Graffiti in Oaxaca City in solidarity with CODEDI, Indigenous Organization under attack by the State

Report from solidarity action in Oaxaca, Mexico in solidarity with indigenous groups under attack by the State.

We painted messages of solidarity on some accepting walls in the tourist-packed center of Oaxaca City (sometimes known as “La Ciudad de la Resistencia”). CODEDI, from their base on the occupied Finca Alemania in Santiago Xanica, Oaxaca, have issued the following communique in response to the recent deadly attacks by State forces:

“Good morning to my brothers and sisters of all peoples in struggle. To state, national and international organizations. To all communication media. Today, I want to talk to you about the following: in 1998 when we formed the CODEDI (committee for the defence of indigenes) as a native rights committee in order to to defend our customs, our culture, our language, our territory, the reaction of the state was to send us the Mexican army, accusing us of being part of the EPR (People’s Revolutionary Army) which is a lie.

In 2005 we were the target of an attack by the Oaxaca State Police and the AEI, in which 3 of our members were hurt : Don Abraham Ramirez Vasquez, Noel Garcia Cruz and Juventino Garcia Cruz. After these attacks, many of our men were incarcerated in the San Pedro Pochutla Regional Prison, where they were detained for six years, accused of being the perpetrators of kidnappings, injuries and homicides, acts to which none had participated.

In 2006 during the day of struggle in support of the teachers of the state of Oaxaca, many of our members were kidnapped and tortured by the various police corporations in the service of the State.

In 2016, a group protected by all state security forces, equipped with high-caliber weapons, penetrated the heights of the Oaxaca coast to extract a very precious wood called granadillo. When we learned that they wanted to enter our territory, us the organized peoples who form the CODEDI, we opposed this intrusion, despite all the threats made against us.

On November 28, 2016, we formed a convoy from Santa Maria Huatulco to the city of Oaxaca. Our caravan was made up of representatives from more than 40 communities in the region and we were attacked at baranca larga by the Oaxaca State Police (AEI) armed with high caliber weapons and we received clear threats from the state.

On February 12, 2018, we were ambushed at Cerro Metate by people in the service of the State with high caliber weapons, causing the death of three of ours, including two minors: Ignacio Ventura, Luis Angel Martínez and Alejandro Diaz Cruz.

On July 17, 2018, Abraham Hernandez Gonzales was killed by members of the state police, who tortured and murdered him about 500m from his home. The public prosecutor’s office of the State of Oaxaca has in its possession the report in which appears the name and the photograph of the group of the police officers who participated in this criminal action are clearly displayed.

On October 25, 2018, Noel Castillo Guilar was tortured and murdered by organized crime in Barra de la Cruz.

On September 22, 2019 Cesar Luis Dias’ house was attacked by more than 10 hitmen armed with high caliber weapons. The attack was stopped thanks to the intervention of several villagers and one of the assailant was captured , who turned out to be a member of the Oaxaca State Police and who said he had been trained by the special forces of the United States of America.

On sunday the 6th of october, at about 5 pm, on the road between Xanica and Copalita, the car which has been taken by the people from the “municipio”‘s official fifteen days before has been attacked. This official appeared to be a member of the state investigation agency.

About six hours after, weapons have been taken from the agents escorting Hermenegildo Martínez and Aída Hernández. We will show it to you right here, and also the drugs that the assailants were carrying, which for what we know about its characteristics appear to be cristal meth.

And those small bags, which looks like amulets. A lot of those has been thrown away because people didn’t know what was inside, but we managed to keep two of them as a proof that they were actually on drugs when they attacked.

The main reason CODEDI’s communities have been suffering all these agressions for so long, it’s because we organized to defend our culture, our territory and our language, because we think that as an indigenous people, we have a natural right to keep what belongs to us.

This is the main reason why the state has always tried to find thousand s of ways to control indigenous people, and this for years and from every government. They always tried to divide the people and the villages, and to destroy the social structure of our communities and to steal from our land. For this, they get the help of people who have nothing to do with our people, so that they can rule our “municipios”, without being part of the community, without being people who fulfilled their duty among our people, how it should be in any indigenous community.

In those “municipios”, in order to become president, one must be an honourable person, a person who has dedicated his whole life for his people. But when they are strangers who didn’t do anything and who are only trying to get money, to get advantage of the “municipio”, this is when people come to react that way, when they come to organise an when they have the right to fight for what belongs to them.

To all the media people, with all due respect, before you give your opinion about any issue we’ve been going through as CODEDI, please do a real professional and ethical job. First of all, investigate deeply every aspect of these issues, and then give your opinion. We know for sure that there are people on the government’s side amongst the ones that dedicate themselves to this job. People distorting the information to create confusion instead of sticking to the facts.

We respect all the others social movements in the state of Oaxaca, including guerilla movements. We respect the way you fight and organise, and we think we deserve respect too.

