Organizing in the Middle Americas

After some talks and conferences I've been giving at the university, I might get an interesting job there, plus they promoted me to work (naturalizing RC in "Education for Democracy" courses) next year in at least ten of the main high schools and colleges in Morelos. Also, we have been training 100 teachers from the Secretaría de Educación Pública (Government Public System of Schools) and might be training large numbers of teachers and workers of public offices in Mexico City and other states. A real gift is that the friend I am working with knows some RC (she was in one of the first groups I opened in Mexico City), and we get along very well. I've learned a lot, and a priority is to work on writing more and even accepting having a program on the radio (but not now). I presented a paper and gave a lecture at the International Symposium on Education right after coming back from Beijing. It was quite successful, even when I was insecure and afraid amongst "big" academic figures. It also opened many contacts and possibilities for me.

RC SITUATION

Fortunately the very hard times from the first half of the year seem to have eased a lot. The effects of the crisis in the country continue on all levels, but even when this is affecting some people in RC and making it more difficult for them to keep active, the general spirit is higher than it was and more hopeful among many counselors.

I started two new groups, one in Campeche and another in Guadalajara, and visited with people from Chiapas who are inviting me to go and start RC with the native people and nuns of a hospital, who now live in the situation of the war there.

I am also co-ordinating for Educational Change. I've almost finished translating the main RC literature on that subject and have supported two leaders and led and started support groups on Educational Change. Something I have worked on, also, is the organizing of literature and finances, which were in a kind of chaos for a while. There is a lot more to do, but now there are people in charge. I've led and co-led a couple of workshops in Mexico City and introductory workshops outside of Mexico City.

BEIJING

Regarding Beijing, I want to let you know how proud I am of being part of RC and how impressive it was to confirm the truth that it is possible to make changes in the world and how truly effective a group like us can be. It was a big challenge for me on many fronts- being in the organizing group, wanting to do something on education, translating, but basically wanting Latinas and Spanish-speaking RC people organized in order to reach out to the large Latina constituency present at the Forum. We did it, and it was a success in many ways. We were a presence at the Latinoamerica and Caribe tent, holding a support group in Spanish every day and an introductory workshop, which was required for the women to continue the next day. From all the contacts with outstanding women, some asked me to go to Nicaragua and to Guatemala to teach what we were doing there. I made contacts with leaders in Mexico and even in Cuernavaca. The post-Forum activities and follow-ups here in Mexico have brought RC to many groups. I have given three talks in panels with other NGO leaders and a whole afternoon, like a workshop, at the University. Also, a couple of Congresswomen want to talk to me because they are very interested in what I said.

But what I also realized at the Forum, was that Latin women are not a force, are not united, and are dispersed. That is true also in RC-I think that is part of the reason why we were so few, and I was the only one not living in the U.S. I think it is so important that we Latinos, in the U.S. and Latino-america, with such similar backgrounds, traditions, and situations be united. And I see that it is very important for this to happen in RC, too. So I've been invited to Nicaragua and Guatemala and would like to go to Cuba. I've kept contact with San Salvador and Honduras, and it is a beginning. I am going to write to the women in Ecuador and Columbia to keep a relationship there.

Laura Aguilar
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico


Last modified: 2022-12-25 10:17:04+00