* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Indigenous people talk about Alejandro Hernandez Dolores, their
leader. They say he is a real person, not a myth: "He is like us, and
represents our interests, but he is not a guerrilla, as the government
wants us to believe. OIPUH is no longer a regional struggle, but it is
overflowing to the entire country through the Coordinadora Nacional
Plan de Ayala of which we are members because the Coordinadora seeks
democracy and liberty". Policemen and army soldiers ask the peasants:
"Where is your leader". The peasants don't answer and think: "They
don't know that now Alejandro Hernandez Dolores is each one of us".
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TITLE: 2,000 MEN FORM THE AGRARIAN GUERRILLA
GROUP NOW OPERATING IN THE HUASTECA ZONE.
(PART 3 of 4)
by Sergio Loya and Ricardo Ravelo (additional information from
Francisco Castellanos, Gloria Leticia Diaz and Pedro Matias).
Published in "PROCESO", No. 921, June 27, 1994. Mexico.
[Translated by Vladimir Escalante Ramirez with
permission to post this article in electronic mail given by "PROCESO"
as long as authors and source are quoted.]
FORBIDDEN TOPIC
Nevertheless it is dangerous to talk about the guerrillas in
Veracruz. Antonio Cruz Sanchez said he was kidnapped and tortured
at the hands of alleged police officials for talking about it on June
10 at 11 o'clock in the evening in the city of Xalapa. At that time he
was an official in the Fishing Department of the federal government.
He was taken to an isolated place and was questioned about his
declarations to reporters on the existence of a guerrilla movement. It
didn't help to say that he had worked in the administration of former
State governor Fernando Gutierrez Barrios. They wanted to know "where
were the arms that had entered the state five years ago through the
Customs Office in Veracruz."
He was left near a bush at 3 o'clock in the morning. He thought he
would be killed. "It seems to me absurd that I was beaten up for
saying that there is a guerrilla conflict in Veracruz. I only said what
everybody knows: there are armed groups, there has been a guerrilla
uprising in the mountains for more than ten years, there is hunger,
there are big land owners who refuse to give up their land, there are
land takeovers, there are armed confrontations with the army and the
state police."
As early as 1985 the OIPUH in Veracruz, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosi
considered itself a peasant organization, not a guerrilla group, and
had sent to the United Nations a document saying that, "80% of indians
in the Huasteca zone remain in a state of poverty and slavery that
causes high rates of child mortality, sickness, and misery. That's
why we fight, but we are being persecuted, and forced into illegality;
they are trying to destroy our organization with all kinds of means"
(PROCESO, No. 476). The group has also presented similar accusations
with detailed accounts of torture cases to Amnesty International.
Despite their definition as a civilian organization, nobody in the
region doubts the guerrilla character of the OIPUH. Even Angeles Rios
assures that the arms they are using, "are obtained in Hidalgo, and go
from sophisticated AK-47 and R-15 guns to rifles".
NEGLECT OF SOCIAL NEEDS, THE REASON
The priest of Chicontepec, Efren Rodriguez, has known about the
guerrillas for ten years, and says: "They fight for land and liberty,
as Emiliano Zapata. Even their slogans are inspired in that philosophy.
Their graffiti on the walls reminds very much of Zapatismo. In
Chapoptechico, the police and Army have confronted the OIPUH. Violence
has caused a lot of deaths here".
Efren Rodriguez claims he understands some points of the guerrilla
ideology to vindicate the poor, but adds: "I reject violence as a
means to an end. I think that these guerrilla war is the result of one
single thing: government indifference of neglected groups. In
Chicontepec there are approximately some 2,000 indigenous people living
in extreme poverty. The government has promised a lot, but is not
delivering. The people is fed up. Then they follow the guerrillas. Now
they believe more in the guerrillas than in the government."
In June, 1982 (PROCESO No. 295), one of the OIPUH leaders, Arturo
Martinez Hernandez, denounced that close to 500,000 inhabitants in the
Huasteca zones of Hidalgo, Veracruz and San Luis Potosi were suffering
from hunger, illiteracy, dispossessions, and repression.
