Article written by Simon Walker
In this month's newsbriefs:
The PAN party calls for the modification and/or elimination of COCOPA - the Commision for Concord and Pacification in Chiapas; Mexican Border Patrol issues a "maximum alert" to immigrants attempting to cross into the US; EZLN announces the conclusion of the relocation and consolidation of a dozen communities in the Montes Azules region of Chiapas; Paramilitary group "Paz y Justicia" is active again in Chiapas' northern zone; and the OPDDI, an organization with ties to the PRI party and paramilitary groups campaings against Zapatista communities around Ocosingo.
PAN Demands Elimination of COCOPA
Mexico's National Action Party (PAN) demanded the conversion and possible elimination of COCOPA (the Commission of Concord and Pacification) and the Coordination for Dialogue between the government and the EZLN. Victor Méndez Sarmiento, Chiapas Director of the PAN, claimed in a press conference in mid July, soon after the EZLN made public its new revolutionary plans, that these groups have only served as a political springboard for certain individuals.
The PAN leader maintains that COCOPA, the Commission for Dialogue, and COSEVER (the Commission of Monitoring and Verification) in many cases do not even come close to fulfilling the purposes for which they were created. "The members of COCOPA, for example, have proceeded in the manner they wanted, and the organization has only served as a publicity platform for many politicians. Many of its members have played a damaging role, and used the spotlight of the organization for self-serving actions that were outside of the very peace process," Méndez Sarmiento accused.
As these groups have viewed with tranquility the position the EZLN has expressed in the Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona, Méndez Sarmiento feels they have exceeded their mandate are no longer fit to coordinate the peace process in the state.
The PANista was slightly more benevolent when speaking of fellow party member Luis H. Álvarez, who is head of the Coordination for Dialogue. Méndez Sarmiento said Álvarez had and continues to have good intentions, and is above any personal political aspirations, even though the party recognizes that he has not been successful in carrying out his duties.
With these factors in mind, the PAN leader proposed that the state and federal governments formulate a new plan of action in relation to the EZLN and its new campaign.
COCOPA, the Commission for Dialogue, and COSEVER were established during the San Andrés peace talks in order to monitor and facilitate the peace process in Chiapas.
Source: La Foja Coleta, San Cristóbal de las Casas. lafojacoleta@yahoo.com.mx
Mexican Border Patrol Issues Maximum Alert for Immigrants
Salvador Zamora, Border Patrol spokesperson, announced that, as of July 19, 314 Mexicans have died this year while attempting to cross to the United States through Arizona. The number of dead will almost certainly surpass last year's toll of 330 by the close of the fiscal year on September 30, 2005.
As temperatures in the so-called corridor of death reach 110 degrees, Zamora issued a "maximum alert," urging Mexican immigrants to refrain from crossing the border, as extreme conditions and dehydration have already claimed hundreds of lives. The spokesperson stated that there is great difficulty in rescuing sick and injured migrants during months of August, September and October, due to climactic factors, and the flood of undocumented migrants attempting to cross.
He insisted that it is important the Mexico's Beta Group (Mexico’s immigrant safety and search and rescue team) participate in the struggle against the trafficking of undocumented persons, and that the Border Security Initiative and Voluntary Repatriation programs continue with their efforts. Zamora admitted, though, that a broad public campaign highlighting the risks of crossing the border is crucial.
According to the spokesperson, the trafficking of undocumented persons is now so widespread that it is more profitable than drug trafficking. Zamora singled out polleros as culpable in the deaths of so many migrants. These individuals charge large sums of money to guide immigrants across the border, often abandoning them in the middle of the desert with no food or water. Still, despite the dangers and warnings, many Mexicans decide to attempt to cross.
Source: La Jornada http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/jul05/050719/013n1pol.php
Relocation of Zapatista Communities in Montes Azules Concluded
The relocation and regrouping of several Zapatista communities in the south of the Montes Azules region of Chiapas was recently completed. The process terminated on June 18, one day before the EZLN declared itself in red alert, but was announced on July 19 by the officials of the caracol La Realidad.
The process was initiated on October 25, 2004, and since then, a dozen smaller communities have been reformed into only three: Agua María, Nuevo San Isidro, and Nuevo Limar. This last community is located within the confines of the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. Individuals and civil society organizations sent economic support to aid the relocation efforts.
The Good Governing Junta of La Realidad released information regarding the distribution and uses of the funds received. "To this date 327,738 pesos have been spent. This supported lodgings, schools, health facilities, and the transportation of the compañeros and their belongings," reported a member of the Junta. The funds helped build houses, latrines, and kitchens for 228 community members in the three locations.
"We would like to thank civil society, which has given us more support than we had hoped for," he continued. "There were national and international donations, some deposited in the bank, but many directly submitted here and even in other caracoles."
