Dear co-counselors in the US,
I send you a warm hug full of love from the AntiCOP, in the territories in resistance of Oaxaca, Mexico. (Diane--Iliria is there now leading the SAL/UER delegation to the AntiCOP--a gathering of climate activists who are organizing for global climate action independently of the UN COP.)
I want to thank you for the time and love you put in the recent electoral fight. Every effort has mattered. Every effort has made a difference. I hope each one of you can feel deeply proud of stepping out there in the face of brutal social conditioning of isolation and political defeat.
Each one of you has made a difference with your perspective, your personal work, or by going door to door. The people in the United States face oppression just like any other people, and in recent months, you have confronted the brutal capitalism and discouragement that oppress your country.
Thank you for whatever you did. I hope that the election results don’t cloud the victories you’ve achieved these months or all that we have learned as an organization by engaging in political processes. That in itself is a big triumph.
From the Global South, we welcome your efforts, we welcome the joyful resistance, and the excitement of working toward a world where all worlds and all existences fit, in respect and harmony.
A bad government is always a possibility, but no bad regime can erase the knowledge we gain collectively, the strategies we create, or the connections we build and nurture in our struggles. Any government, whatever it may be, will always be temporary. The newly elected government, like many others around the world, will present challenges to survival and tenderness. And, as many times before in yours and other lands, people and their humanity will endure.
Every co-counselor on this planet will continue to bring love and connection to the fight for a sustainable and just world. You are not alone. And our organization is not alone, either. There are millions of people around the world organized and fighting for the same cause.
An oppressor always seems more solid than they really are. Oppression is full of cracks and gaps that make it vulnerable. Every day brings an opportunity for a new beginning. And from every corner of the planet, new forms of resistance and love for life rise each day.
We welcome you, brothers and sisters. Let’s continue creating new strategies together for the sustainable and just planet we dream of.
This is a beginning, not a defeat.
In solidarity,
iliria Unzueta
RRP
Mexico