An Inclusive and Tolerant Government in Chiapas Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ............................................................... source - amanecer@aa.net Sat Jul 17 01:46:04 1999 Originally published in Spanish by La Jornada, Friday, July 16, 1999 Translated by irlandesa ************************** A Multitudinous Reception for Pablo Salazar in Tenejapa, He Posits an Inclusive and Tolerant Government Andrea Becerril Tenejapa, Chaiapas. July 15, 1999. Peace in Chiapas will only be achieved through a great electoral political alliance, that can win the Governorship from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). That party has already demonstrated it does not want to find a solution to the conflict that arose five and a half years ago. Nor is it in favor of indigenous rights, warned Independent Senator Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia, in this municipality where, despite being governed by PRI's, he was given a massive reception, and, in accordance with uses and customs, treated as an authority. In front of thousands of tzotzils who reside in Tenejapa, and of representatives from other ethnic groups located in Los Altos - who were receiving an opposition politician for the first time in their history - Salazar Mendiguchia emphasized that neither the conscience, nor the hearts, of the indigenous belong to the PRI, as the PRI would like to believe. After receiving the ceremonial staff from the hands of the traditional mayors - and in a speech simultaneously translated into tzotzil - he committed himself to heading a government that would do away with the great historic debt that is has with the chiapaneco indigenous; to establishing a new relationship with the Indian peoples that respects their autonomy, that takes their proposals into account and that focuses on increasing attention to their problems. This town, - where poverty and the difficult conditions in which the indigenous are living cannot be concealed - brought together no fewer than 6000 tzotziles, and tzeltales, from nearby San Juan Chamula, from Zinacantan, Huixtan and other communities of Los Altos. They applauded Salazar's proposal to participate in an inclusive and tolerant government program, with an ombudsman who would guarantee respect for the rights of the indigenous. The reception was truly without precedent. Despite attempts made days before to have the act boycotted, from before 11 AM - the hour set for the rally - the town had already filled with indigenous, many who had come from nearby areas, who followed Salazar Mendiguchia from the entrance to Tenejapa to the platform where the meeting was held. Previously, in accordance with tradition, the independent senator was dressed in the traditional chuj of black wool and the hat with multicolored ribbons used by tzotzil indigenous authorities, in whose company he travelled through the red mud streets to the grandstand. There, Salazar received demonstrations of support from indigenous women artisans, in the voice of Catalaina Lopez Perez, as well as from Christian organizations of Zinacantan, from representatives of San Juan Chamula and San Cristobal de Las Casas. In his turn, he expressed the emotions he felt at that moment, because, he said, it is the first time they had let enter "a man who aspires to govern, but not under the letters of the PRI." He then spoke of the outbreak of the indigenous rebellion "and the prolongation of a conflict that - beyond the official rhetoric they would like to make us believe - has we chiapanecos, primarily the indigenous, plunged into a permanent condition of confrontation and social polarization." I beleve the moment has come, he added, for "all of us to take into our own hands the direction of the government of Chiapas," and to understand that peace in the state "is not just a problem of solidarity, or of giving evidence of a political position, but it is rather a matter that has to do with the self-determination of the people, it is a matter of popular sovereignty." Then, directing himself to the former president of the PRI in Tenejapa, Pedro Hernandez, who was acting as translator to tzotzil, he said to him: "Please, emphasize that I want to make this very clear: in order to achieve peace in Chiapas, it is necessary that you and we, that this great electoral political alliance, win the governorship in the year 2000 elections." The PRI does not want, nor does it seek, to build peace in Chiapas, and that "is said by someone who was in the PRI, who experienced the negotiations of San Miguel and of San Andres Larrainzar, from the inside." "A third conclusion I drew is that the PRI is not in favor of indigenous rights. At the negotiating tables, they haggled for everything they could, in the government offices, they avoided commitments, and in the Congress of the Union, they failed at their word. The San Andres Accords and the Cocopa proposal are one more debt the PRI and its government has with the indigenous communities and peoples." The results of those actions, he added, have been terrible, since "the federal government's policies of drawing out the negotiations, in order to tire their adversaries, has done nothing other than to prolong the indigenous suffering, through hunger, illness and violence." That, he said, was one of the reasons he decided to leave the PRI. He then proposed to them that they join the electoral coalition for which he had been working over the last few months. No single political force by itself can govern Chiapas. Not even the PRI, which, in the last 22 years, has had 11 governments, one very two years, and, since the 1994 elections, the total of opposition votes had exceeded it, he said. He then asked for the authorization of the indigenous to propose the 10 points of the government program he aspires to build, along with the indigenous peoples. That program is focused on recognizing chiapaneco cultural diversity, coexistence with respect for difefrences, advocating the fulfillment of the San Andres Accords, revising state legislation and undertaking a growing process of attention to the problems of the Indian peoples. In that regard, he emphasized that there is just one office in charge of indigenous problems, and he proposes to do away with it, so that the entire administration will be in charge of it. Or, rather, to replace the duties of the Department of Indigenous Affairs, with an office of ombudsman of public policies. That human rights body would be made up of indigenous, with a technical secretary that can issue recommendations, channel demands and supervise government commitments and actions. Framed by the imposing mountains that encircle the community, Salazar Mendiguchia proposed to the indigenous that they analyze, enrich and take his proposals to Consulta. He also invited them to participate on October 12 in a State Convention on the Rights of the Indian Peoples - that will be held in San Cristobal de Las Casas - and whose results will provide the basis and support for the chiapaneco government of the new millenium that he seeks to head. Following the rally, the candidate ate in Tenejapa and held working meetings with indigenous representatives. ================================================================= 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-07.17.99-08:55:07-4270