File spoon-archives/marxism-news.archive/marxism-news_1997/marxism-news.9707, message 76


Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 12:47:11 -0600 (CST)
From: Edgar Abarca Rojano <sestrada-AT-fiscom.fcfm.buap.mx>
Subject: M-NEWS: E;NCDM,Actions Planned in support of Zapatistas for Jul 25 (fwd)






---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 10:53:18 -0500 (CDT)
From: Chiapas95 <owner-chiapas95-AT-mundo.eco.utexas.edu>
Subject: E;NCDM,Actions Planned in support of Zapatistas for Jul 25

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


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 16:13:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: NCDM <moonlight-AT-igc.apc.org>
Reply-To: chiapas-l-AT-profmexis.sar.net
Subject: Actions Planned in support of Zapatistas 7/25/97

In response for the International call for actions on July 25, 1997 actions
are planned for the following cities.  All are encouraged to take part in
this internationally coordinated effort in support of the Zapatista struggle.

We will post additional information and announcements as we receive them. 
IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT ACTIONS PLEASE CONTACT VIVIANA   AT THE
NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY IN MEXICO -
moonlight-AT-igc.apc.org or (915)532-8382

ACTIONS PLANNED FOR JULY 25, 1997


AUSTIN, TEXAS
noon rally at Mexican consulate
contact : Austin Comite de Solidaridad con Chiapas y Mexico
 Eduardo Vera - evera-AT-igc.apc.org

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
tba - between July 23rd & 25th
contact: Centro Sin Fronteras


EL PASO, TEXAS
12:30 pm action at Mexican consulate
contact:  Comite de Resistencia Zapatista
moonlight-AT-igc.apc.org or (915)532-8382

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
demonstration at Federal Building, downtown Milwaukee
time: tba
contact: El Comite En Solidaridad Con El Pueblo De Mexico-
Jeff - VivaChiapas-AT-webtv.net  (414)389-1341...

                        By Roxana Garcia
                  

PORTLAND, OREGON
noon demonstration at Mexican Consulate
contact: Chiapas Urgent Call -  Jena Camp, (503)829-5890

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
5:00 pm action at Mexican Consulate


DESPITE THE ELECTIONS, THE WAR CONTINUES
ACTION ALERT
Call for Demonstrations in the Mexican Consulates
Friday, July 25th, 1997

"In the Mexican south and southeast (particularly in the states of Hidalgo,
Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas), the Indian and rural Mexico lives in an
authentic state of siege and the specific needs and affairs of the
indigenous in terms of government and culture are ignored by the actual
political system and its parties.  The militarization in indigenous zones
makes normal life impossible.  There can be no planting, walking, meeting,
conduct of commerce, washing of clothes.  Now the Mexican political system
pretends to simulate a return to normality in those zones, but only for a
few hours so voting may occur.  Afterwards all will return as it was." 
-Sounds of Silence EZLN Communiqué, July 3, 1997

"The electoral reform has been the most profound of the century...we have
reached the highest level of political maturity in our democratic life".
-Emilio Chuayffet Chemor, Mexican Justice Secretary

     The neoliberals decided and now agree. The waves of instability and
corruption emanating from the PRI were not healthy for their markets. A
shift in the political arena of Mexico was necessary in order to insure the
long-term survival of their plans. According to that plan, democracy on
neoliberal terms would arrive in Mexico with the arrival of a multi-party
system. 

     Yet the lies which cover the monstrous brutality of this system remain
hidden to the majority of the peoples of the world.  Despite the election
results, the poverty of the people of Mexico is unlikely to improve in the
near future.  The Mexican government's basic commitment to staying with the
devastating course of globalization will not likely be altered by one election.