That’s why we make this call to the state and federal governments : please do not mistake us. We are not an armed group. We are a civil organisation, involved in more than forty communities of the region. We work, we have an education center here in Finca Alemania, where we have education workshops for young folks and children. We have a workshops of carpentry, mechanics, metalwork, natural medicine and bakery. We raise pigs, chickens and we do beekeeping. We have a theater school, a music and a dance school. Because we think that the forthcoming citizens of this country should be people with the knowledge and ability to serve their country and their people.

This is why we need good education. That’s why us, indigenous people, we organise so that we get better conditions for our children and our people. In our education center, we have every level, from kindergarten to bachelor’s degree. And we will keep on working to save this education we have.

What really makes me sorry is that after all the agressions we went through, there never has been any reaction from the state. We didn’t get no justice and all these crimes remained unpunished.

Thank you very much for having listened to me. All my greetings to all the honest people of this state, this country and of the whole world. And we want to tell you that, as CODEDI members, we invite you from the bottom of our hearts to our education center so that you can really know our work.

Thanks a lot.”

Spanish Version:

“ALTO A LA REPRESIÓN CONTRA EL CODEDI Y LAS LUCHAS AUTÓNOMAS

Los colectivos e individu@s que conformamos la Plataforma Internacionalista por la Resistencia y la Autogestión Tejiendo Autonomías (PIRATA) condenamos enérgicamente la campaña de criminalización contra el Comité de Defensa de los Derechos Indígenas (CODEDI) y las amenazas de operativos policíacos y militares en su contra.

Recordamos que el domingo 29 de septiembre de este año un comando de sicarios ametralló la casa del compañero César Luis Díaz, el cual se salvó milagrosamente junto con su familia que ahí estaban durmiendo. Tras el fallido atentado los pobladores de Santiago Xanica (Oaxaca) lograron detener a un sicario que reveló haber actuado por cuenta de Ricardo Luria Alcázar, Carlos Sánchez y Óscar Valencia, siendo todos ellos políticos priístas involucrados con el crimen organizado en la zona Costa y Sierra Sur. Estos mismos – así se confirmó – también fueron los mandantes de la masacre del 12 de febrero de 2018, donde fueron asesinados tres integrantes del CODEDI.

A pesar de haber hecho publica esta denuncia y haber convocado el Gobierno Federal para buscar justicia y una solución a los conflictos locales y a sus desenlaces violentos, ninguna autoridad acudió al dialogo. Cabe mencionar que, en el año 2018, también otros dos integrantes del CODEDI fueron asesinados y sus asesinos andan impunes.

El CODEDI denuncia 6 de octubre un hombre armado llegó a provocar en las cercanías del Centro de Capacitación del CODEDI Ex Finca Alemania, donde niñas y jóvenes de la organización reciben cursos gratuitos y populares de artes y oficios. Ante la intervención de los Topiles (cuerpo de vigilancia comunitario) el hombre abrió el fuego, y la población que estaba presente reaccionó en legitima defensa con lo que tenía a la mano, piedras. Una vez neutralizado el peligro físico que representaba, fue trasladado al hospital, donde falleció. Resultó que el provocador era un Agente de Investigación del Estado, por lo cual, ahora el mismo Estado, que nunca dio con los culpables de los asesinatos y atentados en contra el CODEDI, promete “actuar con todo el peso de la ley”. El 7 de octubre un primer convoy de policías intentó subir a los montes de la Ex Finca Alemania y Santiago Xanica. El 8 de octubre se repitió un operativo en la región con más de 100 policías estatales fuertemente armados.

Indigna el contubernio del Gobierno Estatal con el crimen organizado, los cuales juntos han provocado, masacrado y despojado en todas las regiones y en contra de los pueblos indígenas organizados. Es cómplice y vil el silencio del Gobierno Federal que en Oaxaca interviene sólo para imponer mega-proyectos devastadores como el Corredor TransIstimico, garantizando impunidad a las bandas criminales y políticos que se benefician localmente de estos proyectos transnacionales.

Estamos con nuestras hermanas y hermanos del CODEDI, del Concejo de Organizaciones Oaxaqueñas Autónomas (COOA) y del Congreso Nacional Indígena (CNI). Con esta denuncia nos sumamos el 12 de octubre a la movilización y el grito de insumisión de los pueblos indígenas de México por la vida y el territorio, contra los proyectos de muerte y en memoria de nuestros caídos, como Samir Flores y los hermanos del CODEDI.

¡Ni un paso atrás!
¡Narcos y policía, la misma porquería!
¡Respeto a la autonomía de los pueblos!
¡Alto a la masacre en México!

La PIRATA:
Colectivo Zapatista de Lugano (Suiza)
Colectivo Nodo Solidale Italia
Colectivo Nodo Solidale México
Adherentes individuales de Francia, Alemania e Italia”

Solidarity with CODEDI! Inform yourselves!