-Caveat Lector- Message http://www.egroups.com/list/chiapas-l/?start=8563 > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1998 02:32:24 -0600 > From: Erik C. Toren <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Fw: Part 1, Mex Labor News, Dec 2 > > > MEXICAN LABOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS > December 2, 1998 > Vol. III, No. 21 > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > About Mexican Labor News and Analysis > > Mexican Labor News and Analysis is produced in collaboration > with the Authentic Labor Front (Frente Autentico del Trabajo - > FAT) of Mexico and with the United Electrical Workers (UE) of the > United States and is published the 2nd and 16th of every month. > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > IN THIS ISSUE: > *The EZLN, Chiapas and Peace - by Jess Kincaid > *The UNT's First Anniversary, Expectations Unfulfilled > *Miners Strike Cananea, Company Threatens Massive Layoff > *Debtors Group, El Barzon, Launches New Protests > *PROCESO Warns of Dangerous New Company Union, the CNT > *On AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS Still On the Rise in Mexico > *The Authentic Labor Front Newspaper "Worker Resistance," > an English language summary of the latest issue. > *Social Statistics > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > CIVIL SOCIETY - EZLN - COCOPA DIALOGUE: > THE NATIONAL REFERENDUM AND THE FUTURE OF THE PEACE PROCESS > > by Jess Kincaid > > For the first time in nearly two years, the Zapatista Army > of National Liberation (EZLN) sat down at the dialogue table the > weekend of the Nov. 20 in San Cristobal de las Casas. This time, > however, it was not to speak with representatives of Mexico's > executive branch. Top-level delegates from the rebel army met > with 3000 representatives of national 'civil society' - an > umbrella term for non-government organizations, civic groups, > unions and ordinary citizens. The EZLN delegates also met with > the Commission for Peace and Reconciliation (COCOPA), made up of > representatives of all of Mexico's major political parties > including the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). > > The separate meetings that the EZLN had with civil society > and the congressional commission touched many topics, but both > discussions revolved around one particular mission: a national > referendum regarding the COCOPA's Legislative Initiative on > Indigenous Rights and Culture. The COCOPA initiative is the > legislative body's proposal for constitutional reforms that > implement the San Andres Accords, agreements reached by the > rebels and the Zedillo administration in February 1996. > > The weekend's events confirmed that the national referendum > will be carried out, most likely sometime next spring. The rebel > army proposed sending one female and one male representative to > each of the 2500 municipalities in Mexico in order to carry out > the referendum on the COCOPA initiative. The EZLN hopes to > educate the public and rally support regarding the plan for > constitutional changes through this plebiscite. > > The COCOPA Initiative > > The COCOPA initiative has been stalled since December 1996, > when President Zedillo refused to sign it despite both parties > having agreed to accept the results of the COCOPA's legislative > interpretation as a preliminary condition for the commission's > efforts. The EZLN expressed discontent that, in its view, some > parts of the San Andres accords were not included in the > proposal, but signed it after consulting with supporters. > > After the Minister of the Interior initially accepted the > COCOPA initiative, stating that he only had to get the final go- > ahead from the president, Zedillo rejected it, making public 29 > specific problems he had with the initiative. Critics have > pointed out connections between those 29 objections and the > administration's economic interests in upholding NAFTA, trade > agreements with the European Union, structural adjustment > policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, > and the developing Multi-lateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). > > In March of this year, Zedillo introduced his own > counterproposal to the COCOPA initiative into the national > congress, which included changes consistent with earlier > objections. The unilateral proposal by the government was > immediately rejected by the EZLN and has caused many to > question the point of the dialogue process. > > Civil Society > > The Zapatistas' ability to mobilize public support was in > question after two years of suspended dialogue with the Zedillo > government, a long silence by the rebels and other national > issues such as the FOBAPROA banking scandal eclipsing Chiapas. > These doubts have been quieted, as over 3,000 representatives > from over 400 organizations met in San Cristobal, with national > participants from 28 of Mexico's 32 states and observers from at > least 15 countries. > > While institutional party (PRI) officials dismissed the > participants as not representative of Mexican civil society, many > Mexicans were impressed at the number and diversity of the people > present at the dialogue. Participation included non-government > organizations, labor unions, environmental activists, artists, > peasants, prisoners, students, gay rights activists, children, > religious activists, workers, and for the first time, large > business owners. Once