:: UPDATE & ANALYSIS

In a world of war

Constructing spaces for meetings, sharing alternatives

“Another world is not only possible, but it is already here. You can already hear it breathing.”
Arundhati Roy (Indian author)
Porto Alegre, January 2003

The beginning of 2003 has been profoundly marked by the war with Iraq, initiated by the United States with the support of the English, Spanish, and Australian governments; and at the same time, the beginning of 2003 has been marked by the popular, growing protests against the war, taking place in major cities all over the world, in what has constituted the largest mobilization of civil society to date.

In addition, for the third consecutive year, the World Social Forum took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, a city converted into a space for meetings and exchange among different social movements and global networks. All over the globe, people are fighting to construct “another world” that allows us to construct, based on our understanding of communal autonomy, new social, political, economic, and cultural models as alternatives to neoliberal globalization.

This global movement of resistance, which some analysts have designated “the spring of Porto Alegre” focuses world attention on Latin America. Which is considered to bear the most hope for change.

In Mexico and Chiapas, the social agenda for 2003 began with numerous meetings and forums that all held a common denominator: the fight against neoliberalism, the need to share experiences and look for alternatives to, among other policies, those of privatization and militarization. The collective intent is to draw points of convergence in order to reconstruct a dismantled social fabric and move toward the construction of “another world.”

EZLN - “Another Calendar: A Calendar of Resistance”

“One can certainly reflect on the incapacity of Power to listen, but here we are trying to point out the capacity of indigenous villages to dialogue, to speak the word. And through the word, they find themselves, their history, their culture, their pains, and their hopes. And they find that which is other . . .”
(Eight Estele: Northern-Pacific Region)

The new year dawned on Chiapas with an enormous mobilization of Zapatistas and supporters in the streets of San Cristòbal de las Casas. This demonstration commemorated the ninth anniversary of the Zapatista uprising and put an end to their silence, maintained since the approval of the constitutional reform regarding indigenous people in April 2001. The EZLN affirmed, through communiqués read by primary Commanders, among other things: “The Zapatistas demand recognition through the constitution, of rights, autonomy, and self-determination for all of the indigenous villages of México. We demand to be treated with equality and justice. Therefore, we will not accept deception nor your offerings of pity, crumbs, and trash. [. . .] Because we are villages with a long history, we are prepared to continue our struggle until all indigenous villages in our homeland are respected.” This demonstration is considered the largest public Zapatista demonstration to date.

The Zapatistas have published a series of communiqués designated “Esteles” (a monument in the form of a headstone or pedestal that includes a commemorative inscription) one for each month of the year, each one dedicated to a state in México. With these Esteles, the EZLN has created “Another Calendar: The Calendar of Resistance”, narrating the history of an “underground México that struggles and resists.”

The Esteles of the calendar review past and present struggles in different places. Among others, they mention: the struggle against the privatization of Monte Albán, an archeological zone in Oaxaca; the campesino opposition to the expropriation of land for the construction of the Puebla-Tecamachalco freeway and Millenium Park in Puebla; the defensive measures of indigenous groups in la Huasteca and the young people’s group banda y punks in Pachuca, Hidalgo; the reconstruction of communal autonomy for different villages that inhabit the northern-pacific region; the reestablishment of the Purépecha Nation or the movement for the defense of traditional medicine in Michoacán; and the success of the campesino movement in San Slavador Atenco, which, through organizing and protests, halted the construction of a new airport on campesino lands near México City.

All of the accounts in the calendar are stories of resistance against the stripping of land by commercial interests and ultimately represent the indigenous struggle for respect for their cultures, identities, and the lands which they inhabit. The Esteles indicate that popular demands for the construction of a different México stem not only from Chiapas, but are indeed national in character: “This is the inception of a movement with multiple faces, a movement that is political but without parties, a movement that spreads over a large territory and is supported by other movements, a movement whose expression is one of collective and individual resistance, a movement that is still invisible.” (Northern-Pacific Region, Eigth Wake).

During the first months of 2003, both in Chiapas and at the national level, spaces have been created for sharing and understanding concrete experiences of resistance against government programs and free trade agreements, which are viewed by indigenous villages as threats to their territory and natural resources.

