REPORT FROM MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
DELEGATION TO CHIAPAS

SEPTEMBER 21-28, 2002

This report is the result of a delegation organized by the Mexico Solidarity Network in response to a call to action by the Network of Community Human Rights Defenders. As members of national and international civil society, we investigated the rising tide of violence directed against autonomous indigenous communities in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The twenty five members of our delegation represent seven countries: Mexico, United States, Canada, Germany, England, Denmark, Japan, and Turkey. We are journalists, documentary filmmakers, photographers, teachers and students, biomedical researchers and sisters of the church. Our findings are based on observations gathered in the autonomous municipality of Olga Isabel, where we visited the communities of San Antonio de las Cruces (the municipal capital), K´a Anakil and San Ramon. We draw the following conclusions from our firsthand observations.

IMPUNITYIt has been one month since the assassination of Antonio Mejia Vasquez, a Deacon in the Mission of Chilon, and a leader in the community of K´a Anakil. Despite public denouncement of the crime by the community, NGOs and human rights organizations, the case remains unresolved. Mejia Vasquez was murdered on August 26, 2002, as he returned from a meeting of local religious authorities in a neighboring community. To date, no arrests have been made, no investigations have been carried out, and eyewitnesses from K´a Anakil have not been given an opportunity to give their testimony. Two pieces of evidence implicate the paramilitary group los Aguilares:

• An eyewitness to the murder identified the assassins as three members of the paramilitary group Los Aguilares - Sebastian Aguilar, Oscar Aguilar and Nicolas Aguilar.
• A collection of shell casings from the bullets that killed Antonia Mejia includes those used exclusively with AR-15 rifles. Possession of these weapons is strictly limited in Mexico to the army. The leader of Los Aguilares, Sebastian Aguilar, is himself a former army officer, demonstrating a strong link between Sebastian Aguilar and the military.

The crime followed eight months of threats from local paramilitaries. In conjunction with the lack of response from local authorities, this illustrates the systemic impunity enjoyed by paramilitary groups. As a result of this impunity, autonomous communities live in constant fear of violence, as evidenced by three other murders of Zapatista supporters in the past six weeks. The majority of crimes go unreported due to disillusionment with the government.

AUTONOMYDaily life in the autonomous communities of the municipality of Olga Isabel provides ample evidence that the system of autonomy is functioning. Staffed by promoters trained at the regional Aguascalientes, autonomous schools provide children with an education that reflects their identity both as Mexicans and Indians, respecting indigenous forms of knowledge. Local and regional councils elected by consensus convene regularly to make decisions impacting the well being of the communities. Even in this most recent period of rising violence, the communities continue to demonstrate incredible resilience in mobilizing collective support in the face of organized terror.While the government has failed to acknowledge the murder of Antonio Mejia, the network of autonomous communities provides daily support through rotating patrols in the community of K´a Anakil. Every four days, 15 men from neighboring autonomous communities arrive in K´a Anakil with food from their local communities to sustain the victims of violence and provide constant outside presence to deter future violence. Facing threats of more violence, these communities continue to demonstrate their ability to provide an effective support network that sustains communal autonomy.

PARAMILITARIESDespite continuing government assertions that armed paramilitary groups do not exist in Chiapas, recent activity in the communities; a Anakil and Crucero San Antonio indicate that paramilitary groups pose an active and constant threat to the survival of autonomous communities. Witnesses to the murder of Antonio Mejia have identified the perpetrators as members of the paramilitary group Los Aguilares. Los Aguilares maintain constant patrols in the area surrounding a 'Anakil', regularly firing gunshots and threatening to attack community members should they return to their fields to work. As a result, community members cannot work their fields. Los Aguilares patrol the road leading to'Anakil' between 5 pm and 6 am, rendering it impassable for community members. They also threaten members of neighboring autonomous communities who come in support to 'Anakil'. The paramilitaries are contributing to a perpetual environment of civilian targeted warfare, designed to wear away the social fabric of autonomous communities through violence and psychological intimidation.

MILITARIZATIONThe military maintains a constant presence in the Autonomous Municipality of Olga Isabel. In spite of numerous demands by indigenous communities and civil society, demilitarization has not taken place in Chiapas. We witnessed regular movements of army vehicles on the road between Bachajon and Chilon during our visit, and passed several military installations on the roads leading to these communities.

ECONOMIC CONTEXTCivilian targeted warfare and destruction of the social fabric can be understood in the context of transnational economic development plans such as Plan Puebla Panama. Federal and state authorities are working closely with transnational corporations to open Chiapas for development of transportation corridors, constrution of maquiladoras and exploitation of natural resources. These developments benefit international investors at the expense of local communities. In the autonomous community of Crucero San Antonio, government trucks arrived on July 2 to pave the dirt road running through community property. This was done without consulting the autonomous authorities. They quickly concluded that the road was not being paved to benefit them, since none of them own cars, but instead to facilitate military patrols and those who wish to extract their natural resources. The community is maintaining a 24-hour roadblock to bar any government or construction vehicles from entering.

Private ownership of communally controlled lands is key to the transnational development scheme. In the case of Olga Isbabel, the most violent disputes can be traced to control of the land and water recources. While communities demand respect for their traditions and customs, including communal ownership of land and natural resources, governmnet officials promote privatization and individual land titles through assistance programs designed to divide traditional community structures. These programs ultimately benefit transnational corporations at the expense of the needs of local communities.