Speaker to present on effects of migration and NAFTA on Chiapas, Mexico, at K-State

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Source: Maria Teresa Martinez-Ortiz, 785-532-1923, mmtzotz@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Sara Shellenberger, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Monday, February 26, 2007

SPEAKER TO PRESENT ON EFFECTS OF MIGRATION AND NAFTA ON CHIAPAS, MEXICO, AT K-STATE

MANHATTAN -- Onesimo Hidalgo, co-director of the Center for Economic and Political Research for Community Action in Chiapas, Mexico, will present "The Politics of Migration After the 1994 EZLN Uprising and the Ongoing Effects of NAFTA on the People of Chiapas," at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 1, in the Big 12 Room of the K-State Student Union at Kansas State University.

The speech is open to the public and sponsored by K-State's department of modern languages, the American ethnic studies program, the College of Arts and Sciences and the office of diversity and dual career development.

Hidalgo is a trained sociologist who has wide-ranging experience in indigenous community organizing in Chiapas and in mobilizing Mexican and international support for just economic and social policies. He has co-authored a number of books including "Always Near, Always Far: The Armed Forces in Mexico," "Displaced Populations of Chiapas" and "The Strategy of the War Against Chiapas."

"Hidalgo will provide an acute analysis of the social decomposition of Mexican society brought on by forces of globalization which penetrate resource-rich Chiapas," said Maria Teresa Martinez-Ortiz, K-State assistant professor of modern languages. "His message will help people comprehend the enormous changes affecting even the most remote areas of the country, such as the impoverishment of the people, the factors pushing them to emigrate and the reasons for militarization and repression."

Hidalgo also will discuss the experiments of indigenous peoples to redefine what economic development means and their ventures in grassroots democracy, according to Martinez-Ortiz.

"It is important to trace the multiple manifestations and cultural expressions that have emerged from the confrontation of the NAFTA policies and the resistance that indigenous people have posed to retain their constitutional right to land in Chiapas," Martinez-Ortiz said.