National Meeting Against PROCEDE and PROCECOM

“To work for the reconstitution of the community. To strengthen collective and communal work; to search for remedies to divisions within communities; to achieve unity in our struggle while respecting civil, social, and political differences; to dialogue amongst ourselves, to unite ourselves as indigenous people and campesinos.”
(Accords of the Meeting)

(1) 1992 marked the end of land distribution and the reform of article 27 of the Mexican Constitution, eliminating the established prohibition of privatizing communal lands. From this point on, every communal land owner has had the option of selling his parcel of land. From the point of view of most analysts, the reform of this article intended to open communal landholdings to the free market.^

(2) Enforcement of NAFTA began on January 1, 1994 and is considered one of the causes for the EZLN uprising that took place on the same day. After nine years of NAFTA, the outcome for Mexican campesinos are negative sales, since they can no longer compete with products from the United States which are subsidized by the US government. Results include abandonment of the cultivation of numerous crops, storage of grains that cannot be placed on national and international markets, and the disappearance of numerous small and mid-sized producers. ^

Second Meeting of Chiapanecans Confronting Neoliberalism

“To strengthen resistance and search for alternatives”
(Objectives of the Meeting)

The policies that form the foundations of PROCEDE and PROCECOM were analyzed more broadly in the Second Meeting of Chiapanecans Confronting Neoliberalism. The first meeting took place in October of 2002 in San Cristóbal de las Casas, where it was agreed to meet a second time in the community of Nuevo Hixtán (located in a region threatened by the construction of a dam). Fifteen workshops were offered based on the following themes: PROCEDE, Dams, Plan Puebla-Panamá (PPP), Coffee, World Trade Organization-Free Trade Area of the Americas (OMC-ALCA), Women, Militarization, Biodiversity, Food Security, Human Rights, Corn, Fair Trade, Genetically Modified Foods, Agri-toxins, and Community Division and Neoliberal Plans (this last workshop was facilitated by SIPAZ and Alianza Cívica).

In this workshop a participant shared with us the following reflection: “We don´t know where the problem comes from. When a project comes to the community, hatreds flare because there are some who benefit more than others. And I don´t think that we are at fault. Those at fault are the ones who impose upon us from above so that we fight amongst ourselves, so that we lack unity. This hate and envy that we are sewing, how can we get rid of it? The hatred between campesinos doesn´t make sense because we are brothers. The women who participate in [the program] “Oportunidades” [*] fight amongst each other. These are the problems imposed upon us by neoliberalism.”

A large portion of participants attended the workshop on dams. They noted that one of the strategies of PPP is to construct hydroelectric dams across the state of Chiapas. This strategy entails, in the first place, the inevitable dislocation of those who inhabit territories affected by the dams, resulting in social, cultural, and environmental consequences for said communities.

Meeting participants—who came from more than 30 Chiapanecan municipalities—declared themselves against PPP, hydroelectric dams, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and state militarization. They renounced the Bush administration´s imperialist war against Chiapanecan villages. They called for all to work together for lives of peace, justice, and dignity, to defend the seeds of identity, recognizing collective labor as a viable alternative for villages. Finally, they agreed to undertake joint actions of resistance and agreed to support the agenda of demonstrations for the year:

March 8: International Women´s Day
March 14: World Day Against Dams
April 10: Anniversary of the death of Zapata and commencement of the Continental Week Against Genetically Modified Foods
May 5-9: First Hemispheric Forum on Militarization (San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas)
May 16-18: First National Meeting of Mesoamerican Resistance and Response to Neoliberal Globalization (San Juan Guichicovi, Oaxaca)
July: Formus Against PPP and Dams, in Favor of Biodiversity and Culture (Honduras)
August 14-16: Forum on Autonomy (organized by la Red por la Paz, in Chiapas)
October 12: Commencement of the International Campaign for Mobilization and Protest

[*] ¨Oportunidades¨ is the government program directed toward indigenous women, formerly known as PROGRESA, through which women recieve small sums of money, dependent upon children attending school and receiving medical check-ups. (Return)

The First Regional Meeting of Indigenous Tzeltal Women

“To reflect on the problems of women on the national, state, and community levels that stem from neoliberal policies; to look for and construct new coordinated efforts that strengthen our organizing work and our proposals in social, economic, and political fields”

Coinciding with International Women´s Day, the First Regional Meeting of Indigenous Tzeltal Women took place in Ocosingo. Using gender analysis, participants articulated the consequences of neoliberal projects and vocalized the necessity to create alternatives. Participants concluded five months of reflection in the following areas: social rights, economic rights, cultural rights, political rights, and reconciliation and peace.

