Letter from Indigenous Tzotzil Prisoner in Struggle Marcelino Ruiz Gómez

Letter from Indigenous Tzotzil prisoner in struggle, Marcelino Ruiz Gómez, denouncing the advancement of megaprojects in Indigenous territories and calling for the continuation of struggles in defense of Mother Earth. Marcelino is a member of the organization, Vineketik en Resistencia, a group of prison organizers in CERSS No. 10, Comitán, Chiapas, Mexico.

 

April 12, 2020

To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation

To the National and International Civil Society

To the National and International Sixth

To the National Indigenous Congress

To the Indigenous Governing Council

To the Media

To the Believers

To the People of Mexico and the World

Compañerxs, brothers and sisters, compañeroas, from imprisonment, I send my greetings. In spite of the humanitarian crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, here I continue writing, as we all continue in the struggle against the capitalist patriarchal system of death.

As we have already seen, the corrupt bad government, led by large capitalists, does not rest. On the contrary, they take advantage of the circumstances that they themselves have created to continue invading and plundering our territories. They allow the entrance of businessmen into our territories, with the intention of enriching themselves, every day more. They don’t worry about the consequences on our Mother Earth, the extraction of natural resources, the devastation of our forests, or the contamination of the rivers. Misery and death are left in our communities from businessmen destroying Mother Earth and the environment in general.

We will continue in resistance in spite of the repression of the bad government, and the different strategies it has taken against us. Fear is the government’s best ally, using incarceration and forced disappearance as a means of intimidation.

That is why I call on you to continue to weave community and collective ties, organizing ourselves and practicing solidarity, those that have and maintain the consciousness of life.

Long live Samir!

Sincerely,

Marcelino Ruiz Gómez