From: John Clancy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY DECEMBER 22-31, 2000 Contents: 1. Army withdraws from Amador Hernández, Chiapas 2. 16 Zapatista prisoners released; Cerro Hueco to be shut down 3. San Andrés Accords "in the hands of Congress," says Fox 4. Tabasco elections annulled; PRI-controlled legislature will select interim governor 1. ARMY WITHDRAWS FROM AMADOR HERNANDEZ, CHIAPAS On December 22 the federal army withdrew from its base in the jungle village of Amador Hernández, Chiapas, handing the 3.5-hectare occupied zone into the care of Governor Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía. Salazar then returned the land to the Zapatista villagers who had maintained a permanent protest and sit-in against the occupation for 515 consecutive days. Amador Hernández was first occupied by the federal army in August 1999, and just three months ago the occupied zone was officially expropriated by then-president Ernesto Zedillo in order to be used as a permanent training facility for counterinsurgency troops. The expropriation decree was annulled through joint agreement between the army and President Fox shortly before the community was demilitarized. The full withdrawal of federal forces from Amador Hernández is the first measure of government compliance with the conditions set by the rebel Zapatista Army (EZLN) for restarting negotiations with the government. The remaining conditions are the definitive demilitarization of army positions in or near the communities of Guadalupe Tepeyac, Oventic, La Realidad, Roberto Barrios, La Garrucha, and Moisés Gandhi; the liberation of all Zapatista political prisoners; and congressional approval of the COCOPA proposal for implementation of the San Andrés Accords. The withdrawal "ceremony" on December 22 was attended not only by Governor Salazar, but also by members of the congressional Commission on Concordance and Pacification (COCOPA) and by representatives of President Fox, including peace commissioner Luis H. Alvarez, all of whom hailed the removal of federal troops from the village as a "step toward peace" and as the "correction of an injury" committed against the local inhabitants by the previous government. The EZLN, for its part, also saluted the full military withdrawal from Amador Hernández. In a communiqué published on December 24 and signed by Subcomandante Marcos, the rebels suggested that "this withdrawal from one of the seven positions demanded by the EZLN is a positive signal and a first and important step on the path towards reinitiating the dialogue process." "What remains," continued Marcos, "are the six other positions, the liberation of the prisoners, and the constitutional recognition of indigenous rights and culture." The EZLN further called on "civil society" to mobilize itself in support of the remaining demands so as to be able to begin negotiations with the new government as soon as possible. 2. SIXTEEN ZAPATISTA PRISONERS RELEASED; CERRO HUECO SLATED FOR CLOSURE On December 30, Chiapas governor Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía freed the first sixteen of 103 Zapatista prisoners in Chiapas, "as another gesture towards peace." Salazar also announced that the Cerro Hueco state prison, where most jailed Zapatistas are held, is "a symbol of disgrace" and will soon be closed permanently, "remaining only as part of a past we do not wish to remember." "Today," said Salazar as the first sixteen Zapatistas walked free with suspended sentences, "we make a significant step towards peace and we comply with the second or third demand of the EZLN. We celebrate the participation of civil society in this effort." At the same event, Salazar also lashed out at the state legislators of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), who hold a majority in the state legislature, for their attempts to block the liberation of the Zapatista prisoners. According to state Attorney General Mariano Herrán Salvatti, six other Zapatista prisoners will be released in the first week of January, followed by another 24 shortly thereafter. The cases of the remaining fifty-seven Zapatista prisoners in Chiapas, meanwhile, are still under review, though the state government is expected to eventually free them all under the statutory provision of suspended sentences. Two other Zapatista prisoners remained jailed in the states of Tabasco and Querétaro, meanwhile, and so far no move has been taken by the state or federal governments to free them. 3. SAN ANDRES ACCORDS "IN THE HANDS OF CONGRESS": FOX In his weekly radio address on December 23, President Vicente Fox suggested that he had "done his part" with respect to the Chiapas conflict by partially demilitarizing parts of Chiapas and by presenting the COCOPA proposal (for implementation of the San Andrés Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture) to Congress two weeks ago. With respect to the latter, Fox added that the issue "is now in the hands of the deputies and senators" who will decide whether or not to approve the proposal. Fox backtracked on this statement a few days later, insisting he has not washed his hands of the COCOPA proposal and in fact planned to "defend it and argue in favor of it." Nevertheless, it appears that the road to approval of the COCOPA initiative may be a long and torturous one. Fox�s own National Action Party (PAN) this week, through the voice of its national chairman, Luis Felipe Bravo Mena, insisted that the only possible way to achieve a definitive peace in Chiapas is to "fuse" the COCOPA proposal with a separate indigenous rights proposal drafted by the PAN (and which has been rejected by virtually everyone except the PAN deputies and senators themselves). The COCOPA proposal was drafted by a congressional commission in 1996, through contact with both the federal government and the EZLN, as