Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 19:29:12 -0600 (CST)
From: Edgar Abarca Rojano <sestrada-AT-fiscom.fcfm.buap.mx>
Subject: M-NEWS: E;MEXPAZ Chiapas #129 (They Finally Spoke!) Jul 2 (fwd)


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 21:09:16 -0500 (CDT)
From: Chiapas95 <owner-chiapas95-AT-mundo.eco.utexas.edu>
To: chiapas95-AT-mundo.eco.utexas.edu
Subject: E;MEXPAZ Chiapas #129 (They Finally Spoke!) Jul 2

This posting has been forwarded to you as a service of 
Accion Zapatista de Austin.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 11:45:54 -0500 (PDT)
From: MEXPAZ_chiapas-eng <chiapas-eng-AT-mixcoac.uia.mx>
To: chiapas-eng-AT-mixcoac.uia.mx
Subject: Chiapas-esp 129
Resent-Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 11:45:54 -0500 (PDT)
Resent-From: chiapas-eng-AT-mixcoac.uia.mx

BULLETIN No. 61
CIACH, CHIAPAS, MEXICO
(July 2, 1997)

THEY FINALLY SPOKE!

In a communique dated July 2, the EZLN made known its stance 
with respect to the upcoming elections.  The EZLN's message 
may be resumed briefly in three points.  

1)  The Zapatistas explain their silence on elections in stating 
that now is the hour of political parties.  The election scene 
is theirs, which explains why the EZLN hushed up.

2)  The communique describes the new Mexico and its new realities:
indigenous peoples as social actors; civil society and new social 
movements outside the party scheme, and which question political 
parties; improved electoral competition under more equitable conditions 
and with increasing citizen control over elections; greater openness in
communications media, which no longer serve as propaganda for the 
state party; a crisis for presidentialism, Zedillo's image and manner 
of governing; crisis of a worn out state party system; polarization of 
intellectuals where even artists take part in politics; physical and 
political militarization of the country, with armed groups and the 
smell of discontent everywhere.  

3)  The EZLN will respect the decision of those who have decided to 
vote, as well as those who have decided not to vote.  

It should be mentioned that, in the communique, the EZLN states that
electoral participation --although important and necessary-- is not 
the only road to democracy.  But there remain several questions concerning 
the EZLN's silence:  its position on the San Andre's talks, fulfillment 
of agreements reached during the first round of negotiations, political 
prisoners, violence in the northern zone and the alarming militarization 
of the state.  

It would seem that the EZLN is waiting for election results, new shifts 
in power groups, society's reactions to election outcomes and the 
government's moves to force them to speak out on the questions we have 
already mentioned.   

Militarization
In this pre-electoral atmosphere, the Federal Army continues to increase
patrols, day and night over-flights, not only in the Lacando'n Jungle, 
but also in the Highlands, Huitiupa'n, El Bosque, etc., in order to take
new positions at different strategic locations.  In addition, the Army
is attempting to detect new roads and breeches which connect the 
canyons of Altamirano with Patihuitz, and from there to Avellanal 
Canyon.  Grain buyers, merchants, workers from the National Adult 
Education Institute (INEA) have entered the zone to do social work, 
interrogate the population concerning its electoral preferences and 
threaten to intervene in confrontations between the PRI and the PRD 
during elections.  

For now, the Army has stopped using the war against drugs as a pretext 
to penetrate the communities, marshalling other arguments and means.  
Rather, the Army is coordinating with PRI authorities, who --going 
above the head of municipal authorities-- request that the Army enter 
to undertake social work.  Nevertheless, many communities have 
rejected the Army, with the civil population preventing its entrance, 
since the Army invades community land and destroys jungle by cutting 
down trees for its trenches and barracks.
Given this resistance, the Army has attempted to buy land, but the
communities have refused to sell because the Army has not allowed 
the townspeople to reap their corn.  

In the zone of the Highlands, in the municipality of Pantelho', the 
Army has begun to experiment with the formation of rural guards, 
along the lines of the Civil Self-Defense Patrols (PAC) implemented 
in Guatemala, training and proving arms to police in rural 
communities to "safeguard" communities and confront the insurgent 
movement.  

President Zedillo's Visit to Chiapas
One of the last visits of President Ernesto Zedillo made to Chiapas 
was last year, to the Lacanja' Chanzayab community, in the 
municipality of Ocosingo, where he delivered resources to the 
Interinstitucional Commission, which has allowed the Army to control 
the Social Attention Centers, as in the case of San Quinti'n.  
These resources have been handed out to PRI groups in the Northern Zone,
including "Peace and Justice", and have been a condition for
voter registration, receipt of PROCAMPO credits or identification at
military checkpoints.  This context has strengthened and supported the 
Army, which has got its paws on reforrestation projects which should 
belong to the Secretariat of the Environment, Natural Resources and 
Fisheries (Semarnap), as well as other responsibilities proper to the 
state, its secretariats and agencies, which no longer govern in Chiapas.  

Ernesto Zedillo's visit to Chiapas constituted evident support for PRI
candidates in their campaign closures.  The President delivered 
resources to bilingual indigenous teachers who belong to the Peasant 
Teacher Solidarity organization (Socama), accused of being a base 
group of the paramilitary group "Justice and Peace", and fortifying 
its economic plan Pronafide. 

