The following is an account from Orin Langelle who is the co-founder of GJEP, a photojournalist, and the Director of Langelle Photography.
The Battle of Seattle
Today, November 30th, marks 24 years since the historic day when more than 50,000 activists representing a wide diversity of struggles and movements converged on Seattle, Washington (US) where they successfully blockaded the city and shut down the Ministerial Meetings of the World Trade Organization. It became known as the Battle of Seattle.
NAFTA “a death sentence for the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico”
I was not in Seattle that day, I was behind rebel lines in Chiapas, Mexico leading a delegation in solidarity with the Indigenous Zapatistas, who had risen up on January 1st 1994 – the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect – calling NAFTA “a death sentence for the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico.” The uprising of the Zapatistas, which succeeded against all odds in creating an autonomous zone for Indigenous Peoples in much of Chiapas, Mexico is considered to be one of the great inspirations to the global justice movement that made its global mark on November 30, 1999 in Seattle, but went on for many more years.
“The WTO Kills Farmers”
Fast forward 4 years. I had just co-founded Global Justice Ecology Project, and one of our first actions as a new organization was to attend mass-demonstrations against the WTO in Cancún, Mexico. It was here that I shot this photo of outraged activists ripping down the security fence protecting the WTO meetings, shortly after the devastating suicide of farmer Lee Kyung-Hae atop the fence.
The talks were overshadowed by this act and the slogan, “The WTO Kills Farmers.” Ultimately, the talks collapsed. The failure of the Cancún WTO meetings was viewed as a victory for developing countries including Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and other nations.
Mass-protests rebelling against Free Trade Neoliberalism and corporate globalization continued for several more years.
Portraits of Struggle: soon to be released book by GJEP’s Orin Langelle
The above photo is part of a new photo book by Orin Langelle called “Portraits of Struggle” to be released at the end of 2023. The book includes photos from 1972 to 2023 spanning six continents. For information about ordering the book, please email anne [at] globaljusticeecology.org
GJEP 20th anniversary
This fall marks the 20th Anniversary of the founding of Global Justice Ecology Project. As part of this year-long celebration, we will be posting photos by co-founder Orin Langelle, Director of Langelle Photography,
