Atenco, the upcoming elections, our June 8th event in San Francisco, and a delegation with Global Exchange.

First things first, thank you to Lilia Lopez who has finished her term as Program Development Intern with the Peace House. She has done a great job with the newsletter and other projects these last 6 months and we are grateful for her hard work and commitment!

For all you Bay Area folk, check out the Peace House event on June 8th. We would also like to announce that thye Peace House will be leading a Global Exchange delegation from June 26-July 6th. It will be an interesting time to be in Mexico (during the Presidential elections and Red Alert) so spread the word and sign up!

At the Peace House our attention has been grabbed this month by the violent repression in Atenco, Estado de Mexico and the unfolding immigration debate in the United State. On May 3rd, a confrontation between flower vendors and police near Atenco erupted into a brutal situation of police repression where hundreds of campesinos were violently beaten and over 200 arrested. Rampant human rights violations have since been revealed including 26 reports of sexual assault and rape by the police. Politicians, mass media and the candidates for President have used the incident to vilify the "violent minority" on the left. In this newsletter, Chris Thomas writes about media spin and the Otra Campaña in Atenco.

As we approach the July 2nd Mexican Presidential Elections, international solidarity and pressure are urgent as grassroots leaders and internationals are increasingly targeted for intimidation, harassment, detention and torture. We will endeavor to keep our website updated with urgent actions and denuncias from our organizational partners (these will mostly appear on the Spanish website).

Also in this newsletter, volunteer Joy Truskowski reflects on her time as a human rights observer in the conflict zone in Chiapas and Lilia reports on the Presidential race, the immigration debate, and Chiapas news.