He said that since Febuary 25, three army battalions had eleven
towns under siege in Hidalgo mountains, where 25 peasants had been
detained: "Meanwhile, tens of families are helpless in mountain
refuges. Repression starts to reach the municipalities of Atlapexco,
Huejutla, Huautla in Hidalgo, and Chalma, Chicontepec and Tantoyuca in
Veracruz, with the pretext that there are guerrillas in the zone."
From 1980 to 1982 there were nearly 300 land takeovers
in the Huasteca zones, 200 peasants had become political prisoners,
and the number of political assassinations reeached 20.
An OIPUH report to Amnesty International denounced that close to
400 caciques subjected around 500,000 indigenous people to "labor
practices in use hundreds of years ago", and that the fight for land
had unleashed strong repression. OIPUH leaders said: "We are
accused of being guerrillas in order to create a reason to fight us
because we have recovered with takeovers more than 23,000 hectareas
taken from us by the Austrias, the Zu~nigas, the Fayads...".
At that time, peasants said that they carried out land takeovers,
and then held popular meetings where ideas by Marx, Lenin, Villa and
Zapata where heard, because the Agrarian Reform Department of the
federal government did not offered any solutions. All that despite the
fact that peasants have land property documents dating from the XVII
century, and favorable presidential rulings. "If they kill us, our
children will fight," they said.
Indigenous people talk about Alejandro Hernandez Dolores, their
leader. They say he is a real person, not a myth: "He is like us, and
represents our interests, but he is not a guerrilla, as the government
wants us to believe. OIPUH is no longer a regional struggle, but it is
overflowing to the entire country through the Coordinadora Nacional
Plan de Ayala of which we are members because the Coordinadora seeks
democracy and liberty". Policemen and army soldiers ask the peasants:
"Where is your leader". The peasants don't answer and think: "They
don't know that now Alejandro Hernandez Dolores is each one of us".
(To be continued).
The Zapatista Army has called for a National Democratic
Convention to be held somewhere in the Zapatista controlled
territory in Chiapas. I talked today to some representatives
of the Coordinadora Nacional de AcciOn CIvica para la LiberaciOn
Nacional, which claims to be the legal representative of the
Zapatista Army. They told me that no observers were contemplated
in the Convention's organization. Only press and delegates will
be allowed. Registration of delegates to the Convention is being
carried out at tables set up in public places by Zapatista
supporters and organizations throughout the country. To be registered,
each delegate must show an ''acta'' (minute of a meeting) signed by 10
or more persons stating his/her designation as a delegate of the
group. Delegates are also required to present a document with
proposals for discusion in the Convention, an ID, 4 photos
and 300 new pesos. It seems that the deadline is on Sunday July 31.
Somebody else had told me that no resolutions would be taken at
the Convention because they were afraid that it could be
infiltrated. I think this may not be true. The literature
that was handed to me today says:
''The Zapatista Army of National Liberation EZLN in the Second
Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle calls the civilian society to a
National Dialogue for Democracy, Liberty and Justice to take place
at a National Democratic Convention in Zapatista territory. [THE
CONVENTION] WILL CREATE A PROVISIONAL OR TRANSITION GOVERNMENT,
WHICH WILL PRODUCE A NEW CONSTITUTION TO GUARANTEE THE WILL OF THE
PEOPLE.''
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
--"The armed uprising will not happen only in Guerrero. Subcomandante
Marcos has talked about that. I understand there are guerrilla
groups in Sinaloa, Michoacan, Oaxaca Veracruz and Puebla."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
TITLE: 2,000 MEN FORM THE AGRARIAN GUERRILLA
GROUP NOW OPERATING IN THE HUASTECA ZONE.
(PART 4 of 4)
by Sergio Loya and Ricardo Ravelo (additional information from
Francisco Castellanos, Gloria Leticia Diaz and Pedro Matias).
Published in "PROCESO", No. 921, June 27, 1994. Mexico.
[Translated by Vladimir Escalante Ramirez with
permission to post this article in electronic mail given by "PROCESO"
as long as authors and source are mentioned.]