a compromise proposal for constitutional implementation of the San Andrés Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture (signed in February 1996 but never implemented). The Zapatista demand for implementation of the San Andrés Accords specifically means congressional approval of the COCOPA proposal in its original, unmodified form. Without PAN support of the proposal, however, this is unlikely to happen. The COCOPA proposal also needs support from the PRI party, which also has been lukewarm, at best, to the idea. PRI senator Manuel Bartlett suggested this week that there is no way the Senate will approve the COCOPA initiative without serious modifications. He also said the legislators "do not have all the necessary information" about the proposal with which to make educated voting decisions, and said a "national consultation" or plebiscite may be necessary before a vote is taken on the proposal. When reminded that the San Andrés Accords were themselves the results of several months of negotiations and consultations, that the COCOPA proposal itself was the result of negotiations between the two sides with respect to how to implement the Accords, and that a national plebiscite on the COCOPA proposal was already held in 1999, Bartlett responded by saying it was "interesting." 4. TABASCO ELECTIONS ANNULLED; PRI-CONTROLLED LEGISLATURE WILL NAME INTERIM GOVERNOR In a surprise move, the supreme Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) on December 29 overturned the results of the October 15 gubernatorial elections in Tabasco. By a four-to-two vote, the judges declared that "the government of the state of Tabasco was not neutral in the election of the governor, which implies that the exercise of free suffrage was possibly impaired." The judges concurred with claims that state-sponsored fraud was evident at all levels of the electoral process, "affecting the principles of legality, certainty, impartiality, and independence." The ruling was immediately hailed by the opposition PRI and PAN parties, but rejected as "illegal" by outgoing Tabasco governor Roberto Madrazo, and "unacceptable" by national PRI president Dulce María Sauri. The official results of the election had granted victory to PRI candidate Manuel Andrade Díaz with a difference of just 8,000 votes over rival Raúl Ojeda Zubieta, of the PRD. Both the PRD and the PAN (which finished a distant third) challenged the results, insisting that the state government of Roberto Madrazo had intervened illegally in the electoral process, not only using state resources to support Andrade but actually altering the final vote count from hundreds of polling stations. The ruling of the TEPJF marks the first time that the tribunal has actually thrown out an entire statewide election. The court declared that "there is no governor-elect" in Tabasco, and left the decision to the state congress � controlled by the PRI � to name an interim governor until such time as new elections can be held. Under normal circumstances, the new elections would have to be held within a six-month period. However, the Tabasco legislature rebelled on December 30 and in a fifteen-minute session approved reforms to the state constitution allowing interim governors to rule for up to eighteen months � thus permitting the PRI legislators to name a PRI interim governor to rule for more than a year before new elections would be called. The sudden constitutional reform was classified as a "constitutional coup d�état" by the PRD as well as by anti-Madrazo dissidents from within the PRI. The PRI legislators, meanwhile, are expected to select an interim governor from among the party ranks on January 1, 2001. ______________________________________________________________ SOURCES: Milenio Semanal, La Jornada, Milenio, Proceso. This report is a product of the Mexico Solidarity Network. Redistribution is authorized and encouraged provided that the source is cited. Comments: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This and previous news updates are archived at: http://www.mexicosolidarity.org " JC ********* from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subject:Mexico News Summary Jan 1-7 Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: "Mexico Solidarity Network" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Mexico News Summary Jan 1-7, 2001 Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY JANUARY 1-7, 2001 Contents: 1. EZLN celebrates anniversary of uprising; Army conducts simultaneous withdrawals, fortifications of positions 2. Fox criticized on Chiapas strategy by PAN legislators; military opinions call for isolation, de-legitimization of Marcos 3. Chaos in Tabasco: old, new legislatures name different interim governors 4. Briefs 1. EZLN CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY OF UPRISING; ARMY FORTIFIES POSITIONS IN ROBERTO BARRIOS, CUXULJÁ The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) celebrated the seventh anniversary of its uprising on New Year's Day with a mass rally of rebels and sympathizers in the "Aguascalientes" of Oventic, a Zapatista stronghold in the highlands north of San Cristóbal de las Casas. During the celebrations, Comandante David read a rebel communiqué in which the Zapatistas recognized that the military withdrawal from the community of Amador Hernández on December 22 was "a positive signal" from the government. However, the Tzotzil commander reminded President Fox and "civil society" that the remaining "good faith" preconditions which the EZLN says must be met before negotiations can begin � the withdrawal of the Army from its positions at Roberto Barrios, Guadalupe Tepeyac, La Garrucha, Cuxuljá (Moisés Gandhi), Jolnachoj (San Andrés), and Río Euseba (La Realidad); liberation of all the Zapatista political prisoners in Chiapas, Tabasco, and Querétaro; and