Karolina Caicedo Flórez | Itinerant Radio / Alba South

Tourism in Chiapas has become part of the strategy of big business and the government to break the resistance of the Zapatista communities in rebellion, and facilitate their dispossession from their territories.

Hermann Bellinghausen was born in 1953 in Mexico City. He studied medicine, but currently works as a journalist and writer. He is a correspondent in Chiapas for the newspaper La Jornada, where he writes about the Zapatista struggle and the aggressions suffered by these communities, and about political prisoners and megaprojects in the State. He is also director of the monthly supplement Ojarasca, which covers literature, art and indigenous struggles. He has directed films like ‘Corazón del tiempo’, about the Zapatista struggle. One of his most outstanding pieces of journalism was his reporting on the Acteal massacre. From his deep knowledge of the Chiapas reality, we spoke about the increasing development of tourism in the State and its various implications.

Karolina Caicedo Flórez: What have been the most common strategies of the Mexican government for developing tourist projects in Chiapas?

Hermann Bellinghausen: The first problem for the state, when they want to develop tourist projects, or any type of abusive use of space, is the dispossession of the lands. All the major resorts of Mexico started with dispossession. This is how Huatulco was made. And here it is the same. Chiapas has become popular as a tourist attraction because it has the most striking natural areas in Mexico; it is a place where water is plentiful, full of incredible rivers, landscapes, waterfalls, and great natural wealth. It is on these places where government pressure focuses to develop tourist projects. Furthermore, in the case of  Chiapas, the tourism hook is guaranteed because there is an attractive indigenous culture, there are handicrafts, countryside …. But in Chiapas [tourism] is the spearhead for something else, the real goal in Chiapas is not tourism, but the alienation of territory.

The problem is that these projects have met with the obstacle of the autonomous communities, in total resistance, or simply with organized communities. These have prevented the construction of the road to Palenque, an ambitious highway project which runs through all the traditional territory of the Tzeltal people.

Today the government of Chiapas has a deliberate policy of fostering tourism because it is a source of foreign currency earnings, but I think that this has a limit, there is a finite size for tourism. But if the result is that people lose control of their land, and this meansmaking way for mining, for hydroelectric schemes, for highways, now that is nothing to do with tourism.

Tourist projects are sold as being financially attractive for the inhabitants of these places, and they are told that they will have a job, they will receive income, but what we know is that they become employees or servants of tourism. They go from being the masters of their land to being bartenders, waiters, or slaves; once the owners of the area but now just employees in a place that once was theirs.

Figure 1 Palenque, photo by Javier Hidalgo

Of course the government carries out projects which apparently benefit people, cooperatives are created such as Agua Azul for example, or Las Guacamayas in the Lacandón Jungle, where it has been possible to have the luxury of making an indigenous group the beneficiaries. They do not even need an outside company, if the interest is greater than that, it can allow for a privileged group to become the beneficiaries of the business directly.

The most obvious case is that of Agua Azul. They have a cooperative, an ecotourist ejido, which is a very rare phenomenon, I don’t know of another. In Agua Azul the population has benefited greatly, they are wealthy, and doing well. But they are counterinsurgents, because they are surrounded by the conflict taking place in Chiapas, and they are the allies of the government against the other communities. We see it in the case of San Sebastián Bachajón, Bolom Ajaw, and other communities around the waterfalls, who are all Zapatistas. There are others which are not spoken of: San Miguel Agua Azul, and Nuevo Progreso, who are Zapatistas and who are also on the river. There the fight has been to strip the Zapatista communities of their land, and, in order to do this, to make use of the groups that are benefiting from tourism projects, who are receiving government programmes and are having visits from tourists, charging them, and receiving foreign currency.

What are the models of tourism development which have driven the Chiapas government?

They have established spa resorts in different parts of the jungle, such as Las Nubes, but they are subsidized; even Las Guacamayas, which seems to be the most successful, relies on the support of the government. Las Guacamayas is a very attractive hotel in a wonderful  spot across from the Montes Azules, next to the River Lacantún. It is like a hotel with walkways, all made of wood, like those used for adventure tourism in other parts of the continent, but subsidized by the government. Whenever television personalities visit, they take them to these places. And of course Agua Azul, because it is on the road between Palenque and San Cristobal, which is already a tourist route, and so has guarded against any claim of the indigenous peoples to exploit Agua Azul.

Now, in the Agua Azul area, a large river basin, what they want to do is to build hydroelectric schemes and dams. The Agua Azul river is just one, but there is also the Turijá river, the Bascal river, all these rivers are in the basin of the Grijalva river. And there is also the Usumacinta river basin, which is in the jungle. They have also spoken of building hydro schemes there, but these have not yet happened, which is why I think the most threatened sites are the ones near Agua Azul and Palenque, because there they have progressed with the highway and construction projects.

Coca Cola is very keen to have the water, as they were under previous governments, especially the government of Fox which was the government of Coca Cola, of which he was the director. They have great interest in the river basin. There is a lot of water in Huixtán and Coca Cola has concessions on it. Another case is Huitepec, the hill of water; Coca Cola is at the foot of Huitepec. So it happens that water is the tourist attraction, but that is only the hook for the real plans.

Chiapas is not Cancun, Chiapas is not Huatulco. Here, tourism is collateral to the real projects: mining, bio-prospecting, dams and energy. Tourism is, I repeat, the spearhead used to get hold of what really interests them, which is the natural resources, and tourism is the way to displace communities or deceive them. You offer them a tourism project, build them little cabins, create a mirage of prosperity, and what happens is they lose control of their lands.

Figure 2 Agua Azul waterfall, Karolina Caicedo Florez

Could you mention some of the impacts of tourism in Chiapas?

