Occupy and Overcome: The Expropriation of a Federal Building, 3 Years Later
Surviving gentrification and gunfire in CDMX: chronicles of State violence against the UPREZ-BJ, the Zapatista-affiliated Otomí collective.
Occupy and Overcome:
The Expropriation of a Federal Building, 3 Years Later
by taller ahuehuete
✎ 10 minutes
In the sprawling urban labyrinth that is Méjico City, where gleaming skyscrapers interlace the cityscape, the UPREZ-BJ1 — a Zapatista-affiliated collective — emerged as a protagonist in the struggle.
The narrative of Méjico's capital city is one of stark contrasts, where financial opulence exists side by side with abject destitution. Concomitant to its financial elite, a segment of its demographic stands in the shadow, lacking access to essential services. Inhabiting informal settlements on the urban fringes, these marginalized residents grapple with the scarcity of educational and healthcare centers. The meteoric ascent of property values, ongoing gentrification, and high cost of living ignited a housing crisis, casting many into the abyss of uncertainty.
A bucolic landscape, some claim, bestowed an advantage for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. Examples of a metropolitan character enlist the specific obstacles confronting urban movements. For the past three years, the Otomí or Ñöñhö insurgent group has occupied the 'Samir Flores Soberanes' House of the Peoples and Indigenous Communities, an erstwhile federal building at the heart of CDMX.
To Occupy A Federal Building, a Historical Examination
In the wake of López Obrador's presidential inauguration, the ruling party — MORENA — heralded the establishment of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI), a move designed to supplant the now-defunct National Indigenista Institute (INI).
Yet, even with the diverse backgrounds of INPI's leadership, the institution remained a vessel for what Luis Hernández Navarro succinctly exposed as state indigenismo2. In its relentless pursuit of national unity, the Mexican nation-state disregarded the heterogeneous composition of its populace, thus contributing to the suppression and marginalization of a plethora of groups. Anchored in economic interests, the ruling class sought to obliterate a plethora of cultures and identities. Originary communities, resisting the transformation into wage laborers, found themselves ensnared in State policies orchestrated to extract surplus value and amass capital. These coercive processes often entailed forced dislocation from ancestral lands and the commodification of their labor.
The research by INI's indigenista scientists strived to comprehend non-European or mestizo traditions and societies — to ease their coerced assimilation into the dominant Western ethos. In essence, the anthropologists surveyed cultural practices, guided by the principle: 'to know better, to destroy better.'
The Mexican Revolution, despite its motives, snowballed the consolidation of State power by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) for an uninterrupted 71 years. The PRI underscored the notion of a 'revolution-made government3,' and branded any political rival — whether propelled by ideological, insurrectionary, or workerist grounds — as seditious and subversive. If not emerging from the regime's womb, these actions were contrary to the interests of the revolution. Consequently, the State aligned itself with the aspirations of the bourgeoisie, who sought to perpetuate their dominion and quell all forms of dissent.
Assimilation efforts throughout the years included collecting census data that repeatedly underestimated the number of speakers of languages beyond Castellano, masking the reality of linguistic and cultural suppression. Originary populations, pressured to deny their heritage, embraced an identity associated with the dominant society. Yásnaya Aguilar noted that the originary groups had not become an ethnic minority; rather, subsumed as a result of violent policies.
Surviving Gunfire and Gentrification
In the late hours of October 15th and the early hours of October 16th, 2023, the government of Méjico City executed a police operation that, on the surface, it framed as a 'law enforcement mobilization' aimed at ‘restoring traffic flow’. Yet, eyewitness accounts suggest a more complex reality. The operation sought to encroach upon and evict the occupied sanctuary that had become the lifeblood of the Otomí community.
The police operation escalated into violence, leaving in its wake a trail of wounded civilians. Eyewitnesses documented brutal police attacks. These accounts include the physical assault of minors, with one teenager rendered immobile due to injuries inflicted by riot police.
According to reports4 from the Front for the Freedom of Expression and Social Protest (FLEPS), agents of the government injured seven civilians, including a minor who suffered brutality at the hands of eight police officers. While community members received emergency medical care from physicians in solidarity, documented evidence of medical aid to the injured victims by official institutions remains absent.
"A group of five riot policemen attacked a 17-year-old teenager. They kicked and beat her, causing immobility in one of her legs; at the same time, three riot policemen kicked a 13-year-old girl in the head provoking her to faint," detailed Avispa5.
"Three years after the occupation of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, racism, discrimination, and repression epitomize the offerings of the so-called 'fourth transformation,'" members of the Otomí community declared in a press conference.
Between 2:00 and 3:00 AM on October 16th, journalists and human rights organizations registered the arrival of an unidentified group. The anonymous faction jolted, threatened the community, and discharged firearms on three occasions.
One journalist — whose identity remains undisclosed to protect her safety — survived physical injuries to her knee and arm. The reporter explained what she experienced at the hands of a dozen SSC officers,
“They cornered me, pulled me, and shoved me to the ground. I wear a helmet during protest coverage, yet I felt blows to my head while hearing them say: 'Get her, we've got her.’”
