Peri\u00f3dico La Jornada
\nDomingo 3 de junio de 2012, p. 36<\/div>\n
Morelia, Mich. 2 de junio. <\/em>Zapatista desde 1994 y hasta el \u00faltimo d\u00eda de su vida, luchador comunitario, referente indiscutible del movimiento ind\u00edgena nacional, recuperador de tierras y de la memoria hist\u00f3rica, promotor de la educaci\u00f3n ind\u00edgena, trabajador migrante en Estados Unidos en varias ocasiones, campesino, m\u00fasico y compositor, poeta sin escritura, un hombre de la tierra, don Juan Ch\u00e1vez Alonso falleci\u00f3 este s\u00e1bado a causa de un accidente ocurrido en su casa mientras constru\u00eda una troje.<\/p>\nOriginario de la comunidad de Nurio, puerta de la meseta pur\u00e9pecha, incorruptible y firme, por m\u00e1s que gobiernos y organizaciones quisieron hacerlo suyo, don Juan fue leal a sus convicciones y a los principios de la lucha zapatista desde que en 1994 acudi\u00f3 a la Convenci\u00f3n Nacional Democr\u00e1tica (CND), convocada por el Ej\u00e9rcito Zapatista de Liberaci\u00f3n Nacional (EZLN).<\/p>\n
Despu\u00e9s de la CND, particip\u00f3 en el di\u00e1logo de San Andr\u00e9s Sacamch\u2019\u00e9n de los Pobres, en la primera mesa de di\u00e1logo entre el EZLN y el gobierno federal, referente a los derechos y la cultura ind\u00edgenas, de abril de 1995 a febrero de 1996. Durante este periodo don Juan se proyect\u00f3 con toda su autoridad moral y se gan\u00f3 de inmediato el respeto de todo el equipo de asesores, tanto de los representantes ind\u00edgenas del resto del pa\u00eds, como de intelectuales y del resto de los acompa\u00f1antes en un proceso in\u00e9dito en el mundo. Posteriormente, fue clave en la fundaci\u00f3n del Congreso Nacional Ind\u00edgena (CNI), en octubre de 1996, al lado de la comandanta Ramona.<\/em><\/p>\nAutonom\u00eda sin permiso de nadie<\/q><\/p>\nCon el desconocimiento de los acuerdos por parte de toda la clase pol\u00edtica, don Juan acompa\u00f1\u00f3 todas las iniciativas encaminadas a la exigencia de su cumplimiento, tales como la marcha de los mil 111 zapatistas a la ciudad de M\u00e9xico, la Consulta Nacional por los Derechos de los Pueblos Indios, la Marcha del Color de la Tierra y, finalmente, la puesta en pr\u00e1ctica de la autonom\u00eda sin permiso de nadie<\/q>, con la que los zapatistas organizan su territorio en cinco caracoles, <\/em>dentro de una iniciativa que tuvo eco en Nurio, el pueblo de don Juan, comunidad emblem\u00e1tica del movimiento ind\u00edgena desde que fue sede del Tercer CNI, en el que participaron la Comandancia General del EZLN y representantes de m\u00e1s de 40 pueblos indios del pa\u00eds.<\/p>\nEn 2001, durante la Marcha del Color de la Tierra, fue don Juan uno de los principales oradores al lado de la Comandancia General del EZLN, en el Congreso de la Uni\u00f3n.<\/p>\n
Como parte de la otra campa\u00f1a, <\/em>iniciativa puesta en marcha en enero de 2006, don Juan recibi\u00f3 al subcomandante Marcos <\/em>en Michoac\u00e1n y recorri\u00f3 con \u00e9l el norte del pa\u00eds. Posteriormente particip\u00f3 en el campamento que se realiz\u00f3 en la comunidad de El Mayor, con el pueblo cucap\u00e1, y en el Encuentro Continental Ind\u00edgena de V\u00edcam, Sonora.<\/p>\nAntes de la irrupci\u00f3n del levantamiento zapatista, particip\u00f3, entre 1987 y 1988, en el Frente Democr\u00e1tico Nacional, e impuls\u00f3 el Movimiento Ind\u00edgena de la Naci\u00f3n Pur\u00e9pecha, que m\u00e1s tarde desvirtuar\u00eda su camino aut\u00f3nomo y se vincular\u00eda el gobierno del estado, raz\u00f3n por la que don Juan se separ\u00f3 y continu\u00f3 su trabajo con el CNI, red de pueblos, tribus, naciones y barrios indios de M\u00e9xico.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Ferviente impulsor del resguardo del conocimiento pur\u00e9pecha, so\u00f1\u00f3 e hizo planes para levantar una universidad ind\u00edgena muy distinta a las que se construyeron en Michoac\u00e1n y en otras partes del pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n
Don Juan, de 71 a\u00f1os de edad, no era nuevo en las luchas. No s\u00f3lo su piel estaba curtida, pues desde 1970, como autoridad de su pueblo, encabez\u00f3 la recuperaci\u00f3n de tierras que los peque\u00f1os propietarios de Paracho le arrebataron a su comunidad. M\u00e1s adelante, a principios de los 80, fue apresado por autoridades estatales, por su lucha en defensa de la tierra, acusado de estar armando a su comunidad.<\/p>\n
