Chiapas: EZLN Sixth Commission Announces Tour Program for Indigenous Council of Government

Photo: @ Letra Roja

On September 15th, the EZLN Sixth Commission convened the start of the Indigenous Council of Government tour in Chiapas for October 14th, 2017. The Council’s spokesperson is Maria de Jesus Patricio, a possible independent candidate for the 2018 presidency. The events will take place

“in the framework of the National Working Assembly between the Indigenous Council of Government and the peoples who make up the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) to be held at CIDECI, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, October 12, 13, and 19, 2017.”

 The communiqué indicates that from October 14th to 19th, 2017, they will visit four caracoles, the town of Guadalupe Tepeyac and the municipality of Palenque for “a series of events to greet the Indigenous Council Of Government—the voice, ear, and heart of the indigenous peoples of the CNI.”

According to the schedule published last Friday the events will be held according to the following order:

“Saturday, October 14th, 2017: Community of Guadalupe Tepeyac, MAREZ (Zapatista Autonomous Municipality in Rebellion) of “San Pedro de Michoacan.” Time undetermined, as it depends on how much time it takes to get from CIDECI to Guadalupe Tepeyac. The CIG delegation will stay there overnight.

Sunday, October 15th, 2017: Caracol of Morelia, MAREZ of “17 de Noviembre,” Tzotz Choj zone.  Time undetermined, as it depends on how much time it takes to get from Guadalupe Tepeyac to the caracol of Morelia. The CIG delegation will stay there overnight.

Monday, October 16th, 2017: Caracol of Garrucha, MAREZ of “Francisco Gómez,” Selva Tzeltal zone. Time undetermined, as it depends on how much time it takes to get from the caracol of Morelia to the caracol of Garrucha. The CIG delegation will stay there overnight.

Tuesday, October 17th, 2017: Caracol of Roberto Barrios, MAREZ of “Trabajo,” northern zone of Chiapas. Time undetermined, as it depends on how much time it takes to get from the caracol of Garrucha to the caracol of Roberto Barrios. The CIG delegation will stay there overnight.

Wednesday, October 18th, 2017: Bad government municipality of Palenque, Chiapas. 10:00am. Travel to CIDECI in San Cristobal de Las Casas. The CIG will stay overnight at CIDECI.

Thursday, October 19, 2017. Caracol of Oventik, MAREZ of “San Andrés Sakamch’en de los Pobres,” Highlands zone of Chiapas. Return to CIDECI where the work of the assembly concludes.”

 For more information in Spanish:

Programa de la gira del Consejo Indígena de Gobierno en Chiapas, del 14 al 19 de Octubre del 2017 (Enlace Zapatista, 15 de septiembre del 2017)

María de Jesús Patricio realizará gira por Chiapas (La Jornada, 16 de septiembre del 2017)

Candidata zapatista prepara gira por Chiapas en octubre (SDPnoticias.com, 16 de septiembre del 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional / Chiapas : El CNI conforma su Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y elige a su vocera (31 de mayo del 2017)

Chiapas/Nacional : Candidata presidencial “no es decisión de una persona” (Subcomandante Moíses) (15 de noviembre del 2017)

Chiapas / Nacional : CNI y EZLN realizarán consulta para nombrar a una candidata indígena hacia las elecciones presidenciales de 2018 (15 de octubre del 2016)

Advertisements

Chiapas: Pemex to Provide Resources in Perpetuity to Preserve the Lacandon Jungle

Photo: @Chiapas State Government

On September 31st, from the archaeological zone of Bonampak, the general director of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, reported that as part of its sustainability program, it will donate 25 million pesos for the conservation of the Lacandon Jungle, in order to promote the productive reconversion of the area and combat climate change.

The announcement was made during the delivery of more than 11 million pesos destined to Lacandon comuneros for 120 productive projects through different programs for environment conservation projects. As well as González Anaya, the Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, Jose Antonio Meade Kuribreña; the secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, Rafael Pacchiano Alamán and the governor, Manuel Velasco Coello were present.

“We will continue to work hand in hand with the community of the Lacandon, the Municipal Council and the Government of the Republic to generate concrete actions that benefit the jungle of Chiapas, which is the jungle of Mexico and pride of our entire nation,” Governor Velasco stressed, according to a statement from the Chiapas State Government.

