Military Violence in Polho - A young man was shot at the military checkpoint in Polho, Chenalho, Chiapas, according to his family, who held week-long protest in San Cristobal's central plaza. The family reports that the young man, who has different abilities, was walking up to the checkpoint when he became scared or confused and ran away into the cornfields. The officers then shot him twice, hitting him in the side and back with high caliber bullets. He was seriously injured and his family has little money to provide for the second operation that he requires. He and his family are stationed in the plaza, with posters and pictures denouncing the military's unnecessary violence in this case and, in their own words, the overall treatment of the indigenous as "animals." In addition, they are calling on their governments, both state and federal, to pay for all medical care the victim will need as a result of the injury and to compensate for the resulting loss of work and income for the entire family.

Trafficking of Lumber - Chiapan biologist, Afif Cholac Mansur, went public this month with results of his almost three years of investigation of corruption in the Procuraduria Federal del Medio Ambiente (PROFEPA - Federal Department of the Environment). According to Cholac, himself an employee of PROFEPA, the illegal trafficking of tropical and other lumber out of Marques de Comillas, Montes Azules and the Lacandon Jungle in general has continued unchecked by the PROFEPA, who's task it is to regulate the removal of lumber from Chiapas. He reports that missing and irregular documentation has resulted in over a million dollars of lumber that remain unaccounted for. In December of 2004, the military detained a trailer carrying lumber, only to discover greater, hidden amounts of lumber, and, blank documents from PROFEPA in the hands of the traffickers. Cholac claims that while his reports of corruption have been largely ignored within PROFEPA, the Secretary of Public Affairs has recently agreed to open an investigation. Cuarto Poder reports that "all Chiapans who have seen their natural resources removed over these last decades in plain sight of the authorities" hope that this investigation will take place in a thoroughly and promptly. www.cuarto-poder.com

Montes Azules Update - Zapatista communities Primero de Enero and San Isidro have begun their move from Montes Azules. In total, seven communities will be relocating within the next several weeks. To donate to finance these relocations, please see mexicosolidaritynetwork.org.

Street "Clean Up" - January 1^st brought about a startling change to the streets of San Cristobal. Following weeks of heavy artisan presence during the Christmas and "Zapatista" season, the newly-elected PRI city council swept the downtown area clean of street vendors, in an effort to beautify the city, according to other local salespeople. The vendors, who are largely indigenous from the municipality of Chamula, were replaced with a greater police presence.

Fox Visits Chiapas - President Vicente Fox visited Ocosingo this month and in his speech declared the EZLN was "practically a thing of the past with everyone looking towards the future." Fox´s own administration later was forced to backpedal and justify the declaration which was met with massive outcry from human rights organizations in Chiapas who issued statements to the contrary. Sipaz, an international peace organization in Chiapas wrote, "The Mexican Government manifests, once more, an inability to transform civil and political conflicts in a creative and encompassing manner, this is a sign of the accelerated crisis in which the Nation is submerged." For more information see www.sipaz.org

U.S. Declares Mexico Unsafe - On January 26, the U.S. State Department issued a warning to travelers that the recent arrests of the leaders of several criminal organizations had created a "power vacuum" in Mexico, complicated by the lack of funds for local police and a "fragile and inefficient" judicial system. The report specifically highlighted the dangerous situation created along the border by the trafficking of drugs, citing the kidnapping of 27 Americans in Nuevo Laredo as an important example.