Chiapas/National: New EZLN Communiqué Clarifies Joint Proposal with CNI

Subcomandante Galeano (Photo@SIPAZ archives)

On November 17, 33 years after its foundation, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) published an extensive communiqué titled “A History to Understand”, in which it gives further details about the proposal of consultation with the peoples that make up the Indigenous National Congress (CNI in its Spanish acronym) to examine the convenience of naming a national council of government and an indigenous woman candidate for the 2018 elections.

Subcomandante Galeano clarified that, although the proposal was launched by the EZLN, “the CNI is who will decide whether or not to participate with a delegate of its own, and, if necessary, it will have the support of Zapatismo.” But, “No, neither the EZLN as an organization nor any of its members will run for a popular election position in the 2018 electoral process. No, the EZLN is not going to become a political party. No, the EZLN is not going to present a Zapatista indigenous woman as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic in the year 2018. No, the EZLN has not altered its course to any degree, nor will it continue its struggle along the electoral route institutional.” He ratified that “the EZLN does not struggle to take the Power.”

Subcomandante Galeano added that in making the proposal to the CNI, the EZLN stated “that it did not matter whether or not they won the Presidency of the Republic, that what was going to matter was the challenge, irreverence, insubordination, the total rupture of the image of the indigenous, subject to the alms and the image of pity so rooted on the institutional right and who, would say it, also on the left of ‘real change’ and its organic intellectuals addicted to the opium of social networks – that their daring would make the whole political system vibrate and that it would have echoes of hope not in one but in many of the Mexicans below … and the world.”

For more information in Spanish:

Comunicado “Una historia para tratar de Entender (EZLN, 17 de noviembre de 2016)

Lo importante es la insumisión, no ganar la presidencia con candidata indígena: EZLN (Proceso, 17 de noviembre de 2017)

 For more information from SIPAZ:

Chiapas/Nacional : Candidata presidencial “no es decisión de una persona” (Subcomandante Moíses) (15 de noviembre de 2016)

Chiapas /Nacional: Polémica después de la propuesta planteada por el EZLN y el CNI en octubre (24 de octubre de 2016)

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

 

Advertisements

Chiapas/National: The Presidential Candidate “Is not the Decision of One Person” (Comandante Moises)

Subcomandante Insurgente Moises (@SIPAZ archives)

On November 11, Subcomandante Insurgente Moises, spokesperson for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), issued a statement, released the previous day in Tseltal, in response to academics, journalists and people who have criticized the proposal which is being consulted along with the National Indigenous Congress (CNI), to decide whether to form a national council of government and field an indigenous woman as a presidential candidate in 2018.

He labeled the critics as “racists” and stressed that “first you should learn to read, then read it [the proposal] well, then learn to understand what you read.” He emphasized that, “it is not yet known what the result will be”, because “the very decision of whether to or not [to field a candidate] hasn’t been made”, but “how many mockeries you have made and how much contempt you have shown to the original peoples and especially to indigenous women.”

He clarified that the result of the consultation “will not be the decision of one person, but of a collective.” He commented “You make fun of the National Indigenous Congress for doing this, for asking first before deciding, because you do what your shepherd tells you, even if it is pure stupidity.”

He said ironically “So it’s all the fault of the SupGaleano who manipulates us and leads us astray? It is laughable how they now say ‘Galeano/Marcos’. You were so in love with SupMarcos that you even came to take photos with him and ask him to sign his autograph, although I saw it because I was there on the sidelines. Also on the sidelines was the deceased teacher Galeano, and you did not even ask his name. And then later you hated SupMarcos so much because he did not obey you, but he obeyed us. He’s already dead now anyway.”

Previously, at the end of October, the EZLN presented the schedule of follow-up activities for the Fifth National Indigenous Congress and the Encounter “The Zapatistas and ConSciences for Humanity,” which will be held in Chiapas on from December 25, 2016, to January 4, 2017.

For more information in Spanish:

 No es decisión de una persona (Subcomandante Moíses, 11 de noviembre de 2016)

Enérgico, EZLN responde a críticas racistas a consulta para candidata presidencial indígena (11 de Noviembre, 2016)

”Existe “mucho racismo en la sociedad”: subcomandante Moisés (Expreso de Chiapas, 13 de noviembre de 2016)

Calendario de continuación del 5º Congreso del CNI y del Encuentro “L@s Zapatistas y las ConCiencias por la Humanidad”. (EZLN, 27 de octubre de 2016)

En diciembre definirá el EZLN a su candidata presidencial (Revista Proceso, 4 de noviembre de 2016)

En diciembre EZLN y CNI definirán si van o no a elecciones presidenciales (Radio Fórmula, 27 de octubre de 2016)

For more information from SIPAZ :

