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San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, 4 de mayo del 2012

Compañeros y compañeras de la Otra Campaña (Nacional e Internacional),

Ante las tres denuncias que hemos recibido de los compañeros y compañeras del ejido San Sebastián Bachajóndonde nos han compartido parte de su historia y resistencia, en paralelo lasinjusticias, impunidad y violación a derechos humanos por parte de los tres nivelesde gobierno. Como Red vs la Represión y la Solidaridad en Chiapas y Grupo deTrabajo No Estamos Todxs, nos sumamos al hartazgo y consideramos desuma importancia no dejar de quitar el dedo en el renglón sobre la importanciageopolítica que representa dicho espacio para la dinámica del capital dentro deun contexto de Guerra de desgaste. Es decir, analicemos juntos de manerabreve la especulación y criminalización en la región para sumarnos a la defensade la tierra y el territorio:

La tercera denuncia de los compañerosresume brevemente el proceso de criminalización hacia los ejidatariosadherentes a la Otra Campaña. Hasta el día de hoy tres compañerospertenecientes al ejido de San Sebastián Bachajón, seencuentran injustamente presos en las cárceles del Amate, Ocosingo y Catazajá,siendo la recurrente táctica político-policial diseñada dentro de la Guerrade Contrainsurgencia. El grado de tortura, hostigamiento y amenazas previasa su encarcelamiento anuncia la ya conocida instrumentación represiva delEstado. Dicho accionar contextualizado en la zona permite dar continuidad a losmegaproyectos turísticos, por lo que se necesita “castigar al enemigo incómodo”con herramientas jurídicas que criminalicen la dignidad y la resistencia, paraproteger intereses económicos y dejar que se concentren las ganancias en pocasmanos.

El ejido San Sebastián Bachajónestá ubicado en la zona selva centro de Chiapas, municipio oficial de Chilón,región autónoma zapatista San José en Rebeldía, lugar estratégico para la acumulaciónpor desposesión (Harvey; 2006), al albergar uno de los paisajes naturalesmás bellos del mundo: Cascadas de Agua Azul. Es importante mencionar que unmecanismo de control territorial por parte del Estado y que aparece en losúltimos trece años en la zona es el encapsular los “recursos estratégicos” (tierra,agua, biodiversidad en flora y fauna, conocimientos culturales, etc.) en“cápsulas de resguardo” como aquellas que instituciones de Estado ubican ydenominan Áreas de Protección Flora y Fauna (APFyF). Éstas son espejo de lavalorización de la naturaleza, en consideración de su riqueza genética, sucapacidad de captación de carbono, la abundancia en agua y su potencialturístico, como el caso de la “Reserva de la Biosfera Cascadas de Agua Azul”,resultante de esta estrategia de acaparamiento territorial, la demagogia del“eco-turismo” que promueve el mal gobierno de Juan Sabines no es sino absurda.

El complejo turístico desde hace 20años ha sido objeto de la especulación financiera para los grandes consorcioshoteleros. Carlos Rojas, encargado de la Secretaria de Desarrollo Social(SEDESOL) durante el sexenio salinista, comenzó a pintar sus sueños en la zonaselva, sólo que la forma de valorización de lo robado estaba enfocada en laexplotación de paisajes naturales vía turismo. El referente estaba en lasCascadas de Agua Azul, con la propuesta de hacer un centro que competirá anivel turístico con Cancún: el Centro Integralmente Planeado- Cascadas de AguaAzul (CIP-CAA). Sin embargo, el proyecto se vio quebrado por el levantamientodel EZLN en 1994 que realizo la “ley agraria revolucionaria”, más tarde lacreación de los Municipios Autónomos Rebeldes Zapatistas constataba lareconfiguración geográfica de la resistencia zapatista. Evocando parte de lapropuesta de la Sexta Declaración de la Selva Lacandona, en 2008 más de 1800ejidatarios adherentes a la Otra Campaña deciden gestionar la caseta de cobrode dicho complejo turístico ejerciendo el derecho al uso y disfrute de suterritorio.

