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Show Chiapas of the EZLN forces. All of this has left Chiapas in a state which-can only be described as feudalistic. Chiapas from page five region. Other peaceful demon- is the poorest state in Mexico: It ranks first in illiteracy, and second in fatalities from parasitic infections. It ranks among the top three in malnutrition (but first in food production]. - The EZLN has bombarded the Salinas government with strations reached as far north as Mexico City. More violent protest occured in the occupation of six fincas (landed estates) in the late 1970s. surrounding the Municipio del Bosque. 1,000 indígenas statements protesting his gov- occupied the fincas ernment's inaction on Chiapas' by force, killing six hacendado. Protests in Chiapas, whether ' problems. In a letter to internapeaceful or confrontational, are tional journalists dated January 13 EZLN spokesman without exception brutally supComandante Marcos acknowlpressed — either by the army, edged the revolution's political the state police forces, or las impact: “They forget that the guardias blancas (private war is not a matter of arms or armies) employed by wealthy businessmen. Methods of large number of armed men, but repression are often brutal in of politics ... the same injustices they force upon us — no roads the extreme. In the early or basic services — 1980's, indigenas occupying dis- army. The eviction came with scenes of horrific death, public beatings and public torture sys- brought with it numerous 7 dd ii il pi AN SS A Mexican army. In the aftermath of the EZLN takeover, the New York Times reported that 6 guerrilla bodies often act in concert; and the government has maintained a strong “Don't see 1t, Dont respect to las guardias blancas. In the fall ot 1979 fas guardias blancas assassinated Elipido Vásquez, the leader of a large-scale front involved in reoccúpying stolen ejidal lands, in full view of witnesses during a general assembly meeting rep" — resenting at least a dozen member municipos. newspaper hooded, beaten, and tortured by having a mixture of mineral water and chili peppers poured into his nostrils. Fighting Subsides, But Issues Proliferate The January 1st intifada was El Proceso reports that no fewer than 800 political assassinations occurred under the former governor Castellanos (now EZLN prisoner of war]. engineered to spotlight the horrendous social and economic conditions prevalent among an Chiapas indígenas. For Mexican The removal of indígenas from ejidal lands is often a pri-—ority of the federal government as well as the state's local políticos. Federal “colonization pro- jects” relocated indígenas to areas where they would be more “productive” (such as around coffee plantations in need of labor). Their land is then freed President Carlos Salinas, the attention brought to Chiapas by the rebellion has become an overwhelming cross to bear. The rebellion has embarrassed Salinas' economic reform program, since none of these economic reforms have reached Mexico's poverty-stricken areas, like Chiapas. In a speech to the Mexican congress, Salinas admitted, “We know that needs and inequalities persist ... We know that the up for development, especially by logging company's, and the states oil drilling monopoly PEMEX. This neo-colonialist practice benefits and opportunities are not yet tangible realities for of relocation have led to intense conflicts around the city of many.” Ocosingo, one of the four cities captured in the EZLN's January 1st offensive. : One natural disaster assisted this process. The March The influx of refugees heightened security concerns among Mexico's business elite in Chiapas and Mexico City. It was believed that the presence of the Guatemalans might ideologically pollute Mexico's “pacific” Indians and possibly endanger the Reforma oil fields should Chiapas become unsta- 1982 eruption of the Ixtacomitán volcano displaced some 14,000 Indígenas and destroyed 67 private fincas. The land owners were generously compensated in a sweetheart deal with the government, but the displaced indígenas were merely relocated to the Lancandon jungle near the border with the state of Tabasco. The lands there are so poor that most of the men were forced into migrant labor, and many of the women into prosti- tution. Money was appropriated by the government to assist the Indians in settling the jungle region, but most of the 2.5 million pesos allocated vanished with outgoing Governor Sabines Gutiérrez. Social anthropologists conducting research in Chiapas But Salinas has refused to back off. In a televised speech, Salinas stated that there was a difference between a peasant army and “the action of a violent, armed group,” promising that he would pardon those peasants who were supposedly duped by the rebels to join their cause. None have surrendered. - From