The impact of tourism in any traditional location is that it brings very different people, especially Europeans and Americans, to traditional areas as if they were anywhere in the world. There are then effects on the culture, and on the traditions of consumption, which have a direct impact on the indigenous population of Chiapas, which predominates in the ​​Highlands and Jungle area. A third of the state is indigenous, and it is most attractive to tourists because of its natural resources and because of the items sold by the indigenous.

San Cristóbal de las Casas is a city that has the problem that people come because there are Indians; people in San Cristóbal hate the Indians, but the tourists come to see the Indians, not the coletos. What do they sell? Crafts from Chamula or San Andrés, pictures of Indians, and visitors go to Chamula market to have the experience of an Indian village. If there were no Indians nobody would come to San Cristóbal, well, it would be a colonial town, but what gives it life is that it is truly indigenous, like Ecuador or Peru.

But I’m not sure if the cultural impact of tourism in Chiapas is so very negative, because there is a different social process here from that in other parts of the country. The Zapatista movement has been in contact with foreigners, who in another context would be tourists. Yes, Italians, French, Argentines, Basques come, but it is more about commitment, more militant, so people are more used to dealing with foreigners. San Cristóbal was also always a place for gringo anthropologists, for ethnic tourism, for taking good photos, so here they are accustomed to foreigners, and are less likely to be corrupted by them.

The tourism that comes here is not one of great economic power; in fact it is the misfortune of the coletos, who wanted rich gringos to come, that those who come are mainly backpackers, who are not grand tourism. A few years ago, when they started having inns and hostels in San Cristóbal, the hoteliers were furious because they said it was unfair competition, because they pay less tax, charge less, and because of the way tourism is here, they stopped going to the hotels which were not needed.

San Cristóbal also has much Mexican tourism, especially in the holiday seasons, because on the one hand Chiapas became fashionable, with the Zapatistas, and the soap operas, and secondly, because it is quieter than the rest of country. Nowadays it is risking your life to go to Acapulco, while in contrast you can come to San Cristóbal with your family, and it is attractive. And why is this happening in Chiapas? There are several explanations, but one is fundamental: there is the resistance of the indigenous Zapatistas, who control an area of territory, and that territory is safe: no migrants are passing through, drugs are not circulating, there is none of that illegality which has invaded the country, and there are no armed groups. There are paramilitaries, but what they want is to overthrow the Zapatistas; there is none of what is happening in the rest of the country.

Now the governments, especially all the recent and the current ones, have invented ecotourism, which is a means to justify entering the jungle and the reserves, with the idea that they will protect them. But they have endangered places like Lake Miramar, on the edge of the Montes Azules reserve, the only one of the large lakes in the jungle which is accessible, the others are inside. In principle it is a reserve, with no roads, no nothing, but Miramar can be reached by land or by air. Then they want to set up a tourist project that could do real damage, with roads, hotels, restaurants…..

Figure 3 Laguna Miramar, Karolina Caicedo Florez

What is attractive is that it is a truly virgin place, and people do not know virgin places, so they pay to go, and that is business. They come from Norway or London to see virgin territory, which is the appeal. But this makes those places no longer virgin. So, the great threat of tourism in Chiapas on the one hand is the appropriation of territory, and on the other hand is what follows after tourism.

For example, in Chiapas there are over fifty mining concessions, but they are halted. Much of the state already has concessions in the hands of mining companies who want everything, not just gold and silver, but also coltan (columbite–tantalite) and other minerals. But it so happened that they killed a leader, Mariano Abarca, and that caused a shock. And the government, wanting to look good, established a moratorium (delayed the mining projects). But when the concessions were given, they were given for a period, and I think that the miners were in no hurry for some reason, they could wait. But now I think that an offensive is underway for those concessions (from Canada, Korea, the US, including Mexico). They are going to apply pressure, and they will meet with resistance because Chiapas is a state where there is a lot of resistance: against the electricity tariffs, against Plan Puebla Panama ….. as well as the autonomous Zapatista resistance.

So returning to the idea of ​​tourism, in many places this it is the way to break the resistance. If they develop tourism projects people will lower their guard, and they will be able to advance. If what they want is to build a dam they will have to displace people, or at least take away their power over their territory. I believe that this is the great danger of tourism, especially ecotourism, because to develop subsequent projects, first they have to get rid of the population, who are not only the rightful owners, but are also the guardians of the land.

Could you give some concrete examples so we can understand why the development of tourism in Chiapas is also a counterinsurgency strategy?

Counterinsurgency aims to defeat the Zapatistas, but also to undermine their prestige. Some years ago the people realized that the Zapatistas have achieved things, so that what they want is to avoid contagion, to prevent people from discovering that they can have a good education system, or that they can have a good clinic, without government money. For example, the Zapatista healthcare system is the cheapest in Mexico, it is effective because it has the idea of ​​prevention, which is the logical idea of ​​medicine, what happens is that institutional and commercial medicine is dominated by pharmaceutical companies, which have to sell their merchandise. So prevention is no use to them: it is very cheap but does not sell their drugs. The Zapatista communities have developed clinics, and the result is that the women are boiling the water, are being monitored when they are pregnant, are vaccinating the children….. what is called preventive medicine. So what counterinsurgency seeks is to prevent people from getting infected, discovering that they can do things differently, to prevent this, to make things costly. So, if they are not very committed to the struggle, they  easily fall victim to anything else.

So I think the goal is to prevent people gaining control over their lives, and their government, and tourism is very attractive because it seems harmless, it puts them apparently in a party situation and what tourism is going to do is to encourage people to leave the countryside, that’s the other goal, to stop being campesinos and to become waiters, because capitalism wants there to be no more campesinos, so it all goes together; you cannot isolate things.

What are the tourist projects that threaten the Zapatista communities? Where does the money come from? What kind of projects are they?

