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Por Ñanì Pinto

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• La omisión del Estado mexicano favorece el miedo y terror contra las comunidades en la zona

El Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (Frayba) ha recibido información sobre el desplazamiento de al menos 90 personas originarias de la comunidad Nuevo Paraíso, San José El Carmen y de la cabecera municipal del municipio de Pantelhó; en su mayoría son mujeres, niñas, niños y adolescentes e integrantes de la Organización Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal (Las Abejas de Acteal), esto debido a la tensión política que se vive en el municipio de Pantelhó.

Según información recibida por autoridades comunitarias de Pantelhó y Chenalhó, en los próximos días el número de desplazados aumentaría debido al miedo a que se desate la violencia el próximo 1 de octubre: “Hay miedo que los sicarios de Raquel Trujillo lleguen, que hagan bloqueos y haya enfrentamientos, por eso la gente ahora tiene miedo, muchos ya se están alistando para salir, otros ya se fueron, se han ido a San Cristóbal de Las Casas y a otros municipios”.

La violencia ha ido incrementando, después de las declaraciones realizadas por el señor Raquel Trujillo, Presidente Municipal electo en el municipio de Pantelhó, de tomar posesión de su cargo el próximo 1 de octubre. Sus declaraciones ha impactado y generado temor a la población provocando nuevos desplazamientos. El Estado mexicano tiene la obligación de prevenir el desplazamiento forzado interno adoptando las medidas que sean necesarias, además tiene el deber de investigar, procesar y sancionar a los responsables, para que tales hechos no se repitan.

La ineficacia y simulación de las acciones del Estado mexicano sigue favoreciendo un ambiente de violencia y miedo contra las comunidades tsotsiles y tseltales de los municipios de Chenalhó y Pantelhó, obligando a las personas a abandonar sus hogares. Además el desplazamiento forzado interno vulnera el derecho a la libre circulación y residencia, afecta el derecho a una vida digna, provocando una serie de efectos nocivos, como la pérdida de la tierra y de la vivienda, la marginación, tortura, agudización de la pobreza y deterioro de las condiciones de vida, incremento de pérdida del acceso a la propiedad, inseguridad alimentaria y desarticulación social.

El Frayba se une al llamado de Paz y a la preocupación expresada por la parroquia de San Pedro Apóstol Mártir de Chenalhó y de la Diócesis de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, frente a la espiral de violencia que hay en la región. Por último exigimos al gobierno de México la implementación de medidas cautelares y precautorias ante el anuncio de posibles hechos de violencia que vulneren la seguridad e integridad personal de la población en la región de los Altos Chiapas.

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México
28 de septiembre de 2021
Boletín No. 12

Descarga el boletín aquí

WORDS OF THE ZAPATISTA COMMUNITIES AT THE MARCH AGAINST THE DESTRUCTION OF NATURE
Vienna, Austria. In the voice of compañera Libertad, September 24, 2021.

Good afternoon.

These are our brief words in the form of a short story:

There is a woman.

The color of her skin does not matter, because she has all colors.

Her language does not matter, because she understands all languages.

Neither her race nor her culture matter, because all ways of being live in her.

Her size does not matter, because she is huge and nevertheless fits in one hand.

Every day and at all moments that woman is assaulted, beaten, wounded, raped, mocked and despised.

A male exerts his power over her.

Every day and every hour, she comes to us [nosotras, nosotros, nosotroas].

She shows us her wounds, her pain, her grief.

And we only give her words of consolation and pity.

Or we ignore her.

Perhaps as alms we give her something with which to treat her wounds.

But the man continues his violence.

We all know how this ends.

She will be murdered and with her death everything will die.

We can continue to give her only words of encouragement and medicine for her wounds.

Or we can tell her the truth: the only medicine that can cure her and heal her completely is for her to confront and destroy the one who is hurting her.

Knowing this, we too can unite with her and fight by her side.

We Zapatistas call that woman, “Mother Earth.”

As for the man who oppresses and humiliates her, give him whatever name, face, or shape you want.

We, the Zapatista peoples, call that murderous man capitalism.

And we have arrived at these geographies to ask, to ask of you:

Are we going to go on thinking that we can treat today’s blows with salve and painkillers, even though we know the wound will be bigger and deeper tomorrow?

Or are we going to fight alongside her?

We the Zapatista communities have decided to fight together with her and for her.

That is all we can say.

Thank you for listening to us.
Vienna, Austria, Europe, Planet Earth.
September 24, 2021.

