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on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Day 2: Ángel García García



This is the second of twelve biographies of defenders of the security system and indigenous justice system of the state of Guerrero; 12 posts put in the “12 Days in Defense of Our Lives and Freedom” campaign, against the climate of violence that prevails in Guerrero and the soaring use of targeting members with jail time because of the various manifestations of the Community Police. The campaign seeks to raise the voice for those men and women who have been victims of a justice system that on one hand leaves assaults, threats, and killings against activists and human rights defenders go unpunished, and on the other hand is attempting to coercively control the indigenous authorities who are promoting community justice.




Day 2: Ángel García García.  First Commander of the House of Justice of Ayutla de los Libres, Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities-Community Police (CRAC-PC). 
 


The legal systems of the indigenous peoples of the state of Guerrero are based on their worldview that integrates their way of social, political, and own cultural organization as having rights; the people and the communities must be respected as a multicultural, pluralistic, and democratic society.

Since before the formation of the National Government, indigenous communities had already had their own system of justice, which survives today in communities as internal regulatory systems;  this, of course, does not imply that these systems are immutable or even idealized.

These internal regulatory systems include institutions, principle procedures and guidelines to ensure the safety and justice of the community.  The protection of these systems is now recognized as a right of the peoples and communities, in legal instruments such as the 169th Collective Agreement of the International Labor Organization (OIT), and in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In this framework, experiences such as the CRAC-PC, that amidst the crisis of violence plaguing the country, stands as an alternative in regards to justice and security; governed by the internal regulatory systems of the indigenous peoples. 

When talking about indigenous justice, the CRAC is and will remain the national and state model in the field; however, the State’s response has been to criminalize those who have organized, those who have organized to safeguard the integrity and security of their communities and to defend the collective rights of their people.

Such is the case of Ángel García García, 24, a Na Savi indigenous who is from the community of El Paraíso, municipality of Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero.


Ángel, the sixth of 10 brothers and sisters, is married and has a little boy who is three years old.  He completed his basic education up until high school.  Excited about furthering his studies and achieving his goal of becoming a teacher, Ángel sought out through various opportunities to be able to straighten out his studies.  In 2006, he crossed the border and worked in the neighboring country in a vineyard and from 2009 to 2010; was the instructor of the National Committee for Educational Development (CONAFE) in the community of Tlacotepec, municipality of Eleodoro Castillo.  Thus in 2011 he returned to Ayutla and enrolled in the National Pedagogic University (UPN); however, could not complete his studies due to a lack of economic resources, even when, at the same time, was working in a bakery in the capital of the municipality.

Faced with the difficulties of being able to support himself, he returned to his community in late 2011.   Unfortunantely, his economic situation isn’t any better; Ángel doesn’t have his own land, so he has to share the lands that his father works on for the whole family.

From the moment that he returned, Ángel joined community jobs.  Within a few months, he was appointed as Secretary of the Municipal Commissioner, and because of his dedication to the service, in 2012, he was appointed as Commander of the Community Police.

Ángel was arrested during the operations of August 21 in the community of El Paraíso, municipality of Ayutla de los Libres, during which 12 other members of the Community Police of the House of Justice of El Paraíso were also arrested.  He finds himself deprived of freedom in the prison of Acapulco, accused of kidnapping, in the criminal case 191/2013 to be heard in the 4th Court of First Criminal Instance of the Judicial District of Tabares (Juzgado 4º de Primera Instancia del Ramo Penal del Distrito Judicial de Tabares), located in Acapulco, Guerrero.
 
Arturo Campos (R) taken on August 27 when the army broke up a manifestation in the municipality of Cruz Grande
 Photo: Javier Verdín
 
Like many other indigenous peoples of the region, Ángel has dedicated much of his life in promoting and defending the rights of the indigenous peoples in order to preserve and maintain their own normative systems.  In contrast, the state governs from the perspective of the Penal Code and intends to coercively control the community justice creating further conflict and polarization, as shown by the arrest of the activist and Director of the House of Justice of El Paraíso, Arturo Campos Herrera, who was arrested on December 1st, after the end of the presentation of the campaign “12 Days in Defense of Our Lives and Freedom” (12 Días por la Defensa de Nuestra Vida y Nuestra Libertad).

20 comments:

  1. The community (decentralized) effort is a direct challenge to the federal (centralized) effort to regulate, incentivise and control the population. It is easy to understand that for each individual person in the population the federal (centralized) system of government is perceived as less relevant to a community (centralized) system of government.

    In times - like these - of unrest, crime and violence the importance of a well functioning government protecting the rights of the population becomes increasingly important. The mexican federal government (and many other federal governments) is a prime example of what is NOT a "well functioning government protecting the rights of the population".

    Well guess what: only as long as there is an alternative to the federal system of government, the federal government has anything to fear. Hence, the priority of the federal government must be (for self preservation purposes) to combat any community based system of government.

    These are the exact policies seen by Nietas new government. They have stopped worrying about organized crime and instead begun focusing on the "real threat": the community!

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  2. Sad to see how those who are making an effort to preserve their cultural/social roots, are criminalized for being different and indigenous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Come bb give some news!! I know there was some killings in chihuahua over the weekend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think they are working on something big...let's be patient!

