Mexican political prisoners legal defence fund and international day of action

Readers of In Defence of Marxism will be aware of the recent wave of repression in Mexico and how this has affected the Marxist Tendency Militante, the Mexican organisation of the International Marxist Tendency.

On July 17th comrade Adán Mejía, a 25 year old student of the National Autonomous University, member of the Marxist Tendency Militante, the CLEP-CEDEP students' organisation, the Mexican Electricians Union (SME) and an activist of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) was arrested in Oaxaca while walking home from a meeting of the APPO.

He is currently in jail at the Ixcotel detention centre in Oaxaca and has been accused of drug dealing and carrying illegal weapons. Both charges are fabricated and the arrest of the comrade is part of a renewed wave of repression against the revolutionary movement in Oaxaca which saw more than 60 APPO activists arrested on July 16 while participating in a peaceful protest.

Then, on August 7th, early in the morning, hundreds of police agents broke up a peaceful protest of students and relatives of students at the National Polytechnic University (IPN) demanding access to higher education. The protest had been organised by the Movement of Non-Admitted Students and the Committee of Struggle of the Polytechnic Students (CLEP-CEDEP).

Eight student activists, all of them members of the MENA and CLEP-CEDEP (four of them also members of the Marxist Tendency Militante) were arrested and charged with kidnapping, mutiny, carrying of illegal weapons, damage to property and theft. Again, all of these charges are fabricated. Thanks to a national and international campaign of protests and mobilisations most of the charges were dropped and 7 out of the 8 students were released on bail on August 16.

The campaign now continues:

- for the release of the remaining MENA activist in jail, Cesar Francisco Jay Aguilar,

- for the dropping of all charges against the MENA activists

- for the release of Adán Mejía in Oaxaca

- for the release of all political prisoners in Mexico

The campaign is calling for an International Day of Action on September 13th when pickets should be organised outside Mexican consulates and embassies around the world.

We are also calling on all labour movement and youth activists to pass resolutions supporting the demands of the campaign and to make donations towards the legal defence fund, which will cover the costs of the campaign to free Adán Mejía and the costs of the bail imposed on the MENA students which is 56,000 Mexican pesos (US$ 5,100).

• 7 of the 8 political prisoners of MENA, CLEP-CEDEP and Miltante have been released (August 17, 2007)
  
• Mexico: Mobilisation continues for the release of jailed student activists (August 13, 2007)
• Mexico: Students arrested – urgent solidarity needed! (August 10, 2007)