Student Reflections: Alfredo Bautista Juárez
The following is a Q&A with Alfredo Bautista Juárez, who participated in the course ‘Global Risks: Biodiversity, Security and Governance in Latin America’ at Stanford’s Center for Latin American Studies during the summer of 2017. His comments have been translated from Spanish.
My name is Alfredo Bautista Juárez, I am from the Tuxtla community belonging to the municipality of Zapotitlán de Méndez, Puebla. I am currently studying the fifth semester of the Law Degree with Intercultural Approach (DEI), at the Intercultural University of the State of Puebla (UIEP). I am native member of the Tutunakú indigenous culture. In my community, I have distinguished myself for being a defender of Human Rights, as I consider that my indigenous brothers are in a disadvantageous situation. In addition to being an oral interpreter in indigenous language to Spanish, and vice versa — a useful tool in the field of procurement and administration of justice — I am also a social activist that defends our communal lands against the companies that want to take over our community’s means of subsistence. I was raised as a farmer in Tuxtla, and as the cornfields grew so did my eagerness to study, which I why I decided to be a future Bilingual Lawyer and defender of our customary and indigenous rights.
How/why did you became involved in the Global Risk course?
The way by which I got involved with the course relates to the personal life of my indigenous brothers and my greatest desire to realize the development of my community, Tuxtla. In my community, I have participated, shoulder to shoulder, in activities such as: labor, stewardship, and in the diffusion of our indigenous rights. My voice is not a cry, if not just a whisper of the denouncement of the demands of my land! I became involved with the course because I wanted to learn the perspective of how we were perceived, the indigenous communities, outside of the Mexican state on issues such as: security, crime and governance — in addition to identifying the effects and real risks that we communities face to reach social and economic development, as well as public policies that have been implemented to combat crime and violence; likewise, the relationship that exists between different types of government, what has been the process of communication and progress to combat challenges and construct a pacific government, and what have been the effects it has had will less favored people.
What was your final presentation about?
My final presentation is about conducting a study of the community police regarding whether they are actually having positive results in their implementation or if it’s necessary to return to the previous control of the municipal police. We will return to the Cherán Case of the State of Michoacán, the first autonomous municipality to be governed by its customs, to compare ideas or positions among police and community members through means of two surveys that were conducted, with both sectors focused on the study and thus know and generate ideas of whether people are satisfied by the management they currently have or if they consider that the previous system was better. After obtaining the information, and comparing it through graphical representations, we analyze in what areas the police are well rated, and in what areas they are failing and how they could improve; using the final conclusions as a base, take the information and implement public policy that will help other municipal heads not only in the State of Michoacán, but also other states of the Mexico, using Cherán as an example.
What were some of your favorite parts of this experience?
The interaction, discussion, opinions and ways of generating ideas and concerns among peers who come from different cultures and from those who grew away from them. The distinction in how we cataloged ourselves as human beings and as a western and cultural society, as well as knowing and having classes with high quality professors who have had a very close interaction between all sectors of the population and know very thoroughly about the problems that are present in them. Also, the fact of meeting new friends and places; the willingness to generate environments of knowledge and that shared classes are from real studies with proven information.
How has this course deepened your understanding of these issues?
In general, it has been a process of radical change, a transformation in the information granted by the students and a comparison between community and Western knowledge. Based on this, I will pick up good points to implement in my community. Having learned about the mechanisms and opportunities that indigenous communities have, it will be a pleasure to share all the information with my community and other indigenous communities. There are mechanisms conventions and public policies that have been implemented and that have had positive results and that we are not alone!
How has this experience impacted you personally, or academically?
It has motivated me to continue fighting in defense of my people, as there are always setbacks or patterns, but if well founded and studied you can pick up ideas from other sectors to apply to the areas that eventually need it. In addition, in has given me an impulse to learn and establish alliances and interact directly with other indigenous people, and thus generate an intercultural dialogue. Also, being better equipped to link civil organizations and communities to make them standardize international mechanisms.
Anything else you’d like to add?
To thank you for the opportunity and for the time invested in the classes, the willingness to resolve doubts and encourage us to continue in the field of study and never forget our culture. Also, continue to do this great work with young Mexicans and that their desire and activism in the world of education never decline. Generate more agents of change that will serve your culture and nation. Thank you …
Jkamaxkiyan akgtum tlanka tapakachipit, nititalaktuwayatit, ki naku jkalipaxkatsiniyan. A big greeting on my behalf, to continue forward, from the bottom of my heart thank you very much.
Next: Margarita Tirado Bautista →
The ‘Global Risks’ course is a joint effort between Stanford’s Center for Latin American Studies, Mexico’s Autonomous Institute of Technology (ITAM), Mexico’s National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutions (ANUIES), and the U.S. Embassy to Mexico.