Participants affirmed the necessity to overcome conflicts that exist between different indigenous and campesina organizations in the region, as well as look for ways to dialogue with co-workers and share objectives through these organizations. More concretely, participants agreed to write a letter to Comandanta Esther, to share their experiences with her and other Zapatista women.

Participants felt a strong sense of unity with both Mexican and international communities of women, sharing experiences and stuggling together against the government´s neoliberal projects.

Third Meeting on Experiences for Peace and Reconciliation

“We are moving from diversity toward unity, respecting each other´s ideas aiming to create bridges that will lead us together toward justice, dignity, and peace, because another world is possible.”
(Final Declaration of the Meeting)

At the end of January, the Third Meeting on Experiences for Peace and Reconciliation took place, organized by la Red por la Paz, Chiapas(4). The meeting included 180 people from six regions of the state: Northern, Jungle, Highlands, Central Valleys, Border, and Frailesca. Participants analyzed the main conflicts experienced in communities and defined joint actions to resolve conflicts.

Participants identified a number of fundamental problems in communities: militarization, alcoholism, and divisions among groups of different political and religious backgrounds. They identified as causes programs implemented by state and federal governments, free trade agreements, and the neoliberal economic project PPP.

The Meeting determined a plan of action, designated an interregional team to plan the next meeting, and produced a call to all villages: “We take into account and respect all individuals, groups, and communities, as well as customs. We look for mutual respect and resolve our communities´ problems through dialogue. We are united to confront the problems that affect us: agrarian conflicts, dislocations, and community divisions.”

(4) La Red por la Paz (Network for Peace) provides space for action and reflection for organizations and aims to support peace and reconciliation processes for organizations and communities in Chiapas. Members of la Red, among other institutions, include: Alianza Cívica-Chiapas, CORECO, Cáritas, SIPAZ, CIEPAC, CEPAZ, DESMI, EDUPAZ, Enlace, Comunicación y Capacitación, los Centros de DDHH Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, y Fray Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada, etc. ^

“The country won´t take it anymore”

“We struggle not to restore a past that cannot return. [...] We struggle for human rights that have been established for everyone: the right to produce, the right to work with dignity, the right to feed ourselves well, the right to construct a humane economy based on cultural differences and open to the advances of science and technology, the right to our own ways of agriculture, and the right to the existence of our own compesino communities, which shall not only survive but will live with dignity and hope for the future.”
(Call of the Movement The Country Won´t Take It Anymore to the country of México, from Córdoba International Bridge in Ciudad Juárez, the first minute of January 1, 2003)

In the past six months, we have seen the campesino movement against NAFTA grow to the national level. On November 12, 2002, twelve regional and national campesino organizations issued the manifesto “The Country Won´t Take It Anymore: Six Proposals for the Rescue and Restoration of the Mexican Countryside.” The manifesto repudiates the enforcement of a new section of the agrarian chapter of NAFTA (beginning January 1, 2003), which reduces tariffs on agricultural imports from the United States apart from corn, beans, powdered milk, and sugar cane.

The movement demands, among other things: the renegotiation of the agrarian chapter of NAFTA; a long-term plan for the years 2003-2020 that suggests structural reforms for the agricultural sector; an increase in the state budget from 0.6% to 1% of the GDP for rural development; food quality and security for Mexican consumers; and the completion of the San Ándres Accords in the matters of rights and culture in indigenous villages.

On the January 1, coinciding with the Zapatista mobilization in Chiapas, individuals from all over the country allied with The Country Won´t Take It Anymore, filled the Zócalo in México City in the largest national campesino demonstration since the administration of Lázaro Cárdenas. In the past months, by means of sit-ins, hunger strikes, and demonstrations, campesinos have forced the federal government to open a dialogue with the objective of reaching a National Accord for the Countryside.

