Date: Thu, 03 Jun 1999 12:19:01 -0600
Subject: AUT: English Chiapas al Dia 156   I


ENGLISH VERSION OF "CHIAPAS AL DIA" BULLETIN No. 156
CIEPAC
CHIAPAS, MEXICO
(May 21, 1999)


THE FIGHT FOR THE ELECTIONS


Next year, sometime between July and August (the exact date has not been
set), elections will be held for the President of the Republic, for the
State Government and for federal deputies in Chiapas.  President Zedillo
stated that he would not intervene in the designation of the PRI candidate,
and the main contenders unsuspectingly began promoting themselves.  Among
the most notable were Roberto Madrazo Pintado (the Governor of Tabasco),
Manuel Bartlett (former Governor of Puebla) and Miguel Aleman (Governor of
Veracruz).  Nonetheless, on March 4 - the day one more year of the PRI was
celebrated - Ernesto Zedillo imposed not just the forms, but also the time
frame, for the election of the presidential candidate.  Roberto Madrazo and
Manuel Bartlett - who had begun their television campaigns in January - had
to hold back on their propaganda, because President Zedillo called each of
them separately into the official residence of Los Pinos.

Those who actually represented opposition to the presidential candidate
within the PRI were called in for discipline.  On March 12, President
Zedillo talked with Roberto Madrazo for an hour.  The next day, Madrazo
told the press that he recognized the moral and political authority of the
Chief of the Executive branch.

On the 14th of the same month, Manuel Bartlett was "invited" by Zedillo to
Los Pinos, and he did the same as Madrazo had:  when he left, he said:
"The President is my friend, and I have always had a wonderful relationship
with him…" 

With Francisco Labastida Ochoa's main political opponents in the PRI
neutralized, a campaign of support followed for the governors of the states
of Sinaloa, Chiapas, Michoacan, and for PRI Deputies in Zacatecas, in an
attempt to reinforce the image of the current Secretary of Government.  On
May 21, he [Labastida] resigned his position, and Diodoro Carrasco, the
former Governor of Oaxaca, was named in his place.  At the same time, the
most powerful businesses formed the "Businessmen for Labastida A.C."
organization, and they offered to collect 20 million pesos in support of
the campaign.  This will mean not only the donating of funds, but also
commitments the candidate will be making to the businessmen, and the
policies which will have to follow from that.

This process that is being followed inside the PRI signifies the
continuation of the system of imposition, and the show of an internal
selection is only a myth.  Those who are lending themselves to the game are
deceiving themselves, either not wanting to see the reality of their party,
or simply agreeing to follow this policy in exchange for obtaining a
position within the new government.

The implications of this policy for our country are:

a). -  The reaffirmation of the non-existence of a real division of powers,
with the Executive imposing on the Legislative and Judicial branches.  

b). -  Francisco Labastida Ochoa's candidacy means the continuation of the
"dinosaurs" in power.

c). -  It entails the closing of the doors to democracy, and the
continuation of the neo-liberal program, with the consequent negative
effects it has brought to the people of Mexico.

d). -  For Chiapas, it entails not negotiating with the zapatistas, meaning
the peace process will have to be an effort of civil society and not of the
government.  As the Secretary of Government, he [Labastida] had the
opportunity to do so, but he demonstrated the opposite.  He put off the
conflict as a dilatory tactic, so that the those persons pushing for
democracy would become exhausted.

The PRI, however, has had to pay the political costs of the decisions made
by the executive.  More and more, those PRI's who do not align themselves
with the President are excluded from power, pushed into the background,
and, in some cases, even harassed and driven to resigning.  Some examples
of this are:  Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, Porfirio Munoz Leda, Manuel Camacho
Solis, Ricardo Monreal in Zacatecas, Alberto Sanchez Anaya in Tlaxcala,
Antonio Chavarria in Nayarit and, more recently, the Chiapas senator, Pablo
Salazar Mendiguchia.  This not only means the collapse of the PRI, but also
the transcendence of the most reactionary group.  This is quite dangerous,
since the government does not have the consensus of the people, and nor are
there channels of communication between the government and society.  This
creates large political vacuums, which are often filled by drug
trafficking, crime, and so forth, and which, little by little, are invading
the political arena.

Given the transcendence of the "dinosaurs" power group of the PRI, it has
not been surprising to see the reappearance of the former Secretary of
Government, Fernando Gutierrez Barrios, who directed the internal selection
process through the Commission for the Development of the Internal Process
- which shall reach its verdict on November 7.  Although Madrazo and
Bartlett have entered the race, they are already defeated, since, in a
rigged process, votes will not be counted, but rather the one who wins the
majority of the 300 Electoral Districts into which the country is divided.

By June 15 we will know who the candidates will be, because that is the
time period set by the PRI for the resignations of those currently holding
government positions.

