Dylan, a four year old migrant from Mexico, smiles while playing with his aunt Daniela, 24, as his parents Ivan, 22, and Rubi, 22, sleep on the left after the Rivera family crossed the Border Wall into the United States from Mexico in Ruby, Arizona. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Today in Labor History June 17, 1911: Federal troops, led by Madero, recaptured Tijuana from the Magonista anarchist rebels. Among those surviving and escaping was the famous Wobbly (IWW) songwriter, Joe Hill. Another Wobbly bard, Haywire Mac (compose of The Big Rock Candy Mountain and Hallelujah, I’m a Bum), also participated in the occupation of Tijuana. The Magonistas had captured the Baja California border town of Mexicali on January 29, and Tijuana on May 8, as well as Ensenada, San Tomas, and many other northern Baja California towns. The rebels encouraged the people to take collective possession of the lands. They also supported the creation of cooperatives and opposed the establishment of any new government. Many U.S. members of the IWW participated in the revolution. Lowell Blaisdell writes about it in his now hard to find book, “The Desert Revolution,” (1962). The IWW had been active in nearby San Diego since 1906, sight of an infamous Free Speech fight in 1912. During that struggle, in which many veterans of the Desert Revolution fought, police killed 2 workers. Vigilantes kidnapped Emma Goldman and her companion Ben Reitman, who had come to show their support. However, before deporting them, they tarred and feathered Reitman and raped him with a cane.
Organ grinders have been a fixture on the streets of Mexico City since the 1800s, a result of dictator President Porfirio Díaz's passion for all things European. But nowadays, they're considered a nuisance — an assault against the ears. This, coupled with the high cost of renting and maintaining an instrument, means the tradition is at risk. Whitney Eulich talked to the remaining organilleros for @csmonitor. [story may be paywalled]
Today in Labor History June 10, 1971: Mexican police, and paramilitary death squads known as Los Halcones, killed 120 student protesters, including a 14-year-old boy, in the Corpus Christi Massacre, also known as El Halconazo. In 1968, the government had massacred up to 500 of students and bystanders in the Tlatelolco massacre. The Halconazo started with protests at the University of Nuevo Leon, for joint leadership that included students and teachers. When the university implemented the new government, the state government slashed their budget and abolished their autonomy. This led to a strike that spread to the National Autonomous University of Mexico and National Polytechnic Institute. To suppress the strike, the authorities used tankettes, police, riot police, and the death squad, known as Los Halcones, who had been trained by the CIA. Los Halcones first attacked with sticks, but the student fended them off. Then they resorted to high caliber rifles. Police had been ordered to do nothing. When the injured were taken to the hospital, Los Halcones followed and shot them dead in the hospital. Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes about these events in her 2021 novel “Velvet Was the Night.” It is also depicted in the 2018 film Roma.”
National guard soldiers stand in the background as Michel, from #Venezuela, protects her seven-year-old daughter Aranza at the border between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso in Texas.
Debris from homes destroyed by rising sea levels and coastal erosion associated with climate change is seen through a hole in a wall. Some homes have already been submerged, but the walls of others still stand out as proof that there used to be a fishing village where some 700 people lived
Today in Labor History May 20, 1911: Anarchist Magonistas published a proclamation calling for the peasants to take collective possession of the land in Baja California. They had already defeated government forces there. Members of the IWW traveled south to help them. During their short revolution, they encouraged the people to take collective possession of the lands. They also supported the creation of cooperatives and opposed the establishment of any new government. Ricardo Flores Magon organized the rebellion from Los Angeles, where he lived. In addition to Tijuana, they also took the cities of Ensenada and Mexicali. However, in the end, the forces of Madero suppressed the uprising. LAPD arrested Magon and his brother Enrique. As a result, both spend nearly two years in prison. Many of the IWW members who fought in the rebellion, later participated in the San Diego free speech fight. Lowell Blaisdell writes about it in his now hard to find book, “The Desert Revolution,” (1962). Read my article on the San Diego Free Speech fight here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2022/02/01/today-in-labor-history-february-1/
#UK / Students begin new wave of protests against Gaza war after US arrests
“now is the time to act”
Protests were held at least six universities, including Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, and Newcastle, with others expected to follow suit.
Some universities, such as the University of York, have already taken steps to address students' concerns by announcing that they no longer invest in companies that primarily make or sell weapons and defense-related products.
[cont’d] #Gaza / Campus protests over the war in Gaza have gone international
[…] Student groups in the #UK, #France and #Mexico — among others — have sought to erect what many of them are terming "solidarity encampments," prompting a variety of responses from university authorities and local law enforcement.