Agua Azul has been a spa for fifty years. The project has been becoming increasingly successful and the community of Agua Azul is very prosperous; now they are no longer campesinos, because they are living from tourism: they are waiters, cooks, entertainers, drivers, tourism agents, which is not bad in itself, all work is worthwhile. But it has irradiated everything surrounding it, which also has tourist value, because it is not the only place which has waterfalls, but the other places are in the hands of campesinos who are not interested in handing them over to tourism, and most of them are Zapatistas or are in resistance.

Agua Clara is a different case, it is a more advanced spa. Agua Clara was a spa before, it was abandoned by the owner and the government established some tourism projects there, with their usual disdain. They did not attach much importance to the projects and put them in the hands of the PRI, the ruling party, and left them to it. Then the Zapatistas, who were also in that place, decided to recuperate the resort because it had been abandoned, and now it is the first Zapatista spa. Not that the Zapatistas have invested in tourism, what they are doing is taking care of the place, they are conducting true ecological tourism, without capitalist investment. The Zapatistas who are there are a bulwark against the privatization of the place.

Figure 4Tourists in San Cristobal de las Casas

What is the position of the Zapatistas as regards these tourist projects? Do they have the same position on all types of tourism or do they have different positions depending on the method of tourism?

They have not talked about it explicitly, but one can see the examples we have been speaking about. Agua Clara is an area of land which is no use for anything else, it is a very wide river bend, with flat areas, so they decided that it would be suitable for tourists. So you can say that there is a minimum of work for tourism, but that the result is the protection of the place; this is how ecotourism sells itself, but in this Zapatista case it is true. But neither do the Zapatistas have a theory or policy for tourism. That is, within a few kilometres there is a place where they oppose tourism and another place where they practice it.

Elsewhere, at the Misol Há waterfall, different groups converge, among them Zapatistas, and there has been an unusual agreement: the Zapatistas and non-Zapatistas have agreed to have a toll booth. But these are very specific cases. Tourism is not a Zapatista issue, either for or against, unless it threatens territories, when they are against it, as for example, in Montes Azules.

The Zapatistas resistance is not against tourism, neither for this nor against that, their resistance is in defence of territory. And the concept of tourism is not a Zapatista one, because it implies a capitalist mentality. Some might say, well, that those who go to the caracoles are tourists, especially Oventik, many arrive like tourists in Oventik, they take a taxi in San Cristobal, go to Oventik and say, I want to know about the Zapatistas, in the same way as they say I want to know about the pyramids, but it is the only place where this happens. There it is possible to talk about a degree of Zapatista tourism, and it is OK, because tourists can have a real experience, if they want to see an autonomous school, a good government junta, there it is, and here they are invited to buy crafts and leave currency. But that is not to say that it is a tourist attraction, but rather that there are people who want to know about it and if it means a minimal outlay of currency it is not wrong, if they want to buy crafts, amber …

So, considering these statements you’ve made, do you think that the now often-used category, “zapaturismo”, is contradictory?

Well, that is a joke, and it isn’t new. A few years ago they created the “Zapatour”, which consisted of people coming for revolutionary sightseeing. But that was not invented in Mexico either, there has always been revolutionary tourism, people coming to have revolutionary experiences. But in the case of the Zapatistas it is less now, because the communities have closed a lot. This experience had an especial value, because while there was movement of foreigners the army could not attack. The presence of gringos, even if they were idiots, was a shield, so it was not encouraging tourism, but visitors were welcome because while there were groups of foreigners present, it was difficult for the army to attack.

Now it does not seem possible, but ten years ago there was an emergency every day in the Zapatista communities, so much happened. So to have a family or a group of French people there, they were a shield. In fact many foreign people came as a shield, and maybe they were sunbathing in the jungle, but they were giving protection, so it made sense, and the Zapatistas never thought of it as tourism.

Do you think that modest ecological tourism projects promoted by the communities themselves, as in the case of Lake Miramar, can be an alternative to the mega resorts that are being implemented in Chiapas?

I am not sure that what is happening at Miramar is that innocent, it relies on outsiders. I find it hard to know what can be done in Chiapas, because there is an insurgency, but I can speak of other communities, in other parts of Latin America, such as Ecuador, where communities which have already achieved sovereignty over their territory, and are maintaining their way of life and their ways of farming and forestry, can have tourist projects under their own control. Even the little planes that take tourists from the city to the tourist attraction, are theirs. And there are even luxury tourist resorts, I do not like them, but they are in the hands of communities. I have not seen this in Mexico, but as there are projects which are aimed at making them submit, not freeing them, I distrust the arrival of tourist projects.

Jan de Vos, the historian of the Lacandón Jungle, in one of his last essays speaks very favourably of tourism, which he believed to be a way to stop the destruction of the rainforest. But I believe that he was wrong, and this is where I differ with him, in his optimism about the role of the state, because he believes that the state can be the agent to enable this to happen, and I think that there is always dispossession behind their actions. There is a current of opinion in favour of beneficial tourism but I, in the context of Chiapas, do not see  much future in it, not beyond what there currently is, I do not believe that communities need to develop tourism projects, if people want to go to see the river they can go and see it, but it is not necessary to build a hotel, and the hotel’s economic profit is not comparable with the cost of maintenance, and as they have to leave their rural work, it means it is not a business for them, it is a business for others.

The government is willing to subsidize such projects in order to weaken the community, and of course, it promotes an image, but not a business. Las Guacamayas is not a business, it’s a nice project, successful, but only because it is subsidized and cheap, nor is it that expensive to subsidize a hotel in the jungle and pay the indigenous, but what it achieves is that people stop being what they were.

To finish, do you think that the dynamics and impact of tourism in Chiapas have been given sufficient importance, or do you think it has been something marginal?

Not enough, because there is much conformity in what outsiders see of Chiapas. Other than from the areas of resistance, there is no critical view from here, whether environmental, or political. Criticism has not been sufficient and it has not been clear. The Zapatistas did not rise up in arms against tourism, but against the system, against the state, against capitalism, and if tourism is a collateral symptom of capitalism, it is one which could have other non-capitalist options. But the problem is not tourism, the problem is land ownership, sovereignty and self-determination.

