Mexico

/Tag: Mexico

 

8 06, 2022

Indigenous agroforestry dying of thirst amid a sea of avocados in Mexico

2025-02-14T12:45:42-05:00Tags: |

Angahuan, a small town in the Michoacán state of México, is home to generations of P’urhépecha women, an Indigenous group known for their traditional medicine practices. Curanderas, or ‘tsinajperi’ (“the ones that make life grow”), are healers known for their use of herbal medicine. The women use traditional agroforestry systems to cultivate thriving ecosystems that benefit from one another. However, climate change induced water shortages and US-dominated agribusiness have put the entire system at risk. About 80% of Michoacán’s harvests are shipped to US grocery stores, with avocados being a notable output. Combined with longer drought seasons and drying soil, Curanderas began resorting to buying bottled gallons to hydrate their medicinal crops. Now, P’urhépecha healers are resisting the postcolonial system in avocado farms by regenerating forests in the high hills. The project will build up water resources, replenish medicinal crops, and support the development of a natural pharmacy business in town—allowing for ecosystem restoration, the preservation of traditional practices, and local economies.

23 03, 2022

The Keeper of Sacred Bees Who Took on a Giant

2023-03-29T13:42:15-04:00Tags: |

In Mexico’s Yucatàn Peninsula, traditional Mayan beekeepers still care for Melipon beecheii, a bee species important to Mayan culture and tradition. In 2012, the Mexican government approved the Monsanto program to plant genetically modified soybeans without consulting local communities and shortly, the bees started dying in large numbers. Leydy Pech, a traditional Mayan beekeeper who has long advocated for sustainable agricultural practices and the integration of Indigenous knowledge into practice, led the campaign against the Monsanto program on multiple fronts: legally, academically and publicly. The court case resulted in the government revoking the Monsanto program and has inspired Indigenous communities facing similar challenges to use Pech’s playbook. Lech explains the fight against the use of the soybeans is not just to protect the sacred bee, but to protect ecosystems, communities and a way of life threatened by industrial agriculture, climate change and deforestation. Photo credit: Natasha Donovan/Atlas Obscura

7 12, 2021

In Mexico, Rebellion Seeds Revival of a Forest — and a Community

2023-03-29T13:36:33-04:00Tags: |

Adelaida Cucué Rivera, an Indigenous woman from the Purépecha community, recounts the story of four women of Perán that planned a rebellion against cartels who were illegally logging the forests of Perán. The loggers devastated the forest to the point the climate was changing in the region. The women-led rebellion lasted more than a year, but resulted in the people of Perán re-establishing their legal autonomy of their territory. A community-led vivero (tree-nursery) and replanting effort consisting mostly of women is growing back the forest, with the climate returning almost to normal and native plants and wildlife populations thriving again. Rivera warns that although the region has experienced a peaceful decade following the rebellion, the threat of the cartels returning looms, with the fight continuing to protect the forests and community of Perán. Photo credit: Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

12 03, 2019

The Untold Story Of Women In The Zapatistas

2019-04-13T16:02:00-04:00Tags: |

Victoria Law is a journalist who spent 6 years with the Zapatista movement in Southern Mexico and published Compañeras: Zapatista Women’s Stories. She gives an overview of the Zapatistas, the influence women have in the movement and the impact the movement has had on their lives. The Zapatistas began organizing in the 80s and declared war on the state of Mexico in 1994, on the exact day the NATO the free trade agreement began.  Since then the movement is renowned for the peaceful protests, indigenous organization, and their autonomy. Women have played a key role in the Zapatista communities accomplishing a drastic reduction of violence against women, the prohibition of alcohol (connected to abuse), the freedom to participate and lead in politics, and autonomy over their lives. Victoria sheds light to many things that can be learned from the organization of the Zapatistas and the key role that women continue to play in their liberation and in the liberation of their people. Photo Credit: Mr. Thelkan

