks on the general means of communication.
3. Héctor GALINDO GOCHICUA, accused of kidnapping and attacks on the general means of communication.
All the above sentenced to 67 years in prison.

Prisoners in Molino de las Flores:
4.Patricia ROMERO HERNÁNDEZ
5.Juan Carlos ESTRADA CRUCES
6.Román ORDÓÑEZ
7.Jorge ORDÓÑEZ
8.Alejandro PILÓN ZACATE
9.Narciso RELLANO
10.Raúl ROMERO
11.Arturo SÁNCHEZ ROMERO
12.Inés Rodolfo CUELLAR
13.Edgar Eduardo MORALES REYES
14.Julio César ESPINOZA RAMOS
15.Pedro REYES FLORES
16.Oscar HERNÁNDEZ PACHECO