The Junta received a total of 810,673.50 pesos, the report informed. The remainder of the funds will be used to continue supporting the communities: "We are able to continue meeting the needs of these compañeros, who will soon need more food and supplies," stated the official.
In 2004, state and federal government officials threatened to forcefully remove the inhabitants of several Zapatista communities within Montes Azules. The EZLN decided late last year to relocate theses small communities and consolidate them so that the families living there could better protect themselves. Some of the families living in these towns have been Zapatista supporters for more over 18 years.
Sources: La Jornada http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/jul05/050720/010n1pol.php
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/feb05/050214/016n1pol.php
Paramilitary Group "Paz y Justicia" Active Again in Northern Chiapas
Community members in and around the autonomous municipality of La Paz report the presence of unidentified uniformed men who are supposedly performing military training maneuvers. The men, who pass through the area in dark blue uniforms, are part of a campesino group linked to the PRI-led municipal government of Tumbalá and also the paramilitary group “Paz y Justicia” (Peace and Justice).
Tumbalá is located in the Chol region in northern Chiapas. Paramilitary groups were active in there since 1996, but they had supposedly disbanded. With this resurgence of activity, some communities are feeling more threatened than ever.
“Resistance here is almost clandestine,” stated one indigenous community member, who asked to remain anonymous. “These people threaten the compañeros who resist paying for electricity or participating in government programs. They are favored by the commissioners and judges, the businessmen, the livestock farmers and the transportation union. They are all part of Paz y Justicia.”
Most of the current paramilitary activity is taking place between the Federal military base at Xanil and the municipal seat in Tumbalá. This is one of the few military bases constructed during Vicente Fox’s presidency, and its presence is seen as an important factor in the change or relations between indigenous peoples in the area.
The PRI party, the leading political force in the area, requires everyone to participate in various government programs (Oportunidades, Procampo, Procede) and also “ecotourism” projects. Those who oppose these projects are “marked,” and threatened with being expelled from the community and having their houses burned. However, it is rumored that the PRIistas actually want to annex the lands of those who oppose them in order to raise more livestock, though they officially speak of converting the territory into “Federally controlled ecological reserves.”
In fact, there are already “ecotourism” projects underway in Venustiano Carranza and Cuctiepá, despite strong indigenous opposition. Due to the renewed paramilitary activity, this opposition is becoming much more difficult. In this region, to be in resistance, and what’s more, to be Zapatista, is a crime, and can put one in grave danger.
Source: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/jul05/050722/012n1pol.php
Groups with Links to Paramilitaries Campaign Against Zapatistas
The canyons of Ocosingo are currently seeing the reactivation of the Organization for the Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights (OPDDIC, by its initials in Spanish), a PRIista organization with past involvement in paramilitary activities in the conflict zone in Chiapas. In exercizing its right to promote party politics, OPDDIC visits communities and imposes its presence at meetings of non-PRIista organizations, such as ARIC Independiente (the Rural Association of Collective Interest), the Union of Unions, and other groups pertaining to the Catholic diocese and parish of Ocosingo.
According to various anonymous testimonials from the region surrounding Ocosingo, OPDDIC confronts members of other organizations and offers the campesinos a “better solution” to their demands and projects.
OPDDIC is openly anti-Zapatista, proclaiming that they will defend local communities from the autonomous governments. Members of OPDDIC recently offered protection to contractors working to install power lines through a Zapatista community in the rebel municipality of San Manuel, located in the canyon of Las Tazas area. Zapatistas are opposed to public works projects within autonomous territories, at least without the approval of community members. As such, the OPDDIC members were ostensibly protecting the workers and the project from the Zapatistas.
PRIistas in other areas, especially Miguel Hidalgo and Zapata, have “protected” other public works projects. Local residents in San Manuel consider these actions part of a “plan to pressure the communities,” a plan that includes threats of kidnapping and violent expulsion. A recent OPDDIC meeting/party near Zapata virtually closed down the road through the community for two days. The Tzeltal campesinos of Zapata referred to the act as a “paramilitary roadblock.”
OPDDIC is also growing in Altamirano and the northern region of Chiapas, where, in Tumbalá and Sabanilla, the group has an apparent alliance with Paz y Justicia.
In the weeks prior to the Zapatista red alert, in the northern municipality of Chilón, PRIistas and ex-PRDistas threatened to dismantle the autonomous municipality of Olga Isabel, using arguments similar to those OPDDIC used against San Manuel. When the red alert was lifted, a vehicle carrying six Federal Investigation Agency officers attempted to enter Olga Isabel to “patrol” the community. The indigenous residents turned the car back.
The reformulation of PRIistas in Chilón has sparked the revival of the Chinchulines of Bachajón. The influence of those who call themselves followers of PRI politician Roberto Madrazo extend into the northern zone, and they appear to be establishing links to the old Chinchulines, Paz y Justicia, and the defunct paramilitary group Mira.
