Forty-three college students forcibly disappeared by police and six persons assassinated. At least 27,000 disappeared throughout the country. More than 150,000 killed in a drug war with no exit strategy. Widespread torture, extrajudicial executions, sexual violence and extortion. An administration battered by corruption and conflict of interest charges.
Citizen outrage at the participation of government and security forces with organized crime and the high levels of impunity have combined with popular resistance to reforms to create a volatile political situation that offers both hope for change and fears of a repressive response. The US Merida Initiative continues to fund security forces despite proven abuses and victim organizations' calls to suspend it. The next US administration will have to go beyond the racist wall and the violence-inducing drug war to profoundly rethink binational policy, placing peaceful coexistence and respect for human rights at the center.
The Mexican Student Association at NYU is honored to host an intriguing and compelling set of speakers:
Italia Mendez, survivor of sexual torture in police custody following repression of Atenco protests in 2006; co-plaintiff in case against the Mexican government in the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights.
Malú Huacuja del Toro, Mexican author, playwright and screenwriter with more than 10 published books in Spanish who has been supporting the Zapatista fight for 20 years and was part of the movement of intellectuals and artists fighting NAFTA in Mexico. She has been supporting Mr. Antonio Tizapa's peaceful protests in NYC to find his son and the 43 disappeared students.
Laura Carlsen, political analyst/journalist in Mexico City, Director of the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy, Mexican Network of Women Human Rights Defenders.
Mark Read, artist, activist and educator living in Brooklyn, NY. He is a professor of arts and activism at New York University, and is currently completing a residency at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. He was a friend and comrade to slain journalist Bradley Will, who was killed in Oaxaca, Mexico during the uprising there in 2006.
Spanish-English translation provided.
Co-sponsored by CLACS and the Mexican Student Association.
The event is free and open to the public. A valid ID is required to enter the building.
Citizen outrage at the participation of government and security forces with organized crime and the high levels of impunity have combined with popular resistance to reforms to create a volatile political situation that offers both hope for change and fears of a repressive response. The US Merida Initiative continues to fund security forces despite proven abuses and victim organizations' calls to suspend it. The next US administration will have to go beyond the racist wall and the violence-inducing drug war to profoundly rethink binational policy, placing peaceful coexistence and respect for human rights at the center.
The Mexican Student Association at NYU is honored to host an intriguing and compelling set of speakers:
Italia Mendez, survivor of sexual torture in police custody following repression of Atenco protests in 2006; co-plaintiff in case against the Mexican government in the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights.
Malú Huacuja del Toro, Mexican author, playwright and screenwriter with more than 10 published books in Spanish who has been supporting the Zapatista fight for 20 years and was part of the movement of intellectuals and artists fighting NAFTA in Mexico. She has been supporting Mr. Antonio Tizapa's peaceful protests in NYC to find his son and the 43 disappeared students.
Laura Carlsen, political analyst/journalist in Mexico City, Director of the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy, Mexican Network of Women Human Rights Defenders.
Mark Read, artist, activist and educator living in Brooklyn, NY. He is a professor of arts and activism at New York University, and is currently completing a residency at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. He was a friend and comrade to slain journalist Bradley Will, who was killed in Oaxaca, Mexico during the uprising there in 2006.
Spanish-English translation provided.
Co-sponsored by CLACS and the Mexican Student Association.
The event is free and open to the public. A valid ID is required to enter the building.