However, as is tradition in our country, President Zedillo will have
stopped governing, and decisions will begin to be made by the PRI
candidate.  The only thing left for the current President will be the work
of administering the economic and political crises that are left as a
consequence of the internal problems.  The President will cease to be so,
and the PRI candidate will turn into the de facto President.

On the other hand, the PAN, PRD and PR parties, who are the "opposition"
force, are working to forge an alliance of parties in order to win the year
2000 election.  Shaping up as possible candidates are Cuauhtemoc Cardenas,
Porfirio Munoz Ledo, Vicente Fox, with those in the Labor Party seeing PRI
Miguel Aleman Velasco, current governor of Veracruz, as a possibility.  It
is predicted that, following the conflicts within the PRI, people will be
scattering, as always happens after each election.

It is to be expected, however, that the government's campaigns of slander
and interference will be aimed at Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, as Labastida's main
opponent.  The dirty role played by the street vendors in Mexico City, the
Antorcha Campesina movement, the government that tries to tie the
university student movement of the UNAM to the PRD, and the coverage that
Azteca television gives to the slander:  all form part of the campaign of
political lynching and discrediting of Cardenas.  Unfortunately, one can
also add the attitudes of some persons within the PRD, which damage the few
possibilities that exist to exercise opposition votes.  It is enough to
remember the dirty and rigged election that took place inside the party for
the election of the president of the National Executive Committee.

The Chiapaneco PRI

Prior to Labastida Ochoa's announcement of his resignation as Secretary of
Government, the governor of the state, Roberto Albores Guillen, expressed
the support of the PRI's for Labastida as the candidate for the presidency
of the Republic.  This was echoed by the most reactionary and repressive
power groups in the state, such as the "Authentic Coletos" in San
Cristobal;  the rector of the UNACH, Jorge Mario Lescieur; and the
President of the State Congress, Jose Antonio Aguilar Bodegas, among
others.  The PRI's are beginning to become divided, and, as Labastida
starts meddling in the selection of the chiapaneco gubernatorial candidate,
this division will grow deeper.  Closest to Labastida is Sami David David.
Also involved in the dispute are Cesar Augusto Santiago, who represents the
Alternative Foundation wing of the PRI in Chiapas;  Arturo Morales Urioste,
of the Renewal Wing;  Elba Esther Gordillo, who is a member of the Internal
Selection Process Committee of the PRI;  Blanca Ruth Esponda, who sits on
the Committee of Equity and Electoral Justice.

Once the candidate is designated, however, the other contenders will have
to fall into line, because they will have no other choice.

The PRI suffered a great setback in the midst of this reaccomodation, with
the resignation of Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia, because he took with him one
of the most powerful sectors in Chiapas, the maize growers.  The fact that
his resignation from the official party was done in Villa Flores - one of
the most important zones in maize production - is a warning to the
government of Albores Guillen and to the PRI, that he has the backing of a
very important power group.  It is enough to remember that when the maize
growers move, they have been capable of bringing down governors of Chiapas.

Some ranchers also left along with Salazar, with David Corzo leading them,
as did truckers, hotel workers, restaurant workers, shopkeepers,
businesspersons and some distinguished PRI's, such as the son of former
Governor Juan Sabines, Carlos Sabines Venegas.

In exclusive interviews with La Jornada newspaper, Salazar talked about the
reasons that led him to resign, after 26 years in the PRI.  Among other
things, he mentioned that, in December 1996, President Zedillo told him
that he was capable of refusing to recognize not just the San Andres
Accords, but also international treaties, if they could lead to the
balkanization of the country.

He also saw the lack of respect for the people of Chiapas, through their
imposition of governors from the country's center:  governors who did not
live in Chiapas, and who did not know the reality, and who, after being
governors, left and did not even die in Chiapas.  The former governor,
Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro even confused the municipalities of Chiapas with
those of Tabasco (La Jornada, 5/17/99 and 5/18/99).

The now independent senator says he was deceived by his party and by
Governor Albores, who, in the name of the PRI, declared his support  for
Labastida in the presence of the PRI national leader.  "This," he said,
"makes us think that Albores is willing to impose his personal preference
for the presidential candidate on the chiapanecos, and he will be willing,
beyond any shadow of a doubt, to impose his successor.  We understood then
that any possibility of a democratic path in Chiapas had been closed…"

Salazar proposes to visit all the regions in Chiapas between February and
July, in order to make the people aware of the need for a change of
government and of policies in Chiapas.  He now has 20 campaign offices in
the state, and there is a proposal to create an opposition alliance with
the PAN, PRD, PT and the Ecology Greens.  In addition, various sectors in
the municipalities of Tonala, Pijijiapan, Arriaga and Mapastepec have
expressed their support and backing for his candidacy.