Don Juan llev\u00f3 a su comunidad la Escuela Secundaria T\u00e9cnica 69, primera que se construy\u00f3 en un pueblo pur\u00e9pecha, gracias a la lucha y movilizaci\u00f3n de m\u00e1s de 100 comunidades de la meseta. Tambi\u00e9n fue el promotor del albergue, un auditorio y un gran predio rodeado de pinos que se proyectaron en 1981 para organizar actividades que rescataran la tradici\u00f3n y la historia pur\u00e9pecha, tales como cursos y encuentros de medicina tradicional y de agricultura org\u00e1nica<\/q>, se\u00f1alaba don Juan.<\/p>\nEl luchador pur\u00e9pecha tambi\u00e9n viaj\u00f3 por el mundo difundiendo las demandas de los pueblos indios. En 2002 se present\u00f3 en la oficina del Alto Comisionado de Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos, en Ginebra, y a\u00f1os m\u00e1s tarde su palabra recorri\u00f3 los pueblos campesinos de Francia y diversos espacios sociales en Grecia y Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n
Siempre con su caracter\u00edstico sombrero, su chamarra y su gab\u00e1n, a don Juan se le vio apenas en diciembre y enero pasados en las jornadas del seminario Planeta Tierra: movimientos antisist\u00e9micos, en San Crist\u00f3bal de Las Casas, en el contexto del 18 aniversario del levantamiento del EZLN.<\/p>\n
All\u00ed don Juan Ch\u00e1vez se disculp\u00f3 por no contestar a la interrogante planteada sobre la influencia del EZLN en los movimientos antisist\u00e9micos emergentes. Me van a disculpar, porque no soy yo la persona mejor capacitada para hablar sobre esos temas. Para eso se organiz\u00f3 este evento, para que quienes est\u00e1n organizando las nuevas resistencias compartan con todos nosotros su experiencia. Nosotros por nuestra parte hemos estado bastante ocupados, trabajando en el campo, pues seguimos creyendo que la lucha sigue estando en sembrar la tierra<\/q>.<\/p>\nLa comunidad nacional e internacional ha enviado ya mensajes de solidaridad con la familia y con el movimiento ind\u00edgena que pierde uno de sus pilares. Su cuerpo ser\u00e1 velado en su natal Nurio, junto a los suyos. Le sobreviven su esposa Celia Romero, su madre do\u00f1a Francisca Alonso, sus siete hijos y sus nietos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Juan Ch\u00e1vez Alonso, Indigenous leader, dies after an accident at home.<\/p>\n
A tireless community fighter who has supported the Zapatistas since 1994<\/p>\n
In 2001, during the March of the Colour of the Earth, he was one of the main speakers, alongside the General Command of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in the Congress of Union<\/p>\n
Gloria Mu\u00f1oz Ram\u00edrez
\nSpecial for La Jornada
\nSunday June 3, 2012,<\/p>\n
Morelia, Michoacan, June 2.<\/p>\n
Zapatista from 1994 until the last day of his life, community activist, leading light in the national indigenous movement, recuperator of land and historical memory, promoter of indigenous education, migrant worker in the United States on several occasions, farmer, musician and composer, unwritten poet, man of the land, Don Juan Ch\u00e1vez Alonso died on Saturday following an accident at home while building a barn.<\/p>\n
Originally from the community of Nurio, gateway to the Pur\u00e9pecha meseta, firm and incorruptible, although governments and organizations wanted to make him their own, Don Juan remained loyal to his convictions and the principles of the Zapatista struggle ever since 1994, when he attended the National Democratic Convention (CND) convened by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).<\/p>\n
After the CND, he participated in the dialogue of San Andr\u00e9s Sacamch’\u00e9n de los Pobres, at the first table of dialogue about indigenous rights and culture between the EZLN and the federal government, from April 1995 until February 1996. During this period Don Juan\u2019s moral authority shone out, and he immediately won the respect of the entire team of advisers, both indigenous representatives from around the country, and intellectuals and other guests at proceedings which were unprecedented in the world. He was later instrumental in the founding the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) in October 1996, along\u00a0with Comandanta Ramona.<\/p><\/div>\n
Autonomy \u201cwithout anyone\u2019s permission\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the failure of the entire political class [to ratify] the accords, Don Juan accompanied all the initiatives aimed at achieving agreement, such as the march of 1,111 Zapatistas to Mexico City, the National Consultation on the Rights of the Indian People, the March of the Colour of the Earth and, finally, the putting into practice of autonomy without anyone’s permission, when the Zapatistas organized their territory into five caracoles, in an initiative that had an echo in Nurio, Juan\u2019s village, a community which had been emblematic of the indigenous movement since it hosted the Third CNI, in which the General Command of the EZLN and representatives of more than 40 indigenous communities in the country participated.<\/p>\n