Sin embrago, paralelamente en marzo del2008 las empresas Norton Consulting, INC y EDSA Construcción, obedeciendoel Proyecto Mesoamericano (PPP) presentan la propuesta para “elevar la economíacon base al turismo en la zona selva de Chiapas”. El estudio tuvo comoobjetivo desarrollar un plan estratégico que identifique los espacios yproyectos que puedan exaltar la oferta turística; “más visitantes y más gastos”para lo que será el CIPP-CAA. La primera etapa de dicho proyecto estará enimpulsar una cadena hotelera que manejen el concepto “Longe/retreat”y convertir las Cascadas de Agua Azul como una de “las experiencias de resortmás especiales que existen en el hemisferio oeste”. Manejando cuatro conceptosde hotels/resorts en los que invertirán las cadenas más lujosas enmateria de turismo mundial: Hotel Boutique de clase mundial, Lodge/retreal-cerca de Cascadas de Agua Azul-, Hotel de marca europea cinco estrellas,Resort con hotel, centro de Conferencias y Golf. Los operadores a considerarpara la inversión son: Luxury collectión, Oriente express, Arman, quienesmanejan la tarifa por habitación con el monto de 300 a 1000 dólares la noche(3.800 a 10.800 pesos). De hoteles europeos destacan Sonesta, Barcelo, SolMelia, kempinsky. De hotel, conferencias y Golf: Camino Real, Posadas, Park,Royal, Marriot, Hyatt, Westin

De igual modo se presenta la estrategiadel gobierno federal, por parte del Fondo Nacional para el Turismo (FONATUR) encolaboración tanto con instituciones estatales y federales como la Secretaria de Turismo del Estado de Chiapas, la Secretaria de Turismo y deRelaciones Internacionales, la Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes(SCT), la Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (PROFEPA), elInstituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). Se logra establecer quéel gobierno del estado de Chiapas tiene como tareas principales: a) Promover,crear y operar ocho circuitos turísticos- dentro de los cuales está el circuitoCorredor Palenque-Cascadas de Agua Azul-Toniná- San Cristóbal de las Casas-; b)Elaborar diagnósticos e implementar políticas ambientales como instrumento paragestionar reservas territoriales, en específico para el Centro IntegralmentePlaneado Palenque Cascadas de Agua Azul; c) Gestionar ante la SCT laconstrucción de la Autopista San Cristóbal-Palenque” , así como la ampliación oreubicación del aeropuerto de Palenque, que serán la vía de traslado para losturistas. En cuanto a los Municipios encargados de participar en la ejecucióndel mega proyecto, éstos tiene que; a) Contribuir a la imagen y arquitecturadel paisaje; b) Ampliar la cobertura de seguridad pública en las zonas ycircuitos turísticos; c) Otorgar facilidades para la obtención de licencias ypermisos para el desarrollo de proyectos ecoturísticos.

La criminalización como política deEstado y la represión como instrumento de control, así como el clientelismo sehan visibilizado de manera cínica desde febrero del 2010 hasta la fecha cuandomilitantes del partido de la Revolución Institucional (PRI) irrumpieron conactos paramilitares en la comunidad zapatista de Bolón Ajaw con la orden dedesalojar y provocar el desplazamiento de las familias. Un año después, díasprevios a la visita de Felipe Calderón en la zona turística, se da el desalojoviolento contra los compañeros de San Sebastían Bachajón;desde el mes de febrero del 2011 hasta la fecha, la represión, impunidad,criminalización, y clientelismo (propio de coyunturas electorales), descubreuna vez más la mentira y demagogia barata que visten esta vez la barbarie deJuan Sabines y su súbdito Noé Castañón.

El discurso de “Sustentabilidad” y/o“turismo responsable”, así como las supuestas “mesas de diálogo” que usa el malgobierno no es sino parte del discurso engañabobos y la escenografíacomprada de la que hoy se sirve el gobernador, quienes actúan bajo sus órdenesy a quienes no les importan los daños ambientales ni la especulación sobre labiodiversidad y conocimientos culturales que acoge la zona. Nombrar no sólo alos sujetos sino a las instituciones que promueven y gestionan el turismo sobrela criminalización de compañeros compromete a precisar su tarea: la SEMARNAT,CONANP, INAH se tiene que encargar de los polígonos y tenencia de latierra, así como de establecer criterios y programas para la ordenación yaprovechamiento turístico. El FONATUR, será el encargado de formular un Plan deNegocios y el Plan Maestro del CIPP-CAA y, participar en el Programa deDesarrollo Turístico de la Región Selva del Estado de Chiapas…

En suma: lo que presentamos no es sinosólo una parte del accionar especulativo en la región, de ahí que no sean taningenuas las estrategias políticas del gobierno federal, estatal y local. En laregión Juan Sabines y los distintos partidos políticos (PRI, PAN, PRD, PVEM),que repiten la misma política de instituir el asistencialismo, clientelismo, lacooptación y la criminalización de quien resiste, con el objetivo de generarconflictos entre las comunidades de la región para administrar el territorio yentregarlo al capital financiero y especulativo.

