The following statement is issued by Committee for Revolutionary International Regroupment (CRIR) on the International Protests scheduled for August 21.

Statement on August 21, 2014

International Day of Protest to Free Political Prisoners in Mexico

Free Nestora Salgado, Dr. Mireles and All Political Prisoners

Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, has filled his country’s jails with political prisoners. Over the last few months, around 300 armed self-defense forces in Michoacán have been imprisoned. Thirteen community police from the state of Guerrero have been jailed. Four community leaders have been apprehended for opposing the construction of a dam in La Parota. In Puebla, activists who oppose the construction of a thermoelectric plant have been detained. In México City, there are many activists in jail, along with others in Quitana Roo and other states in Mexico.

There have also been assassinations like that of Galeano, a Zapatista leader in Chiapas. Peasant leader Rocío Mesino was murdered in Guerrero, and a number of journalists, mostly in Veracruz, have been murdered as well.

The Peña Nieto government has unleashed a wave of repression against self-defense forces, community police and all those in the country that take to the streets in protest. The goal here is to discourage the necessary and effective arming of the citizenry and to send the message to foreign and domestic investors that they will benefit from the recent legislation that allows for the looting of mining, energy and hydraulic resources of Mexico.

Now is the time to act. Mexico is full of political prisoners. We will not stand silent as those who fight to preserve their rights are treated like criminals while the Peña Nieto government turns a blind eye to drug-trafficking cartel leaders who perpetuate countless crimes with the complicity of high government officials.

The Committee for Revolutionary International Regroupment (CRIR) calls on all movements and individuals to organize protests at Mexican consulates and embassies on Thursday, June 21, the International Day of Protest to Free Nestora Salgado, José Manuel Mireles and all political prisoners in Mexico. Today we protest for the political prisoners in Mexico. Tomorrow, CRIR continue the fight for justice for political activists and against state repression wherever it may be.

On August 21, protesters will gather in six U.S. cities and in Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Argentina. In Mexico, the community police from the Casa de Justicia are organizing protests in Guerrero state and sending representatives to Mexico City.  There also will be demonstrations called by the Coordinated Land and Community Opposition Organizations [Coordinadora de Ejidos, Comunidades y Organizaciones Opositoras] from La Parota, Guerrero, as well as protests in Michoacán and Mexico City by organizations defending political prisoners. There will be at least 10 different protest actions in Mexico from Chihuahua to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Puebla and other locations.

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Committee for Revolutionary International Regroupment (CRIR)
Freedom Socialist Party (FSP), U.S. and Australia; Núcleo por un Partido Revolucionario Internacionalista (NUPORI), Dominican Republic; Partido Obrero Socialista (POS), Mexico; and Partido Revolucionario de Las y Los Trabajadores (PRT), Costa Rica.

For more information, contact U.S. Freedom Socialist Party
National Office, 206-985-4621 Fax  206-985-8965
Email  fspnatl@igc.org