As suggested in the Introduction, one of the fastest ways to keep up with
what is happening in Chiapas is through the use of computer
communications. The following is a brief description of some sources of
information and discussion available in cyberspace. Many of the "lists" have
their own archives and earlier discussions can be retrieved, either from
archive listings or via a database search. (Unfortunately these address
change from time to time for technical and other reasons.)
ANTHAP Archives (Internet)
The Applied Anthropology Computer Network has an ftp/gopher site which
includes an archive of "Chiapas-Zapatista News" in its home computer at
Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan. This archive contains all kinds
of materials (news stories, discussion, EZLN communiqu8Es) downloaded
from just about everywhere. The archive contains a great deal of material
from January-March 1994. Very little has been added since. "Chiapas-
Zapatista News" can be accessed via gopher to Michigan/Oakland
University/Applied Anthropology Computer Network/Chiapas_news. The
archive can also be accessed via ftp vela.acs.oakland.edu (anonymous
login, then cd pub/anthap/ls). This material can also be accessed through
UT-LANIC (see below) at gopher lanic.utexas.edu /Latin
America/Mexico/Chiapas-Zapatista News.
CHIAPAS-L and MEXICO94 (Internet)
The Chiapas Discussion List was created in the wake of the uprising as a
forum for discussion of it. The Mexican Elections List was created
subsequently to focus on the August 1994 elections. They are maintained by
PROFMEXIS at CETEI-UNAM (Centro de Tecnologia e Informatica at
UNAM). Both have archives (Correspondencia) which can be accessed via
gopher lanic.utexas.edu Subscribe by sending the command "subscribe
chiapas-l (or Mexico94-l) your_name" to listproc@listas.unam.mx (leave
"SUBJECT:" line empty).
NATIVE-L and NATCHAT (Internet)
These two "lists" --Aboriginal Peoples: News and Information List and
Aboriginal Peoples: Discussion List-- are part of the NATIVENET series of
lists and contain information and discussion (respectively) of struggle
among a wide variety of indigenous peoples. The native-l archives are
maintained at Texas A&M University (listserv@tamvm1.bitnet). Subscribe
by sending the command "subscribe native-l (or natchat)your_name" to
listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu (leave "SUBJECT:" line empty)
CENTAM-L (Internet)
The Central American Discussion List covers the other countries of Central
America as well as Chiapas, especially struggles in Guatamala, El Salvador
and Nicaragua. Subscribe by sending the command "subscribe list-name
yourname" to listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu (leave "SUBJECT:" line
empty)
MEXICO-L (Internet)
The Mexico Discussion List covers anything and everything about Mexico
besides Chiapas, cultural as well as political. Originating in Mexico, much
of the discussion (but not all) is in Spanish. Subscribe by sending the
command "subscribe list-name yourname" to
majordomo@udlapvms.pue.udlap.mx (leave "SUBJECT:" line empty)
ACTIV-L (Internet)
The Activist Mailing List regularly posts news stories/analyses on the
Zapatistas. They also post stories on a vast array of other activist issues but
you can subscribe to a once-a-day index of articles that only gives you a
listing of stories available and then order the ones on Chiapas that you want.
Subscribe by sending the command "subscribe activ-l" to
listserv@mizzou1.missouri.edu (leave "SUBJECT:" line empty). To get
only the daily list, send the command "set activ-l index" to the same
address. Activ-l's discussion group is on USENET and has the name
"misc.activism.progressive" which also includes the articles.
PEACENET
There are several "conferences" (discussion groups) that have contained a
large amount of information about the situation in Chiapas, including
eai.news, reg.mex.news, trade.news and especially gen.nativenet and
reg.mexico. Peacenet is part series of nets run by the Institute for Global
Communications (IGC). The IGC networks provide low cost entry points
to the Internet. You can obtain information about subscribing by gophering
to igc.apc.org.
AMDH
The Mexican Academy for Human Rights (Academia Mexicana de Derechos
Humanos, A.C.) has issued irregular but very detailed "Special Bulletins,
Chiapas Conflict" in both Spanish and English. They contain day by day
chronologies as well as other kinds of information --including e-mail
addresses to other human rights organizations active in Chiapas. You can
get on their mailing list and obtain previous bulletins by posting to:
amdh@laneta.apc.org The bulletins have also been placed in reg.mexico
(PEACENET) and show up in the ANTHAP Archives.
