1. Chiapas has one of the largest and most diverse indigenous populations with approximately 959,066 indigenous language speakers over the age of five, or 27% of the state’s population. It is home to nine major ethnicities and was a center of Mayan Empire with ceremonial city centers in Palenque and Yaxchilán. However, it is second only to Oaxaca in both indigenous population size and that population’s marginality in terms of socio-economic development. Ironically, Chiapas is also one of the states with the most diverse resource base, and the generator of 35% of Mexico’s electricity through hydropower. The history of Chiapas indigenous peoples is different from other parts of Mexico in that much of the state was a frontier, that has only recently been settled and freed from a long period of relatively lawless exploitation by diverse interests. It is only in the highlands that indigenous territories were left alone. Elsewhere, many indigenous communities had their territories expropriated to establish commercial estates and were either converted to indentured labor or fled to frontier areas to create new settlements. With colonization has come a number of indigenous populations from neighboring states with different traditions and customs.
 

Methodology

3. Demographic Movements. The demographic trends in Chiapas are both complex and dynamic. There are 111 municipalities in the state, 99 of them with indigenous populations. . The main indigenous groups in Chiapas in descending population order are Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Ch’ol, Mam, Tojolabal, Zoques, Kanjobal, and Mayas Lacandones (Hach Winik). The most populated regions of Chiapas are the Altos and the Centro which include the capital of San Cristobal de las Casas and Tuxla Gutierrez and the region of Soconusco, an area known for its coffee plantations. Most of the indigenous population is in the Altos and Selva regions even though there has been much movement of population into other regions. The Tzeltal and Tzotzil live mainly in Altos and the Selva and have expanded west and south. The Ch’ol have lived in the Selva and have expanded to the south, the Mam have lived in Fronteriza, Sierra, and Soconusco and have expanded to the Selva, and the Tojolabal have lived in Fronteriza and expanded to the Selva. The mestizo population also makes up 65% of the total population, according to INI estimates.

Table 1: Indigenous Population in Chiapas

Group	Population	% of Total Population of Chiapas
Tzeltales	322,224	9.0
Tzotziles	306,854	8.5
Choles	119,118	3.3
Zoques	87,302	2.4
Tojolabales (chuj)	66,280	1.8
Mames	23,423	0.6
Mochós	8,184	0.2
Cakchiqueles	3,510	.09
Lacandones	630	.0008
Other indigenous groups	21,541	0.6
TOTAL	959,066	3,584,786 (1995)

  Author, Pueblos y Culturas deChiapas 1992

4. Over the last 30 years, these indigenous communities have been experiencing rapid demographic change, due to the in-migration of new indigenous groups as colonists from other states and the internal movement of groups from traditional indigenous areas to frontier zones due to political or religious conflicts combined with pressures on agricultural land. As a result, the indigenous and non-indigenous population has expanded both in numbers and spatially to new areas, particularly in the Selva, the western central zone, and the area along the Oaxaca border. In parallel, indigenous elites are moving to urban centers that were formerly dominated by Spanish and mestizo elites and businessmen, creating a process of "re-indianization". Indigenous society is becoming increasingly stratified economically and socially, and urban areas like San Cristobal de las Casas in the highlands are becoming again cities of "indigenous peoples".

5. As a result of the Zapatista rebellion in 1994, there are also population movements to avoid violence. In 1997, it was estimated that 11,000 were displaced by violence, in particular Tzotzils. Some of the displaced live in camps, others in new settlements, and approximately 84 violence-related deaths have occurred (1997). Another important social impact was the arrival of approximately 35,000 refugees from Guatemala in 1983, mainly indigenous Kanjobales, along with Chujes, Mames and others. Since the end of the conflict in Guatemala, there has been voluntary re-patriation of 20,866 refugees. The November 1997 census of Chiapas showed 15,850 refugees still in Chiapas in 109 settlements in different municipalities.

1 It should be kept in mind that most of the statistical information on total numbers of indigenous peoples is often underestimated since only the language was used as a determinate. This variable does not indicate the loss of cultural identity if one is no longer using the language.

