La Opinion No.78 11/3/97 (Chiapas) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source: ciach@laneta.apc.org Centro de Informacio'n y Ana'lisis de Chiapas, A.C. (CIACH) LA OPINION BULLETIN No. 78 published by CIACH, CHIAPAS, MEXICO Centro de Informacion y Analisis de Chiapas 29 October 1997 THE CRISIS WORSENS IN THE NORTHERN AND ALTOS AREAS News of the 6th worst plunge of the Mexican stock market=20 and the worst since 1987 was insufficient to hide from=20 view the heightened conflict in the Chol (or Northern)=20 and Tzotzil (Altos) areas of Chiapas. Since last week in the Northern area, in the municipality=20 of Tila, there have again come reports of threats from=20 the "Paz y Justicia" paramilitary group. This time the=20 threats are against the estimated 45 families that have=20 deserted the group. The area has also had its share of=20 problems caused by nature: at least 140 homes were=20 damaged in Tila by the flooding of rivers, with hundreds=20 of people affected. Losses caused by heavy rains also were reported in the municipalities of Sabanilla, Salto=20 de Agua, Yajalon and Tumbala. Paramilitary groups continue to step up their activity=20 with armed agression directed against campesino=20 organizations. Concurrently in the municipality of Chilon,=20 "white guards", paid by cattle ranchers of the region,=20 attacked a group of peasants and left one child dead. In the Altos area, in the municipality of Chenalho, last=20 Saturday (25-X-97) there was a confrontation between=20 Zapatistas and PRI (Party of the Institutional Revolution)=20 members, leaving a tally of 3 wounded. Another 4 were=20 wounded on Monday and 2 on Tuesday. There have recently=20 been three ambushes by groups of PRI members, aided by=20 the Public Security Police, who have also burned homes=20 and provoked the exodus of many families. Just in the municipality of Chenalho, the figures as=20 reported in the press in the past few weeks are: 15 dead,=20 25 wounded and 200 families displaced (some say the figure=20 is 500). Both PRI members and Zapatistas have been among the casualties of these confrontations. The press reports that paramilitary groups are training=20 in the municipalities of Chenalho, San Andres and Simojovel=20 in order to confront the "rebel governments" that have been=20 established there. However conflicts have also been=20 reported in Pantelho and the municipality of Tenejapa. Low-Intensity Conflict becomes ever more apparent as the=20 autonomous and rebel municipalities gather strength. In=20 order to weaken the Indian people=92s movement, white guards,=20 paramilitary groups and the Public Security Police strengthen=20 their presence and step up offensive activity. It is therefore logical to predict that the conflict will=20 spread into the Zoque Region, given that this ethnic group=20 has announced plans to recover its territory in the=20 municipalities of Rayon, Tapalapa, Tapilula, Reforma,=20 Jitotol, Pueblo Nuevo, Solosuchiapa, Pichucalco, Amatan,=20 Juarez, Bochil and Ixtapa, where in some locales there are=20 heavily entrenched interests linked to cattle ranching and=20 the oil industry. While tensions mount in the Chol, Tzotzil and Zoque regions,=20 the Mexican army shores up new positions in the south of=20 Chiapas, i.e., close to the Aguascalientes meeting site=20 of La Realidad, by the Euseva River, with the objective of=20 finishing construction of a bridge that will link the large military camp at San Quintin, municipality of Ocosingo, and=20 the ex-Aguascalientes of Guadalupe Tepeya, municipality of=20 Las Margaritas, now occupied by the military, a route that=20 runs through the town of La Realidad (EZLN base). Construction of roads that for decades had been requested by the indigenous and campesino peoples is now being carried=20 out at breakneck speed, in order to permit the army greater=20 mobility and control over Zapatista-controled territory and=20 other "hot spots". Throughout this crisis situation, social conditions such=20 as health,education, housing, along with economic activities,=20 have worsened. The strategy of the army and the state is to=20 confront the campesino people among each other, and in this=20 context it is difficult to lend much creedence to the latest=20 statements from the army that report a drop of 50% in its presence in Chiapas. Equally difficult to fathom is how=20 the 60 million pesos (US$7.2 million) for conflict resolution=20 have been spent, according to figures from the Subsecretary=20 of the Interior Ministry for Attention to the Northern Area=20 (a state government office). Given the constant hostilities, the campesinos=92 threat to=20 arm themselves becomes ever more real, and forebodes a chaotic=20 scenario, in the not-too-distant future, of confrontations,=20 ambushes, death, and displacements of the population. Although=20 some fear to call it by its name, there is a war going on, but=20 masked as a civil conflict, where the army hides its hand, but=20 the cannon fodder is always the same: the campesinos and Indian people of Chiapas. Concerned people ask: What are