To the people of Mexico

Greenpeace and a number of our allied NGOs in Cancun have written a letter to the people of Mexico, explaining why we are here and that we are committed to non-violence.

The letter below was published as an advertisement (in Spanish, naturellemente) in a number of local newspapers. We are trying to counter some of the fear-mongering statements made by several officials, saying that 'globalfobicos', as we are called, are up to no good.

TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO

Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez,Aung San Suu Kyi, and the man in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square were all considered troublemakers at the time; but they were all struggling for peace, equity and justice.

This month, more than a hundred governments will come to the World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun to discuss Global Trade and Investment and decide your future. They will negotiate documents in technical language which may seem far from your everyday life, but the consequences of these agreements will affect the food you eat, the water you drink, the quality of the air you breathe, what jobs are available and what kind of schools are available for your kids.

People from all over the world will also come to Cancun with alternatives and solutions that can make trade work for people and not for big business or rich nations only. People will come to monitor their governments and ensure the bottom line on this negotiation is not simply about profit but about making global trade work for all to create a healthier, safer and more equitable world.

We all come in peace committed to non-violence. We hope to find opportunities to share our views, present our alternatives and expose the wrongdoings of the current trade system. We do not make trouble for the sake of it. We are people like you that come from near or far away, united by a common commitment to promote peace, equity and justice. If this is troublesome to government negotiators, multinational corporations, and the rich, then so be it.

signed,
GREENPEACE,OXFAM,PUBLIC CITIZEN,HEINRICH BOELL FOUNDATION,AMIGOS DE LA TIERRA,FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH,GLOBAL EXCHANGE,THIRD WORLD NETWORK,COUNCIL OF CANADIANS,WEED (World Economy Ecology Development), CENTER FOR ENCOUNTER AND ACTIVE NON-VIOLENCE,INITIATIVE COLIBRI, CORPWATCH, ASIA PACIFIC FORUM ON WOMAN, LAW AND DEVELOPMENT, ACTION AID