the beginning, the Mexican government has maintained that the uprising is the product of manipulation by outside “professionals” of either El Salvadoran or Guatemalan origin, and not the act of indigeHowever, nous peasants. Mexican officials have provided no evidence to support this hypothesis. Both the government of Chiapas and the Mexican federal government have historically used the 32-year-old Guatemalan civil war as a justification for suppressing populist movements in Chiapas. In the early to mid 1980s, some 100,000 Guatemalan refugees and leftist rebels fled their these refugees of the volcano constitute the larger proportion - country for adjoining Chiapas. who witnessed the uprising say concerning the formation of anegotiation committee. statement, dated January The 13th, lays down guidelines as to who might be acceptable members of some future negotiating commission. The list of requirements effectively excludes candidates currently nominated by news ble. These concerns led to further militarization of the state: by 1987, 4,000 Mexican soldiers agencies and government repre- were Cristóbal, stationed in Chiapas and both state police forces wére placed under military control. Since the rebellion that number has jumped to 15,000. Outright cooperation between Guatemalan or El Salvadoran rebels and the EZLN is unlikely. In fact, the presence of the Guatemalan refugees worsened the natives' precarious situation. The refugees” presence helped justify the larger military garrisons, and creat-ed conflict between themselves and natives over scarce resources and jobs in the under- employed day-laborer market. In the early days of the uprising, Guatemalan government officials could not confirm the Salinas government's con- tention that the EZLN was conin Ocosingo were found with trolled by Ladinos with ties to their hands tied behind their backs with one shot through the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union (GNRU). the back of the head. A peasant leader reported that At new peace talks between the when he tried to complain at an Guatemalan government and the GNRU held in Mexico City army checkpoint, he was on January 6th, a spokesman for detained. The man was then it” policy with The Mexican alle- gations of human rights abuses, most of them implicating the tematically carried out in public park the army designated for that purpose. The army and the police investigate are being turned against them.” Human Rights Ignored The war in Chiapas has . puted fincas around Amatenago del Valle were evicted by the A MIL WINTER 1994 8 - VENCEREMOS - the GNRU officially denied any involvement with the EZLN sentatives, the exceptions being the Bishop of the Diocese of San Don Samuel Ruiz García. The Bishop (often referred to as a “liberation theologian”) has been a staunch supporter of indigeneous rights in the state for decades. The statement identifies him as acceptable because he is “a patriotic Mexican” but “not as a religious authority (because this is not a religious problem).” President Salinas arrived in the Chiapas capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez on Jan. 25 at the invitation of indígenas leaders not affiliated with the EZLN. Salinas had hoped to use this opportunity to circumvent the EZLN in formal negotiations. However, Salinas was barely allowed to geta word in edgewise. Salinas and his aides sat uncomfortably as a long series of speakers took to the podium and denounced the government's lack of responsiveness to the needs of the state highlighted by the EZLN's uprising. Speaker after speaker testified (sometimes at the top of their lungs) that the government movement in Chiapas. Social anthropologists researching in San Cristóbal observer that the must rebels are not lGuatemalan, as while he does not advocate violence, the government's harsh response to the EZLN may have government reports asserted. The ¡EFE News agenty of Madrid reported the January 12th remarks of an FEMLN take more immeditae action to avoid further bloodshed. One leader noted that finally radicalized the state's Indígenas. After it all had ended, Salinas' legal protection we can rely on” las opposed to the indigenous people of Chiapas who have no such recourse). Mercredi resolved that NAFTA will not become “another weapon for the loss of Indian land and Indian resources.” y The EZLN's Comandante Marcos has repeatedly blasted NAFTA's affect on Chiapas” indigenous people. In statements directed to LA JORNADA and EL FINANCIERO (Mexico City), Comandante Marcos says: “It seems that Mexico's powerful men are bothered by the fact that now Indians go to die in the cities and stain their streets which up til now were only littered with wrappers from imported products ... far from good consciences and tourism.” Criticizing the agreements effect upon Mexico's indigeneous people, Marcos