Tenemos claro que el contexto donde seha sembrado el conflicto por la gestión de la Caseta de cobro de Agua Azul esun espejo de la disputa entre quienes simpatizan con los intereses del granCapital, las trasnacionales y el sistema partidista mediocre y, entre quienesdefienden el territorio que da vida y sustento económico, cultural y político alas comunidades indígenas mayas, quienes construyen con dignidad alternativasautonómicas que enfrentan a un sistema de muerte como lo es el capitalista.

En breve compartiremos los testimoniosde los tres compañeros presos de San Sebastian Bachajon:

· Antonio Estrada Estrada, recluido en elCERSS 17 Playas de Catazaja

· Miguel Vazquez Deara, recluido en elCERSS 16 Ocosingo

· Manuel Demeza Jimenez, recluido en elCERSS 14 El Amate

Exigimos el cese de la represion yhostigamiento en contra del ejido San Sebastian Bachajonasi como la liberacion inmediata de los 3 presos antes mencionados.

Red contra la Represion y por laSolidaridad en Chiapas
Grupo de Trabajo No Estamos Todxs

Mothers of women and men missing in Mexico embarked May 8 on a nationalmarch/caravan that will culminate in protests and meetings in the nation’s capital this week. Like last year’s caravans organized by poet Javier Sicilia and other relatives of violence victims, the mobilizations will remind Mexicans of the deep emotional wounds  and unhealed psychological scars that devour families of forcibly disappeared persons.

Named the “March of National Dignity: Mothers Looking for their Sons and Daughters and Searching for Justice,” the protest is led by 300 women demanding clarification of the fates of between 600 and 700 relatives who went missing during the administration of outgoing President Felipe Calderon.

“For some it has been years, for others months or days, of walking alone,of clamoring in the desert of the hallways of indolent and irresponsible authorities, many of them directly responsible for (disappearances) or complicit with those who took (loved ones) away,”  the mothers’group said in a communiqué.

Among the many organizations supporting and/or endorsing the march are the Network of Human Rights Defenders and Families of the Disappeared, Women’s Human Rights Center, Justice for Our Daughters, Paso del Norte Human Rights Center, United Forces for Our Disappeared in Coahuila, and the Catholic Archdiocese of Saltillo.  Solidarity actions, including protests at Mexican embassies, are planned this week in the United States, Canada, Honduras and El Salvador.

March contingents will depart from the northern border states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, wind their way through the Mexican heartland of the Bajio and arrive in Mexico City as Mother’s Day celebrations get underway. The Mexico City activities include a May 10 march to the Angel of Independence monument, where the names and stories of the disappeared will be made public.

Senator Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, a pioneering human rights activist who organized Mexican mothers into the Eureka Committee to demand the return of children forcibly disappeared by government forces during the DirtyWar of the 1970s, has been invited to address the Mexico City protest.

On Mother’s Day 2012, many Mexican mothers have “nothing to celebrate,” stressed  Norma Ledezma, co-founder of Justice for Our Daughters in Chihuahua City. “As families, we want to take this occasion to tell society not to forget that in Mexico there is home with a plate and aseat empty…”

Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon have been among the hardest-hit places in the violence that has steadily gnawed away at the fabric of Mexicansociety. In all three states, so-called narco-violence, femicides andthreats and attacks against Central American immigrants passing throughMexico to the United States have registered extremely high volumes.Recent headlines include the discovery of at least 12 murdered youngwomen outside Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, and the revelation that nearly800 skeletal remains collected in the state of Chihuahua since 2007,mostly of men, remain unidentified by authorities.

The Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office lists 213 women missing in thestate since 1993, with about 123 cases in Ciudad Juarez alone. Butnon-governmental organizations estimate a higher number. A review of theofficial list reveals a spike in cases after 2008, the year whenwidespread narco-violence broke out and thousands of army troops andfederal police were deployed in Joint Operation Chihuahua and itssuccessors.

While the international press usually homes in on stories about Ciudad Juarez, which borders the United States, alarming episodes of violencehave increased in the state capital of Chihuahua City in recent weeks. In addition to a familiar pattern of disappearances, women’s murders andconstant homicides, violence has erupted in very public places, even in broad daylight. Recent incidents include shoot-outs and/or mass slayings outside a Wal-Mart, inside an Applebee’s restaurant and at the Colorado Bar, where 15 people were gunned down on the evening of April 20.  A suspect, Javier Arturo Hernandez Najera, is reportedly in custody for acrime committed by multiple shooters.

