Category Archives: Latin America

Mexico: Municipal Mediation Unit of the City of Merida to promote a Culture of Peace

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Mi Punto de Vista

With the aim of consolidating a culture of peace and dialogue, the Mérida City Council provides a mediation service to offer alternatives for a peaceful solution to family disputes and conflicts. or neighborhood, announced the Mayor, Renán Barrera Concha.

He pointed out that the Municipal Mediation Unit is an effective tool to remedy those conflicts that arise between neighbors or relatives. Otherwise they could lead to crimes such as threats, injuries or damage to someone else’s property.

“In the City of Mérida we continue to implement alternative mechanisms that allow us to prevent the commission of crimes, especially those that appear due to disagreements, thus we are committed to dialogue between the parties to prevent these situations from escalating to another level,” he said.

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(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Question for this article:

Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

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The Municipal President reported that in the 2018-2021 administration, attention was paid to 529 cases, of which 40%, that is, around 200 files, due to neighborhood conflicts, 21% due to voluntary divorce, 15% family conflicts and the rest was divided on issues such as alimony, spouses, custody of minors and family visits.

“Mediation is gradually being accepted and adopted by the people of Merida. Once they know the benefits that this entails, the answer is positive. People not only achieve the solution of the conflict they are going through, but they also promote communication and peaceful coexistence between the parties involved,” he stressed.

For her part, the director of the municipal DIF (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia), Silvia Sarti González, explained that the procedure is carried out free of charge and with the support of a professional mediator. “People who have resorted to this model have found solutions from a different perspective, since we have them listen to the other’s version, discuss those points of view and, through dialogue, propose a way to resolve their disagreements.”

She added that those who resort to conflict mediation find less financial and emotional wear and tear, and, in most cases, avoid legal processes that are often lengthy and expensive.

The Municipal Mediation Unit provides services from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and it deals with cases of a family, school, community and commercial nature.

To request attention, those interested should contact the Legal Coordination of DIF Mérida, located at 59 # 432 between 50 and 52-A, Centro, or they can call 9999 28 69 77 extension 81516 presenting a copy of their INE and CURP.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

What I Saw on Election Day in Nicaragua

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by Rick Sterling in Transcend Media Service

US media and politicians have condemned the November 7 Nicaragua election as a “fraud” and “sham”.  On the day of the election, the White House issued a statement saying Nicaragua held a “pantomime election that was neither free nor fair, and most certainly not democratic.”

But are these accusations true?


Voting from a wheelchair

Along with other international volunteers, I was an eye-witness to the election last Sunday. Previously I have been an observer in elections in neighboring Honduras.  Here is a snapshot of what I saw:

Our group of 6 people (two from Canada and four from US) visited three voting centers and twenty voting stations in the small city of Juigalpa in Chontales province.

At 7 am Sunday morning, there were long lines of voters.  Hours later, there was still a steady of stream of voters. Election staff said the turnout seemed higher than the last election.

Voters were all ages.. Nicaraguans can vote starting at age 16.  There were lots of families coming to vote together. There were kids playing on swings while their parents voted. There were very old or disabled peopled voting. Family members were allowed to help them if needed. Otherwise election staff helped them.

One elderly woman got dizzy and almost collapsed as she was to enter the voting station.  She was adamant that she wanted to vote before taken away. The ambulance arrived in about five minutes and she was taken to hospital despite her protestations that she wanted to vote first.

The process was well organized and efficient.  At the entrance there were staff with computers. They scanned the citizen’s ID card, confirmed the identity and that he or she was registered for this voting center. Then they explained which voting station to go to. The voting station assignments were also printed and taped to walls at the entrance.

There were 3,100  voting centers with 13,459 voting stations throughout the country. These are mostly in educational institutions (schools or colleges).  Each voting station serves about 400 voters.  In urban areas,  there are 10 or 20  voting stations in one voting center (school).

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Question related to this article:
 
Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

How should elections be organized in a true democracy?

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A huge number of people staffed the election process.  At each voting station, there were about ten people performing various tasks: two “electoral policia” for sanitary spraying the hands of each voter and to resolve any issues; three people verifying voter ID, recording the signature, and passing out the ballot; two or more “fiscal” from different parties who monitored the process. At each voting center, there were two co-coordinators. At all positions there were equal numbers of men and women.

All election staff wore vests or t-shirts with their official role as part of the Supreme Electoral Council. In Nicaragua this organization is independent of the government and responsible for organizing the election nationwide.

