VISITE O CANAL http://www.youtube.com/meicobr VISITE O CANAL
Cherán
The municipio of Cherán is located in the Mexican state of Michoacán, which is situated in the central western portion of the Republic of Mexico and extends to the Pacific Shore. Cherán, itself, lies in the northwestern portion of Michoacán about 200 miles due west of Mexico City and approximately 123 km (76.5 miles) west of the state capital of Morelia; it is about 2400 meters (7874 feet) above sea level. The Municipio Cherán is reported to have a population of 16,243, while the Localidad Cherán (town) is officially accounted to have 12,616 souls of which 5,827 are men and 6,787 are women. Cherán is one of a contiguous group of eleven Municipios that are demographically denoted as Purépecha. In Crossing Over, a book about the migrant community of Cherán, by Ruben Martinez, the author explains that in the Purépecha[1] language Cherán actually means "a place of fear" alluding to its unfriendly landscape of "abrupt, irregular peaks and chasms" which bodes disaster to anyone taking a careless step. Inhabitants speak the language of the Purépecha, as well as the local variety of Spanish.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher%C3%A1n
Not in our town, drug cartels!
That's the message the men of a Mexican town -- masked, wielding rifles and standing guard at makeshift blockades -- delivered to drug traffickers. The would-be defenders, the indigenous Purépechas of Cherán, are protecting themselves against illegal loggers, whom they believe are backed by notorious drug traffickers.
"There is no fear here," said one young man, defiantly peering out between a red handkerchief pulled up to his dark eyes and a camouflage baseball cap riding low over his brow. "Here we are fighting a David-and-Goliath battle because we are standing up to organized crime, which is no small adversary."
Since the Zapatista rebellion of the 1990s, many towns in Chiapas remain near-autonomous entities with their own security rules.
The Cherán rebellion is one of the few examples of a town standing up to drug cartels since President Felipe Calderón launched his crackdown on organized crime in late 2006, sparking a national wave of violence that has killed at least 35,000 people.
"We want peace and security," reads a banner hanging over a pile of logs at one blockade.
Classes have been suspended at the town's more than 20 schools, which draws students from neighboring communities because both Spanish and the Purépecha language are taught. Instead, young boys hang out at the barricades, covering their faces with handkerchiefs and pretending to patrol with plastic toy guns.
"Everything is paralyzed out of fear that this gang might attack the children," said a soft-spoken man wearing a white bandanna and a black wool cap at a checkpoint.
The municipal police dissolved itself. Mayor Roberto Bautista Chapina reported the guns stolen but has otherwise stayed out of the dispute, trying not to inflame tensions. He said the Cherán men attacked the police chief and grabbed his gun.
Community leaders and Interior Department representatives met Tuesday in the state capital of Morelia and agreed on a long-term security plan, Peña said. The government promised to set up two bases outside the town for army troops and federal and state police, who will patrol the hills and forests and meet weekly with Cherán leaders. Residents will be allowed to keep protecting the town on their own.
Already, Cherán had struggled to maintain its way of life. More than 40 percent of its residents have immigrated to the United States over the years, according to the government. Remittances have replaced farming and resin sales as
"This fight is not for a month or a year. It's for life," said the soft-spoken man in the white bandanna. "We don't believe there will be a quick solution."
He hopes other communities will be inspired to fight back against organized crime.
"We think it's difficult but not impossible," he said. "If they can start with Cherán, cutting down the forests, they will continue with other communities. And if the communities don't organize, in the end, they will destroy everything that for us is life."
http://www.purhepecha.com.mx/flash_news.php/mexican-town-cheran-throws-up-bar...
Loading...
6:00
Reportaje de Cherán, Michoacánby pajaropolitico8,611 views
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)