16 08, 2018

IPN Students Turn Polluted Water Into Fuel

2020-04-24T15:55:14-04:00Tags: |

Two female chemical engineer students developed a prototype that converts polluted water into clean energy through a purifier and an electrolyzer. Jeimmie Gabriela Espino Ramírez and Lisset Dayanira Neri Pérez, at the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico, are the creators of this device they named Gimfi, which in the Otomi language means “dirty water”. The students designed Gimfi to be both portable or nonportable in order to provide clean fuel for stoves and ovens in marginalized areas. The filter is made of natural elements like cotton, sand, volcanic rock, gravel, marble and charcoal. The hydrogen generated is currently produced with electricity but they plan on adapting it to solar panels, which would make Gimfi even more sustainable. Photo credit: Serg Velusceac/El Universal

21 07, 2018

‘A Hitman Could Come And Kill Me’: The Fight For Indigenous Land Rights In Mexico

2020-10-10T20:29:50-04:00Tags: |

Isela Gonzalez, director of Alianza Sierra Madre, uses civic activism to fight for political change as a way to confront the vested economic interests of not only big corporations, but also narco-gangs and corrupt politicians, that violate indigenous land rights. In a country that is painted in violence, with assassinations as an answer to those who have a different vision than governmental or corporate agendas, standing up for environmental and social causes come with serious risks. Often facing threats to her life, which has resulted in armed guards, panic buttons and crisis training, Gonzalez is staunch in her battle to defend the Tarahumara’s rights. The three tribes who live among the pine-oak forests of the Sierra Madre have a worldview that sees themselves as part of the land and it was this, as well as their way of life, that inspired her to refocus the direction of Alianza Sierra Madre on indigenous rights as the frontline for environmental protection. Photo credit: Thom Pierce for The Guardian.

3 04, 2018

Zapatista women inspire the fight against patriarchy

2025-04-09T21:03:04-04:00Tags: |

On International Women’s Day in 2018, 7,000 women gathered in Chiapas, Mexico, attending an event organized by the women of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN), more commonly known as the Zapatistas. The women came together from 42 countries to collectively discuss and learn from the women of the EZLN. Initially organizing in secret, the Zapatistas first went public in 1994, declaring war on the Mexican government and calling for the defense of their collective land rights, which were brought under attack by the North American Free Trade Agreement. They formed the National Indigenous Council after being recognized by the state, but upon seeing the agreements disregarded by the Mexican government and sympathizers of their movement massacred, the Zapatistas decided to govern themselves autonomously. Today, they govern over 250,000 Indigenous people. The women shared their story of entering the then male-dominated movement and studying the situation of their community, concluding that they could not expect changes to be made by the government but that they had to lead this change themselves. Their role within their communities was poorly respected, and they recalled how they struggled against the intersectional discrimination they faced. Nowadays, despite still experiencing gender-based discrimination and violence, the movement has become a support network for other movements and causes, with women creating their own safe spaces.

30 03, 2018

Meet The People Courageously Resisting New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

2020-11-07T18:11:24-05:00Tags: |

Oliveria Montes is the spokeswoman for several Indigenous communities including the Totonacos, the Nahuas, and the Otomies in Mexico in active resistance to the Tula-Tuxpan gas pipeline in Puebla and Hidalgo. These communities are organizing against the final portion of the pipeline construction which if completed would run through key water sources and mountainous ancestral lands. Montes affirms that their struggle is not only to protect the land and Indigenous communities, but is also a fight against ongoing foreign corporate influence intertwined with political corruption in Mexico. In the face of intimidation and violence, Montes is spreading awareness of these corrupt actions to international activists for further support. Photo credit: [Video screenshot]