All voters wore masks and proceeded without difficulty, one person at a time. The process was clear: show your identity card and confirm that you are registered to vote in this station; receive an official ballot; mark your choices on the ballot (secretly); deposit your ballot in the ballot box; receive your identity card back;   have your finger painted to indicate you have voted and to prevent double – voting.

The paper ballots were counted at the voting station and verified by all the party representatives. The results were then transmitted electronically to the Supreme Electoral Council headquarters for tabulation of the final results.

Media accusations that FSLN leader Daniel Ortega was running unopposed are blatantly false. The voting ballot was clear and showed six competing parties.  Media reports that the population is fearful of President Daniel Ortega are laughably false and disproven by the large turnout. The final results show a turnout of 65% of registered voters with about 75% of those voting for FSLN.

We asked “fiscal” monitors representing both the Sandinista Front and opposition parties if there had been any problems. Each time they said the process was proceeding calmly -“Todo tranquilo”.  One would-be voter said he had moved and not been able to register his new location because he was too busy working. The voting staff calmly said, “Sorry, you had months to register your new location. You will have to vote at your old residence voting station.”

We asked numerous voters why they were voting. The answers were that the country’s leadership matters, the constitution requires it, and to protect Nicaraguan sovereignty.  “Sovereignty” and “peace” were the most common responses.
It is ironic and hypocritical that US media and politicians, who reject any question regarding the integrity of the US election, smear the Nicaraguan election based on false information. Biased media and information censorship are a major cause of the lack of knowledge and ability of major news outlets to repeat nonsense without correction. An example: While we were in Nicaragua, one of our team members, Dr. Tim Bood from Halifax Canada, was banned from Facebook just for posting a message regarding US interference in Nicaragua.

Washington politicians carry on the long tradition of US interference and aggression against Nicaragua. A few days before the election, the US Senate passed the RENACER Act imposing more sanctions based on false information about the election process in Nicaragua.

The high turnout and vote for the FSLN in the Nicaraguan election shows that the Nicaraguan people are not intimidated by Washington’s bullying and threats.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America

Mexico: Women who weave communities of peace in Chihuahua

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article by Eugenia Coppel in Milenio

Urbivillas del Prado and Riberas del Bravo in Ciudad Juárez illustrate how the strategy of Women Builders of Peace (MUCPAZ) operates, a federal program that by March of this year has reached 107 municipalities in 27 entities.


Until just a year ago, the Urbivillas del Prado subdivision, on the southern outskirts of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, was a group of gray houses, with streets full of rubble, tires and garbage, and without adequate public spaces for meetings between neighbors. . “It was sad because everyone was on her own,” says Mari Velázquez, a teacher who has lived in this neighborhood for 12 years with her husband and her two children.

“Right now it’s another world, it’s totally changed,” says Velázquez, one of the women leaders who has promoted the transformation of her environment, proudly. The most obvious change is the colors that illuminate the facades of about 90 percent of the buildings, which were painted by the community itself, and with special enthusiasm of the girls and boys, says Mari Velázquez.

The strength of the neighborhood organization is also reflected in cleaner streets, in a park without rubble and in the trees planted there; on the newly demarcated soccer field and on the now colorful tires that serve as games for children. Also in the kermesses, collective harvests, piñata workshops, boxing classes, mental health campaigns and initiatives for the prevention of gender violence and addictions, among other activities that began to take place this same year.

For Mari Velázquez, the most important thing that has been generated is the union between neighbors, which grows stronger every day. “Before it was just a greeting and that’s it, but now we have more communication, more friendship; We are committed to working together to seek solutions to the problems we have, working together with women, men, girls and boys, ”says the president of the newly formed Urbivillas coalition.

The former governor of Chihuahua himself, Javier Corral, recognized the efforts of Mari and the entire community in an event held in August 2021, a few weeks before she ended her term.

In front of one of the many walls transformed into multicolored murals, the politician described the subdivision as a “referential model that can serve not only many other areas of Juárez but of the country.”

Corral gave thanks personally for the design of the project, as well as for the coordination of the participating public and private actors to Eunice Rendón, expert in public policy and international consultant on security, migration and bioethics issues.

Eunice Rendón works as an external advisor to governments in the creation of strategies to prevent violence and addictions. One of the federal programs with which she collaborates is Mujeres Constructoras de Paz (MUCPAZ), of which the Urbivilla project is part.