If tourism is operated within the self-determination of peoples, after they have already obtained their sovereignty, well and good, but it is not the path to self-sufficiency or anything else, which is the government fallacy that says “set up your tourist project and things will be better for you”; no, first let them free themselves, and then they can have have tourist projects or whatever they want, but once they are free and deciding for themselves what is done with the land where they live. On the contrary, tourism prevents this from happening, because it changes the vocation of the space and the people; the river now will no longer be for fishing but for white people to swim in, and the work of the people who live in the territory will not be to sow corn but to serve beer; when this happens the counterinsurgency advances. I say again, here there is counterinsurgency because there is insurgency.

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Estos próximos 15 días se estarán realizando diversas actividades tanto en Chiapas como en otras partes del país y del mundo, como parte de la campaña nacional e internacional por la libertad de Alberto Patishtán y de todos los presos políticos

– el miércoles 10 de abril el movimiento de El Bosque por la Libertad de Alberto Patishtán organizará un Marcha en la cabecera municipal de El Bosque. La cita es a las 10 am (hora de Dios o de resistencia) en el domo municipal.

– el jueves 11 abril se llevará a cabo una marcha/peregrinación a la ciudad de Tuxtla, para entregar firmas en apoyo a la libertad de Patishtán, tanto a la  secretaría de gobierno como al Primer Tribunal Colegiado del Vigésimo Circuito. Posteriormente se llevará a cabo una conferencia de prensa a las 10am en el Palacio de Justicia.

Las firmas que se están recaudando, se juntarán el 9 de abril, Puedes enviarlas a la dirección de correo presoschiapas@gmail.com o si gustas de manera física al Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, calle Brasil No. 14 Barrio de Mexicanos, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México, C.P. 29240.

– El domingo 14 de abril el centro educativo casa Gandhi organiza una Kermese de 14 a 21 hrs a favor de la libertad de Alberto patishtán. Se contará con música, comida, proyección de videos, entre otras cosas. La cita es en Casa Gandhi en el barrio de los alcanfores a un lado de la casacrita

– el lunes 15 abr se llevará a cabo un evento político cultural de lucha por la libertad de los presos políticos en la plaza de la resistencia en San Cristóbal. La cita es en la cruz de la catedral a partir de las 16:00hrs

– para el miércoles 17 de abril, como parte de la  movilización por el día internacional de los presos políticos, se proyectarán videos sobre la prisión política en méxico y el mundo en el restaurant-Bar Qué Barbaras en la calle Adelina flores #5 en el centro de San Cristóbal

– el viernes 19 abril  El Pueblo Creyente del Equipo Tsotsil de la Diócesis de San Cristóbal, con el Movimiento del Pueblo de El Bosque, convoca a una Peregrinación que se realizará en Tuxtla Gutiérrez, para exigir la libertad de Alberto Patishtán. El punto de encuentro es a las 9 de la mañana en la diana cazadora

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A l@s compañer@s de la Red Contra la Represión y por la Solidaridad

A l@s compañer@s de La Sexta en México y el Mundo

A los compañer@s de los medios alternativos

A la Gente digna y rebelde de abajo y a la izquierda

Siendo el medio día de hoy domingo 7 de abril, nuestr@s compañer@s ancianos, hombres, mujeres, jóvenes y niñ@s que integran la Unión Campesina Indígena Autónoma de Río Grande (UCIA-RG), están recibiendo un nuevo ataque ordenado por el Agente Municipal: Fernando Aragón Monjaraz y efectuado por integrantes de la Asociación Ganadera de Río Grande.

Mas de 80 personas armados con palos, machetes y pistolas, llegaron a agredir indiscriminadamente a nuestros compañer@s que se encuentran en resistencia.

Resaltamos que este ataque fue efectuado en presencia de la Policía Estatal, Policía Ministerial y Ejército Federal, quienes brindan cobertura y respaldo a los agresores.

Dentro de los agresores lograron identificar a José Escalante integrante de la Asociación Ganadera, quien realizó disparos con una pistola calibre 22, a Lacho Zorrila Cuevas y Francisco Arroyo que también portaban armas de fuego.

Los compañer@s nos reportan 3 heridos por “golpes de garrotes”:

Juan Dario Vázquez López de 53 años, Emanuel Ruiz Torres de 15 años, Cosme García de 68 años.

Seguimos denunciando a los 3 niveles del mal gobierno por los ataques orquestados contra nuestros compañer@s que resisten civil y pacíficamente.

Llamamos a tod@s nuestros compañer@s en México y el Mundo que luchan abajo y a la izquierda a estar atentos de lo que suceda connuestr@s compañe@s de la UCIA-RG.

Acompañemos el valor y la dignidad de los ancianos, hombres, mujeres y niños de la UCIA-RG.

L@s compañer@s de la UCIA-RG ¡No están Sol@s!

Contra el Despojo y la Represión, ¡La Solidaridad!

Red Contra la Represión por la Solidaridad – Oaxaca

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El día de ayer, la digna lucha de nuestros hermanos maestros guerrerenses llegó a un punto álgido, fue reprimida violentamente en la autopista del Sol, ahí mismo donde fueron muertos el 12 de diciembre del 2011 los estudiantes de la Normal Rural de Ayotzinapa Gabriel Echeverría de Jesús y Jorge ­­­­­­­­Alexis Herrera Pino.

Sus delitos fueron haberse rebelado contra la imposición de una reforma educativa que atenta contra sus derechos y contra su materia de trabajo; atreverse a pensar como maestros y hacer propuestas alternativas, hacer valer sus derechos constitucionales a la libertad de expresión, de manifestación, de petición; haber creído en la palabra de un gobernador bipolar que finge populismo nacionalista y actúa como perfecto capitalista neoliberal.