16 02, 2018

Environmental Defender Guadalupe Campanur Tapia Murdered In Mexico

2018-03-02T13:07:51-05:00Tags: |

Purépecha activist Guadalupe Campanur Tapia was a courageous Indigenous woman human rights and Earth defender of Cherán, Michocán, Mexico. Her bravery and leadership helped mobilize local Indigenous communities to protect regional forests against illegal logging, and to claim independence against a corrupt government. However, her activism resulted in threats of violence from organized crime groups, and she was murdered in January 2018. Campanur is among an increasing number of defenders across the globe who have been killed in recent years, especially women. This article recounts Guadalupes death in the context of the 312 defenders across 27 countries who were murdered in 2017. Photo credit: Cultural Survival

26 09, 2017

Mexican Presidential Candidate Maria De Jesus Patricia Martinez On Healing For Land And People

2017-10-26T16:10:53-04:00Tags: |

María de Jesús “Marichuy” Patricio Martínez, a Nahua Indigenous woman leader born in Tuxpan, Jalisco, has made history as Mexico’s first ever Indigenous woman presidential candidate for the 2018 elections. María is a traditional healer in her community, know for her lifetime of work to protect traditional ways, culture, language and the wellbeing of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico. She was prompted to run for office after witnessing the dangerous impact of industry, particularly mining, on the health and lives of her people and the land on which they depend. Photo credit: Duncan Tucker

1 03, 2017

Self-Care As A Political Strategy

2023-03-19T08:09:16-04:00Tags: |

Ana María Hernández Cárdenas and Nallely Guadalupe Tello Méndez are two of the women leading the self-care strategy of the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras) and the Casa La Serena initiative. Created by and for women in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, IM-Defonsoras supports protection, safety, and radical self-care for women human rights defenders. Hernández Cárdenas and Tello Méndez explain the importance of self-care as a feminist and political strategy to sustain momentum for social movements as well as to avoid burnout, depression, and disease for those doing this critical work that is often undervalued in patriarchal society. Casa La Serena provides a safe place for women in the movement to relax, reflect, and rejuvenate during temporary stays built around comprehensive self-care for mind, body, and spirit.  

21 02, 2017

How Mexican Human Rights Lawyers Found A New Route To Accountability

2017-09-03T21:17:31-04:00Tags: |

On February 21 2017, Mexico City’s Museum of Anthropology and History delivered an official apology to three Indigenous women for the violation of their human rights. Alberta Alcántara, Jacinta Francisco Marcial, and Teresa González, members of the Hñä-Hñú (Otomí) people, were first arrested and unlawfully detained in August 2006, after the police tried to seize goods from Indigenous vendors. They were falsely charged with the kidnapping of six federal police and despite the lack of evidence, sentenced to 21 years in prison without the Hñähñu translator they should have been provided with under the law. The case is emblematic of the failures of Mexico’s justice system to offer equitable access to justice to indigenous people. Photo credit: Open Society Foundations

25 01, 2017

Education Is The Key

2017-10-14T16:30:06-04:00Tags: |

The strong commitment to give back to her country pushed Fulbright-Robles García scholar T. E. Martinez to pursue a doctorate degree in Holland. Fighting against the odds in Mexico at very young age, she joined Wageningen University and continuous to pursue research to make a difference in life of Indigenous farmers. Her focus is not only to create inclusive technologies to solve everyday challenges, but also to understand and help others to understand the lives of Indigenous people and farmers. Photo credit: Remezcla

30 12, 2016

Women Speak Out On Use Of Sexual Violence To Silence Them

2017-10-30T02:31:30-04:00Tags: |

This report from JASSS Just Associates shares the stories of women including Italia Mendez, one of hundreds of protesters arrested and held in prison by the Mexican government in 2006 in the village of Atenco. She suffered sexual torture while in custody, a form of torture that includes rape and sexual assault accompanied by a narrative that women’s transgressions from traditional roles brought on their punishment. Instead of remaining silent, Mendez is speaking out about her experience, giving a talk to students at New York University and filing a case with other impacted women in the Inter-American court. Photo credit: CIMACFoto/César Martínez López

