I Support the \'Take Back the Land\' movement. In the midst of a crisis in affordable and low-income housing, local governments in South Florida, through corruption and bad public policy, have decreased, instead of increasing, the number of units of available housing. Instead of acting on behalf of the greater good or their constituents, government officials consistently act on behalf of wealthy developers and interests, leaving the poor to fend for themselves. After the City of Miami destroyed hundreds of low-income apartments since 1998 and refused to rebuild any of them; and after Miami-Dade County was exposed for extreme corruption in the Housing agency, neither body has been willing to create low-income housing. Fed up with corruption and bad public policy, several organizations and individuals, convened by the Center for Pan-African Development, took control of the publicly owned land on the corner of 62nd St. and NW 17th Ave. in the Liberty City section of Miami and built a shanty town to feed and house low-income and homeless people. Because the local governments have failed the people, I support: - the \'Take Back the Land\' movement as a means of providing direct support to homeless and low-income people. - the demand that city and county governments live up to their obligations to care for the poor, elderly and otherwise vulnerable members of our community. - the demand that government officials stop stealing public money, especially money intended for the poor. - the \'Leave us Alone\' demand of the shanty town. - the call for \'Hands Off\' the \'Take Back the Land\' shanty town and its residents. No attacks on the town; no attempts to bulldoze; no attempts to arrest. Further, I demand that City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez refrain from using their police forces to solve the political problems which emanate from their own unwillingness to build housing for the poor. Housing for all! Hands off the shanty town! Support \'Take Back the Land\'!

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