Thursday, October 2, 2014

From the maximum security prison en Tepic, Nayarit

What’s up, compañeros. Here I am in this prison. This is Nestora Salgado García

I send warm greetings, although for now only with my heart and in my thoughts I join you compañeros de Ayotzinapa in all that has taken place. I want to ask you not to be discouraged but instead ask you to join together stronger because we must always be united in difficult times. Oftentimes we become united only in difficult times but we must please always be united. This is why, compañeros, we must always be in constant communication because on some days we come together for some and other days we join together for others.

We know well that the government of Guerrero is very abusive and repressive. In power, they abuse authority. The governor and the whole government is abusive. Clear proof of this is my case. They have been abusing me as much as possible, even mistreating me in this prison. I have declared that the governor of Guerrero has determined to keep me here, knowing full well that I am innocent and that he is violating the constitution of Mexico.

We did not make the laws, like the 701 law which the Guerrero government does not respect. We ask only that this law be upheld along with Article 2 of the Mexican Constitution. But I ask only that you, young people of Guerrero, please know that now is the time that we must raise our voices and we must be heard now because if not now, then never.

Do your best, muchachos, continue studying and preparing yourselves because we all know that the government wants us to remain ignorant and backward. That is why they promote and protect the criminals. That is why they harbor the drug dealers. Why? They want to keep los muchachos drugged and powerless. No muchachos recharge your batteries and let’s show them that we are intelligent and that we can overcome.

Please, muchachos, keep studying and let’s struggle together and defend our state and show that we will not remain in the hands of vultures like those in power now who have done as they desired with us, including carrying out assassinations.

Look what they have done to me in fabricating charges that they know perfectly well are false. They have someone who says that I am a kidnapper, but they do not listen to my witnesses which number in the thousands—witnesses who testify that I am not a kidnapper and no criminal. Why don’t they listen to my witnesses? An entire town is witness that I am not a criminal and have fought for me, and yet the governor of Guerrero is not interested in this. He is not interested in what the people say. He just continues to lie that I am a criminal in a clear abuse of power. This is the abuse of corrupt officials. Court judges haven’t even responded to the legal filings of my lawyers, not even responded, nothing. No response–just complete silence. Why? Because all these people are mixed up in the same outfit; because they are equally corrupt; because I should not be here in prison. I should be free, but those in power keep me here.

But, compañeros, you I embrace and I am with you in prayer. To all of you I plead: stand in unity with the muchachos de Ayotzinapa. Do not leave them alone at this time and don’t let them do as they wish with them. They have always been peaceful. They never took up arms. There is no justification for them to be killed and missing. No reason at all!

I stand with you compañeros. I am with you and will always be in spirit. I would love to be there with you in this fight, to join you on the front lines, all of you together. For now, though, I join you with my prayers from this prison.

The day they arrested me I was on my way to help the compañeros in Tlatauquitepec, This unfortunately was my luck, given what the government had prepared from me. So, I am here. I stand in solidarity with you. Please don’t lose faith or be afraid. This is the struggle and we will go forward.

Compañeros of the Politécnico, I, Nestora Salgado, send you greetings. You have my deep appreciation for the support you have given the Ayotzinapa compañeros. I send you greeting, hoping you know about me. Here I am and someday we will be in the same struggle together.

Thanks so much for your continued support for the Ayotzinapa compañeros. Don’t leave them alone. To gather strength, please continue preparing yourselves and studying.

So compañeros, thanks a lot and may God bless you.

From here I send you a warm embrace.

Nestora Salgado García, political prisoner

Member of Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias-Policía Comunitaria.