From July 16 to 21, Oaxaca will host the National Meeting against Gentrification, members of various social organizations and Indigenous communities in this southern state announced today.
The organizers, members of the Chontal Indigenous Community Assembly “El Coyul,” the Binnizá Indigenous Community Assembly of Puente Madera, the Jalapa del Marqués Indigenous Community Assembly, the Assembly of Indigenous Peoples of the Isthmus in Defense of Land and Territory (APIIDTT), among others, made it clear that this is not simply an increase in visitors, but rather a commodification, with beaches, communities, working-class neighborhoods, and historic centers being turned into tourist products.
“Gentrification is a process accompanied by cultural appropriation, in which community practices, languages, heritage, and local symbols are stripped of their original meaning and converted into commodities for global consumption,” said Mario Quintero, a member of APIIDTT.
This meeting will be divided into three phases, from July 16 to 19, with internal work sessions dedicated to collective reflection and the exchange of experiences.
On July 20, there will be an open day in downtown Oaxaca City with forums, cultural activities, and protest actions.
And finally, on July 21, the event will close with a press conference and a cultural barricade as a public expression of resistance and proposals.
They pointed out that in Oaxaca, gentrification is a reality that has only led to rising costs.
The organizers emphasized that this symbolic dispossession is intertwined with material dispossession, as the communities that have historically built these territories are marginalized or expelled from their territories by the advance of capital.
They pointed out that a tangible and documented example is what has happened with the construction of the Mayan Train, and that it will continue to happen, as with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor.
“Concepts such as touristification, gentrification, metropolitanization, urbanization, and industrialization make practical sense and are part of the same network of territorial dispossession and social exploitation, framed within a capitalist development model that exacerbates the emergency,” they affirmed.
Source: aristeguinoticias