Chiapas /Nacional: Polémica después de la propuesta planteada por el EZLN y el CNI en octubre (24 de octubre de 2016)

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

 

Chiapas: Eviction Threat to Las Brisas Community, La Trinitaria Municipality

Recuperated property in Las Brisas that serves as a meeting space. Photo@SIPAZ

On October 17 the members of Las Brisas community, in the municipality of La Trinitaria, adherents to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, announced in a public statement threats of eviction they have received in recent months. “Since last June our representatives have received phone calls from Mr. Oscar Aranda, with the support and advice of Mr. Jose Alfredo Espinosa Lopez, who was part of our community, to intimidate us. Mr. Aranda is asking us to hand over the land for which we have fought for over 11 years. He tells us that if we do not hand over and negotiate the land, they will come to evict us and we will also lose our harvest.”

The current residents of the community Las Brisas, indigenous Tzeltal, are recognized “as the descendants of the indentured laborers who were exploited by the owners of La Palestina ranch, later called Esmeralda and then called La Yuria.” In 2005, they recovered the lands where their relatives were workers of local landowners for several generations. Since then they have received several threats of eviction but maintain their strong position stating that will not leave these lands nor will they give any payment to keep them – “the land is not negotiated, it is not for sale and we will keep it with us for our families.”

In their statement the community calls,to be “aware of what could happen” to their safety.

It concludes announcing they will join and support “the initiative of the V National Indigenous Congress because we believe that an indigenous woman candidate for president would have the voice needed to represent us.”

 

For more information in Spanish:

Comunidad Las Brisas en defensa del territorio denuncia amenazas (Chiapas denuncia, a 18 de octubre de 2016)

 

Chiapas/National: Controversy Following Proposal of EZLN and CNI

Celebration of V National Indigenous Congress at Oventik Caracol, October 2012 (@SIPAZ)

The proposal of the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) on October 14, in which both announced that they will consult the possibility of submitting an indigenous woman as a presidential candidate in the 2018 elections with their support bases, has created a stir in the media. The controversy has been fueled by both critics and supporters.

Among the protagonists belonging to the political parties, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, national leader of the Movement for National Regeneration (MORENA), acknowledged that the EZLN has every right to participate in the political life of the country. However, he declared that this proposal was a maneuver “that plays into the hands of the government” so that “there is no transformation and regime change.” For his part, Francisco Garate, PAN representative to the National Electoral Institute (INE), considered the initiative as an “event” and a “nonsense”: “today the country’s indigenous population is less than one percent and spread across towns ranging from Sonora to Yucatan.”

In a statement entitled “Questions without Answers, Answers without Questions, Councils and Counsel” on October 21, the EZLN gave its opinion on the criticisms made so far, pointing to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Margarita Zavala del Campo (possible candidate for National Action (Acción Nacional) and wife of former President Felipe Calderon), whom it called “the Big Boss” and “La Calderona” respectively.

Among other things it asked “To what degree does the proposal that an indigenous governing council (council with a “c”), that is, a collective and not an individual, be in charge of the federal executive bolster-presidential-rule-become-complicit-in-the-electoral-farce-contribute-to-reinforcing-bourgeois-democracy-play-to-the-oligarchy-and-to-Yankee-Chinese-Russian-Judeoislamic-millenarian-imperialism-in-addition-to-betraying-the-highest-principles-of-the-global-proletarian-revolution? (…) How solid can the Mexican political system be, and how well-founded and reliable the tactics and strategies of the political parties, if, when someone says publicly that they are thinking about something, that they are going to ask their equals what they think of what they are thinking, the entire political party system becomes hysterical?

For more information in Spanish:

Reprueba AMLO la candidatura independiente del EZLN (La Jornada, 16 de octubre de 2016)

La candidatura presidencial del EZLN es para hacerle el juego al gobierno, acusa AMLO (Animal Político, 16 de septiembre de 2016)

Ni AMLO ni Margarita; el EZLN construye su propio 2018 (Crónica) (Aristegui Noticias, 20 de octubre de 2016)

Preguntas sin respuestas, respuestas sin preguntas, concejos y consejos (Comunicado del EZLN, 21 de octubre de 2016)

Sugiere EZLN posibilidad de un debate entre la candidata indígena y “la Calderona” (Revista Proceso, 21 de octubre de 2016)

El EZLN responde a críticas por su candidata para 2018 y llama a Margarita Zavala “La Calderona” (Sin Embargo, 22 de octubre de 2016)

“Ocurrencia” y “disparate”, una candidatura indígena, califica el PAN (Desinformémonos, 24 de octubre de 2016)

 Opinion:

La candidatura de una mujer indígena y el racismo en México (TV Sur, 24 de octubre de 2016)

