CPTnet
July 20, 1999
CHIAPAS: This Time, "Divide and Conquer" Failed
by Lisa Martens

On Sunday, July 4, CPTers spoke with the elders of a
Presbyterian Church, estranged from its wider Presbyterian community in
Chiapas. Though rejected by its own, the congregation is entwined with
Catholic and Pentecostal churches in the same community-autonomous Polho-and
their closeness is, literally, their wealth. "Here, we are united in
our practice of justice," Francisco explained, in a country whose government
carefully paints the violence in Chiapas as a conflict between indigenous
communities of different religious denominations.

Dominant Mexican leaders would have the world think that the Chiapan war is
religious infighting, rather than expose their giving of guns and money to
some indigenous people, alienating neighbours from each other, and making
vulnerable the land and culture of the people.

Autonomous Polho is a municipality mostly of people who have been driven
from their homes by the very paramilitaries who, according to human rights
monitors, are supplied with weapons by the government. Polho chooses to
govern itself.

In a country where dominant politicians pay for support, the Presbyterian
elders of Polho tell us that theology and access to resources are
inextricable. "In 1984, we went to the national Palace to ask Mexican
officials for the same benefits offered most Presbyterians," explained
Francisco. "We were rejected, as have been the wider community's requests
for basics like schools and electricity. We have electricity, now," he
smiled, "but we don't pay for it." Chiapas is the Mexican state which
provides more than half of the country's electricity, and has the smallest
percentage of people who are able to afford it. "Also," our host continued,
"We used to ask the government to come fix our electrical system. We would
wait for weeks, and they would not come. Now we have electricity all the
time because our own people have learned how to repair the system."

"Its not easy, but at least we're no longer dying," the elders said of their
ecumenical struggle for existence as a community. Reminiscent of the early
church, the citizens of Polho have little to spare, but continue to organize
and share what they need in a town made up of 14 refugee camps.
In regards to the difficulty of survival, Francisco said, "We realize that
God's people in the Old Testament were also refugees. We always look to
God's word for guidance."