congressional approval of the unmodified COCOPA initiative for constitutional implementation of the San Andrés Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture � remain unfulfilled (although the Army did withdraw from Jolnachoj shortly before David read the statement, a fact acknowledged in a separate communiqué). David further called on national and international "civil society" to pressure the Mexican government to honor the above demands, and to accompany the Zapatista commanders when they travel to Mexico City next month to try to convince Congress to accept the COCOPA initiative. In a series of additional communiqués dated on January 1 and 3 and signed by Subcomandante Marcos, the rebel spokesperson again reiterated the request for compliance with the EZLN's three "good faith" demands, which "really are nothing but three answers to another three questions," he said: "Is the government to commit itself to the path of dialogue and negotiation? If so, than it should demilitarize seven locations. Does the government recognize the Zapatistas as a partner in the process of dialogue and negotiation? If so, then it should not treat us as criminals. Is the government prepared to recognize the indigenous peoples as Mexicans and as indigenous? If so, then it should be spelled out in the Constitution." The EZLN also announced the creation of a "Zapatista Information Center," under the care of human rights activist Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, to serve as a "communications bridge" between "civil society" and the EZLN, specifically for information relating to the upcoming journey of the Zapatista leadership to Mexico City. For those interested in putting themselves in contact with the Center, the address is the following: Avenida Ignacio Allende No. 22-A Barrio San Antonio San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México (52-67) 82-159 and (52-67) 82-373 Meanwhile, on December 31, the Mexican federal army withdrew completely from its base in Jolnachoj, located in the highlands municipality of San Andrés Larráinzar. The withdrawal, ordered by President Fox, occurred just hours after hundreds of Zapatista supporters held a protest at the base against the military presence in the municipality. Of the remaining five positions whose demilitarization is demanded by the EZLN, it was initially rumored by sources within the federal army itself that troops were preparing full withdrawals from La Garrucha, Cuxuljá, Río Euseba, and Roberto Barrios this week. However, it appears that the base at Cuxuljá (near the community of Moisés Gandhi) received an influx of 200 new soldiers this week, while in Roberto Barrios the General in command told the press that his orders were "to stay here, hold out, and not withdraw." The barbed-wire fence around the encampment at Roberto Barrios was also reinforced on January 1, and additional troops were said to have arrived there as well. Military checkpoints, supposedly dismantled as of December 1, have also reappeared on public thoroughfares in several key regions of the conflict zone, including Roberto Barrios (Palenque) and Amparo Aguatinta (Ocosingo). 2. FOX CRITICIZED ON CHIAPAS STRATEGY Hardline criticisms of President Vicente Fox's handling of the Chiapas situation have begun to surface more frequently in recent days. While PRI legislators and governors have already meted out their share of attacks on Fox's apparent policy of engagement with the rebels, the president has also now begun to take the heat from members of his own party, National Action (PAN). Fox was publicly criticized this week by PAN deputy Carlos Raymundo Toledo � a member of the COCOPA � for "giving in too much to an intransigent Zapatista Army." Toledo then called on the government to "harden" its position against the rebels and said Fox "should establish new demands to force the armed group to restart negotiations." Peace Commissioner Luis H. Alvarez, for his part, apparently refuses to recognize recent Zapatista communiqués � establishing a set of clear, specific, preconditions for dialogue, and recognizing government moves on those conditions when such occur - as "concrete responses" to the current government policy in Chiapas. Alvarez told the press that while the EZLN "still has not given a concrete response" to the measures taken by the Fox administration in Chiapas, he hoped that "someday" negotiations could be restarted. Alvarez also backtracked on earlier declarations, now saying that the government has made no move to guarantee the security of the Zapatista delegation, including Subcomandante Marcos, which will travel to Mexico City in February. Meanwhile, excerpts from a report drafted in late November by a number of active Mexican Army generals regarding a suggested political and military strategy in Chiapas for then president-elect Fox has been made public through the efforts of MILENIO journalist Carlos Marín. (It should be noted here that while Marín published the excerpts as "a detailed plan of action of the federal government," he explicitly stated that the suggestions made in the document were personal opinions of the unnamed generals who authored them; the document should thus not necessarily be construed as a position paper of the Mexican Defense Department.) The suggestions in the document, titled "Chiapas 2000," are of a much more political nature than a military one. The generals suggest that peace in Chiapas should be achieved through dialogue and negotiation with the EZLN, that the "conflict zone" should be demilitarized as soon as possible, and that the San Andrés Accords signed between the rebels and the government in 1996 should "be implemented immediately," with the exception of those elements of the agreement which "go against the interests of the Federation, such as the parts which refer to the ownership of