An immersive record – as it is characteristic of Raúl Romero, describing the challenging trajectory of La Extemporánea from San Cristóbal de las Casas to Vienna, Slumil K’Ajxemk’Op’s territory.

By Raúl Romero.

Wednesday, September 8.

The wind farms and PEMEX compounds urge us to go faster. We don’t want night to fall on that stretch of the highway in the state of Veracruz. On other journeys we have been witness to criminal and state violence in that area. At nightfall, on this stretch of road, the commercial bus lines decide to wait for other units and travel in a caravan to support each other. Memory kicks in: “if they throw a stone at our window, don’t stop,” I tell my companion who drives the van we are traveling in. He replies: “It is not so easy, it depends on the amount of damage.” We both know that this is one of the practices used by some criminal groups to force you to stop, and then rob and/or kidnap you.

These are the things that we in Mexico have had to learn in order to be able to travel in a “more secure” way.

I finish sending the agreed message, at the agreed time, to the group monitoring us in Mexico City. I look up and a group of about ten people of African descent walks along the road. They are traveling with very few belongings and bottles of water, part of the migrant caravans that cross Mexico to reach the United States. The scene becomes commonplace. I try to keep count, but there are so many groups we encounter along the way that I have forgotten how many we have counted.

We arrive at our destination, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, at 8:30 pm. A couple of comrades are waiting for us.

We have a brief conversation, catch up. Hugs will be for another time: mouth covers, gel and disinfectant spray accompany our meeting. It’s time to rest. We have been on the road for more than 13 hours. We get settled in the space that we have been lent in solidarity to spend those two nights. In the early hours of the morning, I hear notifications of messages on my cell phone. I hear them in the distance, while dreaming.

The next day when I wake up I finally consult the phone.

“Don’t go out, there is turmoil in the village.”

“How are you? Don’t go near the north of Jovel.” These are some of the messages I read.

According to the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center, the night witnessed confrontations between criminal groups in the northern area of the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, near the community known as Molino los Arcos.

The situation is serious: people assassinated, houses burned, terror. In Chiapas this scene has also become common: paramilitary and organized crime groups carry out constant attacks against rural and urban populations.

The municipal and state governments do not seem to be concerned about stopping this situation; on the contrary, they guarantee impunity and free mobility to these groups. The interventions of the federal government are also insufficient, or complacent depending on how you want to see it. Chiapas is a powder-keg. Its governor, Rutilio Escandón, “is kept in the government with pins” and through agreements with other power constituencies.

On Thursday the 9th, the entire day consisted of preparations and informal meetings with compañeros and compañeras from other organizations. In the morning we went to the Center of Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion Caracol Jacinto Canek, a Zapatista caracol in the heart of San Cristóbal de las Casas. We signed up on a list and announced that we would accompany the caravan. The next day La Extemporánea, the Zapatista airborne delegation will leave for Mexico City, where they will stay for a few days and then fly to Vienna, Austria. Outside the Caracol remain people of solidarity, comrades, filmmakers, independent journalists. We share information and tips for the trip.

In the afternoon of the same Thursday we attended a seminar held by some collectives of the region. The predominant theme of the interventions was the attacks that occurred in the early hours of the morning.

They talk about organized crime, corruption, dispossession, resistance, the struggle for life, the role of women, the objective of the intensification of the war in Chiapas, the situation of terror. There is fear and uncertainty.

An older man takes the floor and maps the links between local governments and organized crime.

He concludes: “we have to ask our allies in Mexico City to help us communicate what is happening in Chiapas. If we write it, they will kill us.”

Night falls again, a reminder that we must hurry.

We distribute the tasks between the three: buy food, water, put gas in the car. My travel partners go together, and I walk through the center of San Cristobal. I adjust my mask, dodging tourists and moving away from where I see the highest concentration of people. It seems that for the hundreds of visitors the pandemic is over: they go without masks, or healthy distance, or any other measure. I meet up with three comrades who live in town, friends of many years. We find a corner and quickly catch up. Jokingly I tell them, “the pandemic is over here, isn’t it?”. Their response is similar to what I have read in the press or heard from others: “The health measures here are a disaster. Listen to what the health workers say… In the protests against AMLO a few weeks ago there were not only the compas of the CNTE, there were also women and men doctors and nurses. Many people died in the communities who were not included in the COVID statistics.”