NAFTA & INTER-AM MONITOR
Published by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) in
Minneapolis, the MONITOR is the result of the merger of the Inter-
American Trade Monitor and the NAFTA Monitor. A weekly bulletin, the
MONITOR contains news briefs and information on resources and events in
the struggle against "free trade". The MONITOR has carried both news of
the Chiapas Uprising and other information on NAFTA --which the
Zapatistas have called the "death sentence" to indigenous peoples and
campesinos. The MONITOR is posted on ACTIV-L and on PEACENET
(eai.news). The IATP produces a number of other trade-related bulletins on
PEACENET and ECONET, including trade.news and trade.library. Direct
subscriptions to any of these can be obtained from the IATP at
kmander@igc.apc.org
LADB
The Latin American Data Base at the University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque issued a series of special reports called CHIAPAS NEWS and
continues to produce a number of regular electronic publications that often
contain information about Chiapas and the Zapatistas, i.e., NotiSur,
SourceMex, Chronicle of Latin American Economic Affairs and Central
America Update. Information about subscriptions to LADB can be obtained
from ladbad@unmb.unm.edu Subscriptions can also be obtained from
places with site licenses, such as ladb@lanic.utexas.edu
WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
This weekly bulletin from NicaNet (the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of
Greater New York) regularly carries news from the struggle in Chiapas. It
is included in the postings of ACTIV-L. (See above for subscription
information.) Back issues are available on New York Transfer News
Collective Online Library. NYT News can be reached at nyt@blythe.org
SOC.CULTURE.MEXICAN and SOC.CULTURE.LATIN-AMERICA
(Usenet)
These are two discussion groups (among thousands) distributed to
computer sites all over the world. Each computer site accumulates the
articles and distributes them to its own users. Exactly how you access
Usenet groups depends on your local setup. If you are modem connected to
a mainframe with a personal computer access is facilitated with client
software such as Nuntius (Mac) or Trumpet (DOS).
UT-LANIC
The University of Texas at Austin - Latin American Network Information
Center provides access to a wide variety of academic databases and
information services around the world. Besides the sources mentioned
above, it includes access to over 200 databases and over 200 libraries
(including the UT Benson Latin American Collection, the "largest repository
of Latin American materials with an electronic catalog accessible via
Internet". UT-LANIC can be reached via gopher (or telnet)
lanic.utexas.edu Questions can be addressed to info@lanic.utexas.edu
Harry Cleaver
Department of Economics
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712-1173
USA
Phone Numbers: (hm) (512) 442-5036
(off) (512) 471-3211
Fax: (512) 471-3510
E-mail: hmcleave@mundo.eco.utexas.edu
Friends: I have been compiling a list of cyberspace sources of
information and news on Chiapas and the Zapatistas to be included in
the collection of Zapatista writings that will soon be published in English
by Autonomedia in New York. I would appreciate any corrections or
suggestions. Time is very short (the book is already in page proof and we
are rushing to get it out by the August elections, so please respond pronto
Harry
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This information was copied from the CHIAPAS-L mailing list. For more
information about that list, please see the article about CHIAPAS-L posted to
NATIVE-L on 15 March. You can obtain a copy of that article by sending a
message to "listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu" containing the text:
// job echo=no
database search dd=rules
//rules dd *
select * in native-l.6680
print all
/*
If you want more information on how to use the database search feature, so that
you can scan the archives of NATIVE-L, which go back to early 1991, or those of
other NativeNet lists (NAT-EDU, NAT-LANG, NAT-HLTH, NAT-1492),
just include a line containing "get nn-intro archives native-l" right after the
"// job" line in this message. Make sure there is at least one space after the
"//" in that line, but *no* spaces after the "//" in "//rules."
(Use the numeral "1" in "tamvm1" and the letter "l" in "native-l").
Archives of articles posted to CHIAPAS-L are also available from the list-server
where that list resides. To subscribe to CHIAPAS-L, send a message containing:
sub chiapas-l Your Name
to the address "listproc@listas.unam.mx" (where "Your Name" is replaced by your
first and last names).