Drug War Victims and Mexican Opinion Leaders to Launch 10-City Speaking Tour Global Exchange
go to original October 16, 2013

The Voices of the Victims North American Tour will reprise some of the themes and tactics of the 2012 Caravan for Peace (aggressively engage the debate in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada on how to best resolve the drug war crisis in our three neighboring countries, specifically as it relates to the horrible violence in Mexico and mass incarceration in the North), but in a much more focused and trimly scaled mobilization.

It will again bring Javier Sicilia, along with drug war victims and Mexican opinion leaders on a 10-city tour in the United States and Canada from October 22-Nov 16. The tour will re-activate and energize the Caravan coalition, build on recent policy momentum, and harmonize the Mexican voice with the calls for drug policy reform across the hemisphere.

Since the Caravan ended in September, its core issues - from guns and immigration to drug policy - have been politically dynamic. Immigration reform legislation is now being seriously debated in US Congress for the first time in six years. Gun safety legislation has stalled after a major effort, but will likely come back to the fore. And importantly, citizens in Colorado and Washington voted to regulate marijuana. The effects of these victories are seismic for reform in Mexico. But Mexico is not alone. The discussion about potential alternatives to the current drug policy regime has gone from quiet whispers to more assertive calls for action in many countries across the hemisphere.

The Voices of the Victims North American Tour will visit:
 
Denver, CO Oct. 23-25
Seattle, WA Oct. 26
Vancouver, BC Oct. 27
SF Bay Area Oct. 30
Tucson, AZ Nov. 1-2
Toronto, ON Nov. 4
Ottawa, ON Nov. 5
Chicago, IL Nov. 6-7
Los Angeles, CA Nov. 8-10
Washington, DC Nov. 12-13
Jackson, MS Nov. 15

Organized once again by Global Exchange in collaboration with the Mexican Movement for Peace with Justice & Dignity, key cosponsors of the tour include FOR, Drug Policy Alliance, ACLU, Alliance for Global Justice, and more.

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