On Friday, September 10, very early, at 6:00 am, we arrived again at the Caracol Jacinto Canek. The Extemporánea has already boarded the four trucks that will take them to Mexico City. Also on the trucks are the Comando Palomitas, the group of boys and girls who have a special mission on the trip: to play. Also on board is Después de los 17. (The Ixchel-Ramona Militia Section). A total of 177 people make up La Extemporánea. At the head of the delegation is the spokesman of the EZLN, Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés, who is also the coordinator of La Travesía por la Vida – European Chapter.

The Extemporaneous is the second Zapatista delegation to travel to Europe this year. Just last May, Squadron 421, the Zapatista maritime delegation, composed of Lupita, Carolina, Ximena, Yuli, Bernal, Felipe and Marijose, left on the ship La Montaña for Europe. After several weeks at sea, in June 2021, Squadron 421 arrived at its destination, which it renamed SLUMIL K’AJXEMK’OP, which means “Rebellious Land”, or “Land that does not surrender, that does not yield”. During its stay in Insubordinate Europe, Squadron 421 met with different organizations. It also led the historic mobilization of August 13, 2021 in Madrid under the slogan: They did not conquer us.

The caravan of vehicles is formed and begins to take its course. A filmmaker runs alongside us with his camera in hand. From the truck in front of us, half of the body of another documentary filmmaker comes out of the window: camera in hand, making funny contortions to get better shots. They both want to record this historic moment.

Several cars break away from the caravan before leaving San Cristobal de las Casas. From there we will be four trucks, five vans and one car that will make the trip.

We have already identified ourselves and we know who should go where. In Tuxtla Gutiérrez we notice that a local police patrol is following us. They take pictures of us. They speed up and get between the cars of the caravan. The same scene will be repeated in Tabasco, Veracruz, Puebla and the State of Mexico: state police patrols passing us, taking photos, closing the road.

Something similar happens with the patrols of the National Guard and the National Migration Institute. These two groups stop us on at least three occasions. The treatment is cold, aggressive. In one of the stops the situation becomes more tense than in the previous ones. Migration and the National Guard stop us at the same time. They want the compas to get out of the trucks. The human rights observers accompanying us argue the right to free transit. Migration insists. All of us accompanying the caravan surround the agents. Some of us turn on our cell phone cameras and start recording. A colleague begins to transmit live via Facebook. The agents look surprised, they don’t expect that kind of reaction. They let us go. We get back on the road.

On two separate occasions we stop for food. The Zapatista delegation is well prepared: bananas, water, tortas. They organize themselves to distribute them. Everyone always wears masks and safety face shields.

16 hours after leaving the Caracol Jacinto Canek we arrived at our destination: Carmona y Valle no. 32 in Mexico City. The location shows off the murals and ribbons that a brigade of artists had painted a few weeks earlier. Other Zapatista sympathizers have attended the reception. The large contingent from the Otomí Community residing in Mexico City stands out. The arrival is, like the departure, quick and orderly.

The Extemporaneous has arrived safely at its first destination. It is time to rest.

---

Published originally in Mexican-Castillian language by Camino al Andar. Part one of two, the second part to be published tomorrow.

Chronicle by Raúl Romero, photographs by Francisco Lion.

Translation by taller ahuehuete.

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Jueves 23 de septiembre 17hrs MX, conversatorio + estreno en línea del documental “Thelma Cabrera: curar el territorio”. Las mujeres indígenas que recuperamos las tierras robadas, somos alternativas vivas a la #CrisisClimática.

Rumbo al 2do Encuentro Global de Mujeres Indígenas #CuraDaTerra 2021. En vivo por facebook.com/crfger

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Viena, 16 de septiembre 2021.

Un gran contingente de mujeres mayas zapatistas que llegaron a Europa Central hace dos días y medio se unió a las 18 hrs. a una concentración de protesta para exigir justicia para Shukri y Fadumo, dos mujeres de origen somalí, asesinadas hace dos días en Viena, pidiendo que no quede impune este doble feminicidio. Esta concentración fue convocada por la colectiva Ni una menos-Austria, la cual agradeció «a las compañeras zapatistas por su apoyo en nuestra reunión y marcha en este día tan triste».

