Chiapas Support Committee: Let's meet at the U.S. Social Forum in Detroit

Chiapas Support Committee with
The Beehive Collective and
The Latin American Solidarity Coalition

Present a joint workshop at the U.S. Social Forum:

Megaprojects & the Militarization of Mexico; a quest for land and resources.


Members of the Chiapas Support Committee will be traveling to Detroit, Michigan, to participate in the week-long U.S. Social Forum, starting June 22 through June 26, 2010. This will be a critical moment for the cross-fertilization of ideas, experiences and visions to work together with the dreams of "Another World is Possible, Another U.S. is Necessary," the theme of the second such national gathering of social, racial, economic and environmental justice movements and members and activists of diverse working class communities from across the U.S. and their global counterparts.

Together with the Beehive Collective and LASC, CSC is offering the following workshop activity at the U.S. Social Forum, one "Megaprojects and the Militarization of Mexico; a quest for land and resources." Please join us at the USSF 2010!

Workshop Description: Mexico is heavily militarized and the US encourages this militarization through the billion-dollar Merida Initiative (Plan Mexico), a plan to stop drug running across the border. However, much of the Mexican Army is deployed to areas other than the border. These are often areas where megaprojects are planned: airports, super-highways, ports, dams and tourist projects. The extraction of oil, minerals and genetic material also produces militarization and violence.

The workshop begins with an artistic presentation by the Beehive Collective about the Plan Puebla-Panama (PPP), now re-named the Mesoamerica Project, a regional development plan that encompasses all the states of Southern Mexico, the countries of Central America and Colombia.

A digital (power point) presentation by the Chiapas Support Committee follows about conflicts that have arisen due to megaprojects throughout Southern Mexico, with special emphasis on the state of Chiapas, where the Zapatistas present a strong resistance to developers.

Discussions will focus on developing a shared analysis and identifying different strategies for building a transnational movement against militarization and for supporting communities based on social justice and hiuman rights.

Event Date:

Thursday, June 24, 2010 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Event Location: Cobo Hall: D2-09