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When everything started during those days in April 2011, we also say that within Cherán a reencounter began among the inhabitants of Cherán. A kind of union, of meeting one another as neighbors, something that we didn’t do before. And from resisting in the streets, in the bonfires that were created. The bonfire is this space created around the fire, around the burning wood, that generally in our homes has always functioned as the companion of dialog among families. But now, because Cherán is very cold and using this pretext to fend of the night’s cold, it moved to the streets. We could see the fires on nearly every block of Cherán and the people there, sharing, talking about their concerns, their fears, all that came up as a result of being in a process such as this, with a lot of fear that fortunately was transforming into this ability to dialog and to create. A space where a lot of attention was given to listening to the elders, to the grandparents, to those who had knowledge. Here we say, if the elders share something with you, it is because they have done it through trial and error, and it is something that works. So, we need to stay with this knowledge to continue advancing as a community. From there is where the examples they had lived during the trajectory of their lives began to be valued, the examples they gave of how the community organized itself before.
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The government is organized among eight operating councils. These operating councils are the Local Administration Council, which is tasked with all the needs the community has: the public spaces, streetlights, trash collection and other services in communal spaces the community. The Neighborhood Coordinating Council, they are responsible for the relationship between the assembly – the residents of Cherán – and the communal government structure. Their work is to convene the assemblies, schedule people, and to be that direct link between the assembly and the authorities. There is the Social Programs Council. They make sure all the resources coming from state or federal funds are directed to the people who really need it. The Honor and Justice Council is in charge of the community’s security and the Community Patrol, which is our security body, is part of it, but they also take care of other things like civil protection and road management. There is the Education and Culture Council, which is called the Civic Affairs Council, and they handle the educational aspects of the community and the relationships with educational institutions of all levels inside the community. The work of the Communal Properties Council is dedicated to the community’s territory, primarily the forest. They are also in charge of the community businesses, which are the nursery, a construction materials business, the sawmill, and they handle the permits and use of the natural resources here in Cherán. There is the Women’s Council. They are completely in charge of the requirements or special programs for women. They are responsible for institutions such as the Center for Women’s Development and the Indigenous Women’s House, where they’re constantly working. And the Youth Council is responsible for all the tasks related to the youth and are also the spokespersons between the youth and the community government.

These councils in turn are supervised or connected directly with work of the Council of Elders. The Council of Elders is this: 12 people make up the Council of Elders, three representatives per neighborhood. And they are in charge of coordinating with all the operating councils. They have to follow the work being carried out by the eight operating councils and accompany them in it, as they have to represent the councils and their work to the assembly. That is how the structure functions.

As well, a central part of the movement has been the participation of the Community Patrol that is present 24 hours a day at our entrances to the community, supervising their functioning and who comes and who leaves, as a preventive measure. And that is how our government is functioning.
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I think precisely that is a bit of the answer that I didn’t give before, about the difference with this participative democracy that happens in Cherán. And what that means is that you don’t just practice democracy when you go and participate in the nombramientos process, but that you also take on the responsibility to continue collaborating with the government that we have. That is to say, when there is some big action or event in the community, you participate and you don’t assume it’s the responsibility of those who are up front and that they have to resolve it, but rather that we give our support as an assembly and we recognize that these are issues that also impact all of us. So, I think that is the big difference, that we continue to take on – regardless of if we’re part of the councils or commissions in the community government or not – we take on the tasks that also impact us as residents of Cherán. I don’t think that this is something that can be achieved everywhere and fortunately here it is practiced daily and it is part of our work. We know that we have to be part of the voluntary patrols independent of if our patrol is the one working and that you also give some of your time to continue collaborating with the tasks of the community.
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Yes, of course. Yes, we had an incident that, as with everything, the press misrepresented it from the beginning. We place a lot of trust in communication from alternative and community media, because I think that since the beginning of the uprising, they have been the ones putting forward the truth about what is happening here. Now, a short time ago, we had an incident in which the Community Patrol was implicated in a very harsh and abrupt way. The media portrayed them as if they were guilty of the murder of a youth from the community. They reported it in such a way that it was very impactful; people from the community began to hear about it and it was through these media reports. It was very painful in how the media delighted in it and that they accused a formation that has been crucial to this entire process in Cherán was something very difficult.

So, it was very complicated, painful to experience that. But trusting in the mechanisms in Cherán, the situation was able to be clarified in such a way as to show that’s not what happened. But we know that there were bad intentions behind blaming the patrol for an act of this magnitude. We also know perfectly well that we are human, mistakes are made, and that we’ve always said that the enemy can be in our own home. Keeping all that in mind, the patrol was brought before the assemblies, special assemblies were held daily since the event happened, and things were clarified.

In effect, there was a young man that – well, there is a process that is being followed – but the patrol went to this location because it had been reported to them that there was a person’s body there, and they went to that place. They gathered him up, brought him to the hospital, tried to help him, gave aid, and everything. But people immediately held the patrol responsible. So, there was a whole matter of clarification. The patrol said that it was there [at the assembly] to publicly state how the events occurred, and they did that. But there was also fear on the part of the patrol of returning to its work unless it was given support by the assembly, which the assembly did. But there was a moment of concern and of feeling like the whole process was being destabilized because of something like this. Later it was shown there were other interests involved, such as trying to bring drugs into the community and other things that came out. But fortunately, the community acted in time, the patrol was listened to, the other parties were listened to, things were clarified, support was given to the patrol, and as a result, the volunteer patrol came out of it stronger, in a way saying, “We are all the patrol and we are here together.” And the inhabitants of Cherán were on alert while all this was going on. While the patrol wasn’t active, the barricades were covered by the people of Cherán. A few days passed like that and then the patrol was reestablished.

Now there is an investigation process, because along with blaming the patrol, people attacked and burned the coordinating offices of the patrol. So now fortunately there are processes underway for those responsible for starting the disorder. There are people who are detained and people who are assisting with the investigation. And now things have become clearer. But when this type of thing happens, it rattles the entire community and once again, doubts begin to surface. People who didn’t have all the information began to speculate. People on the outside began to say, for example, that Cherán was a disappointment and things like that, because they were relying on news being put out by the sensationalist and tabloid media. But the reality on the inside was very different. Fortunately, everything is calm now, it’s gone back to normal, and, well, things are still working and the patrol is already back with us.