Otros agravantes a estos delitos fueron haber confiado en su palabra y haber tenido confianza en diputados oportunistas y vividores que prefirieron lamerle la mano a su amo el presidente copetón, apegarse a su pacto por su México y defender su pedazo de pastel del poder, antes que ser consecuentes con lo que prometieron en sus campañas.

De manera modesta y solidaria estuvimos ahí, aprendiendo, nutriéndonos de su espíritu de lucha, como lo hemos hecho en el campamento y antes en el plantón.

Nuestra labor era de observación, de acompañamiento y en su caso de atención de alguna emergencia de atención médica, de testimoniar violaciones de derechos humanos, de no dejarlos solos pues.

Monitoreamos los medios de comunicación. Increíble diferencia entre Milenio Televisión y Radio Universidad, incluso entre el compa Sergio Ocampo y quien reseñaba momentos antes que él. Uno hablaba de desalojo (el término oficial) y el buen Sergio sin pelos en la lengua hablando de la evidente amenaza de represión, por solo señalar uno de los elementos distintivos de la posición objetiva y crítica y la oficiosa y neutral.

Y el hecho, la demagogia educada y bien manejada por el representante del poder oficial confrontada con la razón y la acción magisterial, la formación de la policía frente a los maestros, las mentadas, las miradas llenas de sentimientos de clase, los compas periodistas comprometidos con la objetividad y los sensacionalistas. Las arengas de los compas del sonido que dan noticias alentadoras: Se movilizan maestros. Organizaciones  y padres de familia en la Zona Norte, en la Montaña, aquí, allá y hasta en Oaxaca los maestros de la 22 marchan hacia la carretera federal para bloquearla.

Nosotros los invisibles, los nadie, los públicos y desconocidos, los que fuimos entregados a la represión por los vanguardistas y moralinos jueces izquierdistas cómplices del poder aguirrista, para que el mismo Aguirre nos apuñalara con su desplegado oficial pagado con recursos de erario oficial hace meses, junto a los chavos del 132 Chilpancingo, la infaltable maestra Roberta campos, los visibles e invisibles, nuestros compas maestros de la costa chica, costa grande, la centro, la montaña viéndonos, protegiéndonos, esperando que ahí estemos porque se vienen los chingadazos y pum, avanzan los policías federales, se escuchan gritos, mentadas, consignas, el sobrevuelo y el ventarron del helicóptero de la Policía Federal,  golpes en los escudos, la valiente respuesta de la avanzada de… ¿de quienes?, de las maestras y los machines policías rompen la primera valla de nuestras compañeras y aparecen los compas maestros, que a puño, patada y aventón limpio, quitan escudos, tiran policías, se chingan al valentón comandante Espartaco que ni se imagina la terrible aversión histórica y literaria que hizo al escoger su mote 8 me pregunto, ¡lo consultaría con el copetón?)

La fuerza del poder avanza, el repliegue magisterial estaba convenido, planeado, pero arropado en una dignidad rabiosa, inteligente, de maestros pues. No hubo corretiza ni pánico, el “únanse, únanse” solo confirma la ciencia de la acción, el himno nacional a tope y el venceremos dignificante.

Uff, pero el repliegue fue cubierto, claro, magistralmente por los chavos de Ayotzi y un grupo de maestros, además de docentes, maestros de la lucha popular.

La neta yo aún no se si sus,  mis lagrimas eran por el gas lacrimógeno o por ver luchando digna y rabiosamente a mi pueblo, a mis hermanos maestros, con los que tantas cosas hemos hecho y convivido.

Después de esto vi la televisión: el reporte, desalojo limpio, los maestros tercos y torpes, se negaron, pero el tal Espartaco, fiel representante del pode establecido, hizo valer la razón del poder establecido. La manga del muerto que.

No sabemos que decidirán nuestros hermanos maestros, sus asambleas han cambiado sustancialmente, ya no es fácil manipular, sorprender, engañar. Hoy tomaron sus acuerdos en medio de la carretera y a veces las toman en la madrugada en su local sindical, en fin, lo importante es la asamblea y el acuerdo y la acción.

Hoy me sentí como en una clase de sociología política viva, autogestionaria, y dije: no cabe duda que el aprendizaje debe relacionar científicamente la teoría y la práctica. Gracias maestros de la CETEG, SUSPEG y alumnos de las normales públicas.

Habíamos decidido callar hasta nuevo aviso, pero lo de ayer nos obliga a decir: aquí estamos con los maestros democráticos, humildes, sencillos, los de abajo y a la izquierda de Guerrero.

Y si quieren aderezar nuestro dicho, los invitamos a escuchar en el nuevo disco del grupo español SKA-p 99%, la canción: Canto a la libertad.

¡VIVA LA DIGNA RABIA DE LOS MAESTROS DEMOCRATICOS DE GUERRERO!

¡ELLOS TIENEN LA RAZON, EL GOBIERNO SOLO TIENE LA REPRESION!

LA REFORMA EDUCATIVA PODRA IMPONERSE CON GOLPES, PERO LA PALABRA VERDADERA QUE TRANSFORMA AL MUNDO LA TIENE EL MAESTRO

¡VIVA LA HEROICA LUCHA DE LA CETEG!

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San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México

4 de abril de 2013

Boletín de prensa No. 10

Intolerable el allanamiento a las oficinas del Comité de Defensa Integral de Derechos Humanos Gobixha AC, y la ola de agresiones a defensores de derechos humanos

Este Centro de Derechos Humanos manifiesta su repudio e indignación ante el allanamiento a sus oficinas que el día 3 de abril recibieron integrantes del Comité de Defensa de Derechos Humanos Gobixha AC (Comité Gobixha), quienes han denunciando las violaciones de los que defienden sus derechos ante las acciones autoritarias y violentas del los distintos niveles de gobierno en el estado de Oaxaca.