As an activist for the rights of migrants she has implemented projects of the same program in another neighborhood of Juárez, Riberas del Bravo, as well as in municipalities of Oaxaca, Tlaxcala and the State of Mexico.

In an interview, Eunice Rendón explains that she designed a protocol based on the Women Builders of Peace program, where she detailed the step by step to achieve a successful operating experience in any municipality in Mexico. This includes a baseline, a follow-up evaluation and different possible scenarios in the process of articulating a community, in conjunction with municipal, state, federal, private sector and society actors.

Women in peace processes

In the Global Peace Index 2021, Mexico ranks 126th out of a list of 161 countries, with the latter being the most violent.

For Johan Galtung, one of the most important theorists in peace studies and director of the International Peace Research Institute, peace is not only defined as the absence of conflicts, but as the positive transformation of them. Generating positive peace means creating harmonious relationships between two or more parties to the conflict and undertaking community projects.

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish.)

Questions related to this article:

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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Also, the international community has recognized that women are agents of change and that their participation is essential in peacebuilding processes. In 2000, the United Nations Security Council approved resolution 1325, which urges women to actively participate in achieving lasting peace processes.

The MUCPAZ strategy, which starts from these bases, was launched in 2019 by the National Institute of Women (Inmujeres) and the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP). Its objective is to incorporate a human rights perspective in Mexican municipalities, promote gender equality and empower women to contribute to peace processes.

According to data from the Mexican government, as of March 2021, 217 networks of Women Peacebuilders have been implemented, with the participation of 3,510 women in 107 municipalities and 27 states, with an investment of more than 123 million pesos.

During the inauguration of the program in the Venustiano Carranza mayor’s office, in Mexico City, the head of Inmujeres, Nadine Gasman, emphasized that MUCPAZ consists of preventive work, rather than direct care for victims of gender violence, since that work corresponds to other instances. What the strategy seeks is to influence “the reconstruction of communities and the reestablishment of the social fabric,” said the official.

Some results are already visible in the two neighborhoods of Ciudad Juárez where the pilot projects were launched. Eunice Rendón talks about the various activities that have been carried out in these territories, starting with the main thing, which is the formation of networks of women, but also of men, young people, girls, boys and adolescents.

From there, courses and workshops have been offered on the basic principles of gender, on how to contact various authorities and / or report violence, or on how to carry out productive projects. Through community activities, such as soccer, hip-hop or mechanics, the theme of positive masculinities among young men is introduced.

Both in Urbivillas del Prado, as in Riberas del Bravo – one of the neighborhoods where the highest rates of feminicides and sexual violence are registered in Juárez – the most successful activities have been those that have to do with providing women with tools for their productive development, with courses, workshops, certifications and creation of cooperatives.

“You cannot ask for gender empowerment if women are financially dependent on the aggressor; that is what often slows them down. The other learning is enhanced when there is something that can give them an economic possibility, ”says Eunice Rendón.

Feminist rice pudding

A 40-second video illustrates the type of work that has been done in the Riberas del Bravo neighborhood. In it a group of girls and boys appears singing and dancing a feminist version of a popular children’s round: “Rice pudding / I want to find / a partner who wants to dream / who believes in herself / who goes out to fight / to conquer the dream of more freedom “…

“It is part of the empowerment process,” says Yadira Cortés, coordinator of the Red Mesa de Mujeres, in whose Facebook account the video can be found.

This network is a civil association that since 2004 works for gender equality and non-violence against the women of Ciudad Juárez. Since 2017, it has been present in Riberas del Bravo, where it has focused on the training of women leaders and has just joined the MUCPAZ network.

Cortés explains that the work that she and her colleagues have carried out is very similar to the proposal of the federal program, and considers that by joining this larger network, her intervention methodology has been strengthened and focused. “We were already working on violence prevention and now we are also working on peace-building issues,” says the activist and professor at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez.

Riberas del Bravo, in the description of Yadira Cortés, is a peripheral colony where there is no industry or medical services; the ambulance does not arrive and the police units almost never pass; the pavement is in poor condition, public transportation is poor and scarce, and there are high rates of drug use and violence.

For this reason, the Red Mesa de Mujeres highlights the importance of training women leaders in this area. “We started with the idea of ​​building a group of ten women and we already have 65 of all ages,” says the activist.

“They are women who are already known in the community: the lady who always talks to the police, the one who reports on support programs or the coordinator of the chapel. Other women identify them and are a point of reference ”.