At present, meetings are taking place between campesino organizations and government officials. While the two sides have established consensus in some areas, there remain strong disagreements relating to NAFTA, the state of emergency in the Mexican countryside, and campesino access to the Mexican Institute for Social Security.

Approximately 400 social organizations, including members of the National Workers´ Union (UNT), The country won´t take it anymore, the Permanent Agrarian Congress (CAP), and El Barzón, created the Campesino and Civil Union Front (FSCS). The purpose of this coalition is to unify and strengthen the struggle for a more just national development plan, for labor reform that favors workers, and for a new national accord for the countryside against the privatization of energy.

Promoters of National Unity Against Neoliberalism

“Our villages are struggling against a neoliberalism that from its beginning has been a war against humanity. Those in power know full well that they are selling us a model that claims to be the best product for all humanity. Today, the whole world is organizing itself to fight against neoliberal policies, not only in favor of peace but in favor of alternative projects for a true democracy with justice and liberty.”
(Pablo González Casanova)

The reactivation of social movements across México against neoliberal policies promoted by the Mexican government in the areas of privatization, fiscal reform, labor reform, and free trade, has prompted the creation of Promoters of National Unity Against Neoliberalism. Its objective is to create a meeting space for distinct struggles, with the end goal of articulating a common agenda.

The movement—whose coalition includes intellectuals, NGOs, unions, and diverse social organizations—held its first forum at the beginning of March in México City, and had the following objective: “to open discussion and initiate promotional actions in different states and sectors; and by these means coordinate with civil leaders and laborers working in the fields of policy and social justice.”

In this forum, Pabolo González Casanova (exrector of the National Autonomous University of México, UNAM) made clear that “we don´t want to be the vanguard nor direct or head all organizations. We aim at all times to give respect to the autonomy of each organization; to uphold, even in the most difficult moments, our respect for all ideologies, religions, and political positions; not engage in electoral politics; fight against terrorism; avenge the state of its enemies; and increase solidarity across the nation, in Latin America, and the world.” (La Jornada, March 7, 2003)

Possibilities and Challenges

“As campesinos we can say: we are poor; this is our fault; we are on land that produces little. But if someone arrives who is more shrewd, he casts his line, and we are all fish. And it is easy for him because we are hungry and we would sell ourselves for a calf. [...] I think that the government is covering our eyes, ears, and mouths. But what are we going to do? Unite ourselves and with force move this boulder that is blocking our path.”
(Participant in the workshop about Community Divisions, in Nuevo Huixtan)

Moving the boulder that is neoliberal globalization—which includes militarization, expressed currently by the war and militarization of strategic regions—is the common objective of Zapatista strategy and the numerous meetings at the local and national levels. Along with the expansion of neoliberal and warmongering policies, there grows in Chiapas an awareness that it is essential to create an alternative to today´s dominant model, to guarantee the creation of a lasting, sustainable peace, with social justice and respect for individual and collective human rights.

Nine years after the enforcement of NAFTA and the Zapatista uprising, individuals and organizations are confronting neoliberal projects imposed in Chiapas and all of México through the vehicles of civil society, politics, and culture. The country of México is in harmony with continental and global agendas epitomized by “the spring of Porto Alegre.”

Within the process of coming together, one of the greatest challenges will be uniting distinct movements under common objectives, with each movement rising above differences while maintaining individuality. We can all travel the same road while discovering that there are multiple ways of traveling it.

::SIPAZ ACTIVITIES

DECEMBER 2002 TO FEBRUARY 2003

Accompaniment

• In December we went to the northern zone of Chiapas. We also visited San Jerónimo Tulijá, in the autonomous Zapatista municipality “Ricardo Flores Magon” to see what has happened since the violent conflicts of last August occured; and make contacts so that we might visit people who have been expelled from their communities as a consequense of the violence. At Palenque, we again visited the lawyer from the Human Rights PRO (“PRODH”) center who was threatened some months ago.
• Since October 2002 we have been working with “Alianza Cívica” Chiapas in coordinating a project with puppets. We collectively created two plays on communitarian divisions and conflicts and the relevance of respecting diversity. The plays are now being shown to indigenous communities to promote mediation on such themes as peaceful conflict resolution. The first show was at Chenalhó, as part of the programmed activities to celebrate the anniversary of the civil group “Las Abejas”, and the fifth anniversary of the Acteal massacre. We had our first trip to the Northern zone in February (see the separate article)
• In December we visited the Comitan shelter for the seven families that were expelled last year from the Montes Azules biosphere. They are still waiting for the government to comply with its promise to provide them sufficient fertile land so that they can support their families.

