National Torch Movement

Movimiento Antorchista Nacional or Antorcha Campesina (National Torch Movement or Torch of the peasant) is a Mexican political organization whose main objective is the eradication of poverty in Mexico. It was founded in 1974 in the town of Tecomatlán, located in the poor region of the Mixteca Baja, in the state of Puebla, by a group of 40 college students and peasants led by agronomist Aquiles Córdova Morán, current Secretary General of the Movement. It has a strong national presence among the most popular sectors of the population, including students and peasants. In 2014, it has been bringing out numerous major events crosswide the country as part of the celebrations for its 40th anniversary. The most recent of these events was held at the Estadio Alfonso Lastras in the city of San Luis Potosí, with an attendance of 60,000 people. It is an independent popular movement that does not receive any resources neither by political parties by business institutions or by government agencies. So it is financed by contributions from its political members and a network of small businesses.