Free the political prisoners of Campeche
This motion was passed unanimously (one no vote
Mexico is undergoing a new process of militarization and repression of social movements and opposition to the fraudulent and illegitimate government of Felipe Calderón. Cases of repression, persecution and imprisonment are multiplying throughout the country, affecting all voices that speak out against the government's authoritarianism and its policies that attack the rights and quality of life of the people.
Among all these abuses of power, the World Congress of the Fourth International highlights the case of comrades Sara López, Joaquín Aguilar and Guadalupe Borjas, imprisoned since July 2009 in Kobén Penitentiary in Campeche.
Their cases highlight the two fundamental axes of Calderón's policy: privatization and repression. The privatization of energy, both oil and electricity, has been proceeding secretly for years, leading to the gradual increase in electricity tariffs, especially in poverty-stricken rural areas. In recent months it has seen a qualitative leap forward with the liquidation of the Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFC) company and the disappearance of the Mexican Union of Electricians (SME).
As in other rural areas of the country, such as Veracruz, Tabasco, Chiapas, etc., for almost three years the Federal Electricity Commission has increased the tariffs in Candelaria (Campeche) by more than 200% - an intolerable abuse of the limited income of the peasants of Campeche. That is why, in the face of this privatizing attack, during these years the Civic Resistance Movement for the non-payment of high lighting tariffs and for a social and fair tariff, indexed to the minimum wage, was created and strengthened.
Throughout these years the resistance movement was a response to neoliberal policies. The government, far from dealing with the just demands of the comrades, has responded by criminalizing this movement.
Barely a week after the legislative elections of July 2009, five leaders of the resistance were imprisoned. They are being detained, subjected to violence, intimidation and threats against their families. They are accused of "illegal deprivation of liberty" for having exerted pressure by forcing officials of the CFE (Federal Electricity Commission) to remain in their facilities while demanding a solution that satisfies their demands.
The use of this characterization of an offence has become a common practice of National Action Party governments, of which the case of Ignacio del Valle de Atenco, sentenced to more than 100 years in prison, is the most significant.
So far, popular mobilization and the government's legal incongruity have led to the release of two imprisoned comrades, but Sara López, Joaquín Aguilar and Guadalupe Borjas remain in prison. They have not yet been convicted and the coming weeks will be crucial for their legal status.
The World Congress of the Fourth International joins the demand for the release of the three political prisoners in Candelaria, calls for an end to the persecution and repression of social movements and stands in solidarity with the comrades in resistance against the privatisation of electricity and the increase in tariffs.
Liberty for Sara López, Joaquín Aguilar and Guadalupe Borjas!
No to energy privatization!