Suffocated by the accumulated heat of the day, the night became long. The smell of smoke woke us up. At that moment we thought that some neighbor was burning garbage. We soon realized that the smell was different. It smelled more like burnt wood.

To know Cirio Ruiz is to know the history of CORECAFECO. He has been part of this council for approximately 40 years. What is CORECAFECO? It is the Coatepec Regional Coffee Council. It is an organization that strives for dignified and fair treatment for coffee workers accomplished through community organization and clean processes, the production of coffee free of agrochemicals. They fight for fairer prices, valuing human and environmental life, taking care of biodiversity and ensuring that the land and water remain healthy.

The Fifth Community Assembly for Water (La Quinta Asamblea Comunitaria por el Agua) was held on Friday, May 5, 2023, in Pacho Viejo, Veracruz, Mexico. Pacho Viejo seems an apt location for a convention on the protection and conservation of la Cuenca la Antigua (the Antigua Watershed). It is in the geographic heart of this river basin, situated between the cities of Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz, and Coatepec, often called “the Coffee Capital of Mexico.” This assembly of Sentinelas de rio (River Sentinels) represented a convergence of undercurrents running beneath the region’s rich culture, ongoing political strife, and incredible biodiversity, all flowing toward safeguarding the ultimate source of life: water.

Aquí presentamos una entrevista con Carlos Beas Torres de la Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Nortel del Istmo de Tehuantepec (UCIZONI), una organización que ha resistido a CIIT desde su inicio, y que forma parte de la caravana “El Sur Resiste.”

The following is an interview with Carlos Beas Torres, a member of the Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Nortel del Istmo de Tehuantepec (Union of Indigenous Communities from the North of the Isthmus or UCIZONIT), an organization that has resisted the CIIT since its conception and forms part of the “El Sur Resiste” (The South Resists) Caravan.

Translation of a statement issued on April 28 by the National and International Caravan “El Sur Resiste” (The South Resists) regarding the repression and eviction of the "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and Liberty) protest camp, which was located in the Mogoñe Viejo community, Huichicovi, Oaxaca. Mexico. Read the original Spanish statement.

In a follow up to “Coatepec: The Fight for the Cloud Forest”, a Forest Guardian from Movimiento por la Defensa de la Sierra describes the impact of art on their movement. The artists in question are children, and the young Earth Guardians are inspiring their community to rise up and protect their forests.

On January 20, 2015, the PUCARL Collective (United Communities of the Antigua Watershed for Free Rivers) blocked the entrance to the Río Pescados (River of Fishes), halting the construction of a dam that was threatening the entire region. The 43 communities along the Rio Pescados are the first to defeat Odebrecht, thus protecting their waterways for the generations to come.

A new gold mine in Veracruz, Mexico, will be the first one in the world to be opened only two miles away from a nuclear reactor and from many pipelines - all in the middle of a densely populated, touristic area that is also the most important migratory route in North America. These are some of the main reasons why local activists are strongly opposing the project.

5,000 acres of cloud forest are currently being threatened in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico - but local forest protectors are standing up to defend the ecosystem.

On this Earth Day, we from the Talking Wings Collective are saying no to doom and gloom. Especially during the current pandemic, it is easy to succumb to an apocalyptic worldview. But we must also celebrate the brave work of human communities who are striving to plant the seeds of global/local change. At this very moment, these “earth and water guardians” are pushing back the hands of the doomsday clock and working against time to create a sustainable and regenerative future.

By Julianne DeGuardi

In the final installment of her three-part profile of migrant farm worker Juan Garcia, Weave News reporter Julianne DeGuardi details Juan’s differing experiences with accessing health care in New York and Vermont. Read Part I and Part II.

By Savannah Crowley

In her latest post for our Weaving the Streets project, Savannah Crowley reflects on her experience of traveling to Culiacan, Sinaloa (Mexico), to “learn from activists and community leaders on the ground who are building peace in the heart of the Drug War” in the aftermath of the assassination of renowned journalist Javier Valdez.

By Julianne DeGuardi

In the second installment of her three-part profile of migrant farm worker Juan Garcia, Weave News reporter Julianne DeGuardi details Juan’s story of moving among a number of different work opportunities in New York, Vermont, and Kentucky. Read Part I.

By Julianne DeGuardi

As part of her continuing coverage of the issue of migrant farm workers in the North Country, Julianne DeGuardi begins a three-part profile of one worker whose journey has taken him from Chiapas, Mexico, to northern New York and Vermont.

By Savannah Crowley

On Sunday, April 23, I had the honor to ride alongside Mr. Jan Ruhman, a United States’ Marine Corps Veteran who served during the Vietnam War, on the drive South of San Diego to the US/Mexican border at Tijuana. Crossing the border in Jan’s Ford Ranger, a speed bump was the only thing in our way, but for Jan’s friends and the United States veterans that I would soon meet, they would never again be allowed to cross the border and return home to the United States. They’ve been permanently banished from the same country they swore to serve and defend.

By Julianne DeGuardi

As part of her ongoing research into the story of migrant farm workers in the North Country dairy industry, Weave News reporter Julianne DeGuardi spoke with another local reporter who has done extensive work on the topic: David Sommerstein of North Country Public Radio (NCPR). Enjoy the latest installment in our Interweaving series!

By Savannah Crowley

As part of our ongoing Weaving the Streets project, Weave News correspondent Savannah Crowley checks in from San Diego, CA, which recently co-hosted the 2017 Border Film Festival. For more of her work, check out her earlier post, “Get Up Offa That Thing!” Showing Up for Justice in San Diego.

By Julianne DeGuardi

Migration is never an isolated phenomenon; it is always situated within a larger macro political-economic framework. Migration rates from Mexico to the US within the last 20 years must be examined within the context of the political-economic relationship between Mexico and the US from the late 1980s to the present. Although there has been a high demand for low wage migrant labor within the US, especially in the dairy industry, migration cannot solely be explained by the demand for labor in the destination country. Migratory trends are equally propelled by the political, social, and economic situation in the emitter country.