Three members of a ‘60s-style rock combo that regularly performed at the Colorado Bar were among the victims of the massacre. Relatives of the ill-fated members of “Freddy’s Friends” described the musicians ashard-working men who held day jobs, were devoted husbands and fathers and uninvolved with the intrigues of organized crime.

“It isn’t easy to deal with how this came down,” the son and daughter of guitarist Juan Luis Vazquez were quoted.  “You get used to hearing about the violence, four dead over there, 13 over here, and you get used to it even though it touches you. It’s ugly but you get used to it. Now we ask ourselves: Why them?”

Across Mexico, thousands and thousands of people are asking the same question.

Alma Garcia, representative of United Forces for Our Disappeared inCoahuila, told the press that the mother’s march will insist on getting answers to pressing questions. Garcia said the caravan will demand that Mexican government officials comply with United Nations recommendations on forced disappearance, create a “program of internal attention” and, above all, undertake “immediate searches for the disappeared.” Garcia’s movement also demands the creation of a national data base of disappeared persons, the formulation of investigative protocols and the appointment of a special prosecutor for disappeared persons.

Since the 1970s, mothers and their supporters have launched distinct movements related to forced disappearance in various parts of Mexico-with minimal results.

In Ciudad Juarez /El Paso, the International Association of Relatives and Friends of  Disappeared Persons pressured the Zedillo and Fox administrations into successively naming several special prosecutors charged with uncovering the truth about nearly 200 disappeared people,mainly men, who vanished in the Mexican border city during the 1990s. On another front, the Fox administration created a special office within the federal attorney generals’ office to investigate and prosecute Dirty War disappearances.

A central player in both the Dirty War and narco-war chapters who was widely said to have first-hand knowledge of the whereabouts of victims offorced disappearance, retired army General Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro, was shot dead in Mexico City last month. The former military official was assassinated as a truth commission assembled by the Guerrero state government began forming to investigate the Dirty War disappearances.

After 1997, victims’ relatives and women’s activists succeeded in getting first the Chihuahua state government and then the Mexican federal government to establish special law enforcement divisions officially dedicated to probing femicides and women’s disappearances in Ciudad Juarez.  Fifteen years later, the cases have passed through the hands of almost as many prosecutors.

In 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights handed down a judgment ordering Mexico to thoroughly investigate the disappearances of young women. As a signatory to the Court, the Mexican government is obliged to follow the verdict.

Despite a slew of measures arising from civil society pressure over the decades, few cases of forced disappearance have been cleared up and no credible prosecutions have ensued.

As old cases piled up, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission documented 5,400 new cases of disappeared persons- both men and women-from 2006 to 2011, though non-governmental organizations speak of10,000 or more people forcibly disappeared during the same timeframe.

A recent report from the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances contended that not all the latest cases could be attributed to organized crime operating alone. “On the contrary, state participation in forced disappearances is also present in the country,”the report stated.

Last year, Javier Zuniga of Amnesty International compared forced disappearance in Mexico with the situation that prevailed under the military dictatorships of South America during the 1970s.

“We have walked alone in the middle of stares and stigmatizing commentaries, and we have been treated like lepers,  marginalized and condemned to the worst pain a human being could live: not knowing the whereabouts of our sons and daughters,” the new mother’s movement declared. “But now we are not alone. We have found hundreds of mothers and we unite our clamor and our love to recover our loved ones and bring them home.”

Additional sources: El Diario de Chihuahua, May 8, 2012. El Heraldo deChihuahua, May 7,  2012. Cimacnoticias.com, May 7, 2012. Articles byPatricia Mayorga and Gladis Torres Ruiz La Jornada, May 5 and 8, 2012.Articles by Leopoldo Ramos, Lilia Ovalle and Luis Hernandez Navarro.

La Jornada (Guerrero edition), May 4, 2012. Article by Rodolfo ValadezLuviano. El Paso Times, May 2 and 6, 2012. Articles by AlejandroMartinez-Cabrera and Lourdes Cardenas. Frontenet.com, May 5, 2012.Cronicadechihuahua.com, April 30, 2012. Proceso/Apro, April 28, 2012 andMay 7, 2012.  Articles by Marcela Turati and Juan Alberto Cedillo.

Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
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Las Cruces, New Mexico

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COMITÉ NACIONAL PARA LA DEFENSA

Y CONSERVACIÓN DE LOS CHIMALAPAS

Avenida Patriotismo 751 – 5; Colonia San Juan Mixcoac; México DF

c.p. 03910; Tel/Fax: (52) 55 – 56153756; cel. (52) 55 – 55085585

c.e.: comitechimalapas@gmail.com

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by Mary Ann Tenuto

The photograph to the left suggests a story waiting to be told. It shows indigenous women next to their makeshift plastic tent on the plaza in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. The women are occupying a space on the plaza in front of the San Cristóbal de las Casas Cathedral to protest the unjust imprisonment of their family members, who are on a hunger strike inside three Chiapas prisons.

In the background, on a different part of the Plaza, the photograph shows a thatched-roof structure that is part of the exposition pavilion welcoming visitors to the World Summit of Adventure Tourism, taking place in San Cristóbal between October 17 and 20, 2011.

The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) coor­dinated the summit. Key sponsors were the state govern­ment of Chiapas, the government of Mexico and Eddie Bauer, a retailer of outdoor wear. To no one’s surprise, Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico, was one of the keynote speakers. He touted adventure tourism as a source of employ­ment for the indigenous peoples of Chiapas and urged those present to create those jobs. [1] Mexico has adopted tourism development as a panacea for the country’s economic woes.

The Worldwide Tourism Industry

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world. It is such a large and profitable industry that the United Nations has an organization devoted exclusively to international tourism: The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The UNWTO reports that in 2010, international tourism generated US$ 919 billion in export earnings. [2] The tour­ism industry brings much-needed foreign cash to developing countries and a quick return on investment to developers. Not surprisingly, the UNWTO encourages developing nations to invest in tourism infrastructure in order to attract tourist development and earn foreign cash. Mexico has taken that encouragement to heart.

In order to promote Mexico tourism, President Calderón made a documentary film in English entitled “Mexico: The Royal Tour,” wherein Calderón and travel journalist Peter Greenberg personally take viewers to some of the country’s most amazing tourist attractions, from the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua to the archaeological wonders of the Yucatán Peninsula and Chiapas. [3] Public television stations in the United States began to show the travelogue in September 2011. The official trailer can be viewed at:http://www.royaltour.tv/the-trailer/

On February 28, 2011, Felipe Calderón and 29 state gover­nors signed a National Tourism Agreement, converting tourism into a national priority. The goal of the tourism agreement is to generate 40 billion dollars annually by 2018. At the signing of this agreement, President Calderón announced that: “Mexico is destined to be a world tourism power.” To that end, Calderón said he would continue to invest five per cent of the country’s gross domestic product in the construction of highway, seaport and airport infrastructure to facilitate travel for tourists. [4]

You can see that infrastructure in Chiapas when you land at the new airport in Chiapa de Corzo and take the new toll road to San Cristóbal. Both the new airport and the new toll road were built to facilitate tourism and commerce. Both were infrastruc­ture projects encompassed within the old Plan Puebla-Panamá (PPP), now renamed the Mesoamerica Project.

Palenque Integral Centre

The mega-tourism project underway in Chiapas and envisioned within the Mesoamerica Project is the Palenque Integral Cen­tre, or CIP, its initials in Spanish. The CIP includes the San Cristóbal-Palenque Toll Road, a key infrastructure piece to which there is considerable resistance.

The Chiapas state government has, at least in the recent past, tolerated violence, including murder, kidnapping and torture against members of the EZLN’s Other Campaign in the Mitzitón ejido because they are resisting the construction of the new toll road through their territory. Mitzitón is in the municipality of San Cristóbal, where the toll road is to begin. The purpose of the new toll road is to facilitate tourism devel­opment between San Cristóbal, Agua Azul and Palenque. In addition to murder, kidnapping and torture, the government also uses unjust incarceration as a tactic to break the resistance. Two of the prisoners participating in the hunger strike were from Mitzitón and had family members occupying Cathedral Plaza, as pictured above.