In addition, the same bulletin said that was “the new authorities of Communal Goods that will make up “The Lacandon Community” were sworn into office, among which time three women were elected for the first; this conformation means the union of the three ethnicities of the region: Chol, Tseltal and Maya-Lacandon, who will work for the care of the jungle. “

It is worth mentioning that Pemex’s investments in this area represent 90 million that Enrique Peña Nieto delivered last June during the commemoration of World Environment Day.

For more information in Spanish:

Van 25 mdp para la Selva Lacandona (Diaro de Chiapas, 1 de septiembre de 2017)

Anuncia Pemex aportación de 25 mdp anuales para conservar la Selva Lacandona (Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas, 1 de septiembre de 2017)

Pemex anuncia apoyos para la conservación permanente de la Selva Lacandona (Pemex, 31 de agosto de 2017)

Entregan 11 mdp para la conservación de la Selva Lacandona (MxPolítico, 31 de agosto de 2017)

Recibe Selva Lacandona recursos a perpetuidad para su conservación (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, 31 de agosto de 2017)

Chiapas: Omissions after Declaration of Gender Violence Alert

Photo: @chiapasparalelo

On September 4th, the network of social and civil organizations that compose the “Popular Campaign against Violence against women and Femicide” reported that, nine months after the declaration of the Gender Violence Alert (GVA), the “slow process” to shield women against femicide and other violent actions they suffer daily in the state continues.

In addition, they appealed to the authorities of the Chiapas government with competencies in the matter that while they progress in the measures of the Alert, that they do not make omissions and attend with due diligence cases of gender violence and feminicide that are presented in the state, as in August, the Center for Women’s Rights of Chiapas (CDMCH in its Spanish acronym) closed its monitoring with 27 cases of violence, ranging from threats, assaults, injuries, intentional homicides, suspicious deaths and femicides in various regions of the state.

On the same day at national level, the president of the National Institute of Women (INMUJERES in its Spanish acronym), Lorena Cruz Sanchez said that much progress has been with the Alert at the legislative level, however she recognizes that to eradicate femicides there is still a long way to go.

For more information in Spanish:

Campaña Popular contra la Violencia hacia las mujeres y el feminicio en Chiapas. (4 de septiembre de 2017)

ONG denuncian dilación y omisiones en puesta en marcha de alerta de género en Chiapas. (Proceso 4 de septiembre de 2017)

Alertas de Género no han erradicado feminicidios: titular de INMUJERES. (4 de septiembre de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Campaña Popular contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres cuestiona falta de avances de Alerta de Violencia de Género. (SIPAZ, 28 de abril de 2017)

Chiapas: Mujeres decretan alerta de violencia de género. (SIPAZ, 9 de julio de 2013)

Oaxaca: Solicitan activación de Alerta de Violencia de Género ante el aumento de los feminicidios. (SIPAZ, 26 de febrero de 2014)

National: Human Rights Organizations’ Reports Contradict Progress Noted in Government’s Fifth Report

What Peña’s report doesn’t say “speaks volumes” Proceso

On September 1st, the Fifth Report of the Government was presented, boasting progress on poverty, employment, education and respect for human rights.

In contrast, a few days earlier, the sixth report on human rights violations against human rights defenders was published covering the period from June 2016 to May 2017 and documenting that within that time “four human rights violations occurred every day against persons defending human rights in Mexico.” This report reports that “a year and a half after the end of the period of Enrique Peña Nieto, 2426 arbitrary arrests are documented” since the beginning of his term of office. As for extrajudicial execution, it indicates that while during the period of former president Felipe Calderon 67 were documented, “in the period we have with EPN this repressive modality has increased to almost double, totalling 123 executions.” With regard to enforced disappearance, it indicates 11 cases in the period covered by the report. “In general, the report tells us that the use of extrajudicial execution is the most repressive mode used by the State in the period covered by this report compared to previous years, (…) This clearly shows that the State increases the intensity of repression for political reasons when faced with the will of the defenders to keep up their work.”

It also denounced that “the improvement of repressive techniques includes actions such as maintaining impunity for human rights violations committed, implying that the State covers the gaps in the investigations of the most serious cases of HRV to prevent them from reaching international bodies, that is to say, it does not investigate, but only in appearance complies with what the law dictates, without this being reflected in an advance in investigations. At the same time, it accepts the visits of the international bodies of HR, but disqualifies the reports made by these international representatives. It further discredits the defense of human rights in two ways: by allowing a campaign that equates human rights defenders as defenders of criminals and, secondly, weakening the international human rights system by strengthening international humanitarian law, which judges people and not state structures, claiming that HRVs are individual acts, of subjects infiltrated or stressed, but that there has never been an order of state structures to violate human rights.”

