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Mexican Activist Argues In Fresno For Migrant Rights

Kerry Klein/KVPR
Father Alejandro Solalinde, right, speaks at Fresno State along with Nestora Salgada, a former political prisoner in Mexico, and their translator.

A prominent migrant rights activist from Mexico spoke at Fresno State on Monday with insight into why Latin Americans flee and what can be done about it.

Father Alejandro Solalinde is a Catholic Priest from Central Mexico. He’s known for his dogged advocacy for the rights of Latin American migrants, who commonly suffer harassment, abuse and rape on their journey to the United States. He runs a shelter in the state of Oaxaca for migrants and was exiled from the country for two years following death threats.

Credit Kerry Klein/KVPR
Fresno Councilmember Esmeralda Soria presents Solalinde with a certificate of appreciation from the city of Fresno.

At a talk at Fresno State on Monday, he said spoke about the need to address the core reasons why people flee Latin America, which he refers to as “the south.”

“The solution is not that the south come to the north," says Solalinde in Spanish. "The solution is reconstruction of the south.”

That reconstruction, he says, includes better education, less government corruption, and more adherence to church teachings.

Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.
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