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Fri, 5 Feb 1999 10:56:12 -0800 (PST)
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 10:56:12 -0800 (PST)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Western Hemisphere Conference <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (by way of Arnoldo
Garcia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
Subject: SUPPORT STRIKING MEXICAN MINEWORKERS!
Forwarded by the Comite Emiliano Zapata::::::::::
SUPPORT STRIKING MEXICAN MINEWORKERS!
[PLEASE RE-POST and circulate widely. Excuse us if this is a duplicate
copy. A version of the appeal in Spanish follows the English
version. Por favor vean abajo, al final del Llamamiento en ingles, la
version en espanol de este Llamamiento en apoyo a los mineros en
huelga en Cananea (Sonora, Mexico).
[ALSO if you live in Northern California and would like to be on our
local WHC e-mail list (to learn about events such as the March 13
AFTA-NAFTA conference, organized together with the United Steelworkers
of America), please send us a note and we will add you to our list.]
************
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
We received a few days ago a copy of an appeal in support of the
striking mineworkers in Cananea, Sonora (Mexico). The appeal and
cover letter were sent to us by Gemma Lopez Limon, a researcher
on child labor at the University of Mexicali (Baja California) who
was a delegate and panelist at the Western Hemisphere Workers¹
Conference Against NAFTA and Privatizations, which took place in
San Francisco in November 1997.
Sister Lopez Limon has urged our WHC Continuations Committee
to forward this appeal to the international labor movement. She
points out that the situation the mineworkers face is growing more
difficult by the day and that they need to know they are being
supported by the labor movement the world over.
The Cananea mineworkers have fanned out across Northern Mexico
seeking solidarity for their struggle. In Mexicali a broad-based labor
committee has been set up. The appeal below was issued by this
committee.
Sister Lopez Limon recalls in her cover letter that the Mineworkers
of Cananea held a conference against NAFTA in 1994 to which
workers and trade union officials in various industries from
throughout the northern region attended. At the time they warned
that the privatization onslaught would be deepened if NAFTA were
not overturned. Unfortunately, this is exactly what has happened, as
you will read in this appeal.
We call on all supporters of labor and democratic rights to endorse
this appeal and to distribute copies of this statement widely among
your coworkers and within your trade union bodies or
organizations.
If you can, please send your letters or statement of support for the
mineworkers directly to Mexican President Zedillo or Sonora State
Governor Armando Lopez Nogales [see below]. Please send copies of
your statements to the WHC Continuations Committee, c/o San
Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO), 1188 Franklin St. #203, San
Francisco, CA 94109 or fax (415) 440-9297.
If you prefer, you can add your name to this sign-on letter. You can
do this by e-mailing your endorsement directly to Gemma Lopez
Limon, "Ricardo Flores Magon" Human Rights Committee,
Mexicali (Mexico). Her e-mail address is
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Your statements will be forwarded to
the Mexican authorities. Please include your organization and title, if
possible and tell us if these are to be listed for identification
purposes only. Also, please send a copy of your e-mail endorsement
to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
You can also send your statement of support to Manuel Ernesto
Romero Reyes, General Secretary, Section 65 of the Mineworkers
Union of the Mexican Republic (Cananea) to (fax) 011-663-66-73-
92.
Thank your in advance for your support to this important struggle.
In Solidarity,
Alan Benjamin,
for the WHC Continuations Committee
*****************
Appeal in Support of the Striking Mineworkers
in Cananea, Sonora (Mexico)
Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon
President of Mexico
Fax: 011-525-516-5762
Lic. Armando Lopez Nogales
Governor of the State of Sonora
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Fax: 011-562-17-41-26
Dear Sirs:
Cananea, Sonora, remains alive in the memories of the Mexican
people. The historic strike of the Cananea mineworkers in 1906,
which was brutally repressed by the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz,
heralded the outburst of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. It was the
tenacious struggle of the mineworkers and their families that resulted
in the nationalization of the Cananea copper mines -- the largest in
Mexico and third largest in the world.
In 1989, Cananea was invaded by the Mexican Army: Five thousand
soldiers occupied the town to prevent any resistance from the
mineworkers to the impending closure of the mines, based on the
fraudulent claim of bankruptcy. The mines are vital to the
community; 90% of the people depend on the mines for their
livelihood. It took the protracted fight of the mineworkers and the
Women's Front of Cananea to force the authorities to reopen the
mines.
