Report on KWRU Trip to Chiapas, Mexico

2nd South-North Gathering Against Neoliberalism
San Felipe de Ecatepec, Chiapas Mexico

DAY 1

We, along with many of the other participants, arrived a day late for the conference because of fog at the local airports. The 2nd South-North Gathering Against Neoliberalism took place in a rural community on the outskirts of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico. In attendance were poor and indigenous people from all across the Americas. The afternoon was packed with plenaries on the negative effects of neoliberalism on communities in South America. Similar to the trends in the United States, leaders from South America spoke of decreased quality of living, increasing poverty and violence and a general disregard for the survival of the poor. During the evening session connections were made with representatives from poor people's organizations from Guatemala and Ecuador. At the day's closing KWRU was invited to stay in the home of a woman from San Cristobal who works with Barrios y Colonias de San Cristobal. We stayed up late sharing stories about what life is like in Kensington and what life is like in Chiapas and we learned a lot about what has happened on account of the Zapatista uprising.

DAY 2

The weather continued to be unusually cold on our second day in Chiapas and Esther began to get sick. The cold and the strenous conditions were difficult for her on account of her battles with lupus. But we pulled through and began to network amongst the other organizations of poor people at the Gathering, sharing stories and inviting other leaders to attend the upcoming Poor People's World Summit to End Poverty. On this day we met poor leaders from Peru, Oaxaca, the MST, and the Chiapan communities of La Realidad and Ocosingo. We spent an extended time talking with a couple there with their two young children who were part of the EZLN outside of Ocosingo. They told us many stories of the struggles they faced as part of the Zapatista movement and we told them about the conditions and struggles of poor people in Philadelphia. It was a moment of real connection as we learned for the first time about the true situations of poor people in Chiapas and they heard for the first time that poverty does, in fact, exist in America.

Later in the morning we made a display using Harvey Finkle's pictures and news clippings from the July 31st march to hand up in the main meeting room to show the experience of poverty in the United States. After attending the afternoon session we met an American living in Chiapas and working on setting up potable water systems in Zapatista communities. He had heard of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and wanted to hear more about our campaign around the Republican National Convention and then he introduced us to a number of leaders from the poor communities in San Cristobal. That evening we were again welcomed to the home of the women from Barrios y Colonias de San Cristobal.

DAY 3

The morning began with a screening of Poverty Outlaw for all participants to be able to see. The show was well attended by the US delegates to the Gathering in addition to the delegates from Mexico and Guatemala in particular. Everyone was most intrigued by our projects of survival and how people would rather see resources go to waste rather than to poor people. Scenes from the Tent City and the St. Edwards take-over prompted many to exclaim at the injustices of poverty in the United States.

In the afternoon Esther finally got the opportunity to address everyone at the gathering. Esther spoke of life in Kensington and the work of the KWRU. As a member of the War Council, she explained our beliefs on poverty and neoliberalism and about our constant struggles to feed, clothe and house our families. She went on to invite all of the participants to come to New York City for the Poor People's World Summit to End Poverty.

In the afternoon Sara went to go visit a women's weaving cooperative in San Cristobal called Jolom Mayaetik. In the afternoon breakout session we proposed part of a plan on how the sponsoring organizations can continue their work up until the 3rd Gathering. We proposed that some of the fund be used to help make organizer exchanges possible between poor organizations throughout the Americas. We volunteered KWRU as an organization that would be interested in hosting foreign organizers and as one that would be interested in going to other countries to learn from their work. Esther was then nominated to be one of the speakers on behalf of the United States at the international press conference that afternoon. Unfortunately the press conference was cancelled. The Gathering ended that evening with goodbyes and a closing band.