CPT in Mexico

CPT established a full-time, violence-reduction presence in the Mexican state of Chiapas in June, 1998.

CONTEXT

More than 1/3 of the population of Chiapas are Mayan Indians who maintain their cultural traditions, languages, and communal lifestyles despite centuries of colonialism and marginalization. The interests of Mexican elites and transnational corporations to exploit Chiapas's great natural wealth (petroleum, hydroelectric power, hardwood forests) has come into conflict with the desires of indigenous peoples to live an alternative economic model. Following the Zapatista uprising in January, 1994, the Mexican government implemented a low-intensity warfare strategy relying on militarization and paramilitarization to thwart indigenous resistance.

Currently, about 70,000 soldiers (more than 30% of the total Mexican armed forces) are stationed in Chiapas. The state of Chiapas is comprised of 111 municipalities (counties) within a number of distinct geographic areas each experiencing variations of this low-intensity warfare: Los Altos (the highlands - central mountains); La Selva (the jungle - Zapatista headquarters); Las Cañadas (the canyons); La Zona Norte (the Northern zone - large cattle ranching area).

OVERARCHING GOALS

In this context and in response to invitations from the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas and Las Abejas (the Bees) for international accompaniment, CPT Mexico functions as a physical and structural violence-reduction presence. The team's overarching goals can be summarized in three main areas:

I. Nonviolent Resistance

A. CPT Mexico seeks to learn from and support indigenous nonviolent resistance to oppression. Indigenous nonviolent actions include efforts at alternative community building, and the spiritually-based nonviolent resistance of the Bees which seeks to love their enemies into conversion.

B. CPT Mexico will encourage nonviolent resistence by modeling our own spiritually-based nonviolent direct actions.

C. CPT Mexico seeks, through visible, nonviolent presence and action, to "open up space" so that change can take place. This might take the form of:

1. Selected accompaniment of campesinos or human rights workers

 

2. Physically getting in the way of violence

 

3. Breaking down barriers as team members explore connections with PRI and paramilitary communities

II. Confronting Low Intensity Warfare

A. CPT Mexico will research and develop actions and campaigns to expose militarization, paramilitarization, and the dynamics of Low Intensity Warfare.

B. CPT Mexico will address in particular how the U.S. and Canadian militaries are involved in Mexico's militarization through funding, training, strategic planning, intelligence gathering, etc.

C. CPT Mexico is committed to understanding and communicating the economic roots which drive the Low Intensity Warfare strategy in Chiapas by focusing on stories that illustrate how Globalization/Neo-Liberalism affect people at the grassroots.

D. CPT Mexico is willing to challenge the Mexican government's use of immigration and military policies as a tool of Low Intensity Warfare (to restrict the movement and activities of internationals observing and promoting human rights) both in the field and through legal channels as necessary in order to carry out our work.

III. Education for Action

A. CPT Mexico seeks to increase understanding and action for peace among our constituencies in the U.S. and Canada by:

1. Fostering human linkages between people of faith in North America and Chiapas through delegations and special prayer/action campaigns.

 

2. Sharing stories which highlight the parallels between the struggles of indigenous peoples in Chiapas and those of indigenous peoples in the U.S. and Canada as well as other areas where CPT works.

CPT IN CHENALHÓ

A variety of factors converge to influence CPT Mexico's decision to focus primarily in one county in the highlands ­ Chenalhó. While there is currently less overt violence (shootings, kidnappings, disappearances) in Chenalhó than in some other parts of the state, the dynamics of low-intensity warfare are very entrenched and a sort of stalemate has set in. The profile of the situation cries out for nonviolent intervention.

Military ­ With a civilian population of approximately 30,000 in an area of 140 square kilometers (87 square miles), Chenalhó is the most militarized county in the state of Chiapas. Around twenty army bases dot the mountain ridges and valleys with one soldier for every twelve inhabitants (source: CIEPAC). Most military installations are civic action camps, providing food, medical care, and other benefits to primarily PRIista (government supporting) communities. These bases are strategically located throughout Chenalhó in such a way as to completely surround Zapatista and Abejas communities.

Paramilitary ­ Paramilitary groups (indigenous village residents mostly aligned with the PRI government or right wing Cardenista party) continue to carry arms, posing an ongoing threat to refugees longing to return home. Enticed by economic benefits (some say they are paid $700/month), paramilitary members extort money from village residents and coerce them into participating in lootings, killings, etc. with the message, "If you're not for us, you're against us." Observers at various levels (community residents, parish priests, Diocesan bishops, academics) assert that these groups receive weapons and training from the army and protection from the police. CPTers have observed armed indigenous men in civilian clothes riding in police vehicles on numerous occasions.

Displaced ­ Of the estimated 20,000 displaced people in the state of Chiapas (those who have fled their homes due to paramilitary violence), more than half (10,500) are in the county of Chenalhóó. That means over 1/3 of the county's residents are currently living in refugee camps (crowded conditions, temporary housing, inadequate water supply, donated food) in host communities far from their fields and sources of livelihood. After more than two years of living under such conditions, despair is palpable. Many refugees seem to be settling in for a long haul of being away from home and are, little by little, building more permanent housing in the camps.

Las Abejas ­ Chenalhó is also home to 4000 members of Las Abejas (the Bees) ­ Mayan pacifist Christians (both Catholic and Protestant) committed to working for social justice nonviolently. Approximately half of the Abejas in Chenalhóó are among the displaced, living primarily with other Abejas in the villages of Acteal and X'oyep. Acteal was home to around 400 people before the refugees swelled their number to 1200. The 13 families living in X'oyep welcomed 1100 displaced people into their community. The Abejas speak of justice, not vengeance, with regard to the December 22, 1997 massacre that took the lives of 45 of their loved ones in Acteal. They pray for their enemies while insisting on disarmament and demilitarization of their communities. In the words of one CPT advisor, "It is through the Abejas in Chenalhó that the spirit of God is moving."

GUIDING QUESTIONS