Adelante de la iglesia monumental de Karlsplatz, las compañeras escucharon, aplaudieron y filmaron diferentes tomas de palabra de mujeres somalíes y de otros países de Europa y África que se expresaron en sus diferentes lenguas, en especial el somalí, el árabe, el español y el alemán austriaco. Cientos de jóvenes mujeres feministas e internacionalistas llevaban pancartas y mantas contra el patriarcado y el racismo. Estuvieron gritando consignas y cantaron una versión alemana de Vivir sin miedo de Vivir Quintana, antes de prender en silencio las luces de sus teléfonos celulares cuando cayó la noche. Después de escuchar los dolores en lenguas que tampoco medios libres de Slumil K’ajxemk’op pudieron entender, las compañeras de la Extemporánea siguieron el recorrido de la marcha de mujeres austriacas y migrantas que recorrieron calles anchas rodeadas de edificios imponentes que remontan al imperio austro-húngaro siglos atrás.

El campanazo de la iglesia de Karlsplatz no pudo callar a las voces altas ni los silencios de las mujeres expresando dolores que tal vez lograron captar los celulares de las compañeras zapatistas, así como la videocámara del compañero Tercio, encargado del registro audiovisual de la delegación aerotransportada del EZLN, quien fue el único varón zapatista presente en la concentración y la marcha nocturna. A lo mejor, la vibra antipatriarcal, antirracista e internacionalista de la primera marcha europea de la Sección Miliciana Ixchel-Ramona se nota en el llamado streaming (video en vivo) de medios libres desde Karslplatz en Viena, con comentarios en español de anfitriones de Zapalotta, en especial, el Comité de Solidaridad Mexiko-Salzburg, quienes explican el contexto y el sentido de las acciones de protesta contra los 21 feminicidios que lleva Austria en 2021.

Mucha emoción marcará sin duda la memoria de las compañeras milicianas, vestidas de playera rosa, pantalón de mezclilla y botas de piel, listas para caminar escuchando, intercambiar y aprender de las luchas de cientos de colectivas europeas insumisas que las invitan y exigen sin descanso “¡Ni una menos!”, “¡Alerta feminista!” y “¡ Stoppt den femizid !”.

#LaGiraZapatistaVa #Travesiaporlavida #EZLN
#niunamenos #vivasnosqueremos #stopptfemizide

Fotos:

(Continuar leyendo…)

Source: Enlace Zapatista

After 17
(The Miliciana Ixchel-Ramona Division)

September 2021

La Extemporánea [1] includes a division of milicianas [female members of the Zapatista civilian militia or reserves]. Apart from being one of the “Listen and Share our Word” groups, they will be in charge of security during the flight and will play one or more soccer matches with women’s teams on the European continent.

One hundred ninety-six milicianas signed up to travel. About twenty were less than 18 years old, so they prepared for the later journeys to the continents of Asia, Oceania, Africa, and America, expecting to be of age by then and able to obtain a passport.

The difficulties with getting their papers (they’re all extemporaneous) and the never-ending runaround at the whim of the government “officials” forced many to abandon the effort. Some are single mothers who have to work to provide for their children. The majority work to support their mothers and younger siblings. Training was also a problem, because it turns out it wasn’t a walk in the park, but rather required preparation for “Listen and Share our Word” work. What was most difficult for them was learning to listen.

Thirty-seven remained. Plus two minors: Defensa (15 years old) and Esperanza (12). So in all there are 39 milicianas. They have been quartered at the Seedbed for three months, practicing, learning, rehearsing, and waiting for the chance to travel: a place to arrive to in Europe. All are of Mayan origin and speak Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Cho´ol, Tojolabal and Castilla [Spanish]. A few are over 25; the majority are between 18 and 21. Their soccer skills are a State secret, but their willingness to struggle is obvious.

No adult male could enter their barracks without permission. If some lost dude entered, he was immediately surrounded by a group of milicianas and “encouraged” to leave at once with solid arguments from batons and slingshots.

The first days of their preparation and adaptation were difficult. The days to follow were even harder. Far from their families, partners, and familiar foods of their villages, they had to endure uncertainty, hunger, sickness, a new climate, the confusion of living with others who are different, the surprise of learning new things, and the astonishment of seeing they could do things they didn’t know they could. For example: listening. And pardon me for insisting again and again about listening, but I look outside and hear the whole world trying to talk – or rather, shout – and find no one, or almost no one, with the willingness to listen.

These combatant compañeras have left behind their first 17 years of life, whether they marked that year on their calendar recently or long ago. There is no doubting their identity: they are ZAPATISTAS.

