We are a National and International Caravan of observation and solidarity with the zapatista communities, currently present in the various communities through the zapatista territory in Chiapas, Mexico.

The delegation formed by 20 Italians, 20 Mexicans, 1 Norwegian, 2 French, 3 American of first nation origin, 1 German and 1 Canadian, has arrived in the afternoon in oventik, zapatista territory.
After some waiting, giving more importance to our arrival we entered the community reunion center by walking through two rows of zapatista women, men and children with and without sky masks, and the applause of everyone present.

The delegation sat before the Junta de Buen Gobierno (Good Government Junta) formed by women and men, young and old.

All spoke about their cultural origins, about the centuries of persecution and slavery, of Zapata and his fight for land and freedom, of the suffering and persecution for being indigenous and at last, the ¡YA BASTA! of the 1994 uprising. They followed by speaking of the violence perpetrated by the Bad Government, federal and state consisting of:

-The military plan including the army and federal and state police.

-The use of paramilitary groups, who are as they, poor and of indigenous origin, but which are being used by the bad government.

-In the ideological plan with the false information diffused by the Bad Government with respect to education in schools, creating new radio stations, and the use of religion through false predicators, exploiting the religious sensibility of the indigenous communities.

Of particular importance were the interventions of the women, explaining how they have made the effort of learning the different tasks and works which are important to their communities. One of these women spoke of the sufferings which so many of them are victims of in the prisons.

At last, repeatedly they underlined the importance of the presence of the caravan in the zapatista territory and the importance and influence of sharing information about what we see in our respective countries.

With the permission of the Good Government Junta, we are now moving on to 2 communities lately affected by aggressions of foreign interest, Huistepec, and Cruztón where the Mexican affiliate of the Canadian mining corporation, Fronteer Development Group, have been active since the government handed them 57 000 acres of land in the region. Since, there have been aggressions by the state police, conflicts fuelled by land ownage and a mysterious poisoning of the water.

We are a National and International Caravan of observation and solidarity with the zapatista communities, currently present in the various communities through the zapatista territory in Chiapas, Mexico.

Oventik, Chiapas, Mexico, 31/07/08