the=20 possibilities and paths to a solution, reconciliation and=20 mediation of the conflict? THE EZLN=92S COMMUNIQUE This past week, the EZLN, through Subcommander Marcos, publicly=20 released a lengthy communique in which, among other points,=20 it accused the hierarchy of the Catholic Church (namely Papal=20 Nuncio Justo Mullor Garcia, and the Mexican Episcopal Conference=20 --CEM--) of being in complicity with the federal government and=20 the government=92s Commissioner of Peace, Pedro Joaquin Coldwell,=20 by meddling in the Northern area=92s conflicts, in order to=20 subvert mediation efforts therein. Reactions to the declaration came quickly. Some members of=20 the national legislature=92s COCOPA (Commission for Concordance=20 and Pacification) stated that the EZLN had bought itself for=20 free a new confrontation with the Church; some bishops and=20 members of the CEM stated that the EZLN=92s declarations were=20 out of place and very serious; the PAN (National Action Party) and some campesino organizations declared that they=20 would oppose the Catholic hierarchy=92s actions, should the=20 EZLN statement be true. Another sensitive subject touched on by the EZLN communique has=20 to do with the "anti-Zapatista" ambiance being created in=20 Chiapas, in which "the federal and state governments, the=20 army, local mass media, the reactionary Church=85and quite a=20 few members of civil society and the NGOs have not understood what is going on, and what their relationship=20 should be with the comunities in resistance." THE MUNICIPALITY OF CHENALHO IN FIGURES: Chenalho is: =B7 in tenth place in terms of the worst figures for marginalization,=20 of the 111 municipalities in Chiapas. =B7 in 66th place in terms of marginalization, of the 2,403=20 municipalities in all of Mexico. =B7 among the 10 municipalities in Chiapas with the largest=20 proportion of children who die. =B7 among the 10 municipalities with the greatest proportion of=20 population aged 15 years or under. =B7 among the 10 most densly populated municipalities (inhabitants=20 per square kilometer). =B7 among the 10 municipalities with the greatest share of the=20 population dedicated to agriculture. =B7 among the 10 municipalities with the fewest homes that use gas=20 for cooking.=20 =B7 among the 10 municipalities with most homes without=20 electricity. =B7 among the 10 municipalities with most homes without sanitary=20 plumbing. =B7 among the 10 municipalities with fewest homes with 3 or=20 more rooms. =B7 among the 10 municipalities with the highest average of=20 occupants per room. =B7 among the 10 municipalities with the greatest share of=20 non-Spanish speaking people. =B7 among the 10 municipalities with the greatest share of the=20 population, aged 5 and up, that speaks an Indian language. =B7 territory declared in rebellion by the EZLN. (Source: "Chiapas in Figures", co-edited by CIACH, English=20 language version soon to be published). By CIACH Note: We sincerely appreciate our readers=92 suggestions regarding this Bulletin. If you would like to have a map of Chiapas with its municipal=20 districts, please e-mail a request to CIACH and we will send it to you as "attached mail" in Word for Windows. We are presently revising and translating the map(s), so please bear with us. INFORMATION: CIACH is a non-governmental organization, created in 1985 with the goal of being an alternative source of training, analysis and investigation for social, campesino and indigenous organizations, NGOs, students and researchers. CIACH also has a newspaper data bank that dates from 1985 to the present, classified by topics pertinent to Chiapas. The Center also undertakes research and analysis regarding current topics in the state, it edits publications and carries out workshops on analysis and on mental health with social organizations. *********************************************************************** Dear Friends: Putting out this Bulletin on a weekly basis generates costs for CIACH. Help us ensure it will continue to reach you by sending your donation to CIACH, checking account no. 1000790-7, branch 437 of BANCOMER in San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico. If you make a deposit, please let us know the date and the amount. Thank you very much! =20 Thanks to recent donations from readers of this bulletin, we were able to cover some basic costs of publishing this bulletin, such as the telephone bill. ************************************************************************ NOTICE ON REPRODUCING THIS BULLETIN This La Opinion Bulletin may be reproduced by other means such as in Internet web pages or in printed matter, as long as the source and our e-mail address are cited. __________________________________________________________ Centro de Informacio'n y Ana'lisis de Chiapas, A.C. (CIACH) Flavio A. Paniagua 107 Barrio de Guadalupe 29230 San Cristo'bal de las Casas, Chiapas, MEXICO Tel/Fax: en Me'xico 01 967 86581 fuera de Me'xico +52 967 86581 Correo-e: ciach@laneta.apc.org ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-11.06.97-17:01:25-14066