The readings this week gave me a sense of the evolution of the people or el Pueblo. As the chapter displayed, the people of tyrannical states started to take action as seen with Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, and with Chile starting and maintaining a string the “No” campaign  against the continuation of Pinochet as leader of the state. Both factors had their own elements that prevailed in their respected situations, but I would like to mention the exterior factor of globalization, which would eventually become a common source of influence. Globalization serves as many outlets but most obvious, it serves as a platform for publication and the transfer of information. In the latter side of the 10th century, globalization was making information much more accessible through television, computers and eventually, through the internet. These mediums of massive accessibly to information can, if the situation is ripe enough, create a huge upset for the established systems. In a certain way, this is what happened with Chile, as the “No” campaign informed and enlightened the Chilean people about the atrocities that Pinochet committed. But at the same time, globalization can have a negative affect. For example, it can saturate elites with corruptive instincts as seen with the United Fruit Company.

Javier Sicilia’s, “Open Letter to Mexico’s Politicians and Criminals,” was written within a weeks time of his son’s murder. In this letter he confronts the two legal and illegal powers of his nation, that which are the Mexican government and the Mexican Drug Cartels. He discloses, with all the sorrow  and rancour of having lost his only child, that he and the people have had enough of being caught in the middle of their diabolical playground. He debunks the idea of their governance and power by demonstrating the losses the family of the victims has suffered. He also states, “The death of my son Juan Francisco has lifted up solidarity and a cry of indignation—that my family and I appreciate from the depth of our hearts—from the citizenry, and from the media,” which is a unifying statement with those other families and with the cause of fighting these atrocities. He continues by saying that they are tired of playing the witness to their recklessness, that their mismanagement will lead them to govern “mountain of ossuaries and of beings that are beaten and destroyed in their souls.”

His letter is his means of taking action and stepping in the shoes of a local politician. As he said, the death of his son was the birth of his action and solidarity.

So I ask, how could we learn how to speak out and act in solidarity for the ongoing issue we feel passionate about? And where could one find mentorship in solidarity outside of historical or popular figures?