contin- ued, “They saw them as nothing more than anthropological objects, touristic curiosities, Or part of a Jurassic Park' which fortunately would disappear with a Free Trade Agreement which didn't include them except as disposable elements.” NAFTA tears down many tariff walls which will make it impossible for Chiapas” agricul- tural industry to compete against cheap imports from the US. Under the agreement, many of Chiapas” indígenas acasillados (Indian farmwork- ers) will be forced into migrant labor, working either Mexico City's barrios or along the U.S. border (flooding the already large pool of unskilled migrant laborers). - The vacated land would go to wealthy ranchers and plantation owners, who already pay wages denied that it has any link to the EZLN. Referring to the deferring to local solutions, adding only, “We think their well below Mexico's legal minimum. This renewed debate is extremely embarrassing for Mexican President Salinas who has dedicated his entire tenure recent uprising, the spokesman said: “[The events] are strictly internal problems of the of Mexican state.” The EZLN itself has consistently denied any ties to other Central American guerrilla movements. Despite the lack of evidence indicating overt cooperation between the EZLN and outside insurgents, the displaced Guatemalan rebels remain a likely source for the numerous assault weapons and army demands are just.” to gaining world-wide recogni- (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) spokesman 'in Mexico City. The spokesman for the former guerrilla group fatigues eyewitnesses say were used by EZLN forces. The linking of outside rebels and the EZLN is viewed as a political ploy by President Carlos Salinas. By characterizing the uprising as the work of outside insurgents, Salinas seeks to de-legitimize the grievances of the Indian campesinos. Salinas's efforts are further hampered because the EZLN has effectively dropped out of sight [except for the barrage of communiqués it still manages to smuggle out of its hidden base somewhere in the eastern jungles of Chiapas). This has complicated the process of beginning settlement talks since representatives of the Clandestine Indigenous Revolutionary Committee — General Command (CIRC-GC] of the EZLN cannot be directly contacted. : The CIRC-GC of the EZLN has issued a statement (obtained by VENCEREMOS) response remained within the rigid parameters dictated by his government's strict policy NAFTA Debate Revived NAFTA has generated widespread opposition in Mexico since it was first pro-posed. The EZLN uprising has renewed debate over the treaty. This renewed protest surround- ing NAFTA emphasizes the trade agreement's affect on Mexico's rural and indigenous peoples. A spokesman for the Catholic diocese in Chiapas, Monsignor Ramón Godines Flórez, criticizes the NAFTA text, and has called for a review of the agreement because it was negotiated “behind the backs” of Mexico's peasants and Indians “who knew nothing about it.” Bertha Lujan of the Mexican Action Network on Free Trade (RMALC) characterized NAFTA this way: “The current government has attempted to replace our ... project of change with a tion for Mexico as a prosperous democracy. : Further, new allegations have emerged which accuse the Salinas government of covering up reports from the city of Ocosingo that campesinos were arming as early as March of 1993. An anonymous source close to the President told the New York Times that the Salinas administration actively suppressed reports of the coming violence to help insure NAFTASs passage. The New York Times also quoted a man in Ocosingo after the town was retaken who said he had witnessed the state's police force in Ocosingo triple its size only days before the EZLN's January 1st occupation. The man said it was because of rumors that “there would an act of aggression by some Indians.” Staunch NAFTA opponent Representative Robert Torricelli project” that would leave (D-NJ) told the New York impoverished groups only - Times that he intends to hold “Selective acts of charity.” hearings before the six month Ovide Mercredi, the National Chief of Canada's Assembly of review period stipulated in NAFTA ends. He believes that the First Nations (AFN), said transnational foreign exchange the situation would be the Mexico must first be held Indians in Mexico, the same could occur in Canada,” but at responsible for the alleged human rights abuses in Chiapas before becoming economic partners with the United States. VENCEREMOS will continue to keep you apprised of the still explosive situation in Chiapas. Look for further information in least our next issue. ¡Viva la raza! same as “the Canadian government saying that Indian reservations can be sold without the consent of the Indian people.” Mercredi stated, “If NAFTA has such a negative influence on Indians in Canada “have |
