about swop...organizing for effective change

SWOP is a statewide multi-racial, multi-issue, community based membership organization. Since 1980 we have worked to make it possible for thousands of New Mexicans to begin to have a place and voice in social, economic and environmental decisions that affect our lives. Our mission is "working to empower our communities to realize racial and gender equality and social and economic justice." Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Click here to learn about our staff.

A Community Organization Working For Progressive Solutions

Development in New Mexico is heavily influenced by outside forces that exercise great political control in the State. Since the 1840s, extraction type industries--mining, cattle ranching, timber, nuclear weapons development and now "high tech" electronics--have exploited our natural, labor and economic resources. For many years the federal government played a dominant role in defining the parameters for development and political participation here. Multinational corporations increasingly play this role in the present age of globalization, NAFTA and GATT. People of color have paid the greatest price for this history. New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the Union and people of color are the majority. This majority includes Chicanos (indigenous Mexicans), Native Americans, Mexican immigrants and smaller African American and Asian/Pacific Islander populations.

People of color in New Mexico have resisted this historical domination by outside interests and have strong traditions of advocating for equitable control over public resources and for political power. For 20 years, the SouthWest Organizing Project has mounted a continuous effort to organize affected people for social justice and control over resources. SWOP has played a major leadership role in efforts to level the playing field through greater inclusion of working people in the decisions that affect their lives.

We reach our objectives by educating, organizing, and developing leadership in our communities to meet the challenges we face.

• Community Participation in Decision Making.SWOP acts as a vehicle for those directly affected by the decisions of governments, developers, and corporations to have a greater voice in the process.
• Environmental Justice. SWOP defines our environment as where we live, where we work, and where we play. SWOP works to assure a safe environment in both the community and the workplace, and to increase community participation in decisions on the use of water and other precious natural resources.
• Economic Justice. We have the right to live, work and raise our children in our communities, and to have an equal voice in decisions on industrial siting and employment issues. SWOP works to promote sustainable development and to assure that businesses and industries that promise jobs for New Mexicans follow through with their commitments.
• Public Participation. Elected officials listen to communities that are registered to vote and informed about the issues. SWOP non-partisan voter registration, education, and get-out-the-vote campaigns have registered over 32,000 New Mexicans, and increased turnout in targeted areas.

Lasting change comes from, and is based on, empowering and educating our communities. SWOP strives to assure that our community leaders, at all levels of society, take on such challenges to guarantee that positive and progressive change may occur.

What You Can Do...

You can help to strengthen our communities by being a SWOP Member and Sustainer. Your participation empowers our organization by helping us to grow. Know that your support goes to something in which you believe and which will be alive and well in the future. You can be an important part of an organization working to Take Back New Mexico!