     The low-intensity war being conducted against the indigenous people of
Mexico also continues. Its death toll  accrues among those whose lives were
already being ravaged by the neoliberal proposal. Its casualties just during
the past few months include:
* The deaths of seven Chol people in Sabanilla, Emiliano Zapata, and
Shushupa, Chiapas, including an 11-year-old boy murdered by a paramilitary
group named "Peace and Justice".  The casualties include at least ten other
wounded.
* The displacement of the entire communities of Pasija, Shushupa, and
Emiliano Zapata in Chiapas who abandoned their homes in fear of continued
retaliation
* Jailings of a Chinateco leader in the port of Veracruz
* Harassment, intimidation and threats against a Nahua leader in Jalisco
* The increased militarization of the Huasteca region of Veracruz, the south
sierra of Oaxaca, the eastern and central zones of the Yucatan peninsula and
the diverse regions of Guerrero.  The unbridled activity of paramilitary
groups and assassins in the states of Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca, and Guerrerro.
* The aggressions suffered by the Mazateca and Mixe region in Oaxaca
including campaigns which condition public services in return for votes in
favor of the PRI; including the distribution of food, construction materials
and student scholarships.
=09
     At the same time the Mexican immigration service works diligently to
eliminate the presence of international observers in the indigenous
communities of Chiapas.  At the orders of the military whose convoys
patrolling the communities on a daily basis have been greatly disturbed by
the presence of dozens of international witnesses videotaping and
photographing them just as the military does to the communities, additional
immigration checkpoints have been set up deep inside the so-called "conflict
zone" . In the months since the suspension of the peace talks, some
international observers have been issued deportation orders; others have
hidden until the coast is clear; engaged in the same cat and mouse game
which plays itself out on the U.S. Mexico border.

     If the election of Cuahtemoc Cardenas and the new Congress is really a
step towards democracy, their first order of business should be to advocate
for an end to the low-intensity war in Mexico and to re-establish a
negotiations process.  The victory of new democratic forces in Mexico should
be manifest first in a process where the spark of hope began, in those
indigenous communities who taught the rest of us the necessity of  the
struggle for democracy, liberty and justice.

     For that reason the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico calls
on people of conscience in the United States to join us in one or more of
the following actions to demand that the newly elected  Mexican leaders
fulfill their responsibilities to the indigenous communities whose Ya
Basta!, as well as their blood and tenacity have held the door open and make
possible this tenuous opening in the electoral arena:

1.  Organize a demonstration at your local Mexican consulate or embassy
2.  Conduct a public educational forum at your church, school, union or
community hall on the low-intensity war in Chiapas and the current situation
in Mexico
3.  Conduct a private house meeting with friends and neighbors in order to
expose the suffering of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and the need to
take action
4.  Write a letter to the editor that lets people know what is happening in
Mexico
5.  Distribute flyers with information concerning the low-intensity war in
Chiapas and the Zapatistas
6.  Recommend to your local press and other media contacts that they report
on the action alert and the current situation in Chiapas

With these actions our specific demands include:
* An end to the low-intensity war created by the militarization and the
climate of civil war promoted by the Mexican local and federal governments,
including an end to the terror campaigns of paramilitary groups in Mexico,
and an end to the death and suffering the war is bringing to the communities
* An end to the harassment of international observers in the Zapatista
communities
* Implementation of the San Andres Agreements, signed by the federal
government, which recognize the democratic rights of Indian peoples.
* An end to U.S. military aid to the Mexican government

Our voices must be raised once again.  We cannot abandon the rebels who
helped us to remember who we are; human beings with the right to dream and
build a new world, citizens whose contributions to the wealth of nations
cannot be ignored.

ORGANIZE ACTIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS IN FRONT OF MEXICAN CONSULATES AND
EMBASSIES!!

SEND A MESSAGE TO THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF MEXICO-YOU ARE NOT ALONE, WE ARE
STILL HERE, WE WILL NOT ABANDON THE STRUGGLE!

For more information contact:
National Commission for Democracy in Mexico
2001 Montana Avenue, Suite B
El Paso, Texas 79903
Phone/fax: 915-532-8382
email: moonlight-AT-igc.apc.org





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