The San Sebastián Bachajón (SSB) ejido is another area along the projected route of the San Cristóbal-Palenque Toll Road. It is slated for mega-development. In February 2011, a mixture of federal, state and local security forces arbitrarily detained 117 people, all from the SSB ejido. Although the lo­cal media portray the dispute as a fight between indigenous peoples over who gets to collect the entrance fees to the Agua Azul Cascades from tourists, the more important and underly­ing conflict is who will control the extremely valuable land surrounding the spectacular series of turquoise blue waterfalls named Agua Azul (Blue Water). Hotels, restaurants, a confer­ence centre and golf course are envisioned for Agua Azul, not to mention a lodge with helipad, but no local family-owned businesses. The tourist development around Agua Azul envi­sions transnational hotel chains and golf course developers. It would also involve taking land away from some of the indigenous population and the forced displacement of that population. That is why they protest and resist. Their peaceful social protest has been repressed and criminalized.

The current epicentre of the CIP is the city of Palenque and its archaeological zone/national park of the same name, just 9 kilometres (5.5 miles) from the city. Palenque is expanding its once tiny airport for small planes to accommodate commercial airliners. While the world-famous Palenque archaeological ruins have long been a big tourist attraction, it is projected that within two years it will enter the global market as a prime destination for “light” adventure tourism specifically directed at the US consumer. Preparations for this increased tourism are underway.

A report in La Jornada reveals that there is also resistance to the tourism expansion in Palenque. An experienced tourist agent told La Jornada that government officials from different departments, with financial support from US agencies like USAID, are collaborating to make way for privatizing the natural protected areas surrounding the archaeological site. Once privatized, transnational hotel chains would then be able to build hotels and commercial centres on the outskirts of the archaeological zone and to provide tourist services within the newly privatized area. This would bypass existing busi­nesses in the city of Palenque. New guides and new modes of transportation would replace current service providers, such as taxi drivers and tour guides, putting many out of work. (This contradicts Calderón’s claim that tourism development would create jobs in Chiapas.) The new guides are being carefully selected from within pro-government populations. No criticism or dissent is tolerated. Their training omits historic knowledge in favour of “nature tourism” and is geared to the style of US tourists. At least one entire community would be displaced. Thus, the project threatens jobs, homes and a way of life; in other words, it threatens the culture. [5] Therefore, it’s not only Zapatista and Other Campaign communities that will be resist­ing the mass transformation of the city and its surrounding area. Those who provide tourist services and will be displaced by the development projects are expected to join in the resistance.

Mundo Maya (Maya World)

The CIP is just one of the tourist projects envisioned within a comprehensive Mundo Maya (Maya World) concept. Mundo Maya, or Ruta Maya as it is sometimes called, is a regional plan to develop and connect, for the purpose of tourism, Maya archaeological and ecological sites throughout four Central American countries (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize) and five Mexican states (Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo). [6] Development plans in Chiapas are mirrored in other Mexican states and in Central American countries.

In Guatemala, for example, a project known as Cuatro Balam (Four Jaguar) has been in the works for several years. The project is developing a tourist corridor between El Mirador and Tikal, both well-known archaeological sites in the Guatemalan department of Petén. Forced displacement of a nearby Maya community accompanied this project. The Flores-Santa Elena Airport near Tikal has been greatly expanded and renamed Mundo Maya Airport. Highways are planned to connect with archaeological sites along the Usumacinta River, the bound­ary between Guatemala and Chiapas. Crossing that river into Chiapas is currently by boat, but there are future predictions of a bridge.

For anyone who follows the development of Mundo Maya projects closely, whether in Chiapas, Guatemala, the Yucatán or Honduras, there is one inescapable conclusion: governments and tourism developers are exploiting the archaeological won­ders of the ancient Maya for personal or corporate profit, while evicting and repressing the modern-day Maya.

_________________________________________________

[1] http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/10/18/politica/015n1pol

[2] http://unwto.org/

[3] http://www.thirteen.org/insidethirteen/2011/09/21/mexico-the-royal-tour-a-qa-with-host-peter-greenberg/

[4] http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/03/01/economia

[5] http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2012/03/24/politica/020n1pol

[6] http://www.mundomaya.travel/en3

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San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. 2 de mayo de 2012.

A LOS PUEBLOS DE MÉXICO, GUATEMALA Y DEL MUNDO

A LOS ORGANISMOS DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

A LA COMISIÓN INTERAMERICANA DE DERECHOS HUMANOS (CIDH)

Este Comité de Derechos Humanos de Base de Chiapas Digna Ochoa ha recibido información urgente de compañeros de la Asamblea de los Pueblos de Huehuetengo por la Defensa del Territorio (ADH) de nuestra hermana República de Guatemala en la que denuncian que el día de ayer, aproximadamente a las 12:00, hombres fuertemente armados que se trasladaban en 3 vehículos Mazda emboscaron a 3 comunitarios que viven alrededor del lugar donde la empresa Hidro Santa Cruz pretende construir una hidroeléctrica, perdiendo la vida una de ellos y dos gravemente heridos.