The PAN, the PRD and the PT have formally agreed to the opposition
alliance, without recognizing Salazar as their candidate.  Nonetheless,
this assures not only that the parties could win - because only 30%
participate in the elections - but it is also necessary in order to find
room for, and secure the participation of, the other 70% of civil society
and social organizations.  For this reason, the alliance has taken the
incorporation of this sector as their primary challenge.

He says that he is aware of the campaign that will be waged against him.
He has also denounced that the Army, the Department of Government and the
Center of Investigations and National Security (CISEN) have tapped 36
telephone lines belonging to his relatives and friends,  as well as the one
in his campaign office and those of his closest collaborators.  Nor can he
forget the assassination attempt he suffered in the '94 Amado Avendano, as
candidate for governor of the social organizations.  In sum, all the usual
and future tricks that the PRI will utilize in order to stay in power.

Salazar's resignation is one of the indicators that hard line policies are
being imposed, and that there is no possibility at all for democratic
change.  The doors to dialogue are being increasingly closed.  Evidence of
this is the almost 30 days of the UNAM strike, the teachers who are
mobilizing, and those from the Mexican Union of Electricians (SME).  These
are the evidence of the policies that await us if the PRI governs over the
next six years.  If the federal government had been willing to resolve the
Chiapas conflict in a peaceful manner, Pablo Salazar would have been one of
their best cards.  But the attacks that have been made against him are the
best demonstrations of the lack of political will, and they have left the
main actors pushing for democracy in Chiapas to wear out on their own,
deepening the crisis of the conflict.

This is also demonstrated by the withdrawal from the PRI of those persons
representing the government or official bodies who have been negotiating
with the zapatistas and with social organizations.  Some examples are:
Manuel Camacho Solis (Cathedral Dialogue of 1994), who formed the
Democratic Center Party;  Dante Delgado Ranauro (negotiator for the federal
government with the organizations belonging to the Democratic State
Assembly of the Chiapaneco People), who tried to form the Democratic
Convergence Party;  former PRI State Deputy, Juan Roque Flores (today with
the PRD), dismissed as State Congress representative to the Commission of
Concordance and Peace (the COCOPA);  Pablo Salazar, Chiapas senator, former
member of the COCOPA (today independent senator).

Other Counterinsurgency Measure in Chiapas

The State Attorney General's Office has been attempting to promote the
formation of the Rural Police ever since last year at a meeting with
ranchers from Altamirano and Ocosingo.  Though not important at the time,
this initiative has once again been taken up.  As the opposition force has
grown, the communities of the alleged paramilitary groups have grown tired
of the violence, and they are beginning to denounce their leaders for
corruption and to hold them responsible for the violence.  This has led to
the method of control and counterinsurgency having to change, and today it
is through the implementation of the Rural Police.

Support bases of the "Tierra y Libertad" Autonomous Municipality of the
community of El Portal, municipality of Comalapa, have denounced on several
occasions that a Rural Police are set up there, people who have weapons and
wearing black uniforms.  

The organization of this police force has been taking shape in the
following manner:

The first step is to determine where the opposition has not been worn down.
 Next, portable radios are delivered to the communities, which will be
operated by the rural police (named by the communities themselves).  The
first beneficiaries of this policy have been those from "Peace and Justice"
in the Northern zone, who were given the first radios on May 19 in the
municipal seat (Cuarto Poder, 5/20/99).  The radios are connected to a
central base that will be located in the municipal presidencies' offices,
and these, in turn, will communicate by telephone with Tuxtla Gutierrez
(which, according to the municipal president of Tecpatan) will be the 066
system.  From that system, the following are connected:  the army, state
judicial police, Public Security police and the other police forces (radio
interview picked up by XERA of San Cristobal, 5/19/99, 5:50 PM).

Municipal authorities in San Cristobal, in an interview with radio station
XEWM, "Radio 640," during the 7 AM news on 5/21/98, reported that they were
already working on the formation of the rural police, who had been given
locks and clubs ( a wooden club with a piece of cable at the end, to tie up
a person's hands and drag them).

We have commented on his new counterinsurgency initiative in previous
bulletins, because it is very similar to the system of Civilian
Self-defense Patrols (PAC) that operate in Guatemala.  It is the same kind
of official recognition that the paramilitary groups in Colombia received.
This measure is trying to be imposed in Chiapas, under the pretext of
fighting crime and drug trafficking.

This police force could be utilized for different purposes:  as a way to
control the election that is nearing;  controlling social movements,
controlling the EZLN's movements and those of the church.  In sum, it is a
measure of control in all arenas of community life in Chiapas, a way of
delivering up to date information to all the police forces and government
bodies.

Onesimo Hidalgo

Center   of   Economic   and    Political    Investigations   of  Community
 Action,   A.C.
CIEPAC
CIEPAC, member of the "Convergence of Civil Organizations for Democracy"
National Network (CONVERGENCIA)

 ******************************************
Translated by irlandesa for CIEPAC, A.C.
******************************************

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