Please forward widely / Para difusion amplia
And please come! / y ven por favor!

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Fuera Vicente Fox de UCI! Money for education, not repression! (español abajo)

We have been mobilizing for several months against Vicente Fox's visit to our campus, and now he will be here in just 3 days. Despite attempts to schedule meetings with Chancellor Michael V. Drake, letters to the New University (UCI's weekly newspaper), and even acknowledgement by administrators of the reasons for our opposition to Fox, Chancellor Drake and Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) director Bernie Grofman have not cancelled Fox's speaking engagements and are continuing to falsely advertise him as a champion of democracy.

This is despite our assertions that Fox has been supportive of repression against student activists at Mexico's National University, which included the violent police attacks on students and the jailing of activists; several students, including the Cerezo brothers, remain in jail nearly 10 years later. Soon after being elected, he disregarded peace treaties signed with the Zapatista Army and implemented classist and racist policies directed at Mexico's indigenous community. Since 2000, paramilitarism and attacks on villagers in Chiapas has intensified.

In 2006 alone, two significant periods of repression were unleashed under his watch. The first targeted flower vendors in San Salvador Atenco, where police beat and jailed campesinos and arrested known organizers. Police in Atenco arrested numerous women for the purpose of raping them, and despite reports filed by human rights agencies, no justice has been gained for these women. A few months later, teachers striking in Oaxaca for more resources for their schools were attacked by police under the command of Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. The movement in Oaxaca grew to demand the resignation of Ruiz for widespread corruption and internationally publicized human rights violations. It wasn't until American independent reporter Bradley Will was murdered by local PRI officials in broad daylight that Fox began to act; however, his response was to send in more police and military forces to further repress, beat, and jail protesters and civilians. Fox's government refused to grant an independent investigation into Will's murder, much less to arrest the officials responsible for the murder, who have been named by several Mexican and international newspapers and human rights delegations.

On April 8, despite our attempts, and despite administrators' knowledge of the above atrocities, Vicente Fox will be coming to UCI to speak about “democracy.” He is giving a luncheon at noon at the Student Center in Doheny Beach Room A; a public lecture at 4pm at the Barclay Theater, and a private reception and dinner at 6pm and 8pm in the University Club. Students are countering with a teach-in at 5pm in Parkview Classroom Building room 1300. This teach-in will feature documentary filmmaker and community organizer Simón Sedillo, who has spent several years working with the indigenous communities in Oaxaca. Sedillo will speak about Fox's legacy, neoliberalism, and repression against social movements in Southern Mexico. Following the presentation at 7pm, students, workers, and community members will rally outside the University Club, where Fox will be dining with UCI administrators, donors, and other powerful Orange County politicians and business leaders.

Students are asking for community members to come to the presentation and rally to show their disapproval of Fox's lecture and Chancellor Drake's failure to listen to student's opposition to hailing a international criminal as a distinguished lecturer and finally for using the UCI's dwindling budget to host Fox.

If you can't attend, please take a moment to urge Chancellor Michael V. Drake and CSD Director Bernie Grofman to cancel Fox's appearances!
* Chancellor Michael V. Drake | chancellor@uci.edu | Phone: (949) 824-5111 | Fax: (949) 824-2087
* Bernie Grofman, Director of CSD | bgrofman@uci.edu | Phone: (949) 824-6394 | Fax: (949) 824-8762
* Center for the Study of Democracy | Phone: (949) 824-2904 | Fax: (949) 824-4332

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Fuera Vicente Fox de UCI! Dinero para educación, no para represión!

Haces varios meses, hemos estado mobilizándonos y organizando contra la visita de Vicente Fox a nuestra universidad y ahora solo faltan tres días. Apesar de nuestro intento de tener una junta con el Chancellor Michael V. Drake, cartas al New University (periódico colegial) y el reconocimiento de la administracion de nuestro oposicion contra Fox, Chancellor Drake y el director, Bernie Grofman del Center for Study of Democracy (CSD) no han cancelado las presentaciones de Fox y continuan falsamente promoviéndolo como en campión de la democracia.