La ADH informa que uno de los heridos es un reconocido líder comunitario que se negó a vender sus tierras a la empresa  Hidro Santa Cruz, asimismo señalan que la población señala como responsable a esta empresa ya que hace 11 días los comunitarios descubrieron y denunciaron-lo cual han documentado-ante las autoridades la existencia de explosivos tipo cleimor en sus instalaciones.

Como reacción la población de la comunidad ha confiscado todo el equipo relacionado con la empresa Hidro Santa Cruz y como respuesta el gobierno de Guatemala ha declarado el estado de excepción, por lo que desde México nos sumamos a la condena por este cobarde atentado y a la preocupación de nuestros hermanos de la ADH, quienes señalan que desde hace tiempo han denunciado la situación que prevalece en Barillas, teniendo como antecedente la realización de una consulta comunitaria para oponerse rotundamente a la construcción de la hidroeléctrica, la cual contó con el respaldo de las autoridades municipales.

Hacemos un llamado a todas las organizaciones sociales y organismos de derechos humanos nacionales e internacionales para solidarizarnos con nuestros hermanos de Barillas en Guatemala.

Por el respeto a los derechos humanos de nuestro pueblo

Comité de Derechos Humanos de Base de Chiapas Digna Ochoa

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Carta enviada al Correo Ilustrado del periódico La Jornada

El gobernador de Chiapas, Juan Sabines, ha intensificado las acciones de agresión y hostigamiento en contra de las comunidades zapatistas, pretendiendo dividir y destruir la autonomía que han venido construyendo. En las comunidades y pueblos que tienen más base zapatista, les ofrece casas, letrinas, dinero, etc.

El gobierno federal también participa en esta ofensiva, pues otra forma de dividir a las comunidades es introduciendo el programa Fanar, que es la continuación del Procede, consistente en medir las tierras para titularlas de manera individual.

Esto lo hacen dentro de las tierras recuperadas por los zapatistas desde que se levantaron en armas en 1994. Tierras que fueron pagadas por el gobierno federal a los hacendados, quienes en aquel momento se ostentaban como propietarios, por lo que resulta totalmente ilegal la “titulación” que ahora pretenden hacer a terceras personas.

Juan Sabines también trata de destruir la educación autónoma y las clínicas de salud autónoma que con tanto esfuerzo han creado los zapatistas. Donde existe una escuela autónoma, el gobierno construye al lado una escuela oficial; donde hay una clínica autónoma, pone un hospital y dice que con estas acciones está cumpliendo los acuerdos de San Andrés. Estos actos contravienen los acuerdos de San Andrés, cuyo eje central es la autonomía de los pueblos y comunidades indígenas.

Todo esto lo hacen solamente en las zonas zapatistas, porque donde no hay presencia zapatista, no construye ni clínicas ni escuelas, ni caminos ni nada.

Exigimos a los gobiernos federal, estatal y municipal, que respeten cabalmente los acuerdos de San Andrés, el artículo segundo constitucional y el Convenio 169 de la OIT y se abstengan de seguir agrediendo a las comunidades y pueblos zapatistas, toda vez que dichos instrumentos jurídicos les reconocen el derecho a la libre determinación.

Abogados: Bárbara Zamora, Santos García, Manuel Fuentes, Humberto Oseguera, Samuel Porras, Pedro Aragón, Roberto Julio Chávez, Medardo Bañuelos, Verónica Salazar y María Luisa Campos

Second update regarding the convocation for 
the

“WEEK OF GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR THE LIBERATION OF PATISHTÁN & SÁNTIZ LÓPEZ: BRINGING DOWN THE PRISON WALLS”

May 3, 2012

• Family members and friends convene “Encuentro of Voices” in El Bosque, Patishtán’s home community, as part of the “Week of Global Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López: Bringing Down the Prison Walls.”
• Rebellious Argentina will join the convocation, alongside numerous countries from around the world.

To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Alberto Patishtán Gómez:
To our sisters and brothers, the family members and allies of Francisco Sántiz López:
To our Zapatista sisters and brothers:
To our compañer@s of The Other Campaign:
To our compañer@s of the Zezta Internazional:
To our compañer@s, adherents of the International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio and all our allies from around the world:
To the Civil Society in Mexico and in the world:

Compañeras and compañeros:

Receive greetings and embraces of solidarity from Movement for Justice in El Barrio, The Other Campaign New York. We wish to share with you some very good news in this second update on the convocation to the “Week of Global Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López: Bringing Down the Prison Walls.”