7. Political, Social and Religious Movements. Population growth combined with the exploitative relationships between indigenous peoples and powerful colonial and later government officials, church clergy, and wealthy business interests created fertile ground for religious and social movements in the 1960s onwards. Fostered by the Catholic liberation theology for human betterment of the Second Vatican Council, liberation theology clergy in Chiapas initiated a process of self-reflection in many communities, and Protestant missions also gained converts interested in the development goals of the those missions. This led to massive conversions, social and political initiatives to gain control of their development, and social unrest within communities, which were divided for the first time religiously. Most of the political movements in Chiapas are demands for human rights, land, and self determination, defined as a desire for customary forms of governance, as has recently been legislated in Oaxaca state. Because of the perception of a common enemy in the government and private elites, political organization has not been along ethnic lines, but rather ideological lines. The social movements have been influenced by the ILO Convention 169 signed by President Carlos Salinas in 1989, the 1992 Constitutional reforms, and the more recent San Andres accords signed between the government and the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN) in February 1996. The main issue in Chiapas is the interpretation of the Article 4 of the Constitution and its future regulation. Currently there are numerous municipalities which have declared their autonomy along the lines of the legislation in Oaxaca, but without the corresponding legal framework (see map).

8. The following sections provide summaries of three indigenous group discussed in detail in the state-level profile, Tojolabal, Mam, and Hach Winik.
 

Tojolabal

10. Migration of the Tojolabal is a response to the historic lack of territorial rights. When Tojolabal communities were allocated ejido lands these were fairly small and only the original ejidatarios were granted land. In addition, only some of the landed estates were converted to ejido lands, leaving many communities landless. With population growth, a large population is landless and without ejido voting power and therefore migrated to the lowland rainforests to new settlements. With all the historical movement, Tojolabal territory has actually expanded and can be considered as two areas, one a traditional territory and, the other, expanded territory.

11. Tojolabal communities are socio-economically marginal. A case study of the Tojolabals (Paniagua 1988) illustrates the overlay of poverty and the spatial location of indigenous peoples. In the locality of Venecia, only 8 percent of the population six years and older completed primary school. As in the other indigenous region studies in the Mexico profiles, there are numerous reasons for the failure to complete school: absence during migratory periods; poorly trained teachers and lack of teaching materials; lack of relevance of the teaching material; and poorly implemented bilingual programs. None of the women over six years of age had completed the sixth grade of primary school. The survey information shows that a high number of girls leave school to participate in household and agricultural tasks. The rainforest migration areas face other problems of lack of services. There are no schools and no teachers available in many lowland areas.

12. Development and Social Change. There are two processes ongoing in the Tolojobal region that are pertinent: forest exploitation and the introduction of public transport in the region. In those traditional territories that the Tojolabal have been able to recuperate, there has been a long-term conflict since the 1960s with the logging companies, which was temporally checked during the logging ban in the early 1990’s and is again an issue. Until the 1980s, the Tolojobal region had few roads. In the 1960s some communities in Las Margaritas municipality approved a concession agreement with a logging firm which included road building and some community sharing of the profits. The logging began in 1963 and by the late 1980s, the forest was nearly depleted. Although the municipality is first in Chiapas in terms of volume and value of forest produce, the communities have received no profit share despite complaints. The experience has left this ethnic group very resentful and distrustful of Government.

13. In the late 1970s, the government increased their military presence in the frontier area. Concerned with the potential guerrilla activity in the forest, additional roads were constructed. At this time, there were movements among the communities to ensure that the roads would benefit Tojolabales. Not long after the logging companies built the roads, a mestizo businessman established the first public transport route on the main road. He established high rates and did not treat passengers well. After he increased the rate 50 percent in 1977, the Tojolabal communities boycotted the company and made plans to purchase their own transportation. The owners of the company tried to put them out of business, but they did not back down and made the routes as planned (1983, Thomas and Robbins). In the absence of state institutions they have had to assume the role as managers of their own development.
 