GUERRERO
On January 22, 1984, the front cover of PROCESO, No. 377, showed
two phrases on the same topic: "Faced with the declarations of Lucio's
lieutenant, Ruben Figueroa [says]: the guerrilla war can come back." Ten years
later, on June 22, the three bishops and an archbishop of the state of
Guerrero alerted State governor Ruben Figueroa Alcocer, whose father
was kidnapped by Lucio Caba~nas, Anacleto Ramos and Francisco Fierro
Loza,:
"In the State there could be a social explosion like that in Chiapas,
with serious consequences for the comming election period, because of
social injustice and neglect of the peasants -- in 70% of the
municipalities there are no productive [government] programs."
According to a note of reporter Gloria Leticia Diaz, bishops Alejo
Zavala Castro of Tlapa, Raul Vera Lopez of Altamirano City, Efren Ramos
Salazar of Chilpancingo, and archbishop Rafael Bello Ruiz of Acapulco,
in presence of Vatican Ambassador Prigione, met with the State governor
to warn him about the lack of a true transition to democracy and the
prevalence of injustice and government abuses in municipalities where
extreme poverty is more concentrated. They considered that neglect of
education is another factor that forces poor people to look for an
armed solution.
They were also worried about human rights violations that happened
when close to 1,500 state police officers went to the mountains of
Costa Grande, La Monta~na and Tierra Caliente in an intensive search
for arms.
It is estimated that there are 3,500 soldiers, heavily armed,
inspecting the zone in a supposed drug plantation raid. People living
in the zone, however, assure that they had never seen so many soldiers
nor soldiers so heavily armed.
The Guerrero church is working on a report on the situation to be
delivered to Pope John Paul II during the next Pope's visit.
Priest Orbelin Jaramillo Diego, of Coyuca de Benitez, who has been
identified as a follower of liberation theology, pointed out that most
armed subversive organizations appeared after the Chiapas uprising, and
were willing to act, but would heed subcomandante Marcos' call in the
Second Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle: wait until after the
elections. Orbelin Jaramillo Diego is also leader of the Human Rights
Committee "La Voz de los sin Voz", and assured that armed groups were
being advised by EZLN members, but they didn't have the 2,000 AK-47 guns
that supposedly were smuggled from the United States.
He said: "They have been arming themselves little by little, with
unsophisticated arms; besides in Guerrero it is easy to get them; all
people in the mountains have arms".
He adds that organizations of the most neglected people in the
State "decided to unite to recover their social rights and seek better
living conditions. They have no power ambitions. They don't have
natural leaders like Lucio Caba~nas or Genaro Vazquez. They are simply
people who are fed up with widespread poverty in the state. Political
parties have become accomplices of the government".
Orbelin Jaramillo Diego explains that the work the church of the
poor is doing in Guerrero is inspired in documents by the Vatican
Council II of Puebla, Medellin and Santo Domingo that extol
predilection for the poor.
"In Guerrero there are close to 20 priests who maintain this view,
and our work centers on making people realize that Jesus Christ does
not agree with so much humiliation and poverty, and it's in the people's
hands to make their rights upheld, and recover their dignity. The means
are up to the people," he said.
Unofficially information says that there are at least 100 members
of the Public Security National Coordinating Agency, who are in charge
of road blocks in the state. Police agencies are only providing
support.
Other priests, who also subscribe to liberation theology, and requested
anonymity said:
--"In Guerrero there are armed groups getting ready. I cannot
betray their trust in me, I cannot tell who they are, but I want you
to know their fight is not gratuitous."
--"There are other guerrillas who were here before and belong
to the Party of the Poor. They survived in the mountains and have
had more time to prepare."
--"The PROCUP [TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: Procup stands for Revolutionary
Workers' Clandestine Party-People's Union] is also present in the
State, but its members are so secret that nobody knows them and are
not leading any organized movement. People distrust them because of
their radical and violent methods. Besides they have never had
influence at the state or national level to change history."
--"Guerrilla groups can be found wherever you see the army
and lots of police officers. That is why anybody can realize that
there are guerrillas in the coast and the mountains. They can be
found even in Tierra Caliente."
--"After the conflict in Chiapas started, the Peasant Organization
of the Southern Sierra (OCSS) was born. It seeks to improve
living conditions, and respect for democracy. There is also
the Ejido Coalition that has more influence in Atoyac, and somehow
has served not only to give more options to solve problems in
production, but also to involve people in politics."
