The remedy

Documentary / 78 min / 2020

Mexico

In this time of pillage of their natural resources and extreme violence towards their lifestyles, the indigenous communities of Mexico refuse to be exterminated.
The Indigenous Governing Council (IGC) is the voice of these communities and is now promoting an unprecedented reaction.
Their choice of representative in this process is revolutionary: a woman, indigenous and poor is a triple stigma in 2018. That she is also backed by a collective, horizontal, assembly-based team is reverting to the traditional decision-making process in the continent.

Work in production stage

Active since 1996, the Indigenous Governing Council brings together its representatives to share their pain and to learn from the different struggles of each group. They celebrated their 20th anniversary from the 9th to the 13th of October 2016 in San Cristóbal de las Casas. More than 300 delegates of up to 56 different indigenous cultures took part in the event. Among them were speakers such as the former Zapatista leader known as Subcomandante Marcos, or Mario Luna of the Yaqui tribe, and the talks revolved around the possibility of taking the offensive after decades of defending their territories with numerous cases of repression, death and the detention and imprisonment of their leaders.

This meeting gave rise to an idea: the formation of a Council of Indigenous Peoples (CIP) backing a spokesperson, the woman who will run for the Mexican general elections of 2018. The proposal is controversial because the IGC has refused the electoral route for years. The decision on whether or not to participate in the electoral campaign is an extreme measure and has to be made collectively, which gives rise to an exciting time of debate and bottom-up politics, and consultations with the inhabitants of communities, villages, tribes, nations and neighborhoods from all corners of the nation.

On the 1st of January 2017 the decision was made public: The establishment of the CIP is approved, which shall then choose a spokesperson. A traditional doctor, María de Jesús Patricio Martínez, also known as Marichuy, symbolizes communal organization and the Remedy e possibility of finding the that Mexico needs to heal its wounds.

The system has resources to prevent unexpected turns, but the momentum that the protest has gathered may prove unstoppable.