Sierra Madre Region: Mames

15. The Soconusco region was a contested area between Mexico and Guatemala until 1894, when a boundary treaty left the Mames divided between two nations. A Colonization Law passed in 1883 by President Porfirio Diaz promoted the occupation of national lands near the newly created border, increasing the number of coffee estates in the Soconusco area and dispossessing Mames who became plantation labor. In the 1930’s the Mames became ejidatarios, and many of the coffee farms were parceled to them as part of the ejidos. As part of the program of national assimilation during this period, government tried to acculturate the Mames, who responding by not sending their children to school and isolating themselves. With demographic growth has come land pressure. Each ejidatario has 20 hectares, of which only about 2 hectares are productive. In the past, land was given to a son when he married, but for the last two generations, the young have had to look elsewhere. Mames have participated in the land occupations which accompanied the 1994 Zapatista uprising and have occupied several farms in the region.

16. Agricultural Production. The Mames are self-sufficient in agricultural production and they sell the surplus in local and regional markets. The Mames grow various crops in different ecological spaces, for example in the high Sierra, they grow maize, potato, cabbage, and wheat. At the foot of the mountains or along the rivers in small parcels they grow beans, maize, onions, radish, lettuce, and peanuts. In seven of the eight municipalities, there is a large number of sheep. The herds are managed at the family level and provide wool and natural fertilizer. Raising cattle is minimal, and limited to draft animals and a few animals for savings. Apiculture is a new activity for few communities.

17. Cultural Beliefs and Practices. In some communities, individuals known as "chimanes" exist. These people know the ancestral wisdom and practice traditional medicine and divining based on the Maya or Tzokin calendar. With the influence of Protestantism, the role of these chimanes has decreased considerably. In the 1930s, during the forced acculturation programs, the Mam language went from public to private space. The language became a ritual language used only in the homes, but it could also be used in the Protestant spaces. Protestantism entered this area in the early 1900s, promoting the use of the Mam language and criticizing assimilationism. The Mames that migrated to the lowland areas had contact with the Jehovah Witnesses. The groups that converted to Jehovah Witness have become united through this religion and have converted their communities into a space for symbolic resistance in the face of the integrating state presence. The Jehovah Witness Mam that have migrated to the Selva have developed a general resistance to the governmental institutions through a discourse that restructures indigenous communal values under new norms. Of the Mames over age 5 in 10 municipalities near the border area (what year) (271,474 total), 25 percent are Protestant, 53 percent are Catholic, and 20 percent state no religion. The new generations have little knowledge of traditional religion, the communal festivals and traditions of harvesting of maize.

18. New Social Change. At the same time as the process of religious change, there is currently an ongoing consolidation of organic agricultural cooperatives. These are a strong force for economic and cultural survival in the region, which started with the influence of Catholic Liberation Theology. A network of cooperatives has developed a dialogue of re-vindication of indigenous rights. For them, to be Mam does not mean to speak the language or utilize traditional dress, but instead to recuperate a common history and try to relate harmoniously with the mother earth. The cooperatives have adopted names which represent their heritages, including "Indigenas de la Sierra Madre de Motozintla," K’nan Choch, Nuestra Madre Tierra.
 

Selva Lacandona (Lacandon Jungle): The Mayas Lacandones (Hach Winik)

20. Land. In 1972, a presidental decree provided 614,21 hectares of land to 66 Lacandon Maya heads of household as a community territory with the dual aim of protecting the contiguous Montes Azules Reserve. Since there were 1,500 Tzeltal and Ch’ol families also living in the same area as the Hach Winik, the agreement was modified to include these families and in 1975, the Lacandon Community Zone (Comunidad Zona Lacandona, CZL) received rights for 662,000 hectares of "bienes comunales," communal land. The Comunidad Zona Lacandona has more than 9,730 (1990) members and 59 % of the land is covered by five protected areas. Of this total, 62 percent are Tzeltal, 32 percent are Chol, and 6% are Maya Lacandon.

