Rosa Marina Flores Cruz is an Afro-Indigenous activist from Mexico and Incomindios representative at this year's United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII 2021). Before the event, I spoke to Rosa to hear about the work she has been carrying out with Indigenous communities in Mexico, tackling the hostile and exploitative threats they continue to face.
To begin, Rosa told me about her motivation to engage in this line of work, campaigning for the rights of Indigenous communities and their traditional ways of life. Rosa tells me about her mother and grandmother who were involved in Indigenous movements saying “we come from this line of women who are always speaking up and always giving a really strong importance to their identity and their value as Indigenous women''.
Witnessing the impact that major construction projects have had on her community and their land has also been a driving force in Rosa’s work, especially when “A major project came to our region to invade, took our lands without consultation [and] without appropriate ways to involve the community...it’s really clear that these kind of projects...they’re just bringing profits to the business persons that are behind them and not the community”.
I was surprised to hear that many of the projects Rosa was talking about included renewable energy projects, which are now so prevalent that in her region “there are 2000 wind turbines and that will change the landscape [and] will change the practice of life”.
Undoubtedly, there is a close connection between Indigenous Peoples experiences and climate change, and therefore, perhaps naively, I assumed renewable energy sources would be welcomed. But Rosa explains that if renewable energy projects are carried out in the same exploitative ways as non-renewables, it will still be Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable groups who suffer: “We have to deal with the consequences of climate change, but we also have to deal with the consequences of the projects they are doing as mitigation to climate change”.
One of the consequences of the mega-projects being planned and constructed in Mexico has been violence and abuse directed towards women, as Rosa says “capitalistic projects, they always bring with it violence to women”. She goes on to tell me about a project based in her home region which built wind turbines. The project brought with it a large number of European men who were “soliciting women...This happens with all kinds of mega-projects because they always need a lot of work-hand from men, and when there’s a lot of men working, the patriarchal system tells them they need women to consume”.
Unfortunately, this exploitation is occurring in a much larger abusive context. In 2010, the United Nations identified Mexico as one of the most violent countries in the world towards women[i], with high levels of femicide continuing to be a troubling problem. In this climate, Indigenous women are often the most vulnerable, making up 70% of all human trafficking victims in Mexico[ii].
I asked about feminism in Indigenous communities and the extent to which there are anti-patriarchy sentiments, however this is a complex issue. As Rosa explains, feminism may be less accepted by marginalised groups when it is based on the experiences of white, urban women. Despite this, many Indigenous women are heavily involved in social movements that affect their lives, and Rosa points out that it is not important whether these actions are labelled as ‘feminist’ or not. Indigenous women “can act against patriarchy and colonialism and capitalism even if they don’t give a name for that action. For me, that’s important, and I saw that in a lot of women and girls I know who are fighting for their lands and territory. I saw that strength. They’re not always saying ‘I’m a feminist.’ They’re saying, ‘I’m an Indigenous person fighting for my land.’ For me, that’s feminist: to fight the patriarchal system that came with colonialism and capitalism”.
The theme for UNPFII this year was Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and I wanted to hear how Rosa thought these goals could be achieved in a way that is inclusive of and respectful to Indigenous communities. “I think the institutions need to stop seeing Indigenous communities as a difficulty. There needs to be a change in state of mind about how we are involved...we have to be a part of it.”
When Indigenous communities’ voices are included, it is also important to recognise the complexity of representation, as Rosa explains, “they need to understand that to talk about communities is not to talk to one person who says, ‘I’m the representative of this community’ or ‘I have the voice of the community.’” She goes on to say that that when she personally speaks about Indigenous issues “that will be my voice but it’s not the voice of my whole community...I need to bring what everyone was thinking...and that’s complicated in this system because the system is not made or built for that. It’s built for one person who can decide for everyone.”
Reflecting on the challenges currently faced by Indigenous Peoples can seem insurmountable. But in our conversation, Rosa tells me about an environmentally damaging project that was stopped through the coordination of local Indigenous organisations. Hearing about the strength and resilience of the communities Rosa works with, and the passion she herself embodies, gives hope that these issues can, in time, be overcome.
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