La Huelga del Pueblo Contra Wells Fargo

Los Comités de Defensa del Barrio Human Rights Commission

LA HUELGA DEL PUEBLO

Celebration of 4 years of Resistance Against Racial Profiling

International Divestment Campaign Against Wells Fargo and the

Private Prison Industry

Press Conference

When: Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 12PM Noon

Where: Wells Fargo Bank Downtown Phoenix - 100 W. Washington Phoenix, AZ

Contact: Salvador Reza (602) 446-9928;  Anayanse Garza (602) 487-0186

PHOENIX, AZ – In the aftermath of implementation of AZ SB1070 Section 2b in Arizona, Los Comites de Defensa del Barrio will be celebrating 4 years of resistance against the pogrom of state sanctioned persecution and human rights violations in front of the Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Phoenix at noon on Thursday, October 11^th.

In denunciation of the Human Rights violations that have become institutionalized under the regime of Maricopa County Sherriff J. Arpaio, the protest on Thursday is part of an international call to divest from the financial institutions such as Wells Fargo Bank that have been profiteering in collusion with the private prison industry and their lackeys of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).  Well Fargo Bank, a member of ALEC until this summer, was complicit and remains in partnership with the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) who along with ALEC conspired to produce AZ SB1070 as a money making scheme for the private prison industry in Arizona.  The subsequent operations of the Maricopa County Sheriff, who remains a tenant of the Wells Fargo Bank building to this day has resulted in the criminal and inhumane separation of families as racial profiling degenerated into standard police practices across Arizona under Section 2b of AZ SB1070.

Community members have sustained a daily protest in front of Wells Fargo since 2008.

The Comités de Defensa del Barrio plan to multiply their efforts by calling for an International Day of Action and Continuous Divestment from Wells Fargo on Saturday, October 13, 2012.  On that day, family members and community allies will peacefully protest outside of Wells Fargo Banks throughout Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale and invite others to do so at Wells Fargo Banks in their area.  Solidarity actions are also being organized in Mexico.

Wells Fargo has a long history of unethical practices and was involved in the notorious Bracero Program scandal of the 1950’s where the pensions of thousands of Bracero workers were “disappeared” and never recovered.

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