Zapatistas standing firm
Simon Jones reports for An Phoblacht from Chiapas, Mexico
Three hours of highway and twisty mountain roads from the town of
San Cristobal, the village of Diez de Abril sprawls a little
across the floor of a valley. Four years ago this was a massive
ranch, owned by one man, until the EZLN - Zapatista Army of
National Liberation - uprising in 1994 sent many such landlords
scurrying to the cities, and the farm labourers took over. Now
Diez de Abril is home to 700 Zapatistas (most of them children) -
and a varying number of international observers staying at the
Irish-run peace camp.
With the village still recovering from a military raid two months
ago and tension high in nearby Morelia (regional HQ of the
Zapatistas) due to some thirty families defecting to the
government side, the international presence is seen as very
important. ``We never know when the bloody army will come in
again,'' Alfredo, one of the elected communty representatives,
told me. ``If they come into the community then the observers will
be witnesses while the women confront the soldiers. The men wait
in the hills as a second line of defence. It is important that
people from outside see what happens and report it.''
The government does what it can to make life difficult for the
observers, as Sheila, one of the peace campers, explained: ``It's
almost impossible to get an observer's visa, so most people come
here on tourist visas and have to dodge the migration roadblocks.
You hear some hairy stories, but usually we get away with it. If
they catch you in one of the Zapatista communities though, they
are likely to deport you straight away.''
The peace camp is based in the `casa grande' or Big House -
formerly the farm manager's house - but the luxury is relative.
Unlike most homes in the village, they have cement floors, not
clay, in the kitchen and bedroom that make up the `camp'. But
like everyone else, the peace campers have to fetch all their
water from the river, cook over the fire when the village's DIY
electricity (tapped from the high tension cables) fails, and trek
to the latrine down the field. ``You get used to it really
quickly,'' says Sheila, ``because the people here are really open
and friendly. I've been working in the cornfield with them,
painting a mural (like in the 6 Counties, political murals are a
big thing here), eating in their houses, playing with their kids.
Apart from the helicopters and the threat from the army, it's a
dead relaxing place to live. When we finish work we go swimming
in the river or hang out and eat mangoes.''
Alfredo tells me that the people of the community are a lot
better off: ``Before we came here I had no land, nothing. Now I
have somewhere to grow maize and beans. It's worth struggling
for.''
Opinions vary as to the likelihood of another fullscale military
offensive against the Zapatistas. Sunday's announcement by
radical bishop of San Cristobal, Samuel Ruiz, that the
independent mediation body CONAI, which he chaired since it was
set up to broker negotiations in October 1994, was dissolving
itself in protest at the administration's stonewalling tactics
and the ongoing violence against indigenous communities is a bad
omen.
However, many here reckon that the government would be happier to
have the communities split and fight among themselves - as in
Morelia - giving the police and army an excuse to move in and
arrest Zapatistas.
Last week 140 people were detained in Nicolas Ruiz when the
Zapatista majority tried to expel the pro-government minority.
And in several areas, particularly in the north of Chiapas, death
squads set up by the government and/or landlords terrorise
pro-Zapatista communities.
The number of refugees from the violence is now near 19,000,
according to local newspaper El Tiempo. In some areas this
strategy of sabotaging the base communities seems to be working.
In others, the Zapatistas are holding firm or gaining ground. If
the war stays at the current `low intensity' level over the
summer, then the local elections in October could be a serious
test for the government, as the Zapatistas are planning to drop
their policy of abstention and vote for the left-wing PRD. If the
elections are not rigged, the Zapatistas' autonomous
municipalities (rebel county councils) could find themselves
`co-habiting' with PRD official municipalities, which might turn
out to be a productive partnership - and a difficult one for
Zedillo's administration to deal with.
Pressure is also likely to increase in the neighbouring states of
Oaxaca and Guerrero, following the massacre by police of twelve
members of the Marxist Popular Revolutionary Army in Guerrero on
the Sunday before last.
Although there is no alliance between the EPR and the EZLN,
retaliations by the EPR could draw military resources away from
Chiapas.
Next week: Simon Jones reports on government attacks on villages
in Chiapas
Further information on the peace camp in Diez de Abril can be
got from the Irish Mexico Group, c/o LASC, 5 Merrion Row, Dublin
2. tel. 6760435 or email lasc@iol.ie
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