In 1990, the Mexican government privatized the mines, selling them
for US$450 million to Jorge Larrea, one of the richest men in
Mexico. The real value of the mines was estimated at US$3 billion.
>From that moment on, the problems began to mount for the
workers. Within months, close to 40% of the workforce ‹ that is,
1200 workers ‹ were laid off. Today only 2070 workers are left,
and the threats of more job losses continue.
Larrea, a close friend of former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari,
now in exile in Ireland, is the principal shareholder of the recently
privatized Sonora railway system. Soon after he bought the
company, Larrea laid off 700 workers in Empalme and a similar
number in Benjamin Hill, both of which are ghost towns today.
Today Larrea is seeking to buy the entire port of Guaymas.
In recent months, the company escalated its assault upon the
mineworkers and the community. It began by openly violating
fundamental aspects of the collective-bargaining agreement ‹ all in
the name of cost-cutting. But that was not all. The company then
closed down the treatment plant, where the industrial waste from the
processing plant was treated before flowing into the local river. The
employer also closed the smelting and storage plants, announcing
that 800 more workers (out of the remaining 2070) would be laid
off. These decisions represented a death sentence to the people of
Cananea.
It is for all these reasons that the mineworkers' union (Section 65 of
the National Mineworkers Union of the Mexican Republic) went out
on strike on November 18, 1998. Close to three months have now
gone by, and there is still no end in sight to this conflict.
We, the undersigned, have just learned that the state authorities are
harassing and repressing the strikers, whose actions of seeking
widespread solidarity from other workers in neighboring
communities is totally legal. Arrest warrants have been issued
against leaders of the union. In mid-January, the Judicial Police of
Sonora illegally entered the homes of two workers ‹ Rene
Enriquez and Reynaldo Palomino ‹ causing damage to the homes
and terrorizing the families. Their goal is to terrorize the population,
who have stood strong in defense of the strike. These illegal acts
constitute a violation of all human, labor and democratic rights. We
hereby declare that the authorities of the state of Sonora are
responsible in any harm is caused to the workers or their families.
Given this situation, we, the undersigned, who are convinced of the
righteousness of the minerworkers' cause, support the union's
demands for the respect of their collective-bargaining agreement and
a halt to the closure of the treatment, smelting and storage facilities.
We demand an end to the harassment and repression of the strikers
and all those who support their just cause. We call on the company
and the authorities to resolve this conflict based on the respect for
the collective-bargaining agreement and the democratic and trade
union rights of the mineworkers of Cananea.
Sincerely,
First signatories:
Carlos Maya Quevedo, general secretary, Sindicato Unificado de
Trabajadores de ISSSTECALLI; Aida Canett L, Central
Independiente de Obreros Agricolas y Campesinos; Jose Moreno,
Centro de Derechos Humanos y Educacion Civica; Enrique Priego
Mendoza; Leticia Figueroa Ramirez, Margarita Barajas Tinoco,
Nicole Diesbach Rochefort; Julieta Curiel Llamas, researchers at the
Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la Universidad Autonoma de
Baja California; Teresa Hernandez Luna, Sergio Villareal, Carlos
Salas, Placido Maldonado, Oralia Lopez, Ignacio Gastelum, Mario
Alcazar, teacher unionists of Sections 2 and 37 of the SNTE;
Silverio Lopez Lozano, Organizing Committee for a Democratic
Workers Party; M. Gemma Lopez Limo, Comite Fronterizo de
Derechos Humanso "Ricardo Flores Magon"; Federico Garcia
Estrada, assistant District Attorned of Mexicali; Rosa Arreguin,
Manuel Guillen, Baja California Human Rights Committee.
Mexicali, Mexico
January 19th, 1999
CARTA ABIERTA EN APOYO A LOS MINEROS DE CANANEA
(MEXICO)
Dr. Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon
Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Fax (5) 516 5762 y 515 4783
P r e s e n t e.
Lic. Armando Lopez Nogales
Gobernador del Estado de Sonora
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Fax (62) 17 41 26
Cananea, Sonora está presente en la memoria de los mexicanos. La
histórica huelga de sus mineros en 1906, brutalmente reprimida por
Porfirio Díaz, anunció el estallido de la revolución de 1910. Fueron
las luchas tenaces de esos trabajadores las que lograron que la mina,
la más importante de México y la tercera en el mundo, se
nacionalizara.
