Precisely at the beginning of the school's vacation period, the radiozapote collective is being threatened with removal from our space

To the ENAH community
To radio listeners and users of the sounds community
To the free and independent news media
To human rights organizations:

Precisely at the beginning of the school's vacation period, the radiozapote collective is being threatened with removal from our space, propitiated by the decision to impose a new director on the National School of Anthropolgy and History (ENAH), one who has interests in common with Alfonso de Mari­a y Campos, Director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

These events are occurring in a national context in which our social circumstances are being transformed in favor of the interests of the current military-dominated government in the sale of the country's natural resources. With the decision to impose someone who didn't win at the ballot box, there is an intensification of the persecution and hostilities against critical, dissident sectors that have taken positions against official policies, as this new context is being created. The persecution is also directed against the free, independent, community news media, as well as human rights defenders and activists from any number of organizations and collectives. The small group that the INAH director seeks to impose expects that the ENAH community will accept its conditions once more, allowing it to run roughshod over this community's needs, as well as local election and conflict-solving processes. The radiozapote project has publicly stated its opposition
to these discretional, illegal practices.

Many people have warned us of the possibility of a violent evacuation from the Radio Zapote cabins. Throughout the past year, we have reported on the constant threats to close down and clear out independent cultural projects and facilities in Mexico City––the Chanti Ollin space, La Pirámide cultural center, Regeneracion Radio, Ke Huelga radio, just to mention a few cases here in the capital city. The same is true of similar international cases.

We have decided to take these warnings seriously. For this reason, we are announcing an orange alert in order to publicize our situation and the positions we have adopted as of now:

1- We have decided to stay in our space, being watchful and constantly working here on a daily basis during school vacations; a little later on we will let the ENAH community know our position on the incoming administration.

2- We have decided to keep working on our broadcasts, the dissemination of news, and activities related to radio station programming for the 2008 season; furthermore, we will put out our yearly call to elicit more widespread participation.

3- We have decided to give broad coverage and continuous follow-up to the situation here at our school because we believe that the ENAH community has the ability to overcome the current arbitrary decisions and adverse measures now being imposed and because we think it is the moment for generating a debate on the situation that the ENAH is going through.

For these reasons, we issue a call for international solidarity in the face of threats of removal from the radiozapote facilities where we carry on our informative work. Some of our proposals are spelled out below, but we remain open to other possible responses:

1- We ask that all possible groups, collectives and individuals make public statements in support of maintaining radiozapote as a public access communications space with widespread participation from the society, and that the project stay free of threats in order to continue to provide information to the community.

2- We ask that you spread the word regarding our situation as widely as possible in the news media to which you have access, calling public attention to the circumstances at the ENAH at this time.

3- We ask that you come to our space and continue to make it your own, utilizing it and generating ideas and actions at the same time. Radiozapote must keep on with its communications work despite the current situation.

In the event that the decision is made to call a red alert, it is because an evacuation is at hand. In this case, the only possible
action will be to come directly to the radio station and oppose the takeover of our space.

Radio Zapote Editorial Committee
December 2007
Because the air has no limits>>>free radio frequency

To contact the station, you can call this telephone number:

0445520682768 - Mobile phone, Mexico City.