On another note, covering the beginning of the term of Enrique Peña Nieto on July 31, 2017, the National Network of Civil Organisms for Human Rights All Rights for All (Red TDT in its Spanish acronym), made up of 84 groups from 23 states in the country, reaches similar conclusions in the report Hope is not Over. Situation of Human Rights Defenders during the Presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, published in early September. It says that state governments are the ones that most violate human rights with 39% of cases, followed by the federal administration with 32%; municipal and community agents with 20%, and judicial officials with 18%. It also notes that 69% of the cases occurred in seven of the 30 states analyzed: Chiapas, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Guerrero, Veracruz, Puebla and the state of Mexico.

For more information in Spanish:

Desaparecieron 81 activistas y mataron a 106 este sexenio: ONG (6 de septiembre de 2017)

Informe completo « La esperanza no se agota. Situación de las personas defensoras de derechos humanos durante la presidencia de Enrique Peña Nieto » (Red Tdt, septiembre de 2017)

Boletín de prensa e informe completo – Sexto informe de violaciones de derechos humanos contra personas defensoras de los derechos humanos. “Defender los derechos humanos en México: La ejecución extrajudicial como respuesta del Estado. Junio de 2016 a mayo de 2017” (29 de agosto de 2017)

Lo que no dice el Informe de Peña “cuenta, y cuenta mucho (Proceso, 1ero de septiembre de 2017)

¿Qué dice el V Informe de Peña? Estos son los 5 ejes del texto (documento completo) (Animal Político, 1ero de septiembre de 2017)

Peña Nieto en su 5to Informe de Gobierno, ¿mentiras o verdades? (Animal Político, 4 de septiembre de 2017)

Los cinco ejes del informe de Gobierno de EPN (Sdp Noticias, 4 de septiembre de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ :

Nacional : cuarto informe del gobierno de Peña Nieto(12 de septiembre de 2016)

Nacional: Múltiples críticas a la presentación del Tercer Informe de Gobierno de Peña Nieto (8 de septiembre de 2015)

 

National/Chiapas: More Special Economic Zones

(@Social Communications Institute of the State of Chiapas)

On July 23rd, the PAN delegation proposed reforms to the Federal Law on Special Economic Zones (LFZEE in its Spanish acronym), “in order to expand the options for economic development to more entities in the country.” According to a bulletin from the Chamber of Deputies, PAN argued that there is a need “to increase from 10 to 16 the number of states that can benefit from the establishment and operation of these areas, as exemplified by the state of Tlaxcala that suffers large deficiencies which must be addressed through the formalization of Special Economic Zones.”

As regards monitoring the process of the Special Economic Zone of Puerto Chiapas, the Governor of the State of Chiapas, Manuel Velasco Coello and the head of the Federal Authority for the Development of Special Economic Zones, Gerardo Gutierrez Cadiani met on August 31st. In an article from the Social Communications Institute of the Government of Chiapas, they mentioned that: “in the presence of federal and state government officials who follow up the process of forming the SEZ, the president reported that the legal and constitutional requirements have been fulfilled and of technical work, so that the President of the Republic should come to the entity to decree Puerto Chiapas as the first Special Economic Zone of the country.”

In addition, the governor “pointed out that work is being done on a second project that was already raised with President Peña Nieto, so that in the future there could be two more areas in Chiapas, which would be located on the facilities of the unused Llano San Juan in Ocozocoautla and Corazon airports de Maria in San Cristobal de las Casas.”

 For more information in Spanish:

Ampliar Zonas Económicas Especiales a 16 estados (Zócalo, 24 de julio de 2017)

Boletín N°. 3861: Ampliar a 16 los estados beneficiados con Zonas Económicas Especiales (Cámara de Diputados del Gobierno, 23 de julio de 2017)

En Puerto Chiapas se promulgará la primera Zona Económica Especial del país (Instituto de Comunicación Social del estado de Chiapas, 31 de agosto de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Nacional: El Senado aprueba la Ley Federal de Zonas Económicas Especiales (ZEE) (15 de abril de 2016)

México / Nacional: Diputados aprueban Ley Federal de Zonas Económicas Especiales (18 de diciembre 2015)

Chiapas: MOVEDITE Announcement on Early Political Campaigns

Photo:@MOVEDITE

On August 19th, 2017, the Movement in Defense of Life and Territory (MOVEDITE in its Spanish acronym) of Chiapas issued a statement from the community of Santa Cruz in Sitala, where they strongly denounce, “political groups disguised as civil associations or aid foundations that use people and abuse their poverty. Where they condition the most basic aid for votes and thus corrupt those who they say they support.”

