Yesterday, some 40 activists gathered in front of the Mexican embassy in Brussels. Young people and veterans of international solidarity work joined with Mexicans, Chileans and others to protest against the brutal repression of workers and peasants in Oaxaca. Vonk also participated in the action and distributed a leaflet which carried an article from the website of Militante, the Mexican Marxists.
Our action coincided with a celebration of "el dia de los muertos" (the Day of the Dead), which inspired our slogan: "No mas muertos" (No more deaths). At first the embassy would not receive us and did not want to invite us to a meeting the following day. They told us that the ambassador was not present, that there was no time, etc. The seemed really annoyed with our noisy presence at the time of their macabre "party". Faced with the perseverance of our group a small commission of four people was allowed in to speak with the... ambassador. Yes, there she was with three other functionaries, all of them talking sweetly about the respect for human rights in Oaxaca, the need to protect the children who want to go to school, the rule of law, etc.
We expressed our disgust and indignation at the repression in Oaxaca and announced that we were going to inform the public, the unions, etc. of what is happening. We told that if necessary we would come back with more people. A young man whose family lives in Oaxaca described his parents' fear of the military operation going on in the city. Another one stressed the need for justice and the eradication of poverty in his country.
When we left the embassy the police had already arrived "en masse", but they did not succeed in stopping the action. All the demonstrators who had been mobilised through text messages a few hours earlier said that they were ready for new actions if necessary. Comrades from Oaxaca, continue the struggle against this rotten system and its misery! We are ready to help you.