-*-

As It Turns Out, No

A miliciana speaks during the General Assembly of the Extemporánea, during the evaluation of what was and was not achieved during the “Listen and Share our Word” preparatory course:

“I didn’t know about anything that you all have described. I thought that it had always been this way, that I could go to school, have a boyfriend without the obligation to get married, that I could get married if I wanted or not get married if I didn’t, that I could dress how I wanted, that I could participate, learn and teach. I thought it had always been like it is now, where we have rights and not just responsibilities. But now I’ve heard what the compañera said about what life was like in the time of the finqueros [plantation owners]. I heard what it took to prepare to struggle. I heard what it took to go to war. I heard how autonomy was built. So I think I have to get ready to defend what we have built so that those times never return. I thought that’s just how it was, that women were born into freedom. But it turns out that, no, they had to fight, they have to keep fighting. So there’s no rest.”

(Continuar leyendo…)

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Catorce mujeres y disidencias con tres veleros tomaron el mar para visibilizar sus luchas. Navegaron para tomar su lugar en un mundo marítimo marcado por la dominación patriarcal y colonial. Las reciben cuatro mujeres y unoa otroa del #Escuadrón421 del #EZLN en la ciudad de Couëron cerca de Nantes, Francia, Slumil K’ajxemk’op.
#LaGiraZapatistaVa

Flotilla de mujeres y disidencias se encuentran con zapatistas. from Compas Arriba on Vimeo.

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Organización de la Sociedad Civil Las Abejas

 Tierra Sagrada de los Mártires de Acteal

Acteal, Chenalhó, Chiapas, México.

 16 de julio del 2021

Al Congreso Nacional Indígena

Al Concejo Indígena de Gobierno

A las y los defensores de los derechos humanos

A la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos

A los medios libres y alternativos

A los medios de comunicación nacional e internacional

A la Sociedad Civil Nacional e Internacional

A la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU)

Hermanas y hermanos:

La organización de la Sociedad Civil de Las Abejas de Acteal hoy levantamos nuevamente nuestra voz y decir claramente de lo que sucedió en nuestro municipio de san pedro Chenalhó. Los sobrevivientes de la masacre de Acteal se encuentran reunidos en la sede de Las Abejas para realizar la jornada de oración para no permitir nuevamente el derramamiento de la sangre. Alzamos nuestra voz porque hoy aproximadamente entre las 7:30 y ocho de la mañana la guardia nacional y el ejército mexicano entraron en las comunidades para realizar un operativo en la búsqueda de las armas como: Pechiquil, tzajal uk’um, majom pepentic. Majomut y Polho. Hoy hacemos un llamado ante la opinión pública que la actuación de los soldados no estamos conforme porque vemos que muchos de nuestros integrantes de las abejas se encuentran preocupados y muchos de ellos se enferman por la tristeza. Estas actuaciones de los soldados los sobrevivientes recuerdan de como sufrieron en el año de 1997, que los paramilitares fueron acompañados por la seguridad pública del estado.

Este día queremos aclarar que en la sede de las abejas y en las comunidades abejas ubicadas en los tres municipios como Pantelhó, Simojovel y Chenalhó no permitimos ni permitiremos acceso a soldados y la guardia nacional porque nosotros no contamos con armas porque nuestra lucha es pacífica y no violenta. También queremos decir que no solo las abejas sufren si no que sufren las diferentes comunidades de Chenalhó y muchos de ellos han abandonado sus comunidades y son desplazados en algunos campamentos de Chenalhó. Le pedimos a los tres niveles de gobierno a que no permita a que los soldados entren en los campamentos de los desplazados, como Tsajal Ch’en, Acteal Abejas, Acteal base, majomut, tzajal ukúm, Yabteclum y cabecera Chenalhó porque muchos hombres, mujeres niños e niñas y más a las mujeres embarazadas tienen miedo y corren riesgo al ver las armas.

Si los soldados entran a catear personas en las casas están violando la ley de la seguridad nacional, además es una violación de los derechos humanos. Hoy Exigimos al presidente de la republica al Lic. Andrés Manuel López obrador a que no permita acceso a soldados en los campamentos por la paz.

ATENTAMENTE

La mesa directiva de la organización sociedad civil de las abejas de Acteal

Por la Mesa Directiva:

Cristóbal Ruiz Arias                                 Gerardo Pérez Pérez

Presidente                                                 Secretario

Manuel Ortiz Gutiérrez         Pedro Pérez Pérez

Tesorero                       sub presidente

Sebastián Guzmán Sántiz

Sub tesorero

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