As state legislators convened at the Capitol to open the legislative session, hundreds of protesters gathered for the We Got Us rally, organized by Youth United for Climate Crisis Action, or YUCCA. YUCCA is led by youth aged 14 to 25 who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Protesters yelled call-and-response political chants and waved signs decrying ICE enforcement as they marched from the Plaza to the Capitol.
Before the march, YUCCA organizers Jonathan Juarez and Zoey Craft addressed the crowd. Juarez spoke directly to the New Mexico state government's role in the climate crisis.
"Our governor can say that she is a leader on climate, but we know that that is not true," Juarez said "Because New Mexico continues to be one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the world."
Juarez said that New Mexico would no longer serve as a "resource colony," noting the extraction of uranium, oil and gas, and the use of water for cooling AI data centers.
Craft explained the connections between the climate crisis and other forms of injustice.
“And our work is rooted in an understanding that the climate crisis is not happening in isolation," Craft said. "It's inseparable from the systems of extraction, of imperialism, of colonialism and of militarization that have harmed our communities for generations.”
YUCCA organizers utilized volunteer medics and a volunteer de-escalation team. The National Lawyers Guild was onsite to provide volunteer legal observers. Savannah Hoover of Albuquerque was part of that team.
"Our role as legal observers is to ensure that anyone who is trying to utilize their First Amendment rights are allowed to do so without police or law enforcement interference," Hoover said. "That can mean anywhere from our local sheriff's offices to federal agencies as well, such as ice or Border and Customs patrol.”
Hoover said she went to law school later in life after pursuing a career in journalism.
"I became a lawyer to have a voice and get more skills in my toolkit to fight this war against fascism,” Hoover said.
Hoover said that every New Mexican deserves to feel safe while exercising their First Amendment rights.
The march through the Santa Fe streets was led a group of Indigenous men singing and drumming. Hundreds followed behind with banners and signs. At the Capitol, Craft and other speakers laid out the goals of the march.
"We are demanding real climate action that matches the scale of this crisis," Craft said. "We need real climate leadership to advance a just transition away from extractive industry, reject green washed false solutions and invest in bold climate action led by frontline communities, not polluters and their allies in positions of power."
Craft also called for the abolition of ICE and demanded state legislators invest in housing, health care, education and economic justice.
Another speaker announced that starting Monday, YUCCA will hold weekly virtual meetings to connect and strategize.
