Statement from the autonomous Nahua community of Santa María Ostula, Michoacán:

Update: After a three-hour attack by members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) against our community, we want to report that our Communal Guard was able to repel these criminals, who, according to investigations, had planned an armed attack in order to enter our territory.

On this occasion we were again able to keep that from happening, nonetheless, containment this time does not mean an end to the attacks. This criminal organization is continually attacking our community.

We also wish to report that our Guard found bullet holes in a primary school, which clearly indicates that the CJNG attacks those who are defenseless and with it provokes terror.

We will continue defending our territory, and our community will remain united. We are very grateful for the dissemination of what we have reported as that is already an important contribution.

Some Mexico news:

- The Mexican government has formally asked TV stations to stop airing racist, anti-immigrant ads produced and paid for by the US government designed to encourage people not to migrate, but says there is nothing it can do to block the ads from being aired.

https://www.jornada.com.mx/2025/04/23/politica/005n1pol

- Mexico will be electing judges by popular vote for the first time after reforms pushed through by the MORENA party in response to its hostile relationship with the judiciary. But as it turns out, there's a problem due to the presence of "candidates linked to organized crime, sexual crimes, political-religious sects, and other irregularities."

https://aristeguinoticias.com/230425/mexico/candidatos-con-nexos-al-narco-ya-accedieron-a-boletas-de-eleccion-judicial-presidenta-amij/

- The army is claiming credit for disarming 168 drone-placed explosive devices in Michoacán, where on Saturday, in Ciudad Hidalgo, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel held a parade where they were cheered on by residents. (Video: https://youtu.be/ZX6N5FiqQWI)

https://aristeguinoticias.com/230425/mexico/michoacan-desactivan-168-explosivos-en-tierra-caliente/

Yesterday, the P’urhépecha municipality of Cherán, Michoacán, celebrated 14 years of autonomy. It began on April 15, 2011, when a group of women blocked cartel-linked illegal loggers from removing trees from the community. This act sparked a mass uprising that saw the community reclaim its territory, establishing barricades, 179 permanent bonfires, a form of autonomous government rooted in P’urhépecha forms of communal organization, and expelling the cartels, police, and political parties.

If you want to know more about Cherán, might I suggest "The Bonfires of Autonomy," a piece I wrote for the anthology edited by @cbmilstein, "Deciding for Ourselves: The Promise of Direct Democracy:" https://www.akpress.org/deciding-for-ourselves.html

https://desinformemonos.org/celebra-cheran-14-anos-de-lucha-por-la-defensa-de-sus-bosques/

"According to a statement from the Indigenous and Popular Student Front of Michoacán, on Wednesday night, around 7:30 pm, state police repressed a group of students who were demonstrating near the monument to Lázaro Cárdenas in Morelia. The young people were beaten and twelve were detained after expressing solidarity with fellow students from the Tiripetío Normal School, who had also allegedly suffered previous aggressions."

https://www.somoselmedio.com/denuncian-represion-policial-contra-estudiantes-en-morelia-exigen-liberacion-inmediata/

Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities in Michoacán, organized through the Supreme Indigenous Council of Michoacán (CSIM), today blockaded nine highways in the state demanding communal peace, security, an end to discrimination, and respect for their collective rights.

https://desinformemonos.org/con-jornada-estatal-comunidades-indigenas-exigen-seguridad-y-derechos-colectivos-en-michoacan/

Despite attempts by local authorities to impede the vote, in a general assembly yesterday, the P’urhépecha community of Tacuro, Michoacán, voted 307 to 0 for autonomy: to directly administer their own resources, make decisions according to traditional forms of governance without political parties, and to self-govern.

https://desinformemonos.org/autonomia-para-tacuro-asamblea-vota-a-favor-de-autogobierno-en-michoacan/

"Human rights organizations condemned forced displacements, blockades of roads and access to communities, shootings against the civilian population and direct threats perpetrated by organized crime groups against the inhabitants of Coahuayula, in the Sierra Costa of Michoacán.

"They indicated that the documented aggressions include material damage to homes, schools, the health center and other community spaces, as well as shots fired at people trying to travel along the blocked roads and accesses to the communities in the region."

https://desinformemonos.org/denuncian-amenazas-ataques-y-desplazamientos-forzados-en-coahuayula/

None of This Is Happening. Mexico’s desplazados fend for themselves #Mexico #Michoacán https://thebaffler.com/salvos/none-of-this-is-happening-olson

Toman 10 carreteras en Michoacán; exigen respeto a pueblos originarios

Anuncian demanda colectiva contra la Corona Española // "No se celebra el Día de la Raza, ni descubrimiento de América": autoridades de cinco etnias

#LaJornada #Mexico #Indígenas #12deOctubre #colonialismo #dignidad #resistencia #indígena #michoacán

https://www.jornada.com.mx/2024/10/13/estados/020n1est

Invest #99E has been designated near #Michoacán, Mexico. It is likely to form into a tropical depression in the next 7 days.

Latest info here: https://zoom.earth/storms/99e-2024/?date=2024-10-06

"Before Indigenous self-government, there was no public discussion in La Cantera about how to end violence against women, reduce economic inequality or lighten the burden of women’s domestic labor. Municipal police tended to be authoritarian and violent; mistreatment and corruption were commonplace.

"Instead of continuing to put up with police behaviors organized around violating and stigmatizing racialized bodies, the Kuaricha changed the security strategy and now focus on care and the defense of communally held territory and goods."

https://www.ojala.mx/en/ojala-en/purhepecha-women-on-the-frontlines-of-security-and-justice-in-michoacan