Movements Against Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart, the biggest chain of hypermarkets in America, came to colonize Mexico in the last decade. Since then, they have become the biggest chain in Mexico also, taking over the cities as if no context was around.

This is the Wal-Mart from my neighborhood in Guadalajara. The scale from the 1970's grid is interrupted by the cluster of Wal-mart, Sam's Club, Costco (Price Club), Megamercado and the recently finished Plaza Galerías (shopping centre).



During the political situation of Mexico, the leftist movement organised a campaign against Wal-mart and all big american enterprises that find shelter in Mexico. Yesterday there were manifestations where they took over one of these hyperstores in a protest against americanization. Here some videos:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUvP5wqh4ec



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hVKcpPb4s8

ANARCHITECTURE

A concept first proposed By Gordon Matta-Clark in 1970's, anarchitecture was retaken by architect Lebbeus Woods as a political act and manifesto. It has been used since then often by architects to oppose the capitalist architecture which is commodified by consumerism.

Last weekend there was a camp dealing with that. Luckily, the exhibition remains open one more month!

Camp for Oppositional Architecture 2006 >Theorizing Architectural Resistance >
10 - 11 November
Exhibition: 10 November - 10 December

A project by An Architektur, Berlin

The small part of the built environment that is subject to planning at all is almost completely controlled by the claims of capitalist utilization: globalized markets and cultures ask for commodified spaces, nation states and corporations require spectacular architectures for representative purposes, the multitude of consumer subjects demands room for individualized privacy. What's left to do? Join the Camp for Oppositional Architecture!

Lectures by: >Tatjana Schneider + Jeremy Till (Sheffield), Alexander Levi + Amanda Schachter (Madrid), Maria Theodorou (Athens), Miguel Robles-Duran >(Rotterdam), Craig Buckley (New York), Ole W. Fischer (Zurich), BAVO >(Rotterdam), Elisabeth Blum (Zurich), Markus Miessen (London).

The camp is accompanied by an exhibition, which will be on show at Casco from 10 November - 10 December 2006. The venue is Expodium, Boven Vredenburg 27, 3511 DL, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

www.cascoprojects.org
www.oppositionalarchitecture.com
www.anarchitektur.com