--"People is getting ready... There are already controlled
zones where nobody can go, but they are waiting, and will heed the
call of subcomandante Marcos to wait until after the elections."
--"The armed uprising will not happen only in Guerrero. Subcomandante
Marcos has talked about that. I understand there are guerrilla
groups in Sinaloa, Michoacan, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Puebla."
OAXACA
Peasant leaders of the Triqui zone denounced that government
neglect of social problems and the 58 assassinations in the regions
this year had produced a climate of unruliness [ingobernabilidad]
that encourages the existence of armed groups according to reports
from Oaxaca.
PRI coordinator in Juxtlahuaca, Filemon Martinez Lopez, said that
in the region there was a rumor of an armed group linked to the war in
Chiapas that had high power guns and hide in the Triqui town of
Rastrojo. He added that, "we are not interested in that though. We are
worried that the government does not pay attention to us and does not
send the Mexican army to the zone." He said that the Triqui zone "is
almost like Chiapas." There are frequent ambushes, sieged towns and
crop burnings.
General Secretary of the State government, Jose Antonio Estefan
Garfia denies that there are armed groups in Oaxaca inciting to
rebellion, but the people say armed groups of six or seven persons
wearing military-like clothes and bandannas have been seen in the
mountains around San Juan Copala.
One of the most active groups in the area is the United Movement of
Triqui Struggle, which, out of the 50 Triqui communities, unites the
towns of Agua Fria, Cieneguilla, Coyuchi, Cruz Chiquita, Ladera, Pase
de Aguila, Rastrojo, Rio Metates, Santa Cruz Tilapa and Yoxoyuxi in the
municipality of Santiago Juxtlahuaca, as well as the community "Jose
Maria Pino Suarez" of the municipality of Putla in Guerrero, and Santa
Cruz Rio Venado of Constancia el Rosario.
In Tlaxiaco and Putla there have been several reports of bus, store
and bank robberies allegedly committed by persons armed with high power
guns and communication devices dressing like EZLN members.
MICHOACAN
In this state people talk about guerrilla training camps in the
Meseta Purepecha and La Ca~nada de los Once Pueblos, which have 100%
indigenous population. Newspapers frequently receive press communiques
informing on the activities of the PROCUP and inviting the population to
rise up in arms against the system. The communiques are mimeographed
and printed in revolution paper [TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: this is really the
name of an unexpensive kind of paper in Mexico], and left in press
offices in manila envelopes addressed to some reporter.
Reporter Francisco Castellanos informed that during the conflict in
Chiapas, people that said to the local press they were members of
"Fraction Z-5 of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation"claimed
the toppling of a government power tower in the municipality of
Periban de Ramos, 180 kilometers from Morelia.
Police and army presence is strong. Fear among the population is
also strong.
The End.
Subject: NECESITAMOS UN ARTICULO SOBRE EL CONFLICTO DE CHIAPAS
Message-ID: <m0qW6Nk-000gbtC@rcp.net.pe>
El Instituto de Defensa Legal en una institucion que trabaja en
Derechos Humanos que publica un revista llamada "Ideele". Estamos
trabajando en un informe sobre las negociaciones en los procesos de
paz en Latinoamerica. Estariamos interesados en recibir un articulo
(en ingles o espanhol) sobre el proceso mexicano para publicarlo
en nuestra revista. El articulo no debera tener mas de 260 a 290
lineas de 60 caracteres por linea. Nos gustaria tambien tener las
referencias del autor. Podemos recibir articulos hasta el dia 8 de
agosto. El articulo publicado sera pagado.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
We are a Human Rights institution which have a magazine called
"ideele". We are working in a report on peace negotiations processes
in Latin america. We would like to receive an article (in
English or Spanish) about the mexican process (the Chiapas case) to
publish it in our magazine. The article should have no more than 260
to 290 lines, no more than sixty characteres per line. Also we would
like the author's references. We can receive articles until 8,
august. The published article will be paid.
envien sus mensajes a:
Send your messages to:
--------------------------------------------------
robarr@idl.org.pe - postmast@idl.org.pe
Postmaster del Instituto de Defensa Legal
Toribio Polo 248 - Miraflores tlf: 410192 anx 27
--------------------------------------------------
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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).