PIWDW Newswire: Mexico Archive September 2006 - Present
HIV/AIDS | Violence Against Women | Poverty | Reproductive Rights | Political Oppression | Community Development
HIV/AIDS
After the Diagnosis, Discrimination
By Maria Antonieta Gómez Álvarez Even when medicine keeps their health stable, many AIDS patients in Mexico suffer social discrimination from friends, family, and even medical professionals. Doctors say that this has grave effects on the emotional and physical health of patients.
Violence Against Women
Ending Gender Violence
By Marissa Revilla A new law seeks to end violence against women in Mexico by improving services for victims and eradicating gender inequity. Lawmakers and activists are hopeful, but the law faces funding challenges and criticism from the Catholic Church.
Fear In the Streets
By Marissa Revilla Rapes and sexual violence are common on the streets of San Cristóbal. Human rights defenders say the problem goes unrecognized and too many crimes remain unsolved.
Poverty
Women in Prison
By Rosario Adriana Alcázar González As Adela Pérez, convicted of killing her infant son, raises her new baby in a prison outside of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, her cellmates struggle with isolation, overcrowding, and competition for basic necesstities.
Alone in the Streets
By Rosario Adriana Alcázar González Drug use is a growing problem among children who work in the streets of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. Advocates blame easy access, crumbling families, and the lack of recreational opportunities for poor kids.
Living in the River's Path
By Juana de Jesús Pérez Méndez Affordable land is hard to come by in San Cristóbal de las Casas, a city that is experiencing explosive population growth. For many poor families, the only properties within reach are flood-prone wetlands. Read more
Children at Work
By Delmy Tania Cruz Hernández Thousands of children work in the streets of San Cristóbal. They sell candy and crafts, attend to market stalls, and collect trash. Though their work can be dangerous, the money they bring home is essential to the survival of their families. While many international organizations are opposed to child labor, one San Cristóbal organization works to support child workers in their labor.
The Long Road to Health Care
By Juana de Jesús Pérez Méndez In Chiapas, a state that spends notoriously few dollars on health care, many indigenous women travel far from their rural communities in search of reproductive and basic health services. Read more
World Famous Chiapan Coffee Growers Struggle to Sell Their Beans at Home
Por Rosario Adriana Alcázar González Mexico is one of the world's largest producers of organic coffee. But organic coffee growers say Mexicans still don't recognize the difference between organic and conventional. Read more
Reproductive Rights
Bringing Down Blood
By Marissa Revilla In Chiapas abortion is legal in some circumstances, but social and bureaucratic barriers put up by government workers often delay and prevent women from obtaining what would be legal abortions. Women who are raped or whose lives are in danger often seek clandestine services rather than tangle with government obstacles. Read more
Avoiding an Epidemic
By Marissa Revilla Chiapas, unlike much of Mexico, has relatively low breast cancer statistics. But doctors and cancer survivors say that's no reason to be complacent. They urge women, especially young ones, to change their habits, practice self-exams and take advantage of screening programs.
Cervical Cancer Remains Number One Killer of Women in Chiapas
By Maria Antonieta Gómez Alvarez Despite the release of a new vaccine, poverty levels and limited access to health care allow cervical cancer to take a toll on women in Chiapas.
Surviving Pregnancy
By Maria Antoineta Gomez Alvarez As Chiapas continues to tally maternal mortalities high above the national average, many turn to traditional midwives. Read more
Political Oppression
In the Face of Two Presidents, Chiapanecans Still Don't Feel Represented
By Marissa Revilla For months, Mexico has been embrioled in controversey over the contested presidential elections. In Chiapas, a Southeastern state that is no stranger to political conflict, few feel represented by either political party, both which plan to take power.
Writing Their Names, Learning Their Rights
By Maria Antonieta Gómez Álvarez Maids, cooks, nannies, and housekeepers work behind closed doors, away from the public eye and unprotected by Mexican labor laws. Mostly poor, uneducated indigenous women, they have few choices and often labor in hostile, even unsafe conditions for low pay. One women's group hopes to give domestic workers more options, by teaching them to read, write, and learn their rights.
Community Development
Alive and Strong
By Delmy Tania Cruz Hernandez The Golden Years aren't always bright for seniors who begin to lose loved ones, their physical health, and their professional and familial identities. Many slip into depression and isolation. In San Cristóbal, one day house gives seniors the chance to learn new things and connect with one another.
The Children of Maize, The Children of Maseca
By Delmy Tania Cruz Hernández Corn flour giant Maseca dominates the tortilla market in Mexico. New government regulations aimed at tortillarías have raised concerns and old memories about Maseca's questionable rise to the top. Read more
Don't Call Them Pirates
By Rosario Adriana Alcázar González At least a dozen clandestine radio stations broadcast from San Cristóbal de las Casas, transmitting information about everything from the latest news from embattled Oaxaca to Christian rock. Though station operators run the risk of jail time and heavy fines, they believe the airwaves belong to everyone. Read more
Bringing Organic to San Cristobal
By Rosario Adriana Alcázar González Mexico has long been producing organic goods to fill a demand in the international marketplace, but few producers ever sought to market their products at home. Today, small farmers and one organically-minded citizen group are trying to bring organic products to the people of Chiapas, Mexico's poorest state.
Finding Hope in Artisan Cooperatives
By Delmy Tania Cruz Hernandez For the thousands of indigenous women in Chiapas who make their living making traditional crafts, a new cooperative for Mayan artists is a chance to make a fair wage.
Breaking News from Oaxaca City
Chiapan Pacifist Group is First to Lead Peace Caravan into Oaxaca City
By Bridget Huber, Executive Editor After negotiating with Oaxacan authorities, Las Abejas was the first group to get access to the embattled city center. The Chiapan group lead a peaceful demonstration and brought aid to their neighbors. Photos by Vincent Bautes, Special to the Newswire
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