Letter from the parents of the Cerezo brothers

They have been constantly harassed by the authorities and illegally placed at the disposition of the highest ranking guards on duty. Instead of adopting an attitude that could humanize the maximum security prison La Palma, these bosses take advantage of their position to vent their frustrations, and instead of dignifying the Internal Rules and Regulations, they wear them like a badge, enforcing the rules with impunity, going after people they see as defenseless, and groveling before those they consider powerful. The Internal Rules and Regulations are not designed to “rehabilitate” and dignify the inmates, but to denigrate human beings, in violation of Article 9, by granting the authorities “autonomy” in their interpretation and application. Such practices violate all the international laws in defense of human rights that Mr. Fox signed to give the appearance of humanism, in which he is totally lacking, and of a non-existent legality.

My dear Antonio and Héctor, in spite of the fact that this August 13 you will have served five years of an unjust prison sentence, and in spite of the fact that we haven’t been able to see or talk to each other, much the less hug each other, during these five years you’ve surely built up a reserve of dignity and courage necessary for surviving this harsh ordeal that’s been imposed on us by the government of Mr. Vicente Fox. For you it’s meant being wrongfully held hostage in extermination camps and for us it’s meant running the risk of keeping on with the social struggle as the Fox government becomes even more vindictive towards our family.

During these five years, your best friends and companions that make up the Comité Cerezo have not abandoned you in spite of the risks involved in the struggle to defend human rights in our country. And so I address myself to all the members of the Comité Cerezo who have accompanied us with solidarity and love in this struggle, which is not limited to your liberation, but extends to that of all the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in our country: Thank you all for transcending your individual interests for the sake of friendship (a high human value) and for letting us know that we are not alone.

Thank you for giving rise to another alternative cultural gathering space: the Café Villa. Thank you for your willingness to serve a cup of coffee or participate in marches and political protests against the injustice of my sons being imprisoned and held hostage and against all the injustices that this government commits, in no way differentiating itself from the former PRI governments with regards to the maltreatment of social activists. You must prepare to defend this space because with the change of government, it’s possible that there will be a change in policy regarding your project. I send you a big hug, my love and affection, and my recognition of your bravery and concrete solidarity. I also invite everyone who reads this letter to show their solidarity with the Comité Cerezo and its projects, such as the magazine Revuelta, which comes out on a continuous basis (the most difficult of all) due to everyone’s efforts.

Meanwhile, my dear children, let me tell you that out here another struggle is developing to respect the vote and oppose the imposition of a government that will continue a fascist policy. This struggle demands a recount, vote by vote and ballot box by ballot box and is of concern to all Mexicans who see that the struggle for democracy is part of the struggle for the existence of a better world. It is taking place not only in D.F., but also in states throughout the country and has polarized the opinions and actions of the great people of Mexico, revealing that the existence of social classes is not just a theory invented in the abstract, but a reality that tears us away from the world of pseudo-concretion and de-alienation. We are confronted with the stark reality of the class struggle that the oligarchy and its organic intellectuals try to mask with “plurality,” the “state of law,” and the defense of their apocryphal “institutions,” snatching away our banners of struggle, like the struggle for peace, making people believe or trying to make them believe that we who defend ourselves and defend our dignity are the “violent” ones, “lowlife,” or “rifraff.” They never cease to attack people who face the consequences of dire hunger, watching their children die in their arms from malnutrition or curable diseases when they are small and, if they do grow up, watching them fill the jails for “breaking the law” or struggling against the governments that keep us in this situation.

Greetings and a big solidarity hug go out to those righteous women who regardless of age, intellectual ability, poverty, academic position, or artistic talent, have joined together and are willing to do anything for democracy in Mexico. And so, my children, life has brought some changes. On one hand, there are those who cling to power and on the other, those of us who never tire of struggling against them in order to dignify power and force those who wield it to do so with the aim of ending all kinds of injustice. So we won’t stop making our cry heard: Freedom for all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience! Federal amnesty for all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience now!

Emi, Paco, and Ale: There’s so much to say and we’ve been silent so long. It’s clear that we’re not alone. There are political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in even worse conditions and we won’t stop supporting them for that very reason. But how difficult it is at times to struggle against the distortions produced by the low intensity warfare implemented by the State among various non-governmental, human rights organizations through rumors, lies, defamation of character, and accusations, especially of being police agents or State infiltrators, thus feeding individualism, self-centeredness, and sick competition, or turning the struggle of a political prisoner or prisoner of conscience into a power struggle between groups. Our commitment, however, is to keep looking for ways to make people understand that what the State fears most is the unity of the people and their organizations and that, consequently, it uses all the means available to it (which are considerable) to deepen existing differences, whether of form or of substance: the thing is to keep people apart. But even though they set organizations against each other, a time of unity will come when “Vote by vote! Ballot box by ballot box!” is not the only demand, but when we all demand in unison, “Freedom for ALL political prisoners and prisoners of conscience!” “Federal amnesty now!” for inmates in federal and state prisons, whether in Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Hidalgo; San Salvador Atenco, the State of México, or Oaxaca.

In the latest news reports I’m hearing that in Oaxaca they’ve killed two members of the people’s movement, that another one has been sent to the Federal Social Rehabilitation Center #1 “La Palma” or “Altiplano” and others are listed as disappeared, due to their struggle for justice and demands for the resignation of one of the crudest and most repressive rulers in the state. We send our unconditional solidarity to the teachers’/people’s movement and special recognition to the women of the people and the women teachers for being valiant, because as the women that we are, we demonstrate that courage is not a matter of the sexes, but the result of the consciousness that we’ve acquired; because we’re more sensitive; because we’re able to give birth to our children with the same dignity shown when we give birth to just ideas; because we’re also harassed, repressed, taken prisoners, disappeared, and wounded, as is the case with Mrs. Isabel Reyes Cruz. She works at the newspaper Noticias, which was shot up by gunmen at the orders of the state government of Oaxaca and has been harassed by former governments because of the objectivity and impartiality of their information. A warm embrace and my most sincere condolences go to the teacher Florina Jiménez Lucas, for the murder of her husband, and also to the mother of the Doctor and Professor at the UABJO, also murdered. I share their pain in this moment and send my solidarity.

Ale, I hope you’re back and I take advantage of this space to send my undying gratitude to all the people who received you as you traveled through Europe and who demonstrated their trust and solidarity in the struggle to free Toño and Héctor, helping you to spread the word that they are still hostages and prisoners of the Vicente Fox government. When you write to them, please tell them I am thankful for the attention they showed you. I’m sending you a special hug for having made the decision to join the Comité Cerezo.

Warm greetings to all the people who have signed open letters or display ads during these five years, and to those who have responded to the call for urgent actions demanding the immediate release of my sons Toño and Héctor, as well as Alejandro before his exoneration on March 1 of this year. Please allow me to express my thanks for your solidarity.

Finally, I can’t fail to mention that five years have passed and, with them, the time that Mr. Pablo Alvarado Flores, their co-defendant, had to stay in prison. I hope the judiciary doesn’t come up with some legal maneuver and that he can go free today.

Here go kisses and hugs (through the air) from your mom and dad, my dears. We’re firm in our conviction to keep struggling for a better world.

Our love for you is as wide as the sky, or wider. Mom and Dad.

Emilia Contreras Rodríguez and Francisco Cerezo Quiroz.