Contamos con información de que los actos de agresión y hostigamiento a defensores de los derechos humanos (líderes sociales, campesinos e indígenas, periodistas, activistas, etc) es un patrón común en Oaxaca, la mayoría de estos claramente vienen de las diversas instancias del gobierno municipal y estatal.

En los últimos meses el Comité Gobixha tiene un trabajo esencial en el apoyo en la defensa del territorio en la región del Istmo de Tehuantepec y la comunidad de San Mateo del Mar, donde pueblos y comunidad se oponen al proyecto de nuevos parques Eólicos.

Por tal razón queda de manifiesto que el gobierno federal incumple la Declaración sobre el Derecho y el Deber de los Individuos, los Grupo y las Instituciones de promover y Proteger los Derechos Humanos y las Libertades fundamentales, por lo que exigimos que garantice y proteja la integridad física y personal de los defensores y defensoras que están siendo vulnerados en sus derechos humanos.

Este Centro de Derechos Humanos se solidariza con los integrantes del Comité Gobixha y estará atento ante estos hechos que vulneran los derechos de las y los defensores de derechos humanos en México.

El Comité de Defensa de Derechos Humanos Gobixha AC es una organización de la sociedad civil, creada para la Defensa Integral de los Derechos Humanos, legal, médica y psicológica de víctimas y sobrevivientes de violaciones a los derechos humanos en el estado de Oaxaca, sitio web: http://www.codigodh.org/category/comunicados/

Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Centre

San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas

April 2, 2013

Bulletin No. 9

The 13 displaced EZLN sympathizers from the community of Banavil remain in a precarious and inhuman situation

The Office of Indigenous Justice obstructs and denies actions for justice to restore the rights of the internally displaced people

According to information documented by this Human Rights Centre, the men, women and children displaced from the community of Banavil, supporters of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), from the municipality of Tenejapa, are in a precarious health  situation due to their forced displacement, in addition to the constant threats to their freedom as a result of the dispossession of their lands, the disappearance of Alonso López Luna, and the unsolved murder of Pedro Méndez López. In response, the state government, through the Office of Indigenous Justice, has unreasonably delayed the actions for justice, thus systematically violating their human rights.

On December 4, 2011, the 13 people from Banavil had to leave their homes following attacks by members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Currently the displaced are in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, where their conditions are inhumane and precarious, living in a habitation made of wood and cardboard, with a tin roof, 3 metres square, with an earth floor. Given the lack of hygiene or enough food to support human life, the women and girls are sick, unable to rebuild their lives, without the means to maintain their livelihood, in addition to the lack of basic services such as education and health.

Concerning the disappearance of Alonso López Luna, the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Indigenous Justice, headed by Cristóbal Hernández López and the man who is in charge of the case, the Public Prosecutor Cesario Crúz Mendóza, have obstructed  investigations into the events of December 4th and have refused to execute the 11 arrest warrants against the aggressors including the public servants from Tenejapa, Pedro Méndez López y Manuel Méndez López, identified as the perpetrators.

According to witnesses, the attackers from the PRI have recently stolen five and a half acres owned by the displaced, one part of the land has been kept by the aggressors and the other part of the land was sold, new actions which worsen the situation of the EZLN sympathizers.

Frayba has made various public and private interventions on several occasions to ask the Government of Chiapas to meet the requests of the internally displaced persons from Banavil. However to date there has been no response; the state is therefore not meeting its obligation to guarantee and protect the human rights of indigenous peoples in Chiapas, and it has violated international conventions signed and ratified by the Mexican government, such as Article 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights, Article 14 of ILO Convention No. 169, Article 10 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the application of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in relation, among others, to Article 1 of the Constitution of the United Mexican States.

Therefore we demand:

• An end to all forms of threats and harassment towards the displaced persons from Banavil ejido.
• The execution of the 11 arrest warrants against the aggressors.
• That a serious, prompt and speedy investigation be conducted into the whereabouts of Alonso López Luna.
• A guarantee of the right to the land and the right to return, along with guarantees of the personal integrity and life of the displaced persons from Banavil.
• That the Government of Chiapas, as part of the Mexican state, guarantee and protect the human and indigenous rights of the 13 aggrieved people.

Background:

Since 2009 there has been harassment by the cacique (chief) group of the PRI towards families of EZLN sympathizers, due to their opposition to the arbitrary actions of these same caciques, such as: dispossession of land, illegal logging, collection of taxes and arbitrary contributions, raids, beatings, and denial of the right to education, among others, which have been denounced by the victims to the appropriate government agencies, who have failed to respond.

According to documentary information, on December 4, 2011, in Banavil, Tenejapa, a group of members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) attacked four families who are supporters of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) with firearms. The attacks resulted in: the death of Pedro Méndez López, the disappearance of Alonso López Luna, the forced displacement of four families accused of being Zapatista sympathizers, the arrest of Lorenzo López Girón, who was wounded by gunfire and charged with aggravated assault, the arbitrary arrest of Francisco Sántiz López, EZLN support base (BAEZLN), who was elsewhere at the time, and injury to six others.

Lorenzo López Girón and Francisco Sántiz López have now been released, and so far there have been no results from the investigation into the death of Pedro Méndez López, the disappearance of Alonso López Luna or the displacement of the four families of Banavil ejido.

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“Deberá reconocerse a los pueblos interesados el derecho de propiedad                          y de posesión sobre las tierras que tradicionalmente ocupan. Además, en    los casos apropiados, deberán tomarse medidas para salvaguardar el                             derecho de los pueblos interesados a utilizar tierras que no estén                                   exclusivamente ocupadas por ellos, pero a las que hayan tenido                                  tradicionalmente acceso para sus actividades tradicionales y de                                                                        subsistencia. A este respecto, deberá prestar particular atención a la                                                               situación de los pueblos nómadas y de los agricultores itinerantes”.

