December 9, 1996
Last December in the days of Christmas, armored tanks rolled into the
community of Oventic, Chiapas and the tense moments were at the brink of
renewed combat. 1996 find the peace process in Chiapas in a similar yet
more defining crisis.
These days the Mexican federal government, aided by the legislators
in the Commission for Concordance and Pacification (Cocopa), has the
opportunity to take its first concrete steps to finalizing some
constitutional measures which will forever alter the conditions of its
indigenous people. All appearances however, indicate that unless there is
renewed public pressure, the Mexican government is ill-prepared to do so.
Here are some of the facts; --The peace talks have been suspended when the
EZLN refused to return unless five minimal conditions were complied with.
One of these was to secure positive steps towards the implementation of
the first agreements signed in February of 1996 around Indigenous Rights
and Culture. --The diagnosis of the Cocopa was that the talks had come to
a standstill because "The EZLN had gone to the ceiling, and the government
to the floor". The Cocopa's notion of finding a middle ground was to offer
to present a document in favor of the constitutional reforms around
Indigenous Rights and Culture. --The Secretary of the Interior,
meanwhile, which has served as the "good cop" in the peace process
protests against the document and finally acknowledges that they had never
"read" its contents, but that they now find it has various Constitutional
problems. --When asked why the problems had not been perceived in ten
months, the Secretary of the Interior admits that they "never believed it
would be necessary to carry them out". --Meanwhile, when the Cocopa
discusses their own document with President Zedillo, they discover he has
vehement objections apparently to a completely different document than the
one under consideration. Zedillo calls it a "misunderstanding" and
acknowledges that he does not have complete information and asks for
fifteen days to take the matter under advisement
The EZLN has agreed to abide by those fifteen days. Clearly, the evidence
above points out that no one in the government demonstrates any serious
approach to the peace process, and that the Cocopa has stepped into this
vacuum in an attempt to rescue the process.
This is the reasoning behind this action alert. It is extremely
difficult to ask you to act upon this matter during these days---but the
possibility of peace in Mexico is in great danger, again. Each time
matters have reached this breaking point, it is the concerted action of
people such as yourselves which has provided some assistance to these
indigenous communities under siege. We ask you to do the following;
--Call or fax President Zedillo's office or take delegations to
the nearest consulates with the following message "We are very concerned
about the peace process in Chiapas. We urge you in the remaining fifteen
days to evaluate the situation with great attention and to take action
which will favor a political solution. We have information that you are
ill-informed and want you to know that we are very worried about any
action you may take based on ignorance. Please inform us as to the
progress of the negotiations."
--Begin to organize a delegation to travel to Chiapas for the New
Year. Announce it to the press, and advise Zedillo's office so that he is
aware of the international presence to the matter.
--Write a letter or make a phone call to the offices of the
following individuals;
Financier George Soros
Arthur Schlesinger
Henry Kissinger
Paul Volcker
Sidney Weintraub
David Rockefeller
Susan Kaufman Purcell, Latin American specialist, UCLA
Douglas Warner III of JP Morgan John Reed of Citibank Winthrop
Smith of Merril Lynch
Deryck C. Maughan of Salomon Brothers Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin
All these individual met with Zedillo in New York City yesterday,
in addition to executives from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times,
CNN, Harper's Magazine, Business Week, and CBS News. Clearly, these
economists, intellectuals and media want reassurance that Mexico will stay
the course defined by U.S. economic policies. It would be important for
them to receive a group of letters from some of you issuing a warning
about the potential of a war in Chiapas. Even if each were to receive ten
letters with copies to Zedillo, it is a clear statement about U.S.
citizens' concern for peace in Mexico.
Please do whatever you can to help and believe that every small
action is amplified when it is added to many other small actions. There
can be no better way to commemorate this season than to take action for
peace in Mexico. Thank you for your attention.
Cecilia Rodriguez
United States Representative
EZLN