Miguel stands at the makeshift podium. To his right are the 15 masked men and women of the Zapatista comandancia, in front of him are over 2,000 people from throughout Mexico. He says, "I am a teacher, a revolutionary, and a homosexual." He tells the story of his friend who died of AIDS without anyone knowing he was infected; so great are the levels of shame surrounding the disease. He says, "I have my feminine side too that comes out sometimes, her name is Brenda, and she is beautiful!" The crowd cheers wildly and someone shouts, "Todos Somos Brenda!" (A reference the familiar chant of Zapatista solidarity, "Todos Somos Marcos, " or "We are all Marcos")

This is the first plenary meeting of the Other Campaign, or "Otra Campaña," in the Caracol of La Garucha. It is a time to do the hard work of consolidating a movement. A time to put forth proposals and try to hammer out the ethics of alliances: who they would collaborate with, how they would incorporate difference, how they would work together while maintaining each group's autonomy and strengths. It is by no means easy and meetings are heated and last late into the night. Yet it's a miraculous feat to see artists, homosexuals, animal rights activists, anarchists, Maoists, labor rights activists, indigenous groups, Marxists, women's groups, and university activists (to name just a handful), all sitting in the same room, listening and supporting one another.

Not surprisingly, this experience has made me think a lot about movement building. To paraphrase one participant, "listening needs to be thought of not as a means to an end, but as an ongoing strategy of resistance in and of itself." If anyone can teach us the power of listening, it's the Zapatistas,  who in these last few months have patiently allowed everyone to speak their mind virtually without limitations. The Mexican left is by no means perfect and has nearly insurmountable obstacles to overcome. But the diversity, humility, openness and patience I have seen expressed in the Other Campaign is truly inspiring.

In this newsletter you will find:

• Report Back on the Final Sexta Encuentro, by Rachel Wallis
• Crumbling Cooperatives: High Coffee Prices Destabilize Fair Trade movement - my thoughts on some of the pitfalls and limitations of the Fair Trade coffee movement
• Chimalapas: A struggle for autonomy and a healthy ecology, by Indigo,  a report on communities organizing to defend themselves and their environment in the Chimalapas, Oaxaca
• News Reports on Fox's Plan to Secure Southern Border, Ecologist Filipe Arreaga Freed After 10 Months in Prison,  Mexico’s NMI Under Investigation for Trafficking Undocumented Immigrants
  

All these articles represent different strands in a vast web of people defending their communities, their rights and dignity. How can we all work together-- that's truly the challenge.

Melissa Mundt is the current Peace House field coordinator based in Chiapas.