En 1989, Cananea sufrió la afrenta de ser invadida por el ejército: 5
mil soldados la ocuparon para frenar cualquier resistencia de los
trabajadores al cierre de la mina, pretextando una quiebra
fraudulenta. La mina es vital en la vida del pueblo, el 90 por ciento
depende de ella. Sólo con la lucha constante de los mineros y el
Frente Femenil de Cananea se logró que se reabriera.
En 1990, el gobierno la privatizó, vendiéndola en 450 millones de
dólares al empresario Jorge Larrea, uno de los hombres más ricos
del país, cuando su valor era superior a los 3 mil millones. Desde
esa fecha crecieron los problemas para los trabajadores: casi el 40
por ciento de su planta laboral, 1 200 trabajadores fue despedida.
Hoy quedan 2 070 y la amenaza sigue.
Recientemente, además de realizar continuas violaciones al contrato
colectivo de trabajo, la empresa tomó la determinación de cerrar los
departamentos de represo (donde se tratan las aguas residuales que
desecha la mina), el de fundición y el almacén, lo que se traduce en
el despido de 800 trabajadores (el 38 por ciento de los actuales), eso
sería la liquidación del pueblo de Cananea. Por estos motivos, el
sindicato emplazó a huelga, que estalló el 18 de noviembre pasado.
Han transcurrido ya dos meses y el conflicto no se soluciona.
Nos hemos enterado de que las autoridades gubernamentales han
estado hostigando y reprimiendo a los trabajadores en sus acciones
totalmente legales de difusión de su problema y solicitud de
solidaridad. Existen órdenes de aprehensión contra varios de los
representantes y comisionados del sindicato. En días pasados, la
policía judicial del estado entró ilegalmente a los domicilios de los
obreros, miembros de la comisión de difusión que están fuera de
Cananea, René Enríquez y Reynaldo Palomino, causando destrozos
y atemorizando a sus familiares, y con ello, creando un clima de
terror e intimidación entre los pobladores del mineral. Esto es una
violación total a sus derechos humanos, laborales y democráticos.
Responsabilizamos a las autoridades de cualquier daño a la
integridad de trabajadores, familiares y población en general
Ante esta situación, las personas que firmamos este escrito,
dirigentes y miembros de organizaciones sindicales, sociales y
políticas y de manera individual, convencidos de la justeza de la
lucha de los mineros, apoyamos su exigencia de respeto a su
contrato colectivo de trabajo y respaldamos su rechazo al cierre de
los departamentos de represo, fundición y almacén, que significa el
despido de 800 trabajadores. Exigimos el alto a la represión en
contra de quienes apoyan la huelga y el respeto a sus derechos
humanos. Demandamos que las autoridades resuelvan este conflicto
laboral respetando los derechos laborales y democráticos de los
mineros de Cananea
A T E N T A M E N T E
Mexicali, Baja California, 19 de Enero de 1999.
PRIMEROS FIRMANTES: Carlos Maya Quevedo, secretario
general del Sindicato Unificado de Trabajadores de ISSSTECALI,
Aída Canett L., Central Independiente de Obreros Agrícolas y
Campesinos, José Moreno Mena, Centro de Derechos Humanos y
Educación Cívica, Enrique Priego Mendoza, Leticia Figueroa
Ramírez, Margarita Barajas Tinoco, Nicole Diesbach Rochefort,
Julieta Curiel Llamas, investigadores del Instituto de Investigaciones
Sociales de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Teresa
Hernández Luna, Sergio Villarreal, Carlos Salas, Plácido
Maldonado, Oralia López, Ignacio Gastélum, Mario Alcaraz,
maestros democráticos de la Sección 2 y 37 del SNTE, Silverio
López Lozano, Comité promotor por un Partido Democrático de
Trabajadores, Raymundo Blas, M. Gemma López Limón, Comité
Fronterizo de Derechos Humanos "Ricardo Flores Magón",
Federico García Estrada, subprocurador, Rosa Arreguín , Manuel
Guillén, Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos y Protección
Ciudadana de Baja California
Con copia para. Isauro Jerez. Radiodifusora XEFQ Fax (633) 2
39 00 ---Sección 65 del Sindicato Nacional de Mineros de la
República Mexicana. Cananea, Sonora. Favor de difundir entre los
medios de comunicación a su alcance.
Responsable MGLL Tel. 66 73 92.
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