For those of you in the Portland, Oregon area, here’s a small but interesting event you might want to check out. It’s part of the Witness for Peace Northwest Speaker Tour.

NAFTA Turns 15: A Look at Free Trade, Food Security and Migration in Oaxaca, Mexico

Take a deeper look at the effects of NAFTA, including resistance to genetically modified (GMO) corn, the impact of migration on sending communities, and the struggle for food security in Oaxaca’s indigenous communities. A discussion with Baldemar Mendoza Jiménez, Agro-ecologist with the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca.

Baldemar Mendoza Jimenez is the coordinator of the agro-ecology program for UNOSJO (the Union of Organizations of the Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca). Mr. Mendoza is an expert on food sovereignty issues and the impacts of free trade agreements on indigenous farmers from Oaxaca. UNOSJO is an indigenous organization that works with indigenous communities and organizations in the Zapotec region of the Sierra Juarez, located in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. UNOSJO has denounced the contamination of native corn in Oaxaca by genetically-modified (GMO) corn and is a leader within Oaxaca on food security issues. Their efforts also focus on women’s issues, indigenous rights, and organic coffee production.

Mr. Mendoza will speak about the impacts of NAFTA on indigenous communities in Oaxaca, including:

• The effects of GMO corn contamination on native corn production.
• How increased rates of migration from the region have affected communities in the Sierra Juarez.
• UNOSJO’s process of regaining food sovereignty within indigenous communitie

Details:
Sunday, April 5
12pm, Hillsboro United Methodist Church
168 NE 8th Ave, Hillsboro, OR

For more information, click here or contact Regional Organizer Beth Poteet at wfpnw@witnessforpeace.org or (503) 287-7847.