Doña Ana County residents are in a unique position to help bring an end to more than a decade of human rights violations in an impoverished region of neighboring Juarez, Mexico
That was the message given to attendees of "Poleo Hablando: Community Under Siege," a documentary presentation held in Hardman Hall on Wednesday night.
Lomas de Poleo, a 988 acre colonia of farmers and industrial workers on a mesa one mile from the U.S. border in Juarez, has been fought over for years by business interest groups, government officials, wealthy land brokers and most importantly, the townspeople who settled there nearly 37 years ago.
"You sometimes see a point where Mexico doesn't pursue justice for people that are powerless, this is one of those situations," said Neil Harvey, event organizer and director of Center for Latin American and Border Studies.
The colonia was first settled by Luis Urbina Duran who came to the land with the inspiration to develop an agrarian community. He received permission from the federal government at the time to establish the farming community, and Duran began handing out 4.94 acre plots to families who wished to settle the land.
The community prospered under Duran for many years, until business tycoons Pedro and Jorge Zaragoza claimed ownership of the land in 2001. They stated in Mexican civil court their father was the rightful owner of the territory in a deal struck more than 30 years ago. The courts ruled the deal as being illegitimate and refused to give them authority over the land, but the Zaragozas took it anyway.
This set off a string of human rights violations within the community by whom the documentary refers to as "Zaragozas' henchmen." These violations include arson, demolition, verbal and physical harassment and eventually murder. The Zaragozas had a barbed wire fence with concrete posts, similar to prison walls, built around the entire community in 2003. They also set up guards to patrol the entrance, often denying access to the community's residents.
"Everything is worse than it was before," said Leon de la Rosa, Juarez resident and director of the documentary. "Even though a lot more people are starting to pay attention to this, it has just made it worse."
Leon said hope is dwindling and there is little to no progress in sight. Government authorities are still in a deadlock with the Zaragozas and the colonia residents as to who legally owns the land. Meanwhile, Lomas de Poleo residents continue to have their houses demolished or burned to the ground. Their electricity posts and wiring were ripped out years ago, and the community members who can afford to do so, pitch in for generators to power their makeshift houses.
"Hopefully, at some point, enough people will know about this and the [Zaragozas] can't keep doing this," de la Rosa said.
The documentary suggested police and government authorities have assisted the Zaragozas in the destruction of the small community, citing the Zaragozas' invalid land-title as justification to do so.
Greg Bloom, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman's representative for the region, said Doña Ana County residents may be able to play a key part in the resolution by urging the county commissioner to halt bi-national development in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
"The senator started working five years ago on drawing attention to the femicides in Juarez, he is doing something similar now," Bloom said. "There is a feeling that development in New Mexico is going to take place no matter what."
Some members of the audience urged others after the documentary screening to attend a meeting Tuesday at the county commissioners office to protest the development and to present a petition and special presentation urging state officials to cease deals with Mexican business groups until the human rights violations in Lomas have ended. The response from audience members was positive.
"Seventy families are still there, the gates are now being closed very aggressively," de la Rosa said. "There is a feeling among community members that the longer it takes to claim their land, the harder it is."
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