Esto es apesar de nuestra seguridad que Fox ha apoyado la represión contra los estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional Auntónoma de México, donde la policía violentamente atacó a estudinates y encarcelo activitas, la mayoria de ellos estudiantes, incluyendo a los Hermanos Cerezo, quien después de diez años todavía se encuentran encarcelados. Recién después de haber sido elejido, Fox ignoró los tratos de paz fimados con los guerrilleros zapatistas y implementó políticas clasistas y racistas diregidas contra la comunidad indígina de México. Desde el 2000, el paramilarismo y ataques contra el pueblo Chiapaneco se han intensificado.

Solo en el 2006, dos temporadas de repreción se desarollaron bajo su mando. El primero fue contra vendedores ambulates de flores en San Salvador Atenco, donde la policía golpeó y encarceló a campesinos y arestó a organisadors reconocidos. La policía en Atenco arestó a varias mujeres con el solo proposito de violarlas y apesar de numerosos denuncias repostados por organizaciones de derechos humanos, las mujeres todavía no tienen justicia. Unos meses después, maestros protestando en Oaxaca para mejores recursos para las escuelas fueron atacados por la policía bajo el mando del Gobernador Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. El movimiento en Oaxaca creció a exigir la resignación de Ruiz por la corupción y la violación de derechos humanos. No fue después de la muerte de periodista independiente ustadounidense Bradley Will por oficiales locales del PRI en plena luz del día en las calles de Oaxaca que Fox empezó a actuar; sin embargo su respuesta fue mandar más policías y fuerzas militares a Oaxaca para seguir represando, golpeando, y deteniendo estudiantes, maestros, y civiles. El gobierno de Fox rechazó a dar una investigación independiente al asesinato de Will, y menos más encarcelar a los oficiales culpables para su asesinato, que han sido reconocidos por unos periódicos y organizaciones de derechos humanos mexicanos y internacionales.

El 8 de abril, a pesar de nuestros intentos, y del conocimiento de administradores de las atrocidades mencionadas anteriormente, Vicente Fox todavía viene a UCI para hablar de la “democracia.” Va a dar un almuerzo a mediodía en el Student Center en Doheny Beach cuarto A; un discurso público a las 4 en el Barclay Theater; y una recepción y cena privada a las 6 y 8 en el University Club. Estudiantes estamos contra-atacando con un discurso educativo a las 5 en Parkview Classroom Building cuarto 1300. Este va a presentar el documentarista y organizador communitario Simón Sedillo, que ha pasado unos años trabajando con comunidades indígenas en Oaxaca. Sedillo hablará del legado de Fox, el neoliberalismo, y represión contra los movimientos sociales en el sur de México. Después, a las 7 de la tarde, estudiantes, obreros, y miembros de la comunidad van a manifestarse afuera del University Club, en donde Fox va a cenar con administradores de UCI, donantes, y otros burgueses poderosos de Orange County.

Estudiantes estamos pediendo que miembros de la comunidad vengan a nuestro discurso y la manifestación para demostrar su desaprobación del discurso de Fox y el fracaso de Chancellor Drake de escuchar a nuestra oposición a celebrar a un criminal internacional como un democrata distinguido y finalmente por utilizar el deteriorado presupuesto de UCI para recibir a Fox.

Si no puedes asistir, favor de instar a Chancellor Drake y director de CSD Bernie Grofman a que cancelar las presentaciones de Fox!
* Chancellor Michael V. Drake | chancellor@uci.edu | Phone: (949) 824-5111 | Fax: (949) 824-2087
* Bernie Grofman, Director of CSD | bgrofman@uci.edu | Phone: (949) 824-6394 | Fax: (949) 824-8762
* Center for the Study of Democracy | Phone: (949) 824-2904 | Fax: (949) 824-4332

Good announcement and a good step. Those interested in really impacting reality and helping to stop the violence might use this event to organize more people to be aware of the Merida Initiative, aka Plan Mexico. Obama has continued this Bush/Calderon military expansionist project in order to bolster the Mexican military and police with usa taxpayer funded military, guns, helicopters, surveillance equipment and blackwater mercenaries. Besides stopping and shouting down Fox,, or asking him about Oaxaca and Brad will, for example, folks could also get further engaged in the political process and identify way to get your california elected officials to stop the Merida Initiative funding!