To make herself heard amidst the assaults, the journalist shouted her status as a member of the press to the agents of the State raiding the occupied center. Nonetheless, they wrestled to confiscate her camera and cell phone, succeeding in dislodging the lens. A sudden intervention of a community member, met with physical violence while coming to her aid, saved the reporter from further harm.
For Karl Marx, “the dull compulsion of economic relations completes the subjection of the laborer to the capitalist. Direct force, outside economic conditions, is of course still used, but only exceptionally6.” In the case of originary peoples in the Mexican nation-state, events such as Ayotzinapa’s 2014 mass kidnapping, the Acteal massacre, the Aguas Blancas massacre, and the ongoing paramilitary attacks across the territory are examples of this exceptional yet contemporaneous use of direct force.
We stand in solidarity with the residents of the occupied House of the Peoples and Indigenous Communities also known as 'Samir Flores Soberanes'. We condemn the violence committed by the State and invite our readers to support the expropriation of the former government building now home to our comrades, the Otomíes en Resistencia y Rebeldía. In comradeship, we’ve translated their communiqué into English7.
¡Samir vive, la lucha sigue!
COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE OTOMÍ COMMUNITY IN MÉJICO CITY, IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE INPI OCCUPATION
To the Zapatista National Liberation Army,
To the Sixth Commission of the EZLN,
To Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano,
To Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés,
To the National Indigenous Congress-Indigenous Government Council,
To Ma. de Jesús Patricio Martínez, Spokesperson of the CNI-CIG,
To the people of the world who resist against the capitalist and patriarchal system,
To the Peoples, Tribes, Nations, Communities and Native Neighborhoods Never Conquered,
To the National and International Sixth,
To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion,
To the Rebellious and Dignified Slumil K'Ajxemk'op (formerly known as Europe),
To those signed the Declaration for Life,
To the Mothers and Fathers of our 43 Normalistas of Ayotzinapa,
To the free, independent, alternative media or whatever they are called,
Sisters, brothers, siblings —
Three years after the occupation of the INPI , only racism and discrimination we received from the Fourth Transformation.
We have nothing to celebrate other than the Resistance and Rebellion of our People. 531 years of Resistance and Dignity of our People, 27 years of the founding of the National Indigenous Congress, CNI.
Within the framework of the III ANNIVERSARY OF THE INPI OCCUPATION, today, the House of Indigenous Peoples and Communities “Samir Flores Soberanes”, a space of resistance and rebellion, we declare:
That we who sign this document, women, men and children, all members of the Otomí Indigenous Community, residents of Mexico City and from Santiago Mexquititlán, Amealco Querétaro, based on Article 2 of the Constitution; ILO Convention 196 for Indigenous and Tribal Peoples — in the face of so much contempt, discrimination and racism on the part of past and present governments, we say STOP!
That this October 12 we have nothing to celebrate other than the Resistance and Rebellion of our People.
That, with other faces and other names, but always in the name of "civilization", "transformation" and the "creation of new trade routes, — frequent even today — is genocide, dispossession, displacement and invasion of our lands and territories justified. They plunder our water and our wealth.
That 531 years have passed and they did not conquer us. Our originary peoples and indigenous communities continue to resist militarization, counterinsurgency, attacks from agents of the informal economy or perpetuated by paramilitary groups that, in complicity with municipal, state and federal governments, enjoy complete impunity. They impose megaprojects of death, such as the Mayan Train, the Interoceanic Corridor, the Morelos Integral Project and the Santa Lucía International Airport.
That the murder of our brother Samir Flores Soberanes, defender of water, land and life, is a clear example of hatred and racism against our peoples.
That in response to our demands — regardless of the color of the government in power — we encounter closed doors; They only look at us as numbers during electoral processes, or as folklore to promote themselves. If we resist and organize to pursue our demands, we receive discrimination, contempt, oblivion, repression and criminalization.
That we lack access to DIGNIFIED HOUSING for more than 4 decades. In the face of so much contempt and forgetfulness, we decided to carry out actions of resistance. Hence, this October 12, we celebrate 3 years of having occupied and expropriated the INPI. That is to say, we commemorate 1095 days since we took over the offices of the misnamed NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, or INPI. We renamed the building House of Indigenous Peoples and Communities “Samir Flores Soberanes”.
For this reason, we reiterate that this October 12, the date on which those at the top celebrate the misnamed “Conquest of America”, we, the originary peoples and indigenous communities, HAVE NOTHING TO CELEBRATE, other than our resistance and rebellion against dispossession, looting and genocide.
That after the takeover of the INPI, it was of no use to establish dialogue tables with government authorities, government agencies and with representatives of the INVI and the INPI.
That after the seizure of INPI, it was of no use to establish roundtables with central government authorities, government agencies and all ventures at communication with representatives of INVI and INPI were pointless. Three years later, we still do not have decent and dignified housing. The only thing we were able to achieve was to snatch from them the expropriation of Zacateca 74, Col. Cuauhtémoc, but to date, no work has begun.
