PROJECT OF OBSERVATION AND MONITORING OF POLITICAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLES OF CHIAPAS
MONTHLY REPORT JUNE 2006
SIPAZ, in collaboration with the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center, Alianza Cívica, PROPAZ (Swiss Program of Observation and Peace Promotion in Chiapas), and Peace Watch Switzerland, has been developing a program, in Chiapas, of observation and monitoring with regards to political and civil rights during the electoral process as well as that of the Other Campaign, which will extend until December.
The objective is to monitor and report any violation of the political and civil rights of the indigenous peoples and communities, as defined in the Mexican Political Constitution and in the International Covenant on Civil an Political Rights of the United Nations, signed by the Mexican government. This program also aims to report any attempt to create serious social destabilization, and as such, to work to prevent or avoid increased situations of violence against the communities.
What follows is a summary of the program in the month of June. The complete report will be available (in Spanish) on the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center website (http://www.frayba.org.mx).
PROJECT OF OBSERVATION AND MONITORING OF POLITICAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLES OF CHIAPAS
MONTHLY REPORT JUNE 2006
(June 1st-30th)
PROPAZ, FRAY BARTOLOMÉ DE LAS CASAS HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER, SIPAZ, ALIANZA CÍVICA CHIAPAS, PEACE WATCH
JUNE SUMMARY
In June, the upcoming federal elections made the national political context all the more complex. Polarization increased between the two candidates most likely to win- Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) (Party of the Democratic Revolution/Workers’ Party/Convergence- PRD/PT/Convergencia) and Felipe Calderón (National Action Party- PAN) - as a result of personal disqualifications.
On June 6th, during the second debate between the presidential candidates, the first in which AMLO participated, he denounced Diego Hildebrando Zavalo, Calderón’s brother-in-law, for trafficking of influences and fiscal evasion. Subsequent research by journalists revealed to the public the fact that through the use of his own computer science enterprises Zavala had direct and complete access to lists of the beneficiaries of the primary federal social assistance programs, as well as to the Electoral List and the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP). This led various political sectors, intellectuals, and journalists to begin to denounce the possibility of cybernetic electoral fraud in the upcoming presidential election. What followed was an increased public questioning of the possibility that the current government be carrying out an “election by the state.” This concern was voiced by 25 NGOs (among them Alianza Cívica AC and Global Exchange) following the publication of the results of an investigation carried out in 22 states in Mexico.
At the same time that the majority of polls were reporting a rise in AMLO’s ratings (at one point ahead of Calderón by 3 points), an intense campaign was developed against AMLO. Various analysts assessed this campaign as a “dirty war” which included, on the one hand, two strange attacks on the wife of Argentine businessman Carlos Ahumada, shortly after Ahumada had threatened to publicly release videotapes implicating individuals close to AMLO. On the other hand, there was an intense television campaign sponsored by the Coordinating Council of Entrepreneurs, which stigmatized AMLO and induced a “vote of fear” in Calderón’s favor.
The aforementioned campaign also included the open induction of votes, in favor of Calderón, by some important members of the Catholic Church hierarchy, as well as the fact that President Fox and Felipe Calderón tried to use the Mexican national soccer team’s participation in the World Cup in Germany for electoral purposes through television ads.
The lukewarm responses from the General Council of the IFE (Federal Electoral Institute) and especially its president, Luis Carlos Ugalde, prompted various sectors of public and political opinion to doubt the impartiality of the institute. Certain analysts recalled the hazy way in which the PRI and the PAN had negotiated, in 2003, to unilaterally impose the nomination of new civic councilors with ties to the two parties.
A local political conflict that developed in June with national repercussions was the teachers’ movement in Oaxaca, which mobilized more than 40,000 teachers in a prolonged sit-in demonstration and received the support of broad social sectors of the state. This protest started with union demands and grew to include a call for the resignation of the governor of Oaxaca, Ulises Ruíz, a figure known for his repressive tactics and his closeness to Roberto Madrazo (the candidate for the Institutional Revolution Party, PRI, and the Green Ecological Party of Mexico, PVEM).
The multitudes of protesters resisted a police operative that attempted to expel them. After cutting off dialogue with the Ministry of the Interior, the teachers threatened to boycott the federal elections.
In Chiapas, the direct impact of the federal electoral campaigns for the presidency was noted with the visits of the three main candidates to the state.