      Delete
  4. Dear BB , This is an excerpt from Day 1 comments . It says a lot about people.
    "
    How is this reporting on Cartels? No one cares for a group of indigenous ppl who will fight for freedom and die in a few weeks maybe they will reach a month hooorayyy. Borderlandbeat has become way to humanitarian if you "
    December 10, 2013 at 10:09 PM

    Comment : People do care about indigenous peoples. And in war Indigenous peoples as well as women and children , elderly , journalists, and now the Clergy have fallen victims to the lawlessness in Mexico. Drugs might make up part of the war but chaos and mayhem of all sorts follows .

    International Humanitarian groups from all over the world are monitoring the situation in Mexico . Cannot wait for International Intervention to arrive in Mexico. You don't mess with indigenous peoples !!!


    All BB readers spread the word about BB and atrocities against humans in Mexico. Tell your friends , family , pass it around & write to international humanitarian groups. Its the only way to stop the violence in Mexico is by exposing it to the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The cowardly mini-narco war would be easy to control and win,overcoming the powers behind it is a bigger problem,full of greedy politicians,military and police,businessmen national and foreign,hellbent on impunity.
      They are the ones,not the war on drugs,that originate all the crimes against humanity in Mexico,which "patriotic" government refuses to even acknowledge...shamelessly, while tending the hand to receive the money like the mierda accords' they promptly "privatized" in exchange for nothing to show,but apologies,not even excuses...

      Delete
  5. a young man ... but doing his best to stand up for his own community. we are still very early in Valor's series - but already one thing is noticeable. there is tremendous variation between these different home-grown defense groups.

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  6. yea i wonder where she is. not posting for 5 days. bb tell us is she sick?

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    Replies
    1. Chivaaa! espero que no se te cayo el triato y estes en bote por andar fumando cosas...

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  7. I just heard laws were passed in mexico to dissolve protests to stop the autodefensas from spreading.. this is so sad mexico is becoming nothing more than a 3rd world country

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    Replies
    1. 9:57 Mexico has always been a third rate banana republic,with a fifth rate gorilla government,more so with the pri comeback

      Delete
  8. The far right will label therse indians as socialists or communist and justify the goverment response.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 10:37 the far right constituted by the very rich pirates PRIvatizing the biggest of the state owned enterprises,that send their ill gotten money to foreign banks in China, Sweden,the Cayman islands,England,the US, etc? Names,names,names!!!

      Delete
  9. "People do care about indigenous peoples. And in war Indigenous peoples as well as women and children , elderly , journalists, and now the Clergy have fallen victims to the lawlessness in Mexico. Drugs might make up part of the war but chaos and mayhem of all sorts follows . "

    well said!
    And I care about them especially, because I have been helping los indigenos for 20 years. but the thing that you notice - who is it in ALL of Mexico who has said "Enough ... we are not going to take this crap any more!". it is the indigenous people who are doing it. so more POWER to them!! P, CA

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    Replies
    1. 11:49 P,CA that you?I'd like to know more about you,I ain't coming out of the closet but maybe you could organize the Mexican exiled opposition and real help to those trying to cook the Mexican government, our complaining alone can't be of much help,our blessings and prayers can't either.
      till then...

      Delete
  10. "The far right will label therse indians as socialists or communist and justify the goverment response. "

    all the MORE reason why the work of courageous journalists like Chivis and Valor at BB is so essential. A free press is vital - if these people are going to have any chance to change the system. This cause is not lost. But the road ahead is a big struggle. P, CA

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  11. CRAC-PC ? Certainly need a better acrynom, just saying.

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  12. 5:29 who are the stupid mongoloids?
    Are you an aristocratic cromagnon?
    Laura de America,la parca de Peru,la parcaridista de televisa calls them "asalariados".
    La gaviota guilota,calls them"envidiosos del exito"
    La hija de la gavoiota,la guilita calls them "proles"
    No doubt,you people love the poor and disenfranchised,your contempt can't keep hidden for long,thanks for the ingenuity,keep yapping...

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  13. @12:26 wow your so hostile towards people who have no help besides themself... Your either mexican armed forces or some type of associate of the "bad peopl" .... I didnt wanna say cartel or sicario or any type of specific cause every single wait 95% of mexicos people are BAD people. And my percentage is accurate cause ive lived in mex and i live in canada now i even spent 10 years in different parts of u.s.a..... And i can say mexico has its shoes on the wrong feet and cant even tie them if they wanted to... SO SO SAD!!!! To see such a beautiful country with about 5% of the population "which by the way is alot of people when mexico city has i think 30 million people, or am i off on that one" ANYWAYS alot of truly great people, just going to shit and doesnt get any better only worse as time goes by... But getting to my point your a funking c*cksmacker for being so rude to human life, somethings thats beautiful an sacred, i hope one day all the karma catches up to you cause just by your comment i can tell you have alot of negative you've put out in your life so far.. Dont worry my friend its waiting for just the right time and the b*tch KARMA pops up in your life with a whole bag of goodies you dished out first..sweet dreams just know EVERYTHING YOU OR I DO HAS A REACTION....AND IN A WORLD THAT CONSTANTLY SPINS AN ROTATES OVER AN OVER ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE YOUR UGLYNESS RETURNS HOME!! O i forgot to mention its always 3-100x worse than what you put out!! Have a great life you cruel sad pile a waste we call a human

    ReplyDelete

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