Finding and activating these natural leaders and helping them continue to work in a self-managed way is the main purpose of MUCPAZ, in the opinion of the specialist Eunice Rendón. The strategy has shown that through them it can have a positive impact on different levels of daily life in the community.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Mexico City successfully holds the World Forum of Cities and Territories of Peace

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Cultura Colectiva (translation by CPNN)

The Head of Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, was the host of the third World Forum on Cities and Territories of Peace. It brought together important world leaders, an important event in the fight against inequality that exists in the XXI century. Within a complex scenario due to the covid-19 pandemic, major proposals were presented in the capital by mayors who were invited from different cities.


Video of conference

The opening session demonstrated the power of women and their influence in the most important positions to run large cities in the world.

One of the main conclusions of the Forum was to recognize that the fight to end social inequality is one of the main strategies to combat violence and achieve global peace. Claudia Sheinbaum, head of government of the Mexico City and host of the event, pointed out that “you cannot talk about peace or ending violence, if you do not fight against inequalities.” Sheinbaum stressed that it is essential to guarantee access to human rights of health, education, security and a healthy environment to improve equity. “If we do not attend to access to human rights, it will be difficult for us to attain a territory of peace.

In the first session of the event, all the participants were women. Claudia Sheibaum (representative of Mexico City), Claudia López (mayor of Bogotá), Ada Colau (mayor of Barcelona), Manuela Carmena (former mayor of Madrid) and Reyna Rueda (mayor of Managua).

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish.)

Questions related to this article:

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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Reflections towards the future

“We cannot think of peace without equality. We know that there will be no peace if inequalities are not reduced; that is why we must work to end them,” said Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona, ​​Spain, who participated virtually. She stressed that violence is related to all aspects of life. For example, she said, it is impossible to talk about peace in the world without addressing the climate crisis. “Climate change implies population displacement and more violence,” she noted. However, she clarified, global peace begins in the cities themselves; For this reason, it is important not only to actions, but also to raise our voiceto denounce the violation of human rights and support those who suffer injustice.

Claudia López, mayor of Bogotá, pointed out that Colombia has been the only country in Latin America affected by an internal armed conflict in the recent century. Despite this, she highlighted the work done to achieve the peace agreements that ended the conflict. “We knew that as long as the conflict with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) occupied the epicenter of Colombian politics, there was no way for the causes of women, equity, the environment and other issues to take place,” she said. She pointed out that reconciliation was important since it not only meant a peace agreement, but also to bring tranquility to all Colombians in all areas. “But for this, it is necessary to attend to the social demands for equity, justice and opportunities.”

Finally Reyna Rueda, mayor of Managua in Nicaragua, praised the role of women in current politics. “Obviously there is a lot to do, but women are working on full and comprehensive development,” she said. She stressed that all the inhabitants of the planet must be promoters of peace: “We must promote it, strengthen it, and leave indelible marks for future generations.”

The World Forum on Cities and Territories of Peace began as the World Forum on Urban Violence, in Madrid, Spain, and has now become a process of global and collective reflection that seeks to strengthen peacebuilding from the local spheres. For 2021, Mexico City is the headquarters of its third edition.

(Editor’s note: It was decided that the Fourth edition of the Forum will take place in Bogota, Colombia.)

Latin America, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Colombia: ‘5th with 5th Crew’, rhymes and colors for peace in Norte de Santander

. EDUCATION FOR PEACE . .

An article by Anderson Salinas for Radio Nacional Colombia

The cultural and social foundation ‘5ta con 5ta Crew’ was born in 2007, with the idea of ​​strengthening the social fabric among the youth in the department of Norte de Santander. It is a group that deals with violence through the arts from the Itinerant School of the North Bravos Hijos in 12 municipalities of the department.

With rap, graffiti, urban dance and audiovisual productions, this foundation has become a pedagogical path for young people in the department.


Rap video from the foundation

They are a team of 20 young professionals who travel through different rural and urban areas, bearing messages that transcend the memory of violence in the territories affected by the armed conflict.

“I started rapping long before, with passionate rap partners we began to share that music that we liked. To the point, that my mother’s house on 5th Street and 5th Avenue in the Motilones de Atalaya neighborhood, became the main headquarters for a time, ”explains Jorge Botello, leader of the foundation.

The initiative focused on working with young people between 16 and 25 years old, promoting artistic expressions in favor of life and the defense of the rights of youth, activities that provide the region with spaces for coexistence and reconciliation.

