Call # 268 (from 29 January to 31 March 2004)

In the free trade areas of Asia and Latin America workers have difficulty forming independent unions capable of ensuring that local laws and ILO standards are complied with. For the past few years NGOs and human rights organizations in Mexico have been facilitating the creation of new unions by providing legal and financial support and bringing their cases to the attention of international opinion. Predictably, the owners of local and multinational firms hardly take kindly to their new interlocutors. Members of these citizens’ movements are regularly threatened, assaulted and sometimes even prosecuted for their trade union activities. This is currently the case in the State of Puebla.

Martin Barrios is coordinator of the Tehuacan Valley Human and Labour Rights Commission, the head-office of which is in his home. At 9.30 a.m. on 30 December 2003, Martin Barrios was brutally assaulted on his way home. Everything happened very fast. Hearing a voice behind him, the human rights activist turned around to see a man coming towards him with a brick. He was hit in the face and on the head but managed to scare off his assailant who jumped into a car driven by an accomplice. Martin Barrios sustained several head injuries. He immediately lodged a complaint with the competent authorities.

It seems clear that the assault was planned and that the assailant was waiting for Martin Barrios in order to attack him on his way home. The assailant did not try to enter his house or to steal anything from him. The Human and Labour Rights Commission considers this as an attempt to intimidate its members, especially its leader and his family.

Rights in free trade zones

In 2003 the Tehuacan Valley Human and Labour Rights Commission defended a few hundred workers who were unfairly dismissed from several factories producing jeans for the Los Angeles-based US company Tarrant, and from other smaller maquilas (see Box). Pressure on the heads of the companies concerned led to the application of Mexican law and the payment of severance wages to those who had been dismissed. This was possible owing to the cooperation of several local and international organizations. The Ajalpan-based CAT(1) (Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador) supported the creation of free unions in firms in the free zones and the MSN (Maquila Solidarity Network based in Canada) led an international campaign against the company Tarrant.

Voices they are trying to silence

In collaboration with the MSN, the Human and Labour Rights Commission published the report "Blue Jeans, Blue Waters and Workers’ Rights" disseminated in Mexico, Canada and the US. The document recounts systematic violation of labour laws and environmental regulations in the textile industry in the Tehuacan Valley.

The Human and Labour Rights Commission considers that the assault on Martin Barrios is part of an intimidation campaign orchestrated by the owners of the maquilas to silence those who defend textile industry workers. Other human rights activists have been threatened or assaulted in the State of Puebla and Griselda Tirado Evangelio was murdered on 6 August 2003 in Huehuetla(2). It is therefore important to appeal to the Mexican authorities to ensure that those striving for the emergence of free trade unions in their country can work without constant threats.

(1) The Support Committee for Mexican Workers is an NGO founded in response to social conflict in the firm Kuk Dong (cf. Call n° 232, February 2001, "Syndiqués KO à Kuk Dong). Its creation was intended to compensate for the absence of an organization to support Mexican workers. Gabriela Cortes, member of the CAT, participated in the Réseau-Solidarité Forum in November 2001. For the past few years the CAT has worked towards the emergence of free trade unions in the maquilas in Puebla State.

(2) Grisela Tirado was a member of the Organisation Indépendante Totonaque, a movement working towards the defence of indigenous communities in northern Puebla.

For more information

In the 1960 maquilas (Spanish for "to sub-contract") first appeared in Mexico. These are foreign sub-contracting firms established in Latin American free trade zones. Human rights violations are daily occurrences in these zones but governments are inclined to turn a blind eye due to these firms’ weight in local economies. In Mexico they are the main source of State income from tax.

Call in liaison with:

Clean Clothes Campaign : www.cleanclothes.org

Campaign for labor rights (USA) : www.campaignforlaborrights.org

Maquila Solidarity Network (Canada): www.maquilasolidarity.org

What to do ?

By letter: copy or download the standard letter below by clicking here.

Don’t forget to date and sign your letter and to add your name and address.

By internet : You can let a message on the official site of the gobernador by clicking here : http://200.57.151.241/gobierno/escr...

Reaction time: As soon as you receive this call, or until end-march 2004.

Letter to:

Melquiades Morales Flores

Gobernador del Estado de Puebla

14 Oriente, N°1006

Colonia El Alto

Puebla Ciuadad

Puebla

MEXICO

(Date)

Estimado Gobernador Morales Flores

Por medio de la Red Solidaridad - Francia (Réseau-Solidarité, 10quai de Richemont 35000 RENNES - France) me enteré de que el 30 de diciembre 2003, a las 9:30 horas, Martin Barrios, dirigente de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos y Laborales, fue atacado por un asaltante desconocido frente a su casa en Tehuacán.

Como puede ser de su conocimiento, Barrios y la Comisión han desempeñado un rol muy importante en la defensa de los derechos de los trabajadores de la maquila en la región de Tehuacán.

Me preocupo sobremanera que este asalto pueda formar parte de una campaña más amplia para silenciar y castigar a Barrios, a miembros de su familia y a otros miembros de la Comisión. Con el fin de asegurar que se haga justicia, y de que no haya más ataques a Barrios, miembros de su familia y/o otros miembros de la Comisión, quisiéro urgirle decididamente que realice las siguientes acciones:

1. Ordenar de inmediato una investigación plena sobre el ataque y las amenazas contra Barrios y asegurar que aquellos responsables, incluyendo a los autores intelectuales del delito, sean llevados a la justicia; y

2. Ordenar a las autoridades locales a realizar medidas preventivas inmediatas para proteger la vida y la seguridad de Martín Amaru Barrios, su familia y otros miembros de la Comisión.

Quedo a la espera de recibir una pronta respuesta a esta carta.

Atentamente,

TRANSLATION

Dear Sir,

I have been informed by Réseau-Solidarité (10 quai de Richemont, 35000 Rennes, France) that at 9.30 a.m. on 30 December 2003, Martin Barrios, head of the Human Rights and Labour Commission, was assaulted by an unidentified person outside his Tehuacán home.

As you know, Martin Barrios and the Commission have actively defended the rights of maquilas workers in the Tehuacán area. I am particularly concerned that this assault was part of a campaign to silence Martin Marrios, his family and the other members of the Commission. In order to guarantee security and justice, and to put an end to such attacks, I urge you:

  to order an inquiry into the assault and threats against Martin Barrios and to ensure that those responsible, including the people who gave the orders, are brought to trial;

  to order the local authorities to implement the preventive measures needed to protect Martin Barrios, his family and the other members of the Commission.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours faithfully,

(signature)

(name)