again the Zapatistas served as the catalyst > to bring together a broad spectrum of Mexicans from a wide > variety of experiences. > > Three discussion tables were initially arranged by the > dialogue organizers - also from civil society - on the subjects > of the national referendum, militarization and the peace process, > and alternative economic, social, and cultural policies facing > the crisis of the state. A fourth discussion table for youth was > arranged at the last moment, including participation by local > homeless children, public school students and punk youth from > Mexico City. > > The civil society delegates discussing the referendum > approved the EZLN's proposal to send 5,000 delegates throughout > the country and to facilitate the participation of Mexicans > abroad as well. The EZLN stated that the success of civil society > in organizing the dialogue indicated their capacity to > successfully carry out the national referendum. > > The COCOPA > > After a difficult first meeting, the second encounter > between the EZLN and the 16 federal and state legislators > resulted in concrete proposals, with members of both groups > expressing positive feelings about the possibility for further > dialogue. In an environment which they later qualified as > 'cordial,' the parties exchanged proposals and agreed to respond > publicly after analyzing them. > > The COCOPA emphasized the need for a direct link between the > two parties in order to avoid having to communicate through the > media, and the EZLN delegation requested the support of the > congressional commission in the realization of the national > referendum. > > The COCOPA questioned the Zapatistas about the possibility > of reinitiating peace negotiations with the Zedillo > administration. The EZLN reiterated the five conditions which it > has maintained since September 1996 as the minimum necessary for > returning to the dialogue, including the legislation of the San > Andres Accords through the COCOPA initiative, demilitarization > and elimination of paramilitary groups in Chiapas, and the > release of Zapatista political prisoners. > > The Zapatista delegation also mentioned the need for a new > mediation body. The absence of the National Mediation Commission > (CONAI), which facilitated the first meeting between the groups > nearly two years ago, was apparent from the first day of the > dialogue. The CONAI, headed by Catholic Bishop Samuel Ruiz, was > disbanded in June of this year after Ruiz resigned stating that > the peace process needed to enter a new phase and complaining of > government attacks on the commission and the church. > > Angered by the poor working conditions provided by the > congressional commission, the Zapatista delegates issued a > communique stating that the COCOPA had broken its word and that > the treatment had racist implications. The COCOPA denied the > accusations, but made effort to attend the specific needs > identified by the EZLN. > > The absence of mediation was also evident on the final day > of the dialogue when the COCOPA attempted to deliver proposals > from the Zedillo government to the EZLN. The Zapatista > representatives refused the sealed documents, stating that they > were not in a position to receive them because they did not > recognize the congressional commission as a mediating body. > > Both groups are expected to make statements regarding the > proposals discussed during the dialogue later this month. > > Round Up > > The 29 EZLN representatives included Comandantes Tacho, > David, Zebedeo, and Leticia, as well as Major Moises, the > perennial companion of subcomandante Marcos, who did not attend > the dialogues. Among the members of the civil society delegation > were several famous Mexican personalities, including author > Carlos Monsivais, human rights activist Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, > lead singer Fher of the internationally popular Mexican rock > group Mana, and Amalia Solorzano, mother of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas. > Other participants included former members of the CONAI, faculty > members of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), > and representatives from Authentic Labor Front (FAT). > > The weekend of the talks, demonstrations in 24 U.S. cities > were coordinated by the National Commission for Democracy in > Mexico in order to support the dialogue with the Zapatistas as > well as a 5000-strong civil disobedience event at the School of > the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. > > ### > > NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS (UNT) FIRST ANNIVERSARY; > HOPES AND PROMISES STILL TO BE FULFILLED > > The National Union of Workers (UNT), the independent labor > federation, celebrated its first regular national convention, and > the first anniversary of its founding one year ago on November > 27, with a call for demonstrations and work stoppages across the > country to oppose the Mexican government's economic program and > current budget. Yet, despite its militant posture, many feel that > the new labor federation has yet to realize the expectations and > fulfill the promises of its founding convention. > > The 2,000 voting and fraternal delegates gathered in Mexico > City for the four-hour meeting declared their opposition to the > Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) government's neoliberal > economic program, to President Zedillo's