agua si, basura no

in April and the beginning of May I am spending a lot of time doing internships with community groups here. I've already started with Juana and the women's group at the maquiladora, but that wasn't enough hours every week so I added a group called Luz y Libertad, which was formed out of a Base Christian Community group, which started during a period of really strong liberation theology. Every Monday evening they give cooking classes to teach women who live in another industrial area how to make cheap but healthy food. I think I might help them put together a cookbook that they can use, and also sell to foreigners who come to talk to them.

But, those two groups are not enough hour either, so yesterday I went to talk with someone from La Comision Independiente de Derechos Humanos, which is a really cool organization here that has connections with a lot of social movements. I wouldn't say that they are the organizers, but more intermediaries. They keep track of repression by the government, hold press conferences, and have a cafe that is used for press releases, meeting space, and other political and scoail events. I actually am going to be spending the most time working with them and I am really excited because I will be able to have one foot in the movements around water, land, and trash that are currently getting larger.

and to that effect, after I met with La Comision there was a march against the landfill that the government wants to build that I went to. They stopped PASA from building in Temixco in January, but now the governmetn went around that community and is looking to go through a community north of Loma Mejia, which is where they want to build the landfill. The community leader said yes, that they could go through, but the people of that community do not want the landfill either. so last saturday the police took some people away who were making signs against the landfill...i don´t think they were arrested, but they were taken away and not told where they were going. so there is now police repression around this issue, and I think its about to get a lot more interesting. I watched a video about the defense of water in Morelos, and there was a part about the relleno sanitario, and the place where they want to build the landfill is so beautiful! its open land, with rivers and a tree that is more than 500 years old. a landfill does need to be built somewhere, but really, this location is a horrible place. it would be built OVER an aquifer, and contaminate water that people depend on daily.

more to come!
Ruth