What’s Going on Next Door in Mexico – and Why Don’t We Know?

WEBINAR WAS ORGANIZED BY MORATORIUM NOW! COALITION

July 24, 2023

By Fighting Words Staff

To watch the recording of this webinar go to the following link: What's going on next door in Mexico - and why don't we know?! - YouTube

The Moratorium NOW! Coalition organized a webinar on July 10 entitled “What’s going on next door in Mexico – and why don’t we know?!”.  The idea for the forum was raised after leading members of the Republican party called for a U.S. military attack on Mexico.  The calls became louder after Mexico expressed interest in joining BRICS. A goal of the forum was to begin the process of educating activists about developments in Mexico and the need for solidarity with the people of Mexico. The webinar featured members of the Mexico Solidarity Project.

The call for the forum stated:

In 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) won a landslide victory to become México’s President. His progressive party, Morena, was only 4 years old. Its base is working people and social movements. What has happened since then? Why is México important for us in Detroit?

Come hear from activists in the México Solidarity Project. They’ll discuss the historical relationship of the US and México, what has happened during AMLO’s Presidency, and why solidarity between Mexican and US peoples is critical for positive change in both countries.

Panelists:

* Bill Gallegos is a founder and leader of the Chicano movement of the 60’s and 70’s. His penetrating Marxist based analyses on US/Mexico relations, the formation of Chicanos as a people, and the importance of the Southwest have informed and guided many of us.

*Javier Bravo is a Morena activist, pushing it from the left. A professor at Guanajuato University, he also acts as a resource for Casa Obrera del Bajio, a center for independent worker organizing formed during the union campaign at the GM plant in Silao.

* Bruce Hobson has spent half his life in México, and has the distinction of having been deported by México in the 1990’s for his suspected support of the Zapatista movement. He lives in Guanajuato, and builds people to people ties between the MSP and Mexican political and social activists.

*Meizhu Lui is the daughter of Chinese immigrants, and cut her political teeth as a rank and file unionist in Boston. She has worked to build unity among peoples of color in the US, and now with the people of México; she co-chairs the joint MSP/Labor Notes labor solidarity committee.

*Jorge Mújica Murias works as the Strategic Campaigns Organizer of Arise Chicago, a worker Center. Born in Mexico, Jorge participated in labor and popular movements until he emigrated to the United States in 1987. Has worked as a journalist for several newspapers, Univision and Telemundo, and twice won the First Place award for Investigative Reporting from the Association of Hispanic Publicists. He is one of the main organizers of the 2006 immigrant rights marches, and co-author of “Voces Migrantes, Movimiento 10 de Marzo”, a book about the immigration movement. Jorge has worked for several labor unions, is a member of the National Council of the National Union of Writers, and several community organizations that have fought for the interests of the Mexican community abroad. He was elected to the Mexican Federal Congress in 2021, representing the Mexican diaspora.

Moreno is the acronym for the Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (National Regeneration Movement). The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), is a leader of Moreno and was elected in 2018.

Moratorium NOW! Coalition intends to organize additional forums regarding Mexico in collaboration with the Mexico Solidarity Project.