It \r\nwas a hot Thursday afternoon, and nobody really thought about solemnities as a \r\ndeclaration of independence. A group of about 600 indigenous people from \r\nthirteen communities on the banks of the Paragua River subdued a group of \r\nsoldiers, who were armed, but far outnumbered: they were just 22 members. It had \r\nbeen a month since the soldiers had evicted nearly 3,000 miners who were \r\nillegally exploiting the vein from the site, the Toron\u00f3 gold mine. But after \r\ntheir pyrrhic triumph, the troops had left their vigilance and patrolling duties \r\nto dedicate themselves, with rolled up trousers and mining boots, to using for \r\ntheir own benefit the hydraulic pumps that the intruders left \r\nabandoned.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
Turned \r\nby greed in miners, it was easy to reduce the Army's troops, members of the \r\n507th Battalion of Special Forces. The natives, superior in number and \r\ndetermination, surprised them sunk in the mud to their knees and with the \r\nmotor-pumps on. They were disarmed and tied up. Only the group's commanding \r\nofficer, a Lieutenant Gutierrez, and a soldier, managed to escape the \r\nattack.<\/p>\n\n\n
At \r\ndawn the next day, a helicopter brought Colonel Cortez to negotiate at the site. \r\nPresident Hugo Ch\u00e1vez himself sent him to address the situation. At least, \r\nthat's what he said. In any case, his authority was not only derived from the \r\nalleged commission. One meter, 80 centimeters tall, corpulent, gray-haired, with \r\na deep voice, upholstered with badges and decorations, he pronounced words with \r\nmartial rigor. Cortez sought the release of the military, almost demanded it. \r\nThe staging was designed to intimidate.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
Having \r\ncrossed the line, however, the natives did not intend to let things get out of \r\nhand. They were organized in groups. One took care of guarding the perimeter, \r\nplacing watchmen in different points. Another oversaw writing documents. With \r\ncommon sense they realized that they did not know how to negotiate hostages or \r\nanything else against the coercion of the State. They called some colleagues in \r\nthe touristic Gran Sabana, who did have experience in those \r\nconflicts.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
At \r\nthat time Alexis Romero was many kilometers away. He was in his Pem\u00f3n community, \r\nMaurak, located 17 kilometers from the town of Santa Elena de Uair\u00e9n in the \r\nmunicipality of Gran Sabana, in southeastern Bol\u00edvar state, near the border with \r\nBrazil. But he was quick to answer the call. He arrived at the place on the \r\nafternoon of the same day as Ch\u00e1vez's envoy. Romero, who had extensive \r\nexperience in the indigenous community movement and studies abroad, led the \r\nnegotiation with the military, which would last four days.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
Thus, \r\non October 27, 2011 and the following days, it was inadvertently triggered the \r\nsequence of events that would originate the community of Musukpa and its virtual \r\nindependence from the Venezuelan State. Four years later, its inhabitants \r\nexploit the Toron\u00f3 mine on their own and according to rules defined by \r\nthemselves. They collect taxes to cover health and education expenses. And, \r\nunder the simultaneous and asymmetric siege of fortune hunters and the structure \r\nof the State, they organize security rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n
It \r\nis winter - in Venezuela, the rainy season from May to December - and the still \r\npristine basin of the Paragua River, boasts its enormous and powerful flow. The \r\nthick vegetation covers the boat when it leaves the river to penetrate the \r\nalmost imperceptible Musukpa creek, the entrance to the indigenous \r\ncommunity.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
Musukpa \r\nmeans \"shrimp\" in the Pem\u00f3n language. The name of the waterway involves a \r\ncertain nostalgia. It seems that these animals once were abundant in this \r\nfluvial corner of the northwest of the state of Bol\u00edvar that, together with \r\nAmazonas, make up the rich Guayana region, the southern half of the territory of \r\nVenezuela, south and east of the Orinoco River. More than civilization, the \r\nmining activities were responsible for annihilating the \r\nshrimps.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n
A \r\nposter carved in wood and tied to a tree announces the arrival to the community \r\nof Musukpa. At first glance, there is an extensive portion of deforested land. \r\nWide sandbanks, impossible to cover at a single glance, cover the area. Long \r\nhoses run on top of them, climbing on rudimentary platforms built with logs and \r\npieces of wood. The hoses are connected to machines that, with asthmatic effort, \r\nspit out muddy water on carpets in poor condition that retain the material \r\nremoved by suction.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t