With respect to the property located at Roma 18 and/or Londres 7 in Col. Juarez, this is a clear example of the unkept promises of the government of the CDMX. They consented "to provide adequate attention to the native peoples residing in Mexico City and in particular to the residents of the aforementioned property. Thus, the government of the CDMX embarking on the necessary steps with the involved agencies of the Government of Mexico, to allow the expropriation of this property".
IN THE FACE OF SO MANY LIES, TODAY WE TELL YOU NOT TO WORRY ABOUT THE EXPROPRIATION OF ROMA 18 / LONDON 7. THREE YEARS AFTER WE OCCUPIED THE INPI, WE INFORM YOU THAT OUR DEMAND IS STILL THE SAME.
ONLY THIS TIME, WE DEMAND THE EXPROPRIATION OF THIS PROPERTY, THE SAME ONE THAT HOSTS THE HOUSE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND COMMUNITIES "SAMIR FLORES SOBERANES". WE HAVE ALREADY DECIDED, AND THAT IS WHAT OUR RESISTANCE IS BASED ON.
Finally we want to remember that today, October 12, we have a double celebration: besides resistance and rebellion, we celebrate 27 years of the founding of the National Indigenous Congress, or CNI. And in this communiqué, we ratify our firm steps alongside the struggle and resistance of our originary peoples.
We will not give up until we achieve the comprehensive reconstitution of our people. Long live the National Indigenous Congress.
This war against the peoples in Méjico we name "the capitalist narco-state", and it directs a counterinsurgency strategy against the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, or EZLN and the Zapatista indigenous communities. This entity wants to undermine forms of organization, self-determination and autonomy. We demand an end of the war against the originary peoples, indigenous communities and against our siblings of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation.
We close this communiqué, announcing that today we inaugurate our COMMUNITY RADIO OF ORIGINARY PEOPLES IN MEXICO CITY.
We announce the name of our community radio station:
Yha nhö Ya jhoi 91.1 FM,
Yha vihJatsi – Arthüjhu.
The voice of the people 91.1 FM.
You can already see the horizon – Radio.
This collective effort of represents our resistance against the oppressive powers. We invite communities, collectives and all those who fight from below and to the left to make this community radio yours. Long live the free, alternative media or whatever you call it.
SINCERELY,
ZAPATA LIVES, THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!
ALL HUMANS DESERVE A HOME!
OTOMÍ INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IN CDMX.
From the House of Indigenous Peoples and Communities “Samir Flores Soberanes”.
October 12, 2023
Related essays:
Unión Popular Emiliano Zapata-Benito Juárez.
Hernández Navarro, Luis. “The Accords of San Andrés, Autonomy vs. Neo-Indigenism” for La Jornada. February 10, 2021. Translation by SchoolsForChiapas.
Revueltas, José. Ensayo sobre un proletariado sin cabeza [Essay on a Proletariat without a Head]. Originally published by Editorial Logos, Mexico City, 1962. A partial translation into English by taller ahuehuete was published on April 15, 2022. Contact us if interested in the publication of the second edition.
This incident was documented by the Front for the Freedom of Expression and Social Protest (FLEPS), ARTICLE 19 Office for Mexico and Central America, Fray Francisco de Vitoria OP Human Rights Center, Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center, Center for Justice and Peace Development (CEPAD), National Center for Social Communication (Cencos), Collective of Solidary Lawyers CAUSA, Marabunta A.C. Free and Independent Space, Propuesta Cívica Research and Training Center, Services and Advice for Peace, A.C., Network of Civil Organizations "All Rights for All," A.C.
Santiago, Aldo. México: Otomís frenan violento desalojo de la Casa de los Pueblos Samir Flores. AvispaMidia, October 2023.
Marx, Karl. Capital, Vol. I: Chapter Twenty-Eight: Bloody Legislation Against the Expropriated, from the End of the 15th Century. Forcing Down of Wages by Acts of Parliament.
Disclaimer: in the original communiqué, the parting words of the comrades from the COMUNIDAD INDÍGENA OTOMÍ RESIDENTE EN LA CDMX incorporated the phrases: «¡¡VIVIENDA PAGADA, NO REGALADA!!» («paid housing, not gifted») and the motto «¡¡TENER TECHO, ES UN DERECHO!!».
To convey the essence of the latter phrase, however, we, as advocates for transcending the limitations of civil society and striving for a world structured beyond the bourgeois state, have translated it, instead, as «NO PERSON WITHOUT A ROOF!».
It is pertinent to recognize that the establishment of the modern political state and the dissolution of the community into independent individuals governed by the rule of law are interconnected processes. Thus, each citizen, governed by legal personhood, is forced to be moderated by bureaucracy.
Regarding the former, «¡¡VIVIENDA PAGADA, NO REGALADA!!» (or «paid housing, not gifted»), it contradicts our core principles. We believe no individual should be condemned to existence without shelter, irrespective of the artificial imposition of economic factors, exchange value, or the money form. To attain the world we hope to assemble communally, no person shall be without a roof. — taller ahuehuete