President Zedillo signed the Exclusive Development Agreement, which 
will provide Chiapas with 180 million pesos for health, infrastructure,
education, etc.  The question is, what institutions and who will 
receive these resources?  The supposition is that they will be 
delivered to the Inter-Institutional Commission (Secretariat of 
Health and Assistance --SSA--, Secretariat of Social Development 
--SEDESOL-- National Adult  Education Institute -- INEA-- National 
Indigenous Institute --INI-- Public Education Secretariat --SEP-- 
National Defense Secretariat --SEDENA-- Interior Secretariat, etc.)  
The objective:  repeat history in the Junge and Northern Zones.  

Given public knowledge of the links between some peasant groups 
with the Army, government and paramilitary groups, the government is 
looking for a new strategy:  transferring conflict in the Northern 
Zone to the Highlands, using distinct coverage and creating 
different organizations, but always with the same institutional 
relationships:   Government-State Congress (the PRI candidate from 
this zone is a Socama member)-municipal presidents-paramilitary 
groups-Army. 

Significantly, President Zedillo visited Acapetahua in the zone of
Soconusco, principally because of two reasons:  first, because the 
zone exhibits excellent conditions to promote the Free Trade 
Agreement; and second, because Acapetahua is where the most Japanese 
immigrants are concentrated, who last month inaugurated a moment 
dedicated to the arrival of the Japanese to Chiapas in 1892.  Zedillo 
committed himself to supporting and promoting production of African 
palm, other species of palm trees, sesame seeds, macadamia nuts, etc., 
all export crops which would substitute production of corn, beans, 
etc.  President Zedillo's other promise was to install other factories 
to extract oils, which have already been started up in Jiquipilas, 
Villa Comatitla'n, Acapetahua.   

The Electoral Process
The pre-electoral atmosphere is quite tense due to the wave of 
violence started by paramilitary and PRI groups that have threatened 
the population, as with ambushes of Zapatista sympathizers and PRD 
militants in Sabanilla; harrassment of peasant organizations; power 
outages; attacks on the Diocese of San Cristo'bal and the reappearance 
of ex-communicated priest Luis Mijangos, who rails against the 
bishops of San Cristo'bal.  The closer the elections, the more the PRI 
and local authorities exercise pressure on the population to buy and 
coerce the vote, as in the cases of Tuxtla and Comita'n; increase 
militarization and para-militarization; and increase crime in the 
Highlands.

Nevertheless, organizations interested in undertaking the transition 
towards democracy in our country view elections with great hope as 
a possibility to win the Federal Congress and permit the San Andre's 
Agreements to be translated into congressional law; to achieve true 
respect for indigenous rights, liberty, democracy and justice; to hope 
that there may really exist a counterbalance to the Mexican presidential 
system, especially the Executive Branch.  

Many Non-Governmental Organizations, Civil and Citizen Organizations 
have joined this process, including Civic Alliance, which has provided 
about 200 observors, 80 of which have been accredited by the IFE.  

Electoral observation will be carried out in nine districts considered 
to be in high-risk zones, where the opposition has a chance to win, 
in marginalized zones and in places where vote buying and coercion is 
already occurring.  The IFE recognizes and foresees that there will be 
electoral problems in Sabanilla, Tila, Tumbala', Salto de Agua and 
perhaps Palenque (District 1); District 2, seat in Pichucalco; 
District 3, in the Jungle, and District 5, in the municipalities of 
Chamula and Mitontic.  In the Northern Zone, Simojovel, Ixhuata'n, 
Jitotol, Solosuchiapa, Tapalapa and Tapilula, participation as an 
election official has been conditioned upon payment of 800 pesos.  
The IFE has also made public that in the District of Ocosingo,
some 21 polling sites will not be installed; but these polls do not 
amount to more than 20% of the total, which would require postponement
of elections.  Other communities in the Jungle Region have conditioned 
their participation in elections on fulfillment of the San Andre's 
agreements (La Jornada, June 29, 1997).  

Possible Scenarios
1.  Foreseeably, in many Zapatista zones, the civil population may 
prevent installation of polls, block roads and highways the day before 
elections, or prevent ballot boxes from arriving to Electoral Districts.
This would lead to intervention of Public Security forces and the Army 
and provoke sharp confrontations.  

2.  Confrontation within the population is also predictable in both
Zapatista and non-Zapatista zones, whether between PRD militants, 
Zapatista sympathizers, peasant and citizen organizations with power 
and shock groups.
This will occur mainly in municipalities where there are two municipal
governments --those recognized by the government and those recognized
by rebel authorities-- as in San Andre's Larrainzar, Chenalho', El 
Bosque, Soyalo', etc.

3.  Civil resistance organizations should make the election process 
into an instrument to pressure for solution to their demands.  

4.  Elections should be carried out without delays:  those that will 
vote should do so and those that won't should be observers.  The 
outcome will favor the PRI and that's that.  

5.  Some organizations should decide to vote en masse, to protect
themselves; this could generate tensions and confrontations with PRI 
groups at the polls.  

6.  The PRD may win some districts or polls, which would increase 
aggression against the party's sympathizers.  

Center of Information and Analysis on Chiapas (CIACH)

Address:  Flavio A. Paniagua No. 107
Barrio de Guadalupe
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas
Tel./Fax:  (967) 8 65 81
e-mail:  ciach-AT-laneta.apc.org






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