On Tuesday, Jan. 20, over 1,000 protesters marched throughout the chilly morning from Santa Fe Plaza to the New Mexico State Capitol on the opening day of this year’s legislative session and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s State of the State address.
The march was organized by Youth United for Climate Crisis Action and sponsored by 25 organizations, including University of New Mexico Leaders for Environmental Action and Foresight, New Mexico No False Solutions Coalition, New Energy Economy and Tewa Women United, according to a YUCCA press release.
The protest was part of the “We Got Us” mass mobilization that aimed to “put forward a people-centered vision for the future, show up for one another in the face of systemic failure and make our movements’ collective power impossible to ignore,” the press release reads.
Protesters held space in front of the capitol entrance where speakers demanded local lawmakers take action on a range of issues including climate, immigration and plans by some state leaders to allow for the construction of AI data centers in New Mexico.
Some of the signs used during the march read “We can’t drink data,” and “The wrong ice is melting,” referring to the drought and climate crises seen globally and in New Mexico.
Local musicians from Swiftbird Drum, an Indigenous drum group, sang and performed a drum circle during and after the march.
Zain Dixon, one of the protest organizers, said he wanted legislators to hear the protester’s demands, including climate action, stopping “false solutions” to climate change and to “stop taking money from oil and gas.”
“I’m feeling extremely enraged,” Dixon said. “I don’t know what the perfect word is, but I’m feeling very ready for action, ready for change and I’m really feeling strengthened by the community that showed up.”
Dixon said he was happy to see the large number of young people at the protest.
“They were the loudest,” Dixon said. “They’re the ones who can get their voice across. It’s up to us to make sure that our youth, I guess myself included, but our youth need to have their voices heard.”
Inside the Roundhouse, Lujan Grisham delivered her State of the State address, where she laid out the agenda for her final legislative session as governor.
Some of Lujan Grisham’s top priorities include increased funding for universal child care, investing in “future-forward technology,” codifying a climate action plan that would “cut climate pollution by 45% by 2030 and have net zero emissions by 2050” and addressing juvenile crime, she said during her address.
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“Why don’t we have pretrial detention like the federal model that keeps suspects charged with violent crimes behind bars while they await trial?” Lujan Grisham said. “Less folks who are out there, less recruitment of our young mid-school boys and engaging them in criminal activity, and it’s not just boys, let me be clear. It’s boys now, and girls. (Juvenile crime) is a real issue and an epidemic.”
Feleecia Guillen, New Mexico Fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies within the Climate Policy Program and recent UNM alum, said she “couldn’t miss the mass mobilization for the opening of the legislative session.”
“There’s so many young people here, they’re missing school to be here,” Guillen said. “It’s a point in time where we’re not going to be sitting at home doom scrolling. People want to be activated, and that was exactly the vibe here.”
Chili Yazzie, who is Diné from Shiprock, Navajo Nation, was one of several speakers who spoke in front of the Roundhouse entrance.
“The exploitation that is being done to our Earth Mother is perpetrated by the government of this country, it’s perpetrated by extractive energy, the empire of extraction,” Yazzie said.
Community organizer Jonathan Juárez, from the Pueblo of Laguna, was one of the organizers of “We Got Us,” and spoke outside the Roundhouse.
“Let’s be clear about something today on the start of the legislative session: incremental reform is not justice, greenwashed false solutions are not climate action, civilian police oversight boards are not safety and ceasefire statements without accountability is not peace,” Juárez said. “We are not here to trade one form of harm for another, we are here to confront the system that has given rise to fascism, to militarized borders, criminalized poverty, environmental collapse and mass death normalized through policy.”
Kitty Barkley attended the protest because her organization, Third Act, was one of many sponsors of the event.
“I’m really pleased at the turnout, specifically of young folks and how articulate their speeches were in framing the issues that we’re facing,” Barkley said. “I’ve been really depressed and this made me hopeful coming out today.”
Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
