Mariano y Juvenal
Acatitla, Zontecomatlán, Veracruz
Mariano, one of the assembly participants who has a lot of experience working in the “contracts” mentioned: “I was going to the contracts in Sinaloa for many years and I always went without information, even though I lived through mistreatment.”
As in other communities, the team presented the results of the interviews conducted as part of the Ambulantes project. People were very interested as they felt identified with, above all with the mistreatment on the ranches: “I learned that it is good to support each other so that the contractors stick to their word.”
Regarding the Information received, Mariano commented: “I’m thankful, because nobody had shared with us what the rights of jornaleros are. People only arrive and offer us work, but nobody speaks about how we should take care of ourselves.”
About whether this Information could lead to changes in the community, he mentioned: “We are going to share the information with the people who weren’t able to attend [the assembly] and also with those who go to the new contracts. We will have the contractors request permission to come to the community so that people return safely.
When the discussion turned to drug consumption, disappearances, and mistreatment of jornaleros, people started to offer opinions. One issue they identified was that contractors take permission from the head of the municipality but not from the community itself. Another was that when men and women go to the ranches, they do not inform the local authority.
Juvenal, another assembly participant, is 56 and has been migrating to the contracts for many years. He commented: “I am worried about the youth who go to the cortes and consume drugs. In the ranches there are rules but sometimes the workers are the ones who don’t respect them. For example, the foreman says that if a worker leaves without informing and something happens to him this is not the responsibility of the company, but people ignore him.”
He is planning to speak with his two children who go to work in Sinaloa so that they leave better informed.
Two men who had migrated with their families to Baja California, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas shared that in these States workers commonly live under very precarious conditions.
Juvenal concluded: “This Information has to be kept in mind each time that someone from the community migrates to different states and should be mentioned to them before they leave. This should be discussed among authorities like the local government council, the municipal agent, and the assistant judge to know what to do about this difficult situation.”