AMERICA/MEXICO-March for Peace, "the authorities must not be afraid to listen to the voice of the people, " says the Bishop of Saltillo

Cuernavaca (Agenzia Fides) – The "March for peace, justice and dignity. " started May 5 in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca, in the state of Morelos. More than 150 social organizations and other leading personalities joined this march. The 85 km route starts from Cuernavaca and will reach the capital, Mexico City, with the aim to put an end to the military activities organized to fight drug dealing. Upon departure, they were about a thousand participants in this march through Mexico to put a stop to the violence that has caused about 40,000 deaths since 2006.
One of the participants of the march in the front row is Mgr.Raul Vera, bishop of the Diocese of Saltillo, 65, who has become a strong voice in defense of the miners in the north, often victims of accidents, and even abuse of "open mines" for coal mining (see Fides 05/06/2011). Mgr.Vera said that the authorities must not be afraid to listen to the voice of the people. "It has nothing to do with defending oneself, there is no reason to be afraid, " said the Bishop after the march had reached the first stage, in Coajomulco.
At the beginning of the march one of the well-known organizers, poet and writer Javier Sicilia,whose 24-year-old son was killed along with six other people by the underworld, said: "We are going to Mexico City to ask the authorities to take care of this country otherwise there will be total disaster, and to make an agreement to direct the life of this country again. We must give it a good social environment, because without this we cannot express anything in politics, civil society and democratic processes ". (EC) (Agenzia Fides 07/05/2011)