Flavio Sosa Villavicencio (born 1964 in San Bartolo Coyotepec,

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

), is a Mexican

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and a member of the provisional collective council of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO).

Political career

Sosa, a father of three, has been a notable leader in Mexico since 2000. During the

2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...

, his organization ''Nueva Izquierda de Oaxaca'' ("the New Left of Oaxaca") supported

Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...

(now ex-President). Sosa was an activist with the

Democratic Revolution Party The Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD, es, Partido de la Revolución Democrática, ) is a social democratic political party in Mexico. The PRD originated from the Democratic Current, a political faction formed in 1986 from the Institut ...

(PRD) and the Popular Unity Party in

. Sosa also worked with the Democratic Peasants Union (UCD), which was later integrated into the PRD. Currently, Sosa is a member of the "provisional collective council" of APPO.

Role in 2006 Oaxaca protests

As a member of APPO, Sosa has been involved in the Oaxacan conflict from the beginning. On November 26, his office in the Oaxacan capital City was burned by paramilitaries and his brother Eric was detained and sent to a prison in Tamaulipas. On December 4, 2006, Sosa was arrested on charges including

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

and destruction of property. Sosa was arrested in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

along with two of his brothers Horacio and Ignacio Sosa, and Marcelino Coache. The four had traveled to Mexico's capital to speak out against government repression in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Sosa has since been moved to a prison facility in

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

. While Sosa denounces the idea of leadership within the APPO, stating "ours is a movement of the grassroots, not leaders", he has become a prominent figure within the Oaxaca protests.

Recent Solidarity Actions

On Wed. January 16, 2008 Mexican prison authorities denied U.S. farm activists the right to see Flavio Sosa in prison. The eighteen U.S. farm activists from three states - Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Maine - were in Oaxaca, Mexico from January 10–17 as part of a solidarity delegation organized by Family Farm Defenders. This incident was publicly denounced by the FFD delegation at a press conference in Oaxaca City, which received coverage in Noticias, as well as upon their return to the U.S. Sosa was released from prison on April 19, 2008 after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to continue holding him. He was not convicted of any crimes.

References

External links

Interview with Flavio Sosa

1/20/08 Press Release about U.S. farm activists being denied prison visit with Flavio Sosa

1/18/08 Noticias article on the same incident - in Spanish

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sosa, Flavio 1953 births Living people People from Oaxaca Party of the Democratic Revolution politicians

Political career

Role in 2006 Oaxaca protests

Recent Solidarity Actions

See also

References

External links