Report about prisoners and protests in Guadalajara

There are 33 people still imprisoned in Guadalajara since friday may
28th. i don´t know the exact amount of money that is needed to get
them out, but those who are residents of the state of Jalisco, of
which Guadalajara is the capital, have to pay 25,000 pesos ($2,500).
those individuals not from Jalisco are expected to pay 50,000 pesos.
though these figures are exhorbatant, the picuture they paint is
misleading. the numbers above signify only the bond each individual
has to pay to be released from jail. but everyone with charges
against them, which is everyone still in jail after saturday the 29th
of May, has to be processed juridically. the charges against them,
like "robo calificado" (qualified robbery), are serious; they are also vague: "daños en
las cosas," (damage to things) "resistencia y rebeldia" (resistance and rebellion). For the juridical process they
must return to guadalajara every week, and, depending on the verdict
of the court, may face further charges or prison sentences. given the
policitical enviornment of guadalajara and Jalisco, both governed by
the National Action Party (PAN), party of the extreme right in
mexico, further fines and sentences are a very real possibility.

They are no less the victims of the growing right in mexico in
general. In a march last sunday against "delinquency" and for
"security" people held signs and chanted for the use of the death penalty against kidnappers. similiar to the pro-war rallies in the
US, buisness interests organized this march and it was mainly attended
by the upper middle class. It was heavily covered in the major
papers and politicians are using it in order to push for new legislation and
increase police presence. also, participants of the occupation
"teatro che guevera", a squatted movie theater and community space on
the campus of the autonomous nation university of mexico (unam), are
recieving threats and plainclothed police have been standing guard
outside the theater. the university cut the power to the squat a few
days ago, the first time such action has been taken since the theater
was occupied during the student strike of 1997, the largest student
strike in the history of Latin America. the threats to these students
are similiar to those recieved by Pavel Gonzalez before he was
tortured and assassinated.

There were about 100 or so people at the march monday. those
present represented a diverse crowd... many students of course, many
who had been in guadalajara, but also a contingent of campasin@s from
hidalgo (those you see with machetes raised in the fotographs). a
contingent of some 10-20 people continue to be camped in front of the
Presidential Palace in Mexico City, continually demanding the
liberation of the political prisoners of Guadalajara. there are a series of parties here in mexico city that have been relatively successful at
raising money... a lot of people have attended and
they have raised quite a bit, but not nearly enough. the next one of these
is the 11th i think. some of us feel at a loss as to what the next steps might be.