the minerals and petroleum which is found underground in Chiapas." The generals also suggest a need for ending the practices of corrupt political operatives in Chiapas and upgrading the Chiapas economy from "colonial" to "sustainable." Furthermore, they note, for peace and reconciliation to take hold in the state, it will be necessary to fully investigate and prosecute all massacres and political assassinations committed in Chiapas, and to take measures to strengthen "civil society." If these points sound similar to Zapatista demands, it is not a coincidence: the report suggests beating the insurgency by "taking away their banners." However, the document also suggests simultaneous moves to de-legitimize and isolate the EZLN, in part through the aforementioned policies, and in part through a massive informational campaign to "expose the true image" of the rebels as an armed group of delinquents involved in organized crime, and of Subcomandante Marcos as a criminal who, "shielding himself in the demands of the indigenous peoples," has become "immensely rich" through criminal activities. The generals' plan further entails setting up a communications policy "similar to that of the EZLN," utilizing the internet and the international press in order to counteract the "almost absolute domination of positions favorable to the EZLN" in the sphere of international public opinion, while restricting access of all foreign observers to the conflict zone and engaging in a smear campaign against prominent Zapatista allies in Chiapas, including priests of the Diocese of San Cristóbal, over their alleged sexual orientation. 3. CHAOS IN TABASCO: TWO INTERIM GOVERNORS NAMED Tabasco drifted into political chaos this week just days after a federal electoral tribunal annulled the results of that state's gubernatorial elections. PRI candidate and official winner Manuel Andrade was to take office on January 1; but the decision of the tribunal to throw out his election on account of fraud, but without naming another victor, left the decision to the state legislature to appoint an interim governor to rule until such time as new elections could be held. The PRI-controlled lame-duck legislature, meeting in special session the last few days of December, first decided to write a constitutional amendment allowing the new interim (and thus un-elected) governor to rule for eighteen months, rather than six. It then, on December 31, named PRI federal deputy Enrique Priego Oropeza as Tabasco's new governor. On January 1, however, a new legislature took office. Their first act � after most PRI legislators walked out following a fistfight between PRD and PRI members � was to declare that Priego Oropeza, as a federal deputy who had not actually been granted leave from the Federal Congress in order to assume another political post, was therefore constitutionally ineligible to become interim governor. The legislature thus named Adán Augusto López Hernández, state secretary-general of the PRI, as the true interim governor, at which time the PRI legislators returned in order to involve themselves in yet another fistfight on the floor of the legislature. Priego Oropeza, meanwhile, backed by former governor Roberto Madrazo and by the national PRI leadership, refused to step down � even though the candidate named to replace him is a fellow state PRI leader and is said to be his best friend. Since then, negotiations between the two sides have all but broken down, and a very odd political showdown seems to be approaching between two PRI interim governors: one backed by the national PRI as well as by most of the state party, and who has received tacit but tentative recognition from President Fox; and the other, who before January 1 was the state leader of the party which committed the electoral fraud against the opposition (PRD, PAN, PT), and is now strongly backed by the PRD, PAN, and PT as the "real" interim governor. The PRD, meanwhile, as has become customary in such cases, announced it is suing Priego Oropeza and ex-governor Madrazo, and called for a mega-demonstration to be held in Villahermosa on January 7. 4. BRIEFS - In the latest turn of events in the three-month long dispute between the PRI and the PRD for control over the local government of Zinacantán, in the Chiapas highlands, hundreds of PRD sympathizers, two of whom were armed and wore ski-masks, stormed the municipal presidency building on January 3, demanding the ouster of official PRI mayor Andrés Sánchez Pérez, whom they accuse of corruption. The demonstrators locked all the doors to the building with chains and demanded that the state legislature create a plural interim municipal council. The locks and chains to the building were removed without incident moments later by authorities, although the demonstrators warned they would "return as many times as is necessary." The state PRD, meanwhile, issued a statement disavowing any participation in the events, and demanded an investigation. - On the 86th anniversary of the Agrarian Reform law, president Vicente Fox Quesada declared that the measure "has fulfilled its function," that "the objectives today in the countryside are very different," and that "all legal proceedings currently in progress" on land redistribution "should be terminated." Fox added that the country�s goals for the rural sector are "to make every ejido plot a productive, high-income unit" with individual ownership, such that each campesino will be "free to sell his parcel, rent it out, or use it in some other fashion." ______________________________________________________________ SOURCES: La Jornada, Milenio, El Universal, Proceso, Milenio Semanal. This report is a product of the Mexico Solidarity Network. Redistribution is authorized and encouraged provided that the source is cited. 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