12 Day Fast in Cuernavaca, Mexico to Raise Consciousness about Costco Plan

Dear Friends,

I am writing to you from Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, 50 miles south of Mexico City in the mountains of the central highlands. I must speak from the heart, and permit me to speak directly. In the past week and a half, 5 persons undertook a spiritual fast to raise consciousness concerning the recent destruction of a beautiful natural area along with a hotel that had walls painted with murals of workers and landscapes and struggles of the past. Right now those very human struggles continue for land, freedom, dignified labor and for community. This time the struggle is against multinational corporations, in this case Costco, that destroy land, culture and lives. Cuernavaca is called the city of the eternal spring "la primavera eterna" and members of the Civic Front for the Defense of La Selva are fighting to preserve their beautiful city. They want to prevent Costco from opening a new store on the plot of land already cleared for construction. In August 2002, 33 members of this group were arrested and jailed for their protests. Today, on the twelfth day of the fast, 1 person continues while others sit with him in solidarity amidst threats by the city government to remove them by force and an attempt to get them to leave by fumigating them with insecticide. After the fumigation, Flora Guerrero said that they interpret this as a provocation and see it as no way to resolve the problem. The activists will remain camped inside and in front of the city government building.

What are we to do about these corporations, or more correctly, profit centered entities (PCEs), that hide behind the concept of globalization and the altruistic motives of bringing jobs to the people? What these entities do is done right in the open, and is legitimized as legal under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Free Trade of the Americans Agreement (FTAA). Any protest is considered communist, illegal or against progress. But if we only look a little deeper, past the glitter of the mega marketing campaigns, we see something entirely different. At what point do we in developed countries come to see the lie, and stop allowing ourselves to be seduced by the mega marketing of the values of acquisition and the commercialization of everything from the natural world, to human bodies and minds? I believe people, from whatever level of education, or from whatever class, know a self-serving industry when they see it. So, do we in the developed countries sit back and wait til it is fashionable to jump on the politically correct bandwagon? Do we wait until it is socially comfortable for us to speak out, to boycott these business, or do we start right now and stop supporting such exploitation of individuals, communities and the natural world? Certainly people in developed countries know that lower prices are not the only thing in life, and if they could see what is happening to other countries, our neighbors right here south of the border, they would boycott the companies that do such things.

In the mega marketing campaigns, the corporations give their typical altruist message: we are bringing jobs to the people, we are helping the economy. This is expected to be understood without qualification. Nevertheless, we should ask, "What kinds of jobs?" "What is the real cost?" Might we look a little deeper and see that the terms "job"and "slavery"are incompatible. A job is something we choose to do, not something we are forced to do. Here in Mexico, people beg Costco, or McDonalds, to come and these corporations use this to promote their altruistic message giving the impression that the people love the corporation. However, we should know that poor people at such a level of desperation would beg anybody to come. If we take a different perspective and define jobs as that which we choose to do for vocation then we quickly see that what Costco, and those like it, bring is slavery. Most of us in developed countries enslave ourselves for greater material wealth, however, in poorer countries people are forced from their land and have to work for these corporations, or their affiliates, simply to survive. If they protest, the guns that are never too far away are brought out to silence their complaints. The profit ideology and the guns themselves are stamped with, "Made in the U.S.A." And all of this is done while those that own the companies, or profit with them or by them, live in imperial luxury. We as citizens of richer countries, misinformed by the corporations that own the media and indulgent in our own lives, join the guilt of this criminal activity by supporting such businesses with our indiscretion in what we buy or consume.

In the current conflict in Cuernavaca, the members of the Civic Front for the Defense of La Selva want to appeal to the hearts and minds of peoples everywhere as they have renewed their calls for the government to stop the development of the land that was originally part of a park, and was bought for one-sixth of its estimated value of 63 million USD. The Fox government had initially agreed to send two lawyers to investigate, but that has not happened. Though their efforts have not fallen on deaf ears. Their fast coincided with the annual Costco shareholders meeting in Seattle, Washington last week. In the face of concerns raised by shareholders, the Costco meeting was cancelled.

In a country that has gone from around 25% of the people living in poverty to around 80% or more in the last few decades, might we as Americans ask why? And, instead of rushing out on a Saturday morning in search of the best price at WalMart or Costco, might we pay a little more and support local businesses and artisans? Or give money to microlending projects that support cottage industry in poorer countries? Might we practice integral thinking through self education and come to understand the consequences of our actions? When we see a tag on a shirt that says, "Hecho en Mexico: Made in Mexico," let us come to understand the process by which the natural materials were brought together, the human hands that did the work, the transportation process and the person or company from which we buy the article of clothing. It is only with this kind of integrative thinking that we will learn to change our buying habits and live in a more sustainable and wholesome way. If we are going to have globalization then let it be of knowledge and reason, dignity and kindness. There may always be levels of rich and poor, some of us may have more talent or more drive than others, but let us not, any one of us, accumulate wealth from the exploitation of others.

From the mountains of central Mexico,

Layne Hartsell
Tierra Azul Projects for Sustainable Living

To contact the Civic Front for the Defense of Casino de la Selva:
http://www.procasino.org