“In this space we begin to enjoy every moment from rap, graffiti, muralism, urban dance, audiovisuals, weaving, theater, community cinema, which began a new stage in the foundation, and where we try to manage always the historical look at our reality,” adds Jorge.

‘Ahiman,’ the artistic name by which Jorge is known, found that music provided a way to teach in the search of historical memory and truth. “It was something we did without knowing it, the lyrics, the processes, became the opportunity to express what we felt,” he explains.

(click here for the article in Spanish.).)

Question related to this article:

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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The border area and the Catatumbo are those spaces of resistance, where their cultural processes allow children and adolescents to compose the history that is hidden in each of its 11 municipalities.

“Young people have found the possibility of amplifying the voice, that their voice not only represents themselves, but a whole group, a community, and that through these spaces they allow to transform relationships, and thus have a better coexistence” says Botello.

Currently, the foundation is carrying out the ‘Crafts for peace, memory and truth’ project in the departments of Arauca, Santander, Norte de Santander, Bolívar and César. According to Laura Rangel, a member of the team, this initiative is developed with the purpose of training 510 youth in the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-Repetition.

“We reflect around the truth. We find incredible, heartbreaking, hopeful, resilient stories that are very motivating for our work in the territory and today we are closing this project and opening the door for our next stop: the art of truth,” Botello indicates.

This work will be present in Norte de Santander for a year, where it will work for the legacy of the Truth Commission and the fundamental role of youth in the non-continuity of the armed conflict with children and young people.

For Darwin Delgado, one of the young people who participates in these foundation processes, it is necessary to continue keeping history alive in these territories marked by violence in Colombia.

“It is better that the trumpets sound and we do not have the rifles, it is better that the paint is spilled and not the blood of the Colombians; that is the value of art for our region, it allows us to visualize ourselves and represent ourselves under a different perspective before society,” he affirms with a tone of hope.

‘Ahiman’ points out that it is the new generations who must make use of the lyrics, beats, dances and colored lines to rebuild the social fabric that has been fractured by decades.

“For every violent act there are many more rhymes, more murals, more colors, many more break dance steps, art became what holds the new generations to say that there is an opportunity to have a better country,” he says. .

Today they are a medium that runs from art, a path to coexistence and the promotion of a culture of peace in Catatumbo and all of North Santander, with each expression highlighting its message of peace in different languages.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Mexico: Initiative to create the Law of Culture of Peace for the state of Zacatecas presented in the Legislature

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

Un artículo de La Jornada Zacatecas (translation by CPNN)

Deputies from the parliamentary fractions of Morena, the Encuentro Solidario Party (PES), the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), the New Alliance Party and the Labor Party (PT) have presented an initiative to create a Culture of Peace Law before the 64th Legislature of the state of Zacatecas. This needed to address the causes of violence and to guarantee human rights in a transversal and sectoral manner.


Photo from a previous CPNN article on culture of peace in Zacatecas

In their explanatory statement, they indicated that “The State assumes the commitment to guarantee and respect all human rights, and, above all, the right to a dignified life, free from violence, based on solidarity, tolerance and respect.” For this reason, they pointed out, work must be done to ensure the safety of citizens, as well as to promote peace and harmony and to strengthen a responsible social fabric. This can lead to changes that address the social, cultural, economic and political.
causes of violence.

There are various factors that directly affect the manifestation of violence within these areas, the initiative assured, such as lack of education, poverty, gender inequality, lack of decent job opportunities, social inequalities and unattended antisocial behaviors, which have as a consequence family violence, gender violence, child sexual abuse, organized crime, armed movements and the constant violation of human rights both by individuals and by authorities.

In Zacatecas, it was pointed out, despite the prevention actions, violence continues to grow exponentially, therefore, they considered, a normative body must be legislated and created that permanently articulates public policies as a means of solution to the problem posed. Therefore, the deputies point out, the objective of proposing an initiative by which a Law of Culture of Peace is issued for the state of Zacatecas, in order to regulate actions that promote, develop and implement multisectoral and inter-institutional public policies that generate conditions for the full enjoyment of the human right to peace and the promotion of a positive peace in our entity.

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(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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The legislative proposal is aimed at the creation of a State Program that foresees the necessary actions to achieve the implementation of the culture of peace, detecting, attending to and eradicating any manifestation of violence; as well as it seeks to generate the conditions for a full enjoyment of the human right to peace.

