How can you help Mexican political prisoners

International campaign to free Adán Mejía López and stop the persecution of Militante and the CLEP-CEDEP
Free the political prisoners!


The Calderon government, desperate in the face of its complete lack of legitimacy and its intense fear of the increasing class polarisation, has intensified the repression and criminalisation of social struggles, murdering and imprisoning many of the millions of worker and youth who have dared to raise their voices against the misery and oppression so predominant in Mexico.

For years the working class has been squeezed to no end, all the social tensions generated as a consesquence of this opened the way to insurrectional struggles such as that which occured last year in Oaxaca and, on a national level, against the electoral fraud.

The pressure that the Mexican working class has been submitted to is not enough for Calderon, the economy is faltering together with the profits of the ruling class. The pensions of the public sector workers have already been attacked this year and the PAN government has called for the elimination of the remaining conquests of the workers in the Federal Labour Law (LFT) and for the privatisation of the oil industry, for example. However, the intentions of the bourgeoisie collide with the enormous mood of social discontent, which seriously threatens to provoke new and deeper social explosions as the government begins to implement new attacks against the workers. Against this background, for Calderon, and due to the weakness of his government, the repression becomes an option upon which the illegitimate president relies on alot. However, Calderon would be mistaken if he thinks that through repression he will be able to hold back the spirit of the people, who have recently demonstrated that they are no longer prepared to allow themselves to be attacked. In the context of increased repression, where the desires of the poor and exploited to transform their lives cannot be held back, Calderon has launched all sorts of attacks against various organsitions and social struggles throughout Mexico. There has been an escalation of repression against our Zapatista brothers in Chiapas, against the APPO, the miners, Atenco, the Cerezo brothers, and hundreds of others. Along with this offensive on the part of the state must be included the attacks which have taken place over the last few months that the regime has launched against the Marxist Tendency Militante and the Polytechnical Committee for Student Struggle-Student Committee in Defence of Public Education (CLEP-CEDEP_ Firstly, on the basis of false accusation, Calderon-Ulises Ruiz detained and imprisoned our comrade Adán Mejía López on July 17 in Oaxaca. Adán Mejía López, a comrade of the Marxist Tendency Militante, a member of the Mexican Electrician's Union and of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) now finds himself in prison in Ixcotel. His injust imprisonment is nothing other than the result of the being a determined fighter for the aspirations of the poorest people of Oaxaca and Mexico. Following the detention of comrade Adán, on August 7 nine comrades were detained after being savagely attacked by the police at a peaceful protest organised by the Non-Accepted Students Movement (MENA) in front of the General Directorate of the National Polytechnical Institute (IPN). Of these comrades, 8 were imprisoned in the North Detention Centre and some at the Juvenile Detention centre. Fortunately, an intense struggle in defence if these nine comrades, strongly supported by imported sections of the labour and social movements, resulted in the quick release on bail of these comrades. However, all of them still face legal charges, and the authorities of the IPN have shown their willingess to do anything they can to have these comrades re-arrested. The attacks have not stopped, a fact which we were reminded of this past Saturday, November 10, when judicial authorities issued 10 new arrest warrants against another layer of our comrades who participate in MENA. The state's offensive against Militante and the CLEP-CEDEP is part of the general tactic of repression of Calderon and his lackeys in the PRI and PAN against all of the social organisations and struggles of Mexico. This explains the escalation of repression against our Zapatista brothers in Chiapas, against the APPO, the miners, Atenco, etc. There are political prisoners from Atenco, the Zapatistas, the APPO and several hundreds more in the various prisons throughout the country, including the Cerezo brothers. The workers of the cities and the countryside, in Mexico and around the world, we give a united response to the stop the escalation of repression on the part of Calderon and struggle for the immediate freedome for all political prisoners in the country. Thus, the Marxist Tendency Militante and the International Marxist Tendency are calling for an international campaign for the immediate release of Adán Mejía López and all the political prisoners in Mexico, to demand the dropping of all legal charges against our Militante and CLEP-CEDEP comrades held in the North Detention Centre and Juvenile Detention Centre and to demand that the arrest warrants against our other comrades are dropped. Free Adán Mejía López and the political prisoners of Atenco, APPO, the Cerezo brothers, and the Zapatists immediately! Drop all charges and cancel all arrest warrants against comrades of Militante and CLEP-CEDEP! End all harrassment and persecution of social organisations and struggles! Against repression, mobilise! Please call one of the below Mexican embassies and specifically demand that charges be dropped against students in the Polytechnical Committee for Student Struggle-Student Committee in Defense of Public Education (CLEP-CEDEP), and that their freedom of speech and to organize be respected. Portland: (503) 274-1442 Washington DC: (202) 728 1600 San Francisco: (415) 392-5554 Las angeles: (213)351-68-25 Chicago: (312) 738 2383 Suggested script I am calling to urge the Consulate to take urgent action to drop the arrest warrents issued on November 10th against ten members of the Polytechnical Committee for Student Struggle - Student Committee in Defense of Public Education. and that their freedom of speech and right to organize be respected. I am also calling to demand the immediate release of Adan Mejia Lopez and the political prisoners of Atenco, APPO, the Cerezo brothers, and the Zapatists immediately! Protesting is not a crime!

homepage: http://www.militante.org