Inter-religious Dialogue

• In November 2002 we began the development of the training stage for those Commissioned for Peace at Chenalhó through a monthly workshop. There are between 30 and 50 religious leaders, mainly Catholics and Presbyterians.
• We attended the inauguration of Instituto de Estudios Sociales e Interculturales (INESIN), successor of the former Bible School of Integral Formation of San Cristobal de las Casas.
• We were part of the panel dealing with religious problems in Chiapas that was organized by Foundation Leon XIII in San Cristobal.

Peace Education

• In January we participated in the organization and cooperation for the third Forum on Communitarian Peace and Reconciliation that was organized by the Peace network in Chiapas. There was the collaboration of around 200 persons from the various communities and regions of the state.
• In February we held a workshop on communitarian divisions and Neoliberal projects for the Second Chiapanecan Forum vis-à-vis Neoliberalism that was held in New Huixtán (Las Margaritas). We also presented a puppet play to encourage participants to reflect on the subject.
• We participated in follow-up meetings of the National Encounter for Peace as well as in preparatory meetings of for the World Forum against Militarization that will be held this May in San Cristobal.
• We started a new cycle of workshops on Peace Culture with the youth of the San Cristobal CEDECOS’ (Centers of Communitarian Development).

Contacts and Information

• We were visited by delegations, students, and journalists that were informed on the current situation in Chiapas and the work of Sipaz.
• We participated in the organization and guidance of a formative program for the World Education delegation to inform them of the various indigenous communities and visions of the Chiapas conflict.
• In February, we attended the First Regional Forum of Tseltal Women of the Ocosingo municipality.

International

• At the end of January, we participated in the third World Social Forum in Porto Alegre (Brazil).
• In February the Steering Committee and the SIPAZ team met in Chiapas to evaluate the work and analyze the existing political opportunity, as well as prepare a strategic plan for 2003.
• We assisted in organizing and providing facilities for a Survey of Latin American Women Constructors of Peace that was called by the IFOR (member of the SIPAZ coalition) held in Quito, Ecuador at the end of February.

:: OPENING SPACES FOR DIALOGUE AND TOLERANCE:

TOUR WITH THE PUPPETS SHOW IN NORTHERN CHIAPAS
(February 2003)

Since 1996 Northern Chiapas (in particular the lower zone of Tila) has become one of the most conflictive regions of the state. In this area, there has been countless missing persons and deaths, an even larger number of political prisoners, attacks, and displacements of entire communities.

SIPAZ began visiting the zone together with other Chiapanecan NGO’s to observe if there were any acts of violence and survey the condition of human rights there. The project was named Northern Station for distention and reconciliation. Unfortunatly observers were quickly assumed to be Zapatistas and/or members of the PRD party by the Government’s party, the army, and the Peace and Justice armed group; on two occasions the members of the Northern Station were attacked, thus, we decided to leave that zone.

In 1999 the SIPAZ team began again to have continuous presence in Northern Chiapas. Since then, we have periodically visited over twenty communities in the Tila zone where there has been intense conflict, in addition to a few other communities in Sabanilla.

The purpose of an international presence in these areas of conflict is to discourage any violence, as well as to create and maintain a peaceful atmosphere in which dialogue and tolerance can be promoted between opposing groups. To attain the latter, SIPAZ continues to seek the development of relationships among all the acting parties.

For some time, we have been discussing the possibility to enrich the accompaniment work with other activities, such as puppets shows and workshops promoting the solution of conflicts in a peaceful manner.

We were given the opportunity when we received an invitation from Alianza Cívica-Chiapas to participate in the puppet project last year. Since December we have worked in presenting these shows in various places, and sometimes these presentations have been combined with conflict transformation workshops, plus forums and other discussions.