The proposed law aims to promote a policy of peace and non-violence through the establishment of a Municipal Council for the Culture of Peace or in the existing dependencies in the municipalities with their respective adjustments, seeking to restore the fabric social and fostering communities of peace. This Council and / or agency would actively participate in the elaboration of the State Program, contributing their opinions and suggestions, proposals and demands on the culture of peace.

“All actions within the law are aimed at complying with what is established in international conventions and treaties, as well as being coordinated with international organizations for the prevention of violence of all its types and a correct implementation of the culture of peace, achieving implement positive peace throughout the state ”, they specified.

For this reason, the need for it to work in a transversal and multisectoral manner, and to seek to address the causes of violence and inequalities, and to guarantee human rights in its actions. Likewise, they concluded, its importance lies in the fact that it makes it possible to understand conflict and peace situations, creating the opportune areas of action so that the new generations, through education, are guided by respect for human rights, dignity, and on all that practice the culture of peace in their day to day, creating new forms of coexistence based on respect, tolerance and solidarity.

The initiative was signed by Armando Delgadillo Ruvalcaba, Priscila Benítez Sánchez, Sergio Ortega Rodríguez, Susana Andrea Barragán Espinosa, Víctor Humberto de la Torre Delgado, Violeta Cerrillo Ortiz, Imelda Mauricio Esparza, Anali Infante Morales, Ernesto González Romo, Maribel Galván Jiménez, members from the National Regeneration Movement Parliamentary Group, Zulema Yunuen Santacruz Márquez and Roxana from the Muñoz González Refuge, from the PES, Georgia Fernanda Miranda Herrera from the Green Ecologist Party, Soralla Bañuelos de la Torre, from Nueva Alianza, José Xerardo Ramírez Muñoz, Ana Luisa Del Muro García and José Luis Figueroa Rangel, from the PT Parliamentary Group.

(Editor’s note: In related developments, Soralla Bañuelos, mentioned above among those proposing the initiative, has also made a plea for a program to exchange war toys for educational toys, arguing that “If we want a healthier childhood, that develops better, we have to work even on the type of toys that are given to them.” Also, the national organization, Comnapaz Mexico, has installed a chapter in Zacatecas, which will support the legislation for a culture of peace, saying that “education is the vaccine that the country requires at this time.”)

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

The programs of Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum to reduce violence in Mexico City

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from Infobae

The Head of Government of Mexico City Claudia Sheinbaum, through her Twitter account, has emphasized the social programs that she has implemented during her mandate to improve security conditions.


(Photo: Twitter / @ ClaudiaShain)

The president explained that “security is also the result of social justice, that is why we address the causes of violence with programs that allow access to education, culture and sports.”

She also emphasized the projects that have been the foundations of her government in the capital of the country: the Points of Innovation, Freedom, Art, Education and Knowledge (Pillars), Yes to disarmament, yes to peace, Inside the Neighborhood and Wellbeing for Girls and Boys, My Scholarship to Get Started.

What are social programs to reduce violence?

Barrio Adentro (Inside the Neighborhood)

The program aims to help girls, boys and adolescents in the Historic Center. It consists of going house to house in the neighborhoods where a high number of criminal acts and violence are concentrated.

The Head of Government mentioned that “it is very important to know about this comprehensive intervention that we are going to carry out in the city center. Obviously it will take all health measures. It addresses the difficult situation that many children and adolescents experience in the particular area where the ‘Barrio Adentro’ program is being carried out.”

(continued in right column)

(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(continued from left column)

The four fundamental axes of this project are: incorporating minors into social programs and government support, the second is training and education, cultural, recreational and sports activities and the fourth point is prevention actions and monitoring of needs that are seen in each of the properties.

The Pillars

The Points of Innovation, Freedom, Art, Education, and Knowledge are intended for the Mexico City Government to develop a better society that implements freedom for young people. The program is present in the 16 municipalities.

The fundamental axis of this program is to give young people access to their rights. The project helps people who did not have access to education including those who were involved in criminal practices and did not have opportunities to return to school. Classes of different knowledge are given such as theater, dance, cooking, computing, biology, astronomy, music, robotics, electricity, painting, photography, plumbing, writing, and business entrepreneurship , among others.

Wellbeing for Girls and Boys. My Scholarship to Get Started

The scholarship program for basic education helps to eliminate some of the conditions that generate inequality in educational services. In this way the government contributes to guaranteeing equal opportunities, the right to education, as well as the eradication of social discrimination due to socioeconomic problems.