21. The Hach Winik are known for their maintenance of a traditional way of living and detailed ecological knowledge closely linked to the forest. Their complex traditional agricultural system is complemented by the collection of forest products, hunting, and fishing. They have, however, undergone a significant cultural change as they have moved from a nearly isolated family subsistence economy to one subject to negotiations over wood concessions from private companies, salaried work and the impact of the regional economy. Traditional agriculture is practiced by older members of the community with intensive cultivation of maize and beans in a system of rotation near other food and medicinal plants with periods of fallow for three years every ten years. Non-traditional agriculture is based on mono-cropping of maize. In 1996, INE found that the traditional system is more productive, but obviously requires a greater investment in labor. Aquaculture is one of the few productive investments introduced from the outside which has had success and been appropriated by Lacandones.

22. The first commercial activity the Maya Lacandones were involved in was in a wood concession. A contract was signed in 1975 with the Compania Forestal de la Lacandona which promised that 70 percent of the income received from the extraction of wood would be deposited in a fund for the community and 30 percent would be divided among the Lacandones. According to the Lacandones, they were never able to determine how much was taken out and what they did receive was very low. On a small scale, they do participate in some commercial activities including cultivation of maize and jalapeno peppers for sale, collection and sale of palm leaves, creation and sale of artisan works, and tourism (hosting visitors, serving as guides). Tourism is one of the most important activities among the Lacandones living in the south since they are close to the archeological zone of Bonampak and forested areas that are relatively well conserved. An association Na Bolom supports the Lacandones to commercialize their artisan products and to define alternatives in development of artisan work.

23. Social and Political Organization. Traditionally, the social organization of the Lacandones was based on family clans and lineage. The partriarchs of the lineage were authorities and the traditional authority "To’ohil." At a political level, the Comunidad Zona Lacandona is an indigenous alliance made up of Mayas Lacandones, Choles, andTzeltales. Each of the subcommunities has a defined territory with autonomy for decision-making on customs and traditions. The Comisariado de Bienes Comunales and the Consejo de Vigilancia are the maximum authorities. The Comisariado is made up of members of the three groups that are elected to the Assembly which meets every three years (1,500 representatives attend the assembly).

24. The Hach Winik are a minority group in the CZL compared to the Tzeltales and Choles and their autonomy is somewhat limited. Even though the Comisariado of the Bienes Comunales of the CZL is from the Maya Lacandon group, the person is selected by majority vote and the Lacandon chosen is most likely t o be favorable to the other groups. The Hach Winik express the need to consolidate their own internal mechanisms that allow them to define authorities dedicated to their own issues with out damaging the alliance with other groups.

25. Education. The Hach Winik solidly maintain their Maya language and it is used orally at home. Only a few have begun to learn to write it. Many male adults agree that it would be worthwhile to include Maya in the basic education of children so they could learn to read and write in Lacandon Maya. In order to design this type of program, it is necessary to finance and implement a special program focused on training rural teachers of members of the community so they begin to impart reading and writing in Maya in the primary schools. Nearly all men under the age of 50 can speak Spanish, but few adult women can since they have less contact with those from the outside. Most of the young can read and write Spanish. The young people and the adults express the desire for technical training, in particular in wood and forest products since these are their resources. This need has not been systematically addressed, other than the provision of some short courses offered by government institutions in certain specific activities like aquaculture. They would be interested in the use, evaluation ,processing, administration, and commercialization of wood and wood products. The possibilities of designing, manufacturing, and marketing their artisan work is also seen as a need.

26. Health. Two of the communities have clinics with a doctor and an assistant. In Lacanja, a community member is trained by the Secretary of Health to assist the doctor. The clinics do run vaccination campaigns and in one of the clinics there is an ambulance. The closest hospital for the communities in the north is nearly 80 km away. In all the Lacandon communities gastrointestinal illnesses are proportionally very frequent. This is in part due to their living environment, but also it could be due to ineffective hygiene campaigns. Very few Lacandones have constructed latrines or even maintain them in good condition. Other problems which may be affecting their health include fumigation of their houses with DDT and inappropriate application of the agro-chemicals on the jalapenos. The population increase of the Hach Winik has been proportionally quite small likely due to the small population and inter-breeding which has also resulted in birth defects, congential deformities and low infant survival rates (Marion 1991). Recently, there are more inter-marriages with other ethnic groups, mainly the Tzeltales.