The first to visit was Roberto Madrazo, who held a rally with about 10,000 indigenous Chiapans in Ocosingo (a geo-strategic center for the EZLN). At this event, Pedro Chulín appeared. Chulín was a candidate for federal deputy, founder of the no longer active, suspected paramilitary group MIRA (Indigenous Revolutionary Anti-Zapatista Movement), and founder of the current armed civilian group OPPDIC (Organization in Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights). Later, at an event held in Comitán, bastion of the ex governor and, more recently, ex precandidate for governor, Roberto Albores, Madrazo succeeded in hegemonically imposing his group within the traditional PRI party of Chiapas by placing two politicians, previously tied to Albores, in the campaign of José Antonio Aguilar Bodegas, PRI candidate for governor of Chiapas. The two individuals, Mario Culebro and Mario Lesciur Talavera, are known for their repressive actions and anti-Zapatista positions.
At the beginning of June, AMLO (PRD/PT/Convergencia) also carried out an extended tour which included 12 cities in the state (including San Cristóbal, Palenque, and Ocosingo), and concluded June 18th in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. He celebrated his support for ex PRI members, Rubén Velásquez (candidate for Senator) and Juan Sabines (candidate for governor).
Calderón (PAN) wrapped up his campaign in Chiapas in the City Theater of San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Before thousands of indigenous peoples from the Highlands, Calderón affirmed that he rejects “any form of violence to achieve the justice that Chiapas deserves”.
In Chiapas, another notable event was the signing of the “Declaration of Comitán” by Juan Sabines. This declaration is proposed as the State Development Plan, characterized by neoliberal and counterinsurgency qualities, and was developed by Roberto Albores who joins the ranks of the PRD, supporting Sabines’ candidacy.
The Other Campaign appears to have become stagnant. Certain critical analysts attribute this to the decisions by the Delegate Zero (Subcomandante Marcos) to indefinitely suspend the national tour, to maintain the Red Alert, and especially to carry out a national mobilization on the day of the federal elections (July 2nd).
The judicial processes launched against all the members of the Peoples’ Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT) and certain members of the Other Campaign, arrested in Atenco in May, as well as the preliminary investigations regarding the rape of women detained in Atenco, have been the subjected to great delays, obstacles, and dealings. On the other hand, just 23 low-ranking police officers were held on only one charge, and were immediately released on bail.
At the international level, the Other Campaign has generated more significant repercussions in demanding the liberation of the Atenco prisoners and justice for the human rights violations committed in Atenco. On the one hand, recognized international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have carried out intense investigations and international reports. On the other hand, the Civil Commission of International Human Rights Observation (CCOIDH) released its preliminary report, with the final version to be presented to the European Parliament and the United Nations Human Rights Commission. The conclusions of the preliminary report highlight the violation of the most basic rights of the civil population of Atenco, and affirm that all the high ranking police, headed by Wilfrido Robledo, should be fired and that all the detainees be freed, with basis in their presumed innocence.
With regards to social conflicts and human rights violations in Chiapas, in June, the area affected by Hurricane Stan last year remains the most problematic. In addition to reported violations of the political, civil and human rights of the population, there have also been violations of the rights listed in the “Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement,” of the United Nations. Following manifestations of the increasing inconformity of the population, in addition to the broad national and international attention given to this situation in Chiapas in the past months, and without a doubt, the proximity of the presidential elections, the federal and state governments have hastened the distribution of funds and the carrying out of actions, as much for the rebuilding of the social infrastructure as for the reinforcement of riverbanks. The effect has been a decrease in popular protests.
Also in June, the economic and social rights of entire communities were violated by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) with the decision to carry out the massive, indiscriminate disconnections of electricity to municipalities and communities of the Highlands and Central Regions. It is also important to note that several indigenous and social organizations of the Highlands, the Selva Lacandona, and the Northern Zone have manifested their support for electoral abstention because of their disillusionment with all of the political parties. In San Cristóbal de Las Casas, there were two new incidents of intimidation and harassment against human rights defenders and activists.
The increase in delinquency related to drug trafficking, in the area of Palenque/Catazajá, has led federal police forces to refer to the existence of a “Palenque Cartel.”
inally, various events and incidents brought to the public attention this month have contributed to the characterization of the imminent federal elections as an “election by the state.” This has been supported by acts that could be qualified as a “dirty war” campaign, exercised by those in power, against the main candidate opposing the current president’s party. This violates one of the basic principles that support the political and civil rights of the peoples and citizens of Chiapas and Mexico, as outlined in the UN Agreement: the fundamental right to express beliefs, opinions and votes, without being subjected, directly or indirectly, to any form of coercion, induction, or intimidation.
|
