Women Transforming Communities
Also in this edition: The largest national protest in U.S. history. No kings by Bernie Sanders. In Mexico, white corn imports quadruple.
Lea La Jornada Internacional en español aquí.
Women in Yucatán are developing a sustainable local economy through traditional cooking. In the southern part of Mérida, they have found a way to create self-employment with support from the Interculturality, Health and Rights association and the Sofia Foundation. They produce items such as sauces, xcatic chili cream, and artisanal jams, including papaya with cinnamon, all made with locally sourced ingredients they grow themselves. ▶️ VIDEO
Also in Yucatán, Mayan bee keeper Leydy Pech is part of a group of women working with native bees known as Xunan Kab. She warns of the dangers of monocultures, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms, and the harm they are causing in the region. “We are defending a system that allows us to live and preserve ecosystems. That is what the milpa represents,” she writes in the latest issue of the La Jornada del Campo supplement.
Successful experiences like these exist throughout Mexico—communities seeking alternatives to the lack of economic opportunities. “Within women lies the reserve of peasant culture that keeps increasingly eroded rural communities afloat. Mexican farming has a woman’s face. Women are the deep roots of agriculture,” writes Armando Bartra in El fin del principio.
In the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains of Guerrero, about 500 women have planted thousands of pine trees in areas where poppies were once grown. This effort is part of an initiative led by the Mesoamerican Territorial Fund, which aims to confront regional violence, mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and help replenish groundwater reserves.
Similar projects are also being carried out in urban settings. For instance, in Mexico City, the cooperative Hortalizas La Chicuarota cultivates up to 40 different vegetables and greens using the pre-Hispanic chinampa farming method in Xochimilco. They supply produce to restaurants across the capital.
In La Jornada del Campo, Luis Arturo Carrillo highlights the importance of seeking alternatives to the agroindustrial model. “Let’s focus our creativity on generating large-scale, viable agroecological models that have the support of different sectors and enable a transition that benefits both the environment and farmers,” he writes.
The Quote:
You must not despise the dead. They are the greatest thing. They are good. The best beings on Earth.
-Juan Rulfo
In Case You Missed It
◻️ The largest national protest in U.S. history. Without a doubt, it is encouraging that seven million ordinary people came out under the slogan “No Kings” to denounce President Trump’s moves to dismantle institutional checks and balances and concentrate power in a single person in a way never before seen in that country, La Jornada writes in an editorial. “For the good of the United States and the planet, it is desirable that the people find a peaceful path toward sovereignty and the restoration of the Republic that lies at the heart of the political promise on which their nation was founded.” ▶️ VIDEO
◻️ We don’t want a king, by Bernie Sanders. “President Trump, we don’t want you, or any other king, to rule us,” declared the U.S. senator during the No Kings Day rally. “There are more people out on the streets, in more communities across the country, than we have ever seen in American history... Throughout the history of our country, when Americans have stood up and fought for justice, they have prevailed.” ▶️ VIDEO
◻️ The Mexico Plan Counters Geopolitical Shifts. The world of certainty no longer exists, but Trump’s presidency was not the first to break the global order. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean must take productive development policy seriously, or risk falling into a third “lost decade,” argues Jorge Mario Martínez Piva, director in Mexico of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Global uncertainty underscores the importance of ensuring that national producers, consumers, and society as a whole understand that the country seeks to define its own development path, independently of what happens beyond its borders.
◻️ White Corn Imports Quadruple. Historically, Mexico has been self-sufficient in the production of white corn used to make masa and tortillas. However, this year it has become necessary to import grain, mainly from the United States and partly from South Africa, to meet domestic demand. In 2025, Mexico is expected to nearly quadruple its white corn imports.
◻️ Number of Undocumented Migrants in the U.S. Rises to 13.7 Million. A new profile offers a very different picture from the one painted by Donald Trump’s administration of a recent “invasion” of “criminals.” Forty-five percent of people without documents have lived in the country for more than 20 years, 31 percent are homeowners, and 15 percent are college graduates. Aproximately 5.5 million of the indocumented are Mexican, representing 40 percent of the total, much lower than the 62 percent recorded in 2010. Most live in California, Texas, Florida, and New York.
◻️ Israel and Its Diamond Empire. What’s the connection between the Congo, Dubai, Israel, and the United States? Hermann Bellinghausen describes the chain of luxury and death that links them together.
◻️ The National Museum of Anthropology. “It is an institution even more democratic than the classroom, because it doesn’t require a degree to enter, and even more democratic than the library, because it doesn’t even ask for your identity,” explained its director, Antonio Saborit, before receiving the Princess of Asturias Award. “Visiting the museum with an act of will, with a desire to learn, to understand, and to better see our roots, our past, and as a society what that past defines for us, what destiny it holds for us and its challenges, that is what most interests me about the National Museum of Anthropology as a space for reflection, encounter, and harmony.”
◻️ The Largest Mexican Marigold Production in History. In the capital, marigold production broke a record with 6.3 million flowers harvested. Mexican Marigolds are an essential part of the Day of the Dead celebrations.
🎥 What We Are Watching
No kings in the USA, Gangstagrass with Allison Russell, Demeanor, R-SON The Voice of Reason, Dolio The Sleuth y Ole! No Kings