In 2001, during the March of the Colour of the Earth, Don Juan was one of the main speakers, next to the General Command of the EZLN, in the Congress of the Union.<\/p>\n
As part of the Other Campaign, which was launched in January 2006, Don Juan welcomed Subcomandante Marcos to Michoacan, and toured the north of the country with him. He later took part in the camp that was held in the community of El Mayor, with the Cucap\u00e1 people, and in the Continental Indigenous Encounter at Vicam, Sonora.<\/p>\n
Before the Zapatista uprising, he participated, between 1987 and 1988,
\nin the National Democratic Front, and encouraged the Indigenous Movement of the Pur\u00e9pecha Nation, which would later divert from the path of autonomy and link with the state government; this is why Don Juan left them and continued his work with the CNI, a network of people, tribes, nations and neighbourhoods of the Indians of Mexico.<\/p>\n
An ardent promoter of the safeguarding of Pur\u00e9pecha wisdom, he dreamed and planned to build an indigenous university, very different from those built in Michoacan and other parts of the country.<\/p>\n
Don Juan, at the age of 71, was not new to struggle. It was not only his skin that was tough, because since 1970, as an authority of his people, he led the reclamation of the land which the smallholders from Paracho had snatched from their community. Later, in the early 80s, he was arrested by the state authorities, for his struggle in defence of the land, accused of arming his community.<\/p>\n
Don Juan brought to his community the 69 Technical High School, the first to be built in a Pur\u00e9pecha community, thanks to the struggle and mobilization of more than 100 communities in the area. He was also promoter of a hostel, an auditorium and a large farm surrounded by pine trees that was planned in 1981 \u201cto organize activities to rescue Pur\u00e9pecha tradition and history, through means such as courses and seminars in traditional medicine and organic farming\u201d, explained Don Juan.<\/p>\n
The Pur\u00e9pecha activist also travelled the world spreading the demands of indigenous peoples. In 2002 he visited the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, and years later his word travelled through the rural towns of France and various social spaces in Greece and Spain.<\/p>\n
Always with his trademark hat, jacket and overcoat, Don Juan was seen only last December and January at the seminar Planet Earth: anti-systemic movements, in San Cristobal de Las Casas, in the context of the 18th anniversary of the uprising of the EZLN.<\/p>\n
There Don Juan Chavez apologized for not answering the question raised about the influence of the EZLN in the emerging anti-systemic movements. \u201cI apologize, for I am not the person best qualified to talk about these issues. That is why this event was organized, so those who are organizing the new resistances can share with us their experience. For our part we’ve been busy enough, working in the fields, because we still believe that the struggle continues through sowing the land.”<\/p>\n
The national and international community has already sent messages of solidarity with the family, and with the indigenous movement, which has lost one of its pillars. His body will be buried in his native Nurio, with his people. He is survived by his wife Celia Romero, his mother Francisca Alonso, his seven children and his grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
* Incansable luchador comunitario, mantuvo su postura zapatista desde 1994 Por un accidente en su casa muere Juan Ch\u00e1vez Alonso, l\u00edder ind\u00edgena * En 2001, durante la Marcha del Color de la Tierra, fue uno de los principales oradores, al lado de la Comandancia General del Ej\u00e9rcito Zapatista de Liberaci\u00f3n Nacional, en el Congreso de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[183],"tags":[63,524],"class_list":["post-6206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-cni","tag-juan-chavez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiozapatista.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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