Art.14 del Covenio 169 de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo.

“Las normas relativas a los derechos humanos se interpretarán de                                    conformidad con esta Constitución y con los tratados internacionales de                                     la materia favoreciendo en todo tiempo a                                 las personas la protección más                           amplia.”

Art. 1. párrafo II de la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos

A la Red Contra la Represión y por la Solidaridad:

A los pueblos de México y el Mundo:

A los Medios Alternativos:

Nosotros, los integrantes de la Unión Campesina Indígena Autónoma de Río Grande (UCIA-RG),  somos hijos de los pueblos originarios chatinos, mixtecos y afromestizos, originarios fundadores del pueblo de Río Grande.

Declaramos:

1.- Nosotros, somos pobladores desplazados de comunidades aledañas como Juquila, Zacatepec, Panixtlahuaca, San José Ixtapa, San Juan Quiaije, Jocotepec, Santa Cruz Tepenixtlahuaca y reafirmamos nuestra identidad de pueblos originarios.

2.-  En 1925 se fundó Río Grande, que antes se había llamado Piedra Parada; en 1946, después de un largo camino de trámites en diferentes dependencias de los  Gobiernos Estatal y Federal, el 1 de junio, el Diario Oficial de la Federación publicó la sentencia de dotación de tierras al Ejido de Río Grande, dotación que todavía no se cumple. Hasta hoy llevamos mas de 88 años habitando estas tierras y 67 años de vivir esperando el cumplimiento de la sentencia para la dotación de tierras, vemos en los hechos que ante las leyes actuales hemos perdido todo derecho de acceder a un pedazo de tierra para vivir y trabajar.

3.- Decidimos organizarnos en la Unión Campesina Indígena Autónoma de Río Grande (UCIA-RG), porque estamos consientes de nuestra identidad indígena, porque nos reconocemos como pueblos originarios y reivindicamos nuestro derecho a  tierra y territorio, basados en el Convenio 169 de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo sobre pueblos indígenas y tribales en países independientes y en las garantías contenidas en la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.

4.- Como UCIA-RG, no pertenecemos ni tenemos relación con ningún partido político y nuestro trabajo es civil y pacífico.

5.-  Somos parte del pueblo pobre y digno, hoy nos lanzamos a recuperar nuestras tierras para fincar nuestras viviendas, esta acción es de carácter civil y pacífico, es nuestra única vía ante la visión mercantilista que desde arriba busca a toda costa convertir nuestra madre tierra en una mercancía para comprarse y venderse.

6.- Exigimos respeto a nuestra forma de organización.

7.- Estamos consientes de que la lucha por la defensa de la tierra ha ocasionado amenazas, cárcel, tortura, persecución y muerte, ante esto hacemos responsables de cualquier acto de represión, provocación e intimidación a los caciques de Río Grande, en complicidad con los tres niveles de gobierno:

Enrique Peña Nieto; Presidente de la República.

Miguel Angel Osorio Chong; Secretario de Gobernación.

Gabino Cué Monteagudo; Gobernador del Estado de Oaxaca.

Jesús Martínez Alvarez; Secretario General de Gobierno de Oaxaca.

Marco Tulio López Escamilla; Secretario de Seguridad Pública del Estado de Oax.

Fernando Aragón Monjaráz; Agente Municipal de Río Grande, Tututepec, Juquila, Oax.

8.- Llamamos a todos las compañeras y compañeros de la RvsR y de la Sexta en México y el Mundo a que estén  atentos ante cualquier ataque a nuestra resistencia.

¡Tierra y Libertad!

Unión Campesina Indígena Autónoma de Río Grande (UCIA-RG)

Río Grande, Villa de Tututepec de Melchor Ocampo, Juquila, Oaxaca.

31 de marzo del 2013.

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Ciudad de México a 2 de abril del 2013

A los compañeros  solidarios, a la comunidad universitaria, a los medios libres:

Nosotros somos miembros de la Escuela Nacional Preparatoria no.6 Antonio Caso que pertenece a la UNAM.  Desde hace tiempo hemos estado denunciando y exigiendo solución a las diversas problemáticas que existen en la preparatoria:

El pasado mes de Diciembre un compañero de nuevo ingreso falleció  a causa de la falta de medidas de seguridad  en el área de la alberca; mientras  se encontraba en su clase de educación física, impartida por el entrenador de futbol soccer Daniel Gómez Rosales;  nuestro  compañero se ahogo en la fosa de clavados y poco tiempo después falleció. El entrenador que se ostentaba como maestro  no cuenta con la capacitación en rescate ni primeros auxilios; lo cual era o debía ser del conocimiento de los funcionarios involucrados en el proceso de elección de personal académico. Hasta el momento la directora del plantel Alma Angélica Martínez Pérez, así como la directora general de preparatorias Silvia Jurado; no han rendido un informe de la situación académica ni  jurídica por la responsabilidad  del entrenador y sus superiores del plantel en estos hechos.

Hace 3 meses, durante un periodo vacacional las autoridades del plantel colocaron un sistema de cámaras, lo cual atenta contra la privacidad de la comunidad y desde su instalación no se ha brindado información sobre el manejo, protección y destino de los datos que recaba ; este tipo de medidas no son nuevas, el ciclo escolar pasado se enrejaron las multicanchas, hasta la fecha esto solo ha servido para limitar el uso de nuestros espacios; ejemplos como estos existen muchos  dentro de nuestro  plantel.  Estas medidas de control, que no son medidas de seguridad como han repetido hasta el cansancio las autoridades, son impulsadas por organismos como la ANUIES  (Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior); conformada principalmente por instituciones privadas  y que representan intereses particulares por hacer de la educación un negocio redituable, prueba de esto es la reciente aprobación de la Reforma  a las Instituciones de Educación Media Superior, que atenta contra la formación de estudiantes críticos y prioriza la producción de mano de obra. Vivimos  en  un ambiente represivo en la UNAM encabezado por el  rector José Narro Robles, prueba de esto es el retiro de la credencial a los compañeros de manera  cotidiana, la implementación de videovigilancia en muchos de los recintos universitarios como son: las 52 cámaras en p9, cuerpos de vigilancia privados, incursión de la policía judicial en  C.U., colocación de torniquetes electrónicos en p7, la separación y reducción de la iniciación universitaria en p2, el enrejado de espacios entre los que se encuentra  el  escultórico en C.U., la expulsión de compañeros con actividad política, la reactivación de grupos porriles y la presencia policiaca permanente afuera de nuestros planteles.