First: In El Bosque, the birthplace and community of Alberto Patishtán Gómez, family members and friends in solidarity with our compañero Professor Patishtán have convened an “Encuentro of Voices” as part of the Week of Global Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López. This march-rally will take place on Friday, May 18, at 11 a.m. in the Municipal Plaza of El Bosque, Chiapas, Mexico. Towards that end, they have invited thousands of people from the municipal head of El Bosque and communities from across Chiapas and Mexico, and all good-hearted people from around the world. This Encuentro has touched our hearts. We are full of energy and emotion to continue fighting as hard as possible so that finally our compas, as Alberto’s daughter Gaby Patishtán states in a recent video message, “may be released soon and justice finally reach our families.”

Second: During the past few weeks the response to our convocation has been excellent. We already have confirmed collectives and groups from Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Spain, England, Scotland, the United States, and now, Argentina.

Compas, in light of the abovementioned, it seems clear to us that the moment has arrived, we must continue to strengthen the national and international movement for the immediate and unconditional release of our political prisoners, Alberto Patishtán Gómez and Francisco Sántiz López.

They are imprisoned undoubtedly for their thoughts, for their convictions. We who fight for justice and the liberation of all those from below, we who share these same thoughts and convictions as our brothers Patishtán and Sántiz López, can wait no more. Let’s bring down the walls of injustice! Let’s unite for their freedom!

As a reminder: We ask that you please let us know as soon as possible if you accept our proposal and will participate in the “Week of Global Struggle for the Liberation of Patishtán and Sántiz López: Bringing Down the Prison Walls.” You may communicate with us via e-mail at:

movimientoporjusticiadelbarrio@yahoo.com

That’s all for now, compas.

Thank you.

We demand the liberation of Alberto Patishtán Gómez and Francisco Sántiz López!

With Love and Solidarity,

Movement for Justice in El Barrio
The Other Campaign New York

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En el marco de la

JORNADA Nacional e Internacional de SOLIDARIDAD con las COMUNIDADES ZAPATISTAS

y de la Campaña MILES DE RABIAS, UN CORAZÓN…

Tenemos el honor de invitarles a la

PRESENTACIÓN DEL DISKO

ROLA LA LUCHA ZAPATISTA

Acoplado Rebelde

Con la participación de

• Mc Lokoter
• Ideología Vigente
• Instituto del Habla & Ajixar
• Cienpies
• The Páramos
• Golpe Líriko
• Aníbal Méndez
• Teokalli
• Rivolta
• I-Jerome
• Chava y sus Rolas
• Sicario Sound Machine
• SangreMaíz

19 de mayo

Inicio: 2:00 pm

Explanada del Palacio de Bellas Artes:

Av. Juárez, esquina Eje Central, Metros Bellas Artes e Hidalgo.

Además tendremos mesas de información sobre los siguientes ejes:

1. 18 años y contando. La lucha del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional

2. La construcción de la autonomía de los pueblos. Una muestra: Salud.

3. La construcción de la autonomía de los pueblos. Otra muestra: Educación.

4. Guerra de exterminio en contra de las Bases de Apoyo Zapatistas.

5. L@s Zapatista y NOSOTR@S. Un puente a la esperanza.

También podrá ser adquirido el disko en las mesas de información.

Campaña Miles de Rabias, un Corazón…

Red contra la Represión y por la Solidaridad

Organizaciones, colectivos e individuxs adherentes a La Otra Campaña

Acopio solidario en apoyo a los proyectos de educación y salud autónomos zapatistas

Ese día tendremos una mesa donde estaremos recibiendo útiles y materiales escolares, medicamentos y artículos para atención médica en general.

Todo mayo y junio continuaremos el acopio que será llevado a las Juntas de Buen Gobierno.

El centro de recepción será el Rincón Zapatista: Zapotecos no. 7 bis, Col. Obrera, cerca de los metros Isabel la Católica y Doctores. De lunes a viernes, de 10 a 20  hrs, sábados de 10 a 18 hrs. Tel. 5761 42 36.

http://milesderabias.blogspot.mx

www.redcontralarepresion.org

milesderabias@gmail.com

redcontralarepresion@gmail.com