Oaxaca shares many similarities with its neighbor to the south, Chiapas. It is a poor state with a high indigenous population and is home to a great wealth of natural resources and biodiversity. Unfortunately, it also has a similarly high volume of violence against women and indigenous activists and leaders; in fact, Oaxaca was recently ranked number one in Mexico for human rights violations.

The Peace House Project is concerned about the situation in Oaxaca and is committed to distributing information and urgent actions through our newsletter and website. We are also working towards long-term collaboration with Oaxaca communities and progressive organizations.

Things aren’t always what they seem. The state of Oaxaca, for example, a tourist hotspot for its art, beautiful scenery, colonial architecture, breathtaking beaches and artisania, is also now leading the nation for human rights violations, poverty, femicide (murders of women), political repression and marginalization (Red Todos los Derechos para Todos, Aug 05). You wouldn’t know it strolling through the capital’s sunny streets because Oaxaca, like so many other places, is being redesigned to cater to the comfort of tourists and the investment of big business. This redesign includes infrastructure for easy traveling and movement of goods, access to the state’s natural resources, and a surface appearance of safety and lack of political turmoil. The political repression and human rights violations that indigenous peoples and campesinos face stems from opposition to neoliberal development projects, and also the current political climate Oaxaca. This article will briefly describe the context of Oaxaca and explore some of the current challenges to human rights in the state.

Oaxaca has one of the highest indigenous populations in Mexico, with 16 different ethnic groups who are the majority in many parts of the state. These indigenous groups have also maintained an historical strength and autonomy. 57% of Oaxaca’s land is indigenous communal land. An additional 16% is constituted as ejidos, which is also communal land, but is not necessarily controlled by a single same ethnic group. In Oaxaca, communities are allowed to run local governments through “usos y costumbres,” or traditional indigenous decision making processes, instead of being forced to use Western formats of elections and hierarchies. These traditional customs include communal assemblies and “cargo” systems for sharing community duties. 418 of the 570 municipalities in Oaxaca use usos y costumbres in their governing operations. Community structures and collective rights in Oaxaca are well established. This, however, does not prevent internal disputes over land rights, corruption, political parties, and violation of individual rights.

Oaxaca, like Chiapas, is also desirable for development because of its vast natural resources and strategic location. Oaxaca is ideal for development in both tourism and the industrial sector. Thousands of travelers already sunbathe on its warm beaches, hike its mountain ranges, and visit the Mayan ruins nestled in its jungles. In terms of commerce, Oaxaca is home to one of the largest ports in Mexico, and also the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a relatively narrow stretch of land between Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The Isthmus is cruical to industrial planners, who hope to construct a private dry canal to truck goods at high speeds from one coast to the other. Unfortunately, all of this development has advanced without consulting or informing the local peoples whose lives and lands are deeply affected.

Resistance efforts are strong, and all over Oaxaca grassroots organizations are fighting and succeeding in stopping dam projects, power stations, highways, shrimp farms, logging concerns, and oil prospecting. However, repression from the state government has been constant, and industrial projects are continuing to be pushed forward despite protests. For example, in San Isidro Aloapam, a Zapotec town in the Sierra Norte, the community continues a 10-year resistance movement to logging carried out by a multinational paper company that has the backing of the state government. The community of 1,300 people is still fighting for their autonomy and to conserve their communal lands despite 79 apprehension orders, 16 people arrested and 121 people displaced. Similarly, in the highly developed resort area of Huatulco, 30,000 historical inhabitants have seen their lands and beaches privatized and their families displaced to the edges of the new, tourist-centered city over the past 20 years. These residents are left to live in ramshackle neighborhoods where they have very few services or amenities, and few economic options other than working in hotels or selling trinkets.

The recent political context is not going to make matters any easier. Governor Ulysis Ruiz took office in 2005, after what many called a stolen election; he only received a slim 18% of the vote (CIPO 2005 Informe). In his first 200 days in office, human rights violations totaled 15 murders for political motives, 61 femicides, 14 assaults or thefts related to the Catholic Church, and 152 political prisoners (Report presented by Oaxaca NGOs, June 2005).

Freedom of expression is also at risk. Over the last six months the independent Oaxacan newspaper, Noticias, has nearly been run out of business by wave after wave of government sponsored thefts, raids, threats and harassment. Similarly, without any citizen consultation or approval, Ruiz has spent millions remodeling the historic zocalo, a move that has been criticized by everyone from environmentalists to historians. Now people have to get permission to use this public space, and “any kind of protest or political action is prohibited because of direct orders from the Governor and municipal president” (Declaration from Red Oaxaquena Zapatista Aug 2005). Many fear repression will get worse before it gets better, as Ruiz is a professed supporter of likely PRI presidential candidate Carlos Madrazo Pintado. Ruiz has made statements indicating that he will deliver his state to the PRI come election time. In the lead up to the July 2006 elections, violence in communities, human rights abuses and repression against progressive organizations will likely increase.

The Peace House Project is developing connections to Oaxaca-based grassroots and non-governmental organizations in order to distribute information internationally, and to eventually provide well-prepared volunteers and solidarity workers. We will continue to provide updates on this and other “hot spots” as the elections draw near.