Protesters tell Schwarzenegger: ‘Terminate foreclosures’

More than 50 people who have either lost a home through foreclosure or are facing foreclosure took a bus from Los Angeles County to Sacramento on Feb. 10. The predominantly Latino/a and majority women caravan demanded that the governor immediately respond to the foreclosure crisis by declaring a state of emergency in California.

A state-of-emergency declaration is required by the California Emergency Act whenever the safety and health of a significant number of its residents are in jeopardy, and the local and state governments are ill-equipped to deal with such a crisis.

A letter was presented to both state Assemblyperson Pedro Nava and to a staff person for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

During a packed meeting in assembly chambers, after hearing testimonies of the brutal nature of evictions due to foreclosure — with sheriffs sometimes aiming their guns at children — state Assemblyperson Nava pledged he would sign on to a demand for the governor to issue an immediate declaration of a state of emergency.

No such pledge was given from the governor to protesters lined up outside of and knocking on his office doors. After about 20 minutes, realizing protesters weren’t going anywhere in spite of a growing police presence, a staff person came out to accept the letter from protesters.

When Schwarzenegger did finally come out of his office hours later, to speak at an unrelated press conference, some of the activists who remained waiting for him quickly began chanting, “Terminate foreclosures.” Not even flexing a muscle, he turned to the chanters, grimaced and quickly fled, without even uttering “I’ll be back.”

The protest was initiated by Hermandad Mexicana Trans-Nacional, the International Action Center and Bail Out the People Movement.

— Report and photo by John Parker