One of the SIPAZ volunteers in Chiapas who has collaborated since 1999, gave the following account:

“In February 2003 we made our first tour of puppets through Northern Chiapas. There were five of us (two with SIPAZ and three with Alianza Cívica) and we had many questions that still needed to be answered: How would people of the communities would receive us? Who should be making the calls, considering the political and religious divisions existing in the zone? Would they be able to understand us given that we could not speak their Ch’ol language? How would we resolve any technical issues…? Working for peace requires that we evaluate and take advantage of the existing diversity so that communitarian life is improved and division is avoided. Our group is an interesting example of the possibility for the coexistance of diverse people due to the fact that it was integrated by people of Chiapas, Northern Mexico, the U.S.A., Spain, and Germany. Men and women from 24 to 42 years old, each one with his/her stories, experiences, wishes and needs. The intensity of the journey helped us to grow closer and also to better know ourselves.

The journey lasted eight days. We presented puppet shows to nine communities within two different municipalities, the attendance ranging from 30 into the hundreds. There is no doubt that the children were the most enthusiastic participants.

Of course it was not always easy. At times we were received in the market place with welcome signs, but there were difficult days as well. Once we had to perform under the rain while the public stood with umbrellas until the end.

Once, on a Sunday, we coincided with the market day in the El Limar downtown where people of various communities were gathered. This is where a peace and reconciliation accord was signed by the Catholics who had been prosecuted for their sympathy with the EZLN, so that they could enter their church that had been occupied by a Paz y Justicia (PyJ) group since years before. Also, one of the main PyJ leaders had been held in prison for over a year, who, according to the testimony given by many, is responsible for the violence prevailing in the zone for years. After the puppet show, we could hear some voices stating: “This is how our conflicts started in here” “May God wish that this message reaches the hearts of our people”.

We arrived to the Shucjá community, a place where many people who had been expelled from their homes now live. Some of them, who have been negotiating their return, spoke out about their fears and hopes to us. One of them asked: “Why don’t you come with us when we go back?” One group is returning to their own lands and people of other communities are helping them with the building of their new homes.

So we continued our journey through irregular land ways, some of us walking, others in the vehicle that was piled up with the theater, bags with puppets, the scenery, and our luggage.

We presented a puppet play in the community school, and according to the testimony of some, the public had an active participation in the conflict, and this is where we were only able to make a few contacts just last year. There, only the children and some mothers attended.

From there, we arrived in Jolnixtie, a divided community. In 1996 there was an outbreak of violence and, subsequently, the displacement of inhabitants. Though later some of the people who had been displaced came back, but without reconciliation. Nevertheless, these people are trying to unite again. The school in Jolnixtie is the most neutral place in the community. When children arrive they cry for ¡Puppets!. Both children and teachers helped to set the theater and provide us with microphones. In the afternoon, we invited the whole community. We had children coming but with many adults as well. Those who came closer were at least able to listen, because the sound was so loud it was impossible not to pay attention. The catechist helped with the interpretation and reflection in the Ch’ol language. Some protestants arrived also, as well as the various political forces.

The following presentations were made in Huanal, a cattle breeding community that lost all of its cattle during the conflict when they were attacked by their zone’s neighbors. But, from what they have heard, it was the military and the policemen who finally gave account of the cattle. Their history is very much like one of our plays in which two rabbits were fighting for the same carrots meanwhile mice are taking advantage of the situation and stealing the carrots. The teachers helped us make the children reflect and respond. In the afternoon the whole community came, because it was dark some of the attendants lit the theater with hand lanterns. The school director and a teacher helped us in encouraging people to reflect: both teachers and attendants made pronouncements that reflect that they belong to opposite political current.

Early in the morning we continued walking to Obregon. On our way we found the peasants going to do their work; they learned about our visit and were expecting us with joy. We presented two shows: one with kids and the other with the whole community. Several people expressed themselves in the Ch’ol language, and at night we met in a classroom at the school to continue talking on the main problems that afflict the community. Men and women expressed their worries about the government’s economic policy and the effects they have in their communities. They were especially critical of the Puebla-Panama Plan. The community is divided into different regions and political parties, but their religious and political leaders gathered and were able to subscribe a non-aggression pact to avoid more violent events in the community. During the most violent time of the conflict they received refugees from other communities.

When we were there, