¡Desea la tierra de madre viva!

March Participants waving the Indigenous Flag of Latin America

 

Hi Mom and Dad!

It has been a very busy and exciting past few days in Cancun! I feel so fortunate to take part in an incredibly powerful, diverse and energetic movement. Yesterday we had a very long march in which at least 3,000 people participated! It would have been larger, but Cancun is very spread out and it difficult to mobilize/transport people around the city. All of Via Campesino and various other groups for climate justice attended.

beautiful fabric signs for non-gmo corn

I have taken part in many different political actions, never have I been part of such a diverse movement. You could really feel and see the energy of all the people participating in the march. I looked in front of me and there were beautiful women from the highlands of Bolivia waving the multi-colored flags, representing the indigenous people of Latin America. With them were men playing Andean flutes and dancing.  To my left were a group Haitians drumming and singing French/African songs. Behind me where Native Americans with the Indigenous Environmental Action Network, singing chants in deep voices. All the way in the back were a bunch of kids my age, from all over the world, traveling around in a in a beautiful multi-color bus voicing their support and holding up the back end of the march! I could go on and on talking about the different groups represented, all expressing their culture and environmental concerns in different ways.

start of march

Most importantly all groups were showing their support for the Cochabamba Accord, Climate Justice, the Rights of Mother Earth and Food Sovereignty! The diversity really exemplified how climate change is an issue that is affecting all of us and action must be taken immediately (and should have been taken decades ago). It is an issue that is the result of American consumerism/eating habits, selfish governments and multi-national corporations looking for quick fixes and high profits.

Bolivian Delegation

The march shut down a major highway in Cancun for almost ten hours and in essences put a hold on work that was going to be taking place prior to negotiations happening today (and trapped my colleagues with the Feminist Task Force at the Cancun Climate Village all day!). Rumor has it that Hilary Clinton was unable to attend meetings in Cancun because of the highways being shut down. Who knows how many communities around the world are now for the better because American colonialism of the air, forests and water may have been lessened by Mrs. Clinton’s inability to attend. In actuality it probably didn’t have that big of an effect, but we can always hope!

Bolivian Delegation with, Bolivian UN Ambassador

We walked almost 10K that day, and with the sun bouncing off the asphalt it was very hot. But spirits were high and we continued marching. The rally ended at a very heavily guarded police blockade with the Mexican Federal Police in a line of full riot gear. They also had a low-flying military helicopter circling the protest, typical, but met with chants and flag waving every time it got close to the crowd! The march was very peaceful and well organized, showing cross-cultural solidarity for just climate negotiations to take place at the COP 16. There were many speakers at the end of March, voicing their support for our solidarity and the Rights of Mother Earth!

The bus morning of March at the Via Campesina Camp

Press on March:
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/8/thousands_march_in_cancn_at_la
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7225053.html