Encounter of the Indigenous Peoples of America

To the Public Opinion
To the Peoples of Mexico
To the Peoples of America and the World


We here report and ratify that advances in the development of the plenary of the Encounter of Indigenous Peoples of America, to be held in Vicam, Sonora, October 11-14 of this year, are in process.

In accordance with what was decided and agreed upon by the Organizing Commission of the Encounter, the work of meeting and analysis has formally begun in order to achieve the accords to be made in the plenary at Vicam. The indigenous delegates are already working in each of the designated preliminary meetings:

Central Valleys of Oaxaca, with the participation of the delegates of the south and southeast of our country;
San Pedro Atlapulco, Mexico State, with the participation of delegates of Central and South America;
Nurio, Purepecha territory, with delegates from the Central Pacific and Atlantic regions of Mexico;
Ranch El Peñasco, Magdalena, Sonora, with the participation of delegates from the North and Northeast of Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Alaska

Given the historic transcendence and international character of this event, we have received confirmation of participation from over 500 indigenous delegates, representatives of 30 indigenous peoples, tribes, and nations of America. Also attending will be over 900 observers and intellectuals from 33 countries of Europe and America, with the possible participation of figures such as the leader of Bolivia, Evo Morales.

The work agenda is, in the following order:

--The capitalist war of conquest against the Indigenous Peoples of America
--The resistance of the Indigenous Peoples of America and the defense of Mother Earth, our territories, and our cultures
--Why the Indigenous Peoples of America struggle; reflections on the situation of the indigenous of the world, the current situation, and in what direction we are headed in the future; what are our expectations in a world with a globalized economy and a neoliberal capitalist system that displaces to the point of extermination our lives and cultures and suffocates our territories and natural resources; equality of living conditions and a dignified life, no to the death of our cultures.

We demand of the municipal, state, and federal governments of Sonora and Mexico the free exercise of expression and democracy to debate, analyze, and conclude our work journeys, as well as the security and respectful and dignified treatment of the caravans in transit to the principal site in the town of Vicam in Yaqui Territory.


Attentively,

The Organizing Commission:
Traditional Authorities of the town of Vicam, Yaqui Tribe
National Indigenous Congress
Sixth Commission of the EZLN