They further reproached “the political propaganda on posters, painted walls and calendars that promote candidates outside the stipulated time. Without respecting the laws and norms, it is obvious that what really matters to the parties is the triumph of their groups and not the good of the people.”

They also added that they reject “people who are visiting communities offering support and wanting to buy community leaders. It confirms that the parties have not changed and will not change the way they do things.”

They recalled through the communiqué that it is illegal for the parties to advance the campaign using, for example, the creation of foundations.

They urged all who receive this word to build autonomy and denounce lies from the path of their traditions seeking a fairer and more dignified life, where everybody has a place.

 Their denunciation is headed by a statement by Bishop Felipe Arizmendi, Bishop of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas in which he states, “The parties split, divide and confront the communities. Legislators should analyze the feasibility and suitability of another electoral system: […] by traditions and customs. Analyze this path and advance democracy, if it really interests them that the people be the ones who build their history.”

It is worth mentioning that MOVEDITE is made up of Tseltal, tsotsil, ch’ol and mestizo men and women with presence in 11 parishes of 12 municipalities and one ejido of Chiapas, members of the Believing People of the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas.

 For more information in Spanish:

Pronunciamiento de MOVEDITE ante las campañas políticas anticipadas. (20 de agosto de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Culmina peregrinación de 12 días del Movimiento de defensa de la Vida y el Territorio en San Cristóbal de las Casas. (29 de noviembre de 2017)

Chiapas: El pueblo Zoque se está movilizando contra de los mega-proyectos en Chiapas. (29 de junio de 2017)

Chiapas: Peregrinación de unos 400 católicos en defensa de los pueblos, la Madre Tierra y por la liberación de presos. (6 de septiembre de 2016)

Chiapas: Preventative Prison for Three People from Chiapa de Corzo after EPN”S Visit

Photo: @ Isain Mandujano

On August 7th, after Enrique Peña Nieto’s visit to Chiapa de Corzo on the occasion of “International Day of Indigenous Peoples”, seven federal police, six women and one man were beaten and detained by villagers for 6 hours, after which were released.

According to Proceso magazine, “One of the trucks of the local AVC company that transported federal police was destroyed in front of the municipal presidency. The young men ransacked the unit and riot gear pack came out of it. Helmets, vests, kneepads, shields and other accessories that were aboard the bus were distributed as war trophies. With their faces covered, the young people turned to a federal police with a bloodied face. They took him to the square where he was taunted by the crowd. He was then taken to one of the neighborhoods to put him with six more who were previously captured.”

Following these events, on Saturday, August 12th, agents of the Attorney General of the Republic’s Office (PGR) and the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), began a search and arrested at least four people, allegedly involved in the riots on August 7th, “Although the state and federal governments were committed not to retaliate in exchange for the police being released – an event that happened around 2 of the morning of Tuesday 9th”, according to Proceso.

According to Meganoticias website, “The State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) reported that in the context of the initial hearing, the Control Judge determined that it was appropriate to impose the precautionary measure of preventive detention against three detainees resulting from the riots in the municipality of Chiapa de Corzo last August 7th.” Those three people remain imprisoned in the prison of “El Amate”.

It should be remembered that according to Aristegui Noticias: “From a day before their arrival, residents of Chiapa de Corzo expressed their rejection for the visit of the President and declared him a ‘persona non grata'”, where the Governor of Chiapas, Manuel Velasco Suarez, expressed his interest in replicating economic policy and in particular the Special Economic Zones to indigenous regions of Chiapas in his spech.

 For more information:

Pobladores retienen a siete policías federales tras visita de Peña a Chiapas (Proceso, 7 de agosto de 2017)

Detienen a presuntos instigadores de disturbios durante visita de Peña a Chiapa de Corzo. (Proceso, 13 de agosto de 2017)

Prisión preventiva a detenidos en Chiapa de Corzo. (Meganoticias, 14 de agosto de 2017)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Habitantes de Chiapa de Corzo rechazan visita de EPN en el Día Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas. (SIPAZ, 8 de agosto de 2017)

México/Nacional: Diputados aprueban Ley Federal de Zonas Económicas Especiales. (SIPAZ, 18 de diciembre de 2017)

Chiapas : denuncian criminalización de defensores de la Madre Tierra en zona zoque. (SIPAZ, 1 de marzo de 2017)