EZLN y CNI: la vía electoral como herramienta para luchar contra el sistema (Diagonal, 23 de octubre de 2016)

Una candidatura bienvenida (La Jornada, 23 de octubre de 2016)

Una indígena a la presidencia (El País, 22 de octubre de 2016)

Debatir, no (des)calificar (La Jornada, 21 de octubre de 2016)

México: ¿Por qué no voto? ¿Por qué votaría? (ALAI, 20 de octubre de 2016)

El EZLN, el CNI y las elecciones (La Jornada, 18 de octubre de 2016)

 For more information from SIPAZ :

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

Chiapas/Nacional : Convocatoria al V aniversario del CNI en Chiapas (1ero de septiembre de 2016)

 

National: June 5 Election Results

June 5 elections @Sin Embargo

On June 5, one third of the Mexican electorate voted to elect governors in twelve states, mayors in 2,445 municipalities, and local deputies and constituent deputies in Mexico City.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the current party of the presidency, won five governments of the twelve at stake, regaining Oaxaca and Sinaloa; and holding Hidalgo, Zacatecas and Tlaxcala. In doing so, it fell short of the nine that its leader, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, had assured they would win beforehand. Nevertheless, it lost states that had not known another political hue in 90 years, such as Veracruz, Tamaulipas, Durango and Quintana Roo. Several analysts consider these results to be a punishment vote against those governments for their corruption and their inability to stop insecurity.

 The National Action Party (PAN) benefitted from the loss of votes and won seven governments (three in alliances with the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD)): Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Durango, Quintana Roo, Puebla, Veracruz and Tamaulipas. Its president, Ricardo Anaya, stated that, “if we do things well, the right-wing PAN will win back the presidency in 2018.”

For its part, the Movement for National Regeneration Party (Morena), managed to increase its presence but without wining any government. It came third in Veracruz and Zacatecas. On another note, the party managed to come first in the election for the Constituent Assembly of Mexico City (with 36.2% of the votes. Its advantage over PRD (with 31.5%) was less than Morena had hoped for. Abstention in the election at 71.7% was notable.

According to experts, the results of these elections are particularly relevant in outlining the political map on course to the presidential election of 2018. Some point out that the results for the 2017 elections are lacking, in particular, for the State of Mexico, one of the biggest of the country and which has always been governed by PRI. It is worth mentioning that the electoral campaigns before June 5 were marked by personal attacks between the contenders and by the lack of transparency about the management of electoral spending. Equally notorious is the fact that in Tamaulipas State, considered the most violent of the country, 59 candidates had to retire from the contest for fear of reprisals by organized crime.

For more information in Spanish:

Perdió el PRI cuatro de sus bastiones históricos (La Jornada, 7 de junio de 2016)

Arrasa el abstencionismo en la CDMX; Morena, primera fuerza (Proceso, 5 de junio de 2016)

Elecciones 2016: PAN se impone, PRI y PRD se hunden y Morena… equis (Sin Embargo, 6 de junio de 2016)

¿Quién gana y quién pierde en las elecciones de México? (Univisión, 6 de junio de 2016)

Las elecciones de México destapan la erosión del PRI (El País, 6 de junio de 2016)

Descalificaciones, dádivas y compra de votos dominan el panorama electoral 2016 (Aristegui Noticias, 5 de junio de 2016)

Chiapas: Las Abejas de Acteal Request Collection for Displaced Families

Collection during the displacement of Colonia Puebla in 2013. Photo: @Koman Ilel.

On May 26, a group of 14 families from Las Abejas de Acteal Civil Society, residents of Colonia Puebla, Chenalho municipality, Chiapas, were displaced fleeing the violence caused by the conflict after the elections in that municipality. The displacement happened after violent incidents between sympathizers of the recently dismissed mayor, Rosa Perez Perez of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), and supporters of the new mayor, Miguel Santiz Alvarez, causing the death of two people, one of them a minor, who died from a bullet wound. The Chenalho Pedrano Movement, opponents of Perez Perez, said in a statement that they were attacked with “firearms, sticks, stones and machetes, in an ambush that was orchestrated by sympathizers of the ex-mayor.” Furthermore, there were “two houses burned, two destroyed, three vehicles destroyed and six people wounded”, according to the statement from Las Abejas.

Las Abejas noted that “until now, there are no conditions to return”, so that the displaced are currently in the headquarters of the organization. In another letter they outlined that, “the displaced from the colony are living through suffering. Therefore we ask you the favor of helping with supplies.” To this end, they have opened two collection centers for clothes in San Cristobal de Las Casas and they ask for financial support to be deposited in a bank account. According to La Jornada, the National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH) “requested the government of Chiapas to apply cautionary measures and guarantee the rights of the people who have been displaced.” The measures are aimed at guaranteeing rights to food, health, a home, physical integrity and the lives of the displaced.

