The Wixárika Regional Council for the Defense of Wirikuta last week announced a new stage in the struggle to defend the sacred land known as Wirikuta in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
At the center of the new effort is a set of dialogues with Wirikuta residents, scientists and the federal government; and a demand for a new plan for regional economic recovery, based on respect for human and territorial rights of the people of the desert and the Wixárika people.
Alongside these efforts, the Wixarika are continuing to demand the cancellation of all mining concessions in Wirikuta and the abolishment of an ongoing disinformation campaign led by the municipal government of Real de Catorce and the Canadian mining company First Majestic Silver.
PRESS RELEASE
Mexico City. February 7, 2013.
SACRED PLACE FUNDAMENTAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF THE WIXARIKA PEOPLE AND TO HUMANITY CONTINUES TO BE SERIOUSLY THREATENED BY THE IMPUNITY OF MINING AND AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES.
Once again, a year after the mass ceremony that brought together the Wixárika people at Cerro del Quemado, the word of the Wixárika people expressed by traditional and agrarian authorities, legitimate representatives and bearers of the words of the communal assemblies, formally express themselves in their words of struggle and dignity. “We the Wixárika people, firmly maintain our way of defending and protecting one of the most important pillars of the world, which is in the highlands of San Luis in the region known as Wirikuta” and warn that their demands are “so serious and important that all our people from over 500 ceremonial centers unite in asking for mining concessions to be canceled.” They note that the federal government should reconstruct the governance of the region, in which the collective human rights of the ejidatarios of the region and the Wixárika people to health, a healthy environment and to their own cultural way of life are respected fully, and “this destructive mining or agribusiness does not have a place.”
Wirikuta is our life
The communities represented by the Regional Council Wixárika herein will report to Chief of the implications of allowing Mexican destruction Wirikuta “is the basis of knowledge from our elders and elders that convey to children and youth. It is the basis of the schedule of our traditional authorities, civil and agricultural. That is, is the basis of absolutely all social fabrics of our people ”
Our people are standing up to fight
With an account of the actions that have been carried out as a people, they reiterate their fundamental demands, which were expressed in an Urgent First Letter to the President of Mexico and to the peoples and governments of the world, delivered on May 9, 2011.
The law is on our side
They also reiterate the responsibility of the Mexican government to enforce international conventions and national resources that protect the rights of indigenous peoples, highlighting the San Andrés Accords, signed by the Federal Government and which to date have not been recognized on a constitutional level.
Ecological fragility of the region
It is impossible to hide the serious damage caused to ecosystems and local populations by the severe pollution of aquifers that are overexploited and contaminated. The presence of heavy metals has been documented, along with the serious risks of implementing destructive mining operations.
Wirikuta deserves to be a world-class protected area
They again state their position on the unfinished process of decree of a federal reserve in the form of a Biosphere Reserve:
The Regional Wixárika Council demands action by the Mexican state to stop the hate and disinformation campaign undertaken by the municipal government of Real de Catorce and the mining company First Majestic Silver, noting that the campaign “is based on a series of lies as to how the land rights of ejidatarios will be affected, and that like the Wixaritari, they will keep their land. This has evolved during stressful conditions that could lead to violent actions and harassment of our people.”
ATTENTIVELY
“The Wixárika Regional Council for the Defense of Wirikuta”
Mexico, D.F., February 7, 2013
For Wautüa and Manuka-San Sebastián Kururri Teponahuaxtlán and Tuxpan de Bolaños
Octaviano Díaz Chema
President of the Commissariat of Communal Property
Juventino González de la Cruz
President of the Supervisory Council
Venustiano Vázquez Navarrete
Suplente del Gobernador Tradicional
José Carrillo de la Cruz
Commissioner
Juan Pablo Sanchez Enriquez
Commissioner
For Tuapurie – Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlán
Aniceto Torres Robles
Community Representative
For Uweni Muyewe – Bancos de San Hipolito
Santos de la Cruz Carrillo
President of the Commissariat of Communal Property
Eligio Aguilar Navarrete
Traditional Governor
Indigenous Peoples are putting their bodies on the line and it's our responsibility to make sure you know why. That takes time, expertise and resources - and we're up against a constant tide of misinformation and distorted coverage. By supporting IC you're empowering the kind of journalism we need, at the moment we need it most.
