Message-Id: <v04011705b2ce5ca82696@[128.253.55.14]>
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 12:56:47 -0400
To: Recipient List Suppressed:;
From: Native Americas Journal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Militarization and Indigenous Peoples in Mexico
The following is an article from Native Americas, published by the Akwe:kon Press at Cornell University. For more information on how to stay informed of emerging trends that impact Native peoples throughout the western hemisphere visit our website at http://nativeamericas.aip.cornell.edu.
Militarization and Indigenous Peoples in Mexico
By Jeffrey V. Lazarus
Since the passage of the federal "Law for the Co-ordination of the
National Public Security Council" in 1995, allowing the military to
hold civilian posts, Mexico has undergone a rapid process of
militarization. The brunt of the concomitant intimidation, repression,
illegal detentions, and other human rights violations has fallen upon the
marginalized sectors of the population, especially Mexico's 9 to 10
million indigenous people. This has led to the country being named to
Amnesty International's "dirty dozen" list of human rights
violators in 1997. By Jeffrey V. Lazarus
The public reasoning for Mexico's militarization was the Jan. 1, 1994, rebellion launched by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). In the period that followed, a series of dialogues was held with the government, resulting in the February 1996 peace accords signed at San Andr�s Larrainzar.
Nearly 10 months after the signing of the accords, President Ernesto Zedillo rejected the final document prepared for passage by Congress. The EZLN has subsequently refused to change "even a comma" of the document, which has led to government accusations of intransigence. In light of this situation the government has been carrying out both a propaganda as well as a military war against the Zapatistas and their supporters. This propaganda� has included a presidential visit to Chiapas in May 1998, and a governmental ad campaign called "Reconciliation and Progress Are Possible in Chiapas."
At the summit meeting of American Heads of State in Chile, President Zedillo insisted that he would not "massacre" the EZLN. Although this promise to avoid violence has been constantly reiterated, reality tells a different story.
Since Feb. 9, 1995, 30 military compounds with over 60,000 soldiers have been established.
Unable to compete militarily, the Zapatistas have made extensive use of the Internet to spread their messages abroad and combat government propaganda campaigns. This counter-propaganda has led three commissions totaling over 425 participants to visit Chiapas and document the atrocities. During the February 1998 visit of 200 international observers, the crimes were witnessed firsthand when Jos� Tila Garc�a, a Chol Indian, was killed immediately after providing testimony to the commission.
The militarization of Mexico goes far beyond the conflict in Chiapas. It should also be seen in the light of recent political gains by opposition parties. A recently formed Mexican NGO network to combat militarization published a report in which it was documented that the majority of violent repression, including murders and beatings, are not carried out by the military but by paramilitary groups. The report points out that since 1994 the majority of victims of armed actions in a non-confrontational setting were members of the political opposition. More than 70 percent were indigenous. Of the 44 people murdered during the first two months of 1998, 33 were indigenous.
While the military officially undertakes such actions as "mobilization and control of the population and territory," this often creates the conditions for armed attacks by the more than 16 paramilitary groups operating in Chiapas. The largest group, "Peace and Justice," was awarded the equivalent of $541,000 in 1997 by the governor of Chiapas "to support agricultural activity." The human rights center, Miguel Agust�n Pro Ju�rez, has documented 40 assassinations and the displacement of 4,112 Zapatista sympathizers in the northern zone of the state by "Peace and Justice." The center further documents PRI-the ruling party in Mexico-and military involvement in the training and funding of paramilitary groups.
In addition, since 1995 the military has entered a number of civilian posts, including the takeover of numerous police functions and directorships as well as posts in the Institute to Combat Drug-trafficking. In the Iztapalapa district of Mexico City there are now 2,500 members of the armed forces carrying out police functions.
A recent presidential initiative to change the constitution to recognize some indigenous rights falls far short of the rights outlined in the San Andr�s Accords. Two indigenous autonomous municipalities in Chiapas, organized by the Zapatistas, were violently dismantled in May. In one of them, "Land and Freedom," all records were destroyed and a number of houses ransacked as dozens of non-PRI indigenous people were detained. A quote by a Chol PRI supporter in Chiapas is illuminating: "the Chols who do not support the PRI have lost their culture. Samuel Ruiz [Catholic bishop of the San Cristobal diocese] and the Catholics are manipulating them. That is why we kill them." This sad commentary exemplifies the success of governmental propaganda efforts to turn indigenous peoples against each other and promote a climate of militarization.
Native Americas Journal
Akwe:kon Press
Cornell University
300 Caldwell Hall
Ithaca, New York 14853
Tel. (607) 255-4308
Fax. (607) 255-0185
E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://nativeamericas.aip.cornell.edu
Akwe:kon Press
Cornell University
300 Caldwell Hall
Ithaca, New York 14853
Tel. (607) 255-4308
Fax. (607) 255-0185
E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://nativeamericas.aip.cornell.edu
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
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