27. Infrastructure. In 1997, the road from the highway to Bethel and Lacanja-Chansayab was paved and the paths were to the houses were renovated. Two communities have an airstrip, three communities have a radio with an operator, but the service is often interrupted. Four to five years ago, electricity and potable water systems were installed in all the communities, but their functioning is inadequate and sporadic. For example, in 1996 in Naha, 50 percent of the houses had piped water, 70 percent had electricity (INE 1996). It is common to see traditional houses in the communities, but natural materials are often substituted for construction materials. Even though they may prefer natural materials, it is increasingly more difficult for them to gather what they need since the resources outside of the communities are becoming scarce. Since the 1994 conflict communication has been improving among the communities and the larger towns of the region. Even though the roads have been rehabilitated in some areas, there continues to be a lack of public transportation to four of the communities. If there is no transport, then it is impossible for them to commercialize their products affordably.

28. When the Hach Winik were centralized, there was no space planning for the new communities. There is a need for better space planning for use and for health reasons. The settlements have grown quickly in an unorganized way. There is contamination of water, infectious diseases, the loss of trees, run off into rivers and the need for management of garbage, drainage, and latrines.

29. Protected Areas. The Selva Lacandona is one of the areas with the highest biodiversity in Mexico. The forests of this area form part of the second largest extension of tropical forest on the American continent. In 1978 in order to conserve one of the most important tropical forest areas in the world, the Biosphere Reserva Montes Azules was decreed. It consists of 331,200 areas, of this 283,773 (85.68 percent) are located inside the communal lands of the CZL. In 1992, four additional protected areas were decreed inside their communal lands (Chan-Kin Refuge, Bonampak National Monument, Biosphere Reserve Lacantum, Yxchilan National Monument. In 1993, the CZL established nine of their own communal reserves. Since 1991, the CZL has been involved in the operation of the Program for Inspection and Vigilance of the Selva Lacandona. Through this program, community members have had work and training with respect to conservation and management of natural resources.

30. It has been estimated that the tropical forests of the Selva Lacandon originally covered nearly 1,300,000 hectares. Nonetheless, due to a process of massive forest exploitation and extensive colonization, the current forested surface is less than 600,000 hectares. The extensive advance of human activities has led to the deforestation of 30,000 hectares inside the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. The areas of the communal lands that are not included in the protected areas system have valuable forests providing an environmental capital that are important to conserve and utilized in a rational manner. The Hach Winik have accumulated a wealth of knowledge about their environment which has been studied by many experts however thus far the use of this knowledge for sustainable development has not been tapped.
 

Social Change and Development.

32. Traditionally all the family members participated in the family subsistence activities. These roles have changed with the introduction of new economic activities and salaried work. The distribution of labor among men and women has also changed. Decision making at the collective level is through the monthly General Assembly of adult males. Most of the current economic problems of the CZL are due to the lack of organization and financial resources to achieve greater agricultural production and commercialization of products. Producers of commercial crops depend for the most part on intermediaries to market their production and the payments to producers are minimal. Some community members have expressed the need for financial support to start their own micro-enterprises so they can avoid having to depend on the intermediaries.

33. There are several changes occurring with modernization. Young people are working outside to earn cash, rather than learning the traditional agriculture and cultural practices, there is increasing economic stratification with outside earning, and more monoculture farming systems are appearing. This has an impact on male female relations, since women are alienated by the modernization and men’s control of cash income, leading to increased alcohol consumption and more disruptive male-female relationships.

34. The Hach Winik express the need for the following types of development activities:

• community organization and decision making, strengthening organization skills, project
• management, and administration of resources;
• training on the optimization of productive activities;
• increase sources of employment and economic alternatives, especially in management, monitoring of protected areas , small business related to tourism, use and transformation of forest resources, and artisan development;
• optimization of public services, installation of latrines and drainage, improved management of garbage and solid wastes, access to transportation and phone service;
• resolution of agrarian conflicts; and
• infrastructure: bilingual, culturally appropriate education, construction and equipping of secondary and technical schools, exchange programs with other groups.

Instituto de Ecología, UNAM