11 10, 2016

From The Front Lines: Bettina Cruz And Indigenous Land Rights In Mexico

2017-09-08T22:10:46-04:00Tags: |

Bettina Cruz, an environmental and human rights defender from Oaxaca, discusses how the local construction and operation of wind farms has caused severe environmental destruction and impacted fishing practices, killed animals, and changed a way of life the local Indigenous people have maintained for generations. The energy produced by the farms doesn’t benefit the local people, but instead is sold to major global companies, including Coca-Cola, Bimbo, Wal-Mart, and Heineken. Photo credit: Global Greengrants Fund

30 10, 2015

Meet Felicitas Martínez Solano, Mexico

2017-10-30T02:46:53-04:00Tags: |

Nobel Women's Initiative profiles leader of the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities - Community Police (CRAC-PC) in the Costa-Montaña region of Guerrero, Mexico, Felicitas Martínez Solano, an Indigenous Me’phaa human rights defender. She is responsible for the administration of justice and re-education in cases brought before her, practicing accountability and transparency for the Me’phaa and Na Savi indigenous people. Solano also founded the Guerrero Coordinator of Indigenous and African-descent Women to address maternal mortality and women and children’s health. Photo credit: Nobel Women’s Initiative

27 10, 2015

Luisa Emilia Reyes Zúñiga For Gender Responsive Policy

2017-10-27T14:48:47-04:00Tags: |

Luisa Emilia Reyes Zúñiga, Programme Director of Equality and Sustainable Development Policies and Budget with the Mexican NGO Equidad de Género, an expert on gender responsive policies, has trained many governmental and UN officials. She spoke to UN women about the challenges she faces in her advocacy. She stressed the recognition of human rights framework in climate agreements to attain three dimensions of sustainable development i.e. social, economic and environmental. Photo credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown

5 03, 2015

Women Work To Save Native Bees Of Mexico

2023-02-06T00:16:33-05:00Tags: |

Gwen Pearson centers the work of the Co’oleel Caab Collective in Yucatan, Mexico. This women’s collective, led by Anselma Euan, practices meliponiculture, the care and keeping of native stingless bees. Stingless bees produce honey, and they do not sting or have venom; however, because they produce less honey than European honeybees, many (traditionally male) beekeepers no longer keep native bees. As a result, native stingless bees could possibly be endangered. The women of the Co’oleel Caab Collective have dedicated themselves to native bee conservation, and they have been empowered as entrepreneurs in the process.

1 03, 2015

Mayan Women Resist Obstetric Violence

2017-10-31T14:52:06-04:00Tags: |

Obstetric violence is defined as violence inflicted upon women by health officials or midwives during birth. Mayan women in Mexico are often victims of obstetric violence in the Yucatan Peninsula. This research is focusing on the expressions of activism women utilized to counter obstetric violence. Through interviews, this research highlights the goals and methods of activism used by Ime, Yuritizi, Itzel, Doña Ake, Irna, Margarita and America, women who fight day by day to end gendered violence. Their activism takes on various forms, from creating services to changing policy to encouraging community based organizing. Their narratives show the constant restrictions they have over their bodies and safety. However, these women show extraordinary forms of resistance. Whether they are mothers, midwives, or activists, women are constantly resisting against all odds.

27 12, 2010

Saving Mexican Corn – Adelita San Vicente Tello

2017-12-27T18:12:08-05:00Tags: |

Adelita San Vicente Tello, a Mexican agronomist, farmer and land defenders shares the story of the founding and goals of “Sin Maiz, No Hay Pais”, “Without Corn There is No Country”, a grassroots coalition comprised of farmers’ groups, environmental activists, human rights defenders, scientists, and members of the media who are taking action to stop GMO contamination in Mexico. Particularly, the collective is focusing on protecting maiz (corn), a vital crop which originated in Mexico, and is central to the countries spiritual, economic, and cultural identities. She also discusses the work of her organization, Semillas De Vida, which is working to protect the use of diverse local seeds Photo credit: Women Rising Radio

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