administration's > economic package for the coming year, and to the government's > minimum wage proposal. > > By a hand vote, the delegates also unanimously reelected the > federation's three top leaders and vice-presidents. The union's > top officers remain: Francisco Hernandez Juarez, head of the > Mexican Telephone Workers Union (STRM); Augustin Rodriguez, > leader of the Union of Workers of the National Autonomous > University (STUNAM); and Fernando Rocha, chief of the National > Union of Workers of Social Security (SNTSS), workers of Mexican > Institute of Social Security (IMSS) the public health and > retirement system. (Fernando Rocha had already replaced Antonio > Rosado, the former head of the SNTSS, as one of the three UNT top > leaders.) > > The UNT today claims to represent 150 unions with a total of > approximately 1.5 million workers, more or less the same unions > and members it had a year ago. > > A Promise Unfulfilled > > The UNT itself recognized that it has so far failed to lead > the broad reorganization of the working class which it proposed a > year ago to inspire. The UNT Convention's basic document noted, > "A year since its birth, the UNT is now an obligatory reference > within the national panorama,...nevertheless, the federation > still needs internal consolidation, momentum in the growth of its > membership, material and human resources, as well as a forward > motion in its political profile." > > Various pundits noted that the UNT has yet to establish a > national headquarters, has not yet won inclusion in the > government's tripartite boards, and has not succeeded in getting > the congress to establish either the new salary board or the > national registry of unions and contracts that it has advocated. > But those are the least of its problems. Or rather that is the > wrong checklist. > > UNT Leader: 8 on a Scale of 10 > > Augustin Rodriguez, one of the three top leaders of the UNT, > told the press, "With regard to the objectives that we have > proposed, we should be self-critical, we have not succeeded in > make the UNT into the great fighting front for the most general > demands of the Mexican workers." That remark comes closer to the > heart of the matter. Asked how he would evaluate the UNT, > Rodriguez said, "on a scale of 10, I give it an 8." Some would > say that is a little high. > > The founding of the UNT represented an important and > progressive development in Mexico. At its founding, the UNT > brought together both formerly "official" or state-controlled > unions and independent unions in a new formation that challenged > the hegemony of the Congress of Labor (CT) and the whole > "corporative" union structure dominated by the Confederation of > Mexican Workers (CTM). Subsequently the UNT organized two massive > labor demonstrations, one on March 25 against government cut- > backs and privatization, and another on May Day, the > international labor day. > > But so far, the UNT has failed to take the lead in turning > organized labor into the leader of a broad social and political > movement to solve Mexico's deep economic and social problems. The > UNT leadership's own economic analysis points to the disastrous > economic situation in Mexico. In the last decade the number of > Mexicans living in extreme poverty rose from 20 million to 30 > million. Unemployment has rise to 25 percent of the economically > active population (PEA) or 9 million. Wages have lost 76 percent > of their purchasing power since the end of the 1970s. Half of all > workers do not participate in the public health system. > > These are the conditions that the UNT was supposedly created > to address, and which it must address if it is to fulfill the > hopes and promises of the unions and members who belong to it. > But the UNT has not yet succeeded in galvanizing new organizing, > leading significant strikes, or pushing forward a broad movement > of the working class, peasants, and the poor. The UNT has not > made itself the spearhead of a movement to organize the fastest > growing sector of the economy, the maquiladoras. Nor has it been > able to stop the growth of the new company unions with their > "protection contracts." > > At times the UNT seems to move toward the right, back toward > the government-controlled Congress of Labor (CT) and > Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM). For example, it joined > with the PRI-government federations in creating a so-called > "Workers Bloc" to negotiate changes in the Federal Labor Law > (LFT) with the government and the employers. More recently in the > state of San Luis Potosi there have been efforts to form a "Union > Bloc" of the CTM, the CROM (Regional Confederation of Mexican > Workers), and the UNT. These bureaucratic alliances so far do > little to advance worker self-organization. What is needed is not > bureaucratic blocs, but the transformation of unions into a > social movement. > Call for Work Stoppages > > The UNT's call for a broad mobilization against the > government's economic package could represent the first step in > taking a leading role in building a labor-social movement. The > UNT has raised the idea of work stoppages in all of its > workplaces. The SNTSS, the largest union of the UNT with some > 350,000 members, says that it cannot cut off services to the IMSS > cardholders who depend upon it for health care. > > But the Mexican Telephone Workers Union (STRM) and the > streetcar