Aunado a esto denunciamos  la falta de servicio medico regular en la escuela y la actividad del grupo porril OEU coyotes P6, que como organización de choque sirve para amedrentar y controlar a la comunidad de la preparatoria.

Debido a esto y a la falta de voluntad de las autoridades de dar soluciones reales a las problemáticas; de dialogar públicamente con la comunidad y dejar de hacer oídos sordos y hacerse de la vista gorda. Hemos decidido ejercer una acción directa; la toma pacifica del plantel como recurso ante su discriminación, desprecio y  negligencia. En este sentido exigimos la solución a las problemáticas del plantel, entre ellas las arriba mencionadas para que a la brevedad posible retorne la  normalidad a nuestra  máxima casa de estudios.

ATTE. Estudiantes Organizados Prepa 6

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Mientras en el arriba de la frivolidad, el poder se felicita unos a otros por la rapiña de la que se nutren, nosotr@s acá abajito contamos los días que lleva nuestro compañero Juan Francisco Kuykendall en el hospital, a la espera de tenerlo fuerte y listo para la lucha de nuevo; días de incertidumbre por no conocer hasta ahora la dimensión de las secuelas con las que cargará el resto de sus días, producto a la grave lesión que recibió en la cabeza por culpa de las fuerzas del (des)orden. Allá lejos, arriba, se vive el tiempo de la autocomplacencia megalómana de la clase política y sus paleros mediáticos; acá abajo, sentimos la resistenciasilenciosa de Kuy por recuperar su cuerpo y fuerzas, y la de la gente humilde y solidaria que ha estado en vigilia a su lado. Mientras que allá arriba ya ni se acuerdan de los vidrios rotos que los hicieron clamar por justicia contra quienes atentaban contra la “paz pública”, acá abajo seguimos preocupados por esa rabia que los hizo añicos, por la salud de Kuy, por situación jurídica de nuestr@s compañer@s acosad@s por el Estado.

Por eso y para que se sepa que acá abajo no se olvida ni perdona, llamamos a l@s compañer@s de la Red contra la Represión y por la Solidaridad, a l@s compañer@s de la Sexta, a la gente generosa de buen corazón a que se organicen y difundan, según sus calendarios, geografías y modos, las situaciones de nuestr@s compañer@s atacad@s el pasado 1º de diciembre. Dada la brutalidad de la represión con la que se estrenó el gobierno federal de Enrique Peña Nieto, apoyado por los gobiernos saliente y entrante del Distrito Federal de Marcelo Ebrard y Miguel Ángel Mancera, creemos necesario que se informe y difunda la manera con la que atacaron y reprimieron a nuestr@s compañer@s, con el pretexto de salvaguardar la paz pública. Como quedó claro ese día, ellos en el Arriba no dudarán endesplegar las fuerzas del Estado para silenciar la disidencia rebelde, y para ello cuentan con el blindaje de un código penal que tipifica como terrorismo la denuncia social.

Queremos que se conozcan los casos de l@s agredid@s ese día negro, que se sepa que Kuy sigue en la lucha por su integridad física, que Uriel perdió un ojo por rebelarse, que otr@s tant@s fueron golpead@s en el DF y Guadalajara, detenid@s y procesad@s en contra de su legítimo derecho a exigir respeto ante una clase política que se burla de nuestra esperanza por democracia, libertad y justicia.

Pero también exigimos que se esclarezcan los hechos del 1º de diciembre de 2012, que se finquen responsabilidades contra aquell@s que ordenaron los ataques a nuestr@s compañer@s y que se les siga el debido proceso, empezando por los titulares del Ejecutivo federal y capitalino; que además el Estado repare el daño que ocasionó en las vidas y situación jurídica de nuestr@s compañer@s, que cubra los gastos de hospitalización de Kuy, Uriel y tod@s l@s herid@s, así como los gastos de defensa que tuvieron que desembolsar nuestr@s compañer@s detenid@s y procesad@s.

Compañeras y compañeros: Éste es un llamado a que junt@s coordinemos una Semana de Información del 7 al 14 de abril próximos, enmarcada en la campaña “Va por Kuy”; a que según nuestros modos, calendarios y geografías,corramos la voz por escuelas, barrios y espacios de trabajo,sobre las secuelas del ataque del Estado contra quienes se manifestaron, o de paso iban, en contra de la imposición delbanal Ejecutivo federal actual; a que informemos sobre la convalecencia de Kuy y rescatemos su trayectoria artística y militante en la Otra Cultura, desde donde afirmaba que el teatro y las artes también son parte de la lucha y resistencia; a que difundamos la situación de nuestr@s compañer@s que siguen sujetos a un proceso penal injusto y a todas luces intimidatorio.

Que nuestra palabra y la de nuestr@s herman@s se escuche y se cuele más allá de la ensordecedora plancha mediática. Que nuestra digna palabra llegue a esos otros corazones con los que queremos encontrarnos en este camino de lucha y resistencia. Que mientras allá arriba descansan en sus lechos de policías y militares, acá abajo sepamos claro que nuestr@s herman@s no están solos ni serán traicionad@s ni olvidad@s.