It is worth noting that the disagreement following the result of the municipal elections in Chenalho, with the victory of PVEM, gave rise to the Chenalho Pedrano Movement in rejection of the elected mayor, accusing her of “corruption, abuse of power and diverting resources.” This group organized a takeover of the town hall and a number of government offices, it took over the State Congress for some hours, and it kidnapped three civil servants who were negotiating a solution to the disagreement, among them the President of the State Congress and a deputy. Having put them on public show, one dressed as a woman, Congress accepted the resignation of the mayor.

It is also worth mentioning that 17 families of Colonia Puebla were displaced by in August 2013 in the conflict between Catholics and Evangelicals in dispute over the land where Catholic hermitage was located. Almost 100 displaced people returned after eight months off their lands, denouncing the lack of law enforcement for their aggressors.

For more information in Spanish:

Los desplazados y desplazadas de la colonia puebla están viviendo bajo el sufrimientos. Entonces le pedimos un gran favor a que nos puedan colaborar en las despensas. (Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal, 7 de junio de 2016)

Hace apenas 8 días, jueves 26 de mayo, los miembros de la organización de la sociedad civil de las abejas de Acteal, en la colonia puebla se desplazaron 14 familias un total de 81 personas porque en esa misma colonia surgió nuevamente una gran violencia y balaceras a las 13:45pm hora normal. (Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal, 3 de junio de 2016)

Piden proteger a desplazados de Chenalhó (La Jornada, 31 de mayo de 2016)

For more information in SIPAZ:

Chiapas: Riesgo de más violencia en Chenalhó después de secuestro y cambio de alcalde (31 de mayo de 2016)

Chiapas : jóvenes denuncian violencia, impunidad y ausencia de justicia para Puebla (30 de abril de 2014)

Chiapas: regresan a su comunidad los desplazados de Ejido Puebla (15 de abril de 2014)

Chiapas:Incremento de la violencia en Colonia Puebla, Chenalhó (22 de julio de 2013)

Guerrero: Discontent One Year after the Murder of Antonio Vivar

Crowded funeral of Antonio Vivar in Tlapa de Comonfort, Guerrero, in June 2015. Photo: @SIDIDH.

A year after the murder of Antonio Vivar, dozens of social organizations and human rights groups denounced the lack of investigation into the events that occurred on election day in the state of Guerrero in June last year. On that day “the young activist Antonio Diaz Vivar [was] arbitrarily executed and dozens of people were subjected to arbitrary detention and cruel and inhumane treatment” according to the Integrated Information System on Human Rights (SIDIDH). Advocacy organizations recalled that the social unrest in the state “found no channels of dialogue”, leading to “a series of violent incidents between elements of the police and army along with groups of armed men linked to political parties, who had a confrontation with members of the Guerrero Popular Movement (MPG) and the State Coordinator of Education Workers of the State of Guerrero (CETEG) in the city of Tlapa de Comonfort “.

They also noted that the investigation into the murder of Antonio Vivar “has not made significant progress and has failed to carry out important measures, as well as not including the information that the National Human Rights Commission obtained about the involvement of federal forces.” For its part, the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center said that, “the public prosecutor of the federation dismissed the criminal action of the federal police and advocated collecting their testimonies, misrepresenting the events to make them seem like the injured parties.” In a statement they pointed out that the federal police declared that they had not carried firearms, they claim to have been held for several hours in a chapel and to have not known about the murder until the following day through the press. Added to this, they reported that the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) attempted to file the case without notifying the family of the MPG member. In response, the signatory organizations urged the PGR to initiate a thorough investigation and identify the responsibility of elements of the federal police.

 For more information in Spanish:

Tlachinollan | Exigen investigación diligente a un año de violencia electoral del 7 de junio en Guerrero (Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos Todos los Derechos para Todas y Todos, 6 de junio de 2016)

Denuncian organizaciones falta de investigación por el asesinato del activista Antonio Díaz (Sistema Integral de Información en Derechos Humanos, 7 de junio de 2016)

ONG de Tlapa bloquean puente para exigir que resuelvan el caso de Toño Vivar (La Jornada Guerrero, 6 de junio de 2016)

OPINIÓN | Permiso para matar (Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña Tlachinollan, 6 de junio de 2016)

For more information from SIPAZ:

Guerrero: Marchan en Tlapa de Comonfort a un mes del asesinato de Antonio Vivar Díaz (10 de julio de 2015)

Guerrero: Gana PRI elecciones en contexto de violencia (9 de junio de 2015)

Chiapas: Muere un maestro en los enfrentamientos de oposición a la evaluación magisterial (10 de diciembre de 2015)