workers (who operate trolley-buses, light trains and > articulated buses) say that they will suspend labor for two hours > on as part of a national protest in December. This will be the > first serious attempt at national work stoppages since the early > 1980s. But it is not yet clear if the UNT's call represents the > beginning of building the new labor movement which it promised to > create one year ago. > ### > > Miners Union Strikes Cananea; > Company Responds With Threat of Massive Layoff > > Local 65 of the Miners and Metalurgical Workers Union of > Mexico (STMMRM) struck the Cananea copper mine in Cananea, Sonora > which is owned by the Compania Mexicana de Cobre on Nov. 19. When > the company announced a layoff of 135 workers, the union > responded by paralyzing the mine's operations. The strike reduces > the company's production by about 2 million tons of copper each > week, as well as reducing production of several by-products. > Sonora is the same state where a wildcat railroad workers strike > shut down one of Mexico's principal railways earlier this year. > > The company claims that a fall in copper prices forced it to > layoff the initial 135 workers. But once the strike began, the > company retaliated a week later by announcing that it was going > to permanently layoff another 2,100 workers. The town of > Cananea's 35,000 inhabitants are completely dependent upon the > mining company for their livelihood, and there are few other jobs > available in the immediate area. > > The Mexican government sent in the Army to guard the > company's machinery, and the Mayor of Cananea has invoked the > "dry law," closing all bars, cantinas and liquor stores for the > duration of the strike. So far no violence has been reported. > > State Legislature, Coalition Support Miners > > The Sonora state legislature which is divided between > representatives of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), > the National Action Party (PAN), and the Party of the Democratic > Revolution (PRD) issued a statement supporting Local 65 and the > miners. "We offer our fullest support and solidarity to the mine > workers of union Local 65 in Cananea Sonora," read the statement. > The legislature called for a peaceful solution to the conflict > without violating the workers' rights, and without layoffs if > possible. > > In addition to support from the legislature, the miners have > also had the support of the Broad Front of Social Organizations > (Frente Amplio de Organizaciones Sociales or FAOS), a coalition > of labor unions, community groups, and students. Some students > from the University of Sonora (UNISON) have also supported the > strikers, seizing buses and using them to blockade the state > capital in Hermosillo. Other students, the children of mine > workers, also protested, saying the layoffs of their parents > would also jeopardize their education. > > The miners have held several demonstrations and mass > meetings at which they asserted their determination to continue > the strike until the company rehires all of the workers whose > jobs have been threatened, both the original 135 and the other > 2,100. > > Local 65 can expect little support from its parent Miners > and Metalurgical Workers Union headed by Napoleon Gomez Sada. > Gomez Sada has usually thrown his weight to support the interest > of the state and the employers. > > Company Threats > > The company distributed a leaflet in Cananea saying that it > "has decided to put before the Federal Board of Conciliation and > Arbitration a demand to terminate the individual and collective > labor relations and the collective bargaining agreement as > prescribed by law." The company also threatened to take legal > action against those who had deprived it of the use of the mines > and its legitimate property. > > Labor Department Undersecretary Moctezuma Barragan, > considered one of the most astute figures in government, has > attempted to mediate the conflict. In addition, Archbishop Ulises > Macia Salcedo has offered to mediate the dispute. > > A Historic Mine and Union > > Cananea, one of the largest copper mines in the world, is > often referred to as the cradle of the Mexican labor movement and > of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) because of the important > strike which took place there in 1906. At that time the mine was > owned by Col. William C. Greene, "the Copper King of Cananea." > Later the Mexican government nationalized the mine and for many > years it was a state company. > > The mine was privatized in 1989 during the presidency of > Carlos Salinas de Gortari. At that time the mine was declared > bankrupt, occupied by the Army, and then sold off to its current > owner, Jorge Larrea and his Grupo Mexico. The new management then > rewrote the collective bargaining agreement, and forced Local 65 > to accept a more "flexible" contract. > > Local 65 leaders and the union's members feel they must > fight for jobs. But the union finds itself in a difficult > position. The company can take advantage of the strike lower its > production costs and get rid of its stockpiles at a time of low > prices. In order to win this fight, the company will need broader > support from throughout Mexico. > > ### > END PART 1 MEXICAN LABOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS, BE SURE TO GET PART 2 ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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