Yes to disarmament, yes to peace

The eradication of weapons is the main driver of this government project. It highlights the strategy against violence by preventing accidents and loss of life.

In different parts of the city there are modules so that people who possess weapons can exchange them for cash.

The Ministries of Government and Citizen Security of Mexico City and National Defense are in charge of destroying the weapons that are delivered in each module.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Successful start of the Latin American March for Nonviolence, Multiethnic and Pluricultural

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from Pressenza

The Latin American March for Nonviolence, Multiethnic and Pluricultural, began on 15 September 2021 with a successful start and a profusion of activities.


facebook video

Activists from a multitude of Latin American countries have done their bit to bring about the inauguration of the Latin American March for Nonviolence. It symbolically combines the virtual, using pre-recorded videos, and the direct connection to different parts of Latin America and even to Madrid.

The central inauguration event took place at the UNED in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, organised by the UNED and World Without Wars and Without Violence.

First, the exhibition of photographs of the Marches for Peace and Nonviolence in Latin America was inaugurated.

The opening ceremony of the March consisted of the viewing of videos from various parts of Latin America, the commemoration of the Bicentenary of Central America and the launching of a Call for Peace and Nonviolence in the Region.

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Click here for this article in French or click here for the article in Spanish).

Question related to this article:
 
How effective are mass protest marches?

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The video of the zoom broadcast of the Inauguration of the Latin American March can be seen on facebook video.

This was the official start with a symbolic act of the virtual and physical March that will travel through Latin America until the 2nd of October.

Throughout the same day, different activities took place in other Latin American countries as a starting point of the Latin American March for Nonviolence.

Some of the activities we took as an example were:

The Forum “Culture of Peace, Road to Reconciliation” which took place in Lima, Peru, at the Colegio María de la Providencia-Breña at 6:30 p.m. Lima time. You can access the video of the forum on facebook here: Foro “Cultura de Paz, Camino hacia la reconciliación”.

The opening ceremony and launch of the March and the unveiling of the sculpture Flor de Paz at the Universidad Distrital de Bogotá Francisco José de Caldas at 10:30 a.m. Bogotá time.

In Bogota, stencil painting has also been carried out in different places to encourage participation.
And, in the Teusaquillo district of Bogotá, the inauguration of the Latin American March was visualised as a group projection of the inauguration of the Latin American March.
From the Book Fair at the ORIGAMI exhibition stand in La Paz, Bolivia, they showed their support for the Latin American March.

In Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, as a greeting to the beginning of the Latin American March, they made a mural about the Latin American March.

We thank the marchers, promoters and supporters for the attention and effort they put into their work and we wish them days of great joy in the meaningful encounters with those who have already awakened and will continue to awaken to this warm spirit of Nonviolence that runs through Latin America.

(Editor’s note: We have not found a summary of the activities of the march as of its conclusion on October 2, the International Day of Nonviolence. However, the website of the march provides brief articles from Argentina, Colombia, Brasil, Surinam, Costa Rica, México, Ecuador, and Chile.)

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Mexico: Saltillo promotes the culture of peace

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from El Siglo de Torreon (translation by CPNN)

The present administration headed by Manolo Jiménez, through the DIF system has replicated the theme of the culture of peace throughout the city, achieving a positive focus so that, with the daily actions of citizens, they reflect a peaceful way of life, and they reject the cycles of violence and negativity.

Taking into account the above, we are working on the Mano Cadena program whose main objective was to create, implement and disseminate preventive strategies for conflict resolution that promote a culture of peace.

In this way, collaboration agreements were signed with the Judicial Branch, the Attorney General’s Office and the Secretary of Education of Coahuila for the creation and implementation of school and Municipal Mediation Centers in the Community Centers.

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(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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With the support and advice of Facilitators belonging to the Judicial Branch, the Attorney General’s Office and the DIF Saltillo, more than 138 information and awareness talks have been given on the subject of alternative justice, 30 workshops were held on Peace Circles, activities of pacification as 70 peace lotteries, and 160 “Peace Craftsmen” recognitions were awarded to male and female teachers.

Three university forums on Alternative Justice were held with 187 participants, four Peace Congresses with more than two thousand participants and a thousand School and Community Mediation Manuals were created, edited and printed in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Office, the State Judiciary de Coahuila, the Ministry of Education, Empresa Constructora de Paz, AC, and Grupo Educativo Inglés de Saltillo SC

In addition, more than 50 training courses-workshops in community, school and alternative justice mediation have been given to more than 1,800 participants, community representatives, teachers, and 88 of both have been certified as mediators and mediators before the Judicial Branch of the State of Coahuila.

In the present administration, three School Mediation Centers were opened in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Community Mediation Centers located in Community Centers, in collaboration with the Judicial Power, within which the Public Defenders provide their services to the community, fruit of the collaboration agreement made with the State Institute of Public Defender, within the framework of the “Convenio Mano-Cadena”.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Mexico: UdeC holds international discussion on the culture of peace and human rights

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from El Comentario (translation by CPNN)

This weekend an international discussion was held on “Freedoms, culture of peace and human rights in education”, organized by the High School 32 of the University of Colima, located in Suchitlán. The aim was to have an interactive meeting space where activists and social leaders from Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala could share their experiences and proposals with students from the school.


Opening the event, Rector Christian Jorge Torres Ortiz Zermeño highlighted that this type of initiative as “an example of the importance of educational institutions in the implementation and promotion of the culture of peace”; In this sense, he added, the UdeC itself has promoted different actions, such as the inclusion of the subject in study plans, a humanistic educational model aimed at comprehensive training, as well as efforts to offer quality education.

However, he pointed out, the high interaction that occurs in university spaces, as well as the diversity and dynamics of the student population, “require permanent and coordinated activities to achieve the long-awaited culture of peace.”

This, he stressed, “is not an simple task; Therefore, together with participation in national programs such as ANUIES and the design of institutional strategies for the promotion of values ​​that privilege respect, freedom and justice, it is essential to learn about other experiences and to reflect and discuss aspects that allow us generate new projects aimed at guaranteeing peace, human rights, inclusion and substantive equality.

Finally, he highlighted that universities are called to be generators of these spaces. In this sense, he thanked the speakers for their willingness to contribute to enriching the participants’ knowledge; “I wish the organizers and speakers success and a profitable learning for the university students, which we will surely see materialized in actions in favor of tolerance and the eradication of violence.”

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How do we promote a human rights, peace based education?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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The president of University Volunteering, Blanca Liliana Díaz Vázquez, said that talking about a culture of peace “means placing special emphasis on values, principles, attitudes and positive behaviors that reflect respect for the dignity of all and all” , since this concept, she emphasized, “puts human rights at the center, the rejection of violence in all its forms and modalities, promotes substantive equality and inclusion, and incorporates principles such as freedom, justice, solidarity and tolerance ”.

She added that “peace allows understanding between peoples and groups of people.” For this reason, she pointed out, it is of great importance to speak and reflect on the culture of peace in university spaces, “since we are convinced that educational institutions are the propitious place for the analysis and promotion of projects aimed at promoting changes in the way of relate ”.

In this sense, she reported that within Volunteering, and hand in hand with the University Family Development Center (CEDEFU), “we work to foster and promote the culture of peace as an instrument that contributes to the education of those who are trained in our highest house of studies, through intervention programs where this perspective is linked to volunteer work.

We also promote the participation of university youth in solving problems in their environment, we bet on awareness and training as transformative mechanisms and we promote leadership and human development from a transversal and holistic perspective ”.

Finally, Díaz Vázquez recognized and congratulated Baccalaureate 32 for the relevance of this discussion, because through specific actions, those who study at said campus can access this training; “I am convinced that this activity will allow a greater understanding of the meaning of peace for the community of this school, but also the possibility of replicating in the institution those actions and proposals that our renowned panelists will share with the university community.”

During his speech, the director of Bachillerato 32, Cirilo Topete Alcaraz defined the culture of peace “as an element that allows the construction of new routes for the sustainable development of peoples and is promoted through training actions that put human rights, prevention of violence, substantive equality between men and women and inclusion. For this, I thank our Rector Christian Torres Ortiz for his support to promote these actions. They strengthen the training of all our students, as well as the teaching, administrative, secretarial and general services staff ”.

In the framework of this Conversation, recognized activists and promoters of the culture of peace participated, such as Andrea Palomo from Switzerland, Carolina Letona from Guatemala, Johan Jaramillo from Colombia, Lucero Padilla from Oaxaca, Jesús Monjarás from San Luis Potosí, Esther Pérez de Hidalgo and Edder Reynaga from the University of Colim

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America