By Tracy L. Barnett
Lead photo by Gerardo Montes de Oca Valadez
A Guadalajara citizen encampment aimed at stopping a $76 million bridge construction project has packed up after a month of awareness-raising activities about sustainable urban development, from movies and plays to classes and workshops. But they’re not going away, they promise.
This video from Ciudad Para Todos is their colorful and defiant farewell to the encampment.
From Ciudad Para Todos on YouTube:
“After a month of cultural and informative activities, face to face with our fellow citizens and confronting the authorities, cold weather and annoying motorists, our encampment has moved (but it’s not going away).
“The motive: A wish to change for other (less contaminated) airs, to shift strategies, to continue the struggle on many other fronts.
“We’ll continue camping, we’ll continue showing movies, we’ll continue sowing and harvesting the future on every sidewalk that will receive us. For a city for all, for an inclusive city, for a sustainable city that guarantees a future for generations to come.”
Translations of the signs in the video:
“Let’s exchange the bridge for quality of life.”
“Let’s exchange the bridge for democracy.”
“City of humans, not of cars: Con-science!”
“Your bridge crosses me: through the Millenium Arches and under the Arcediano (Arcediano Dam: A $300 million project flagged by American Rivers as a threat to the region)
“Let’s exchange government for bicycles”
“Let’s exchange the bridge for common sense”
“SEDEUR (Secretary of Urban Development) = Secretary of Urban Despotism”
“Keep the coins, we want change”
“Let’s exchange the bridge for public space”
“The encampment has moved, it has not gone away…. to be continued!”
Read the whole story here (in Spanish)
We are looking for volunteer translators – please write to tracy@theesperanzaproject.org if you’re interested!
Tracy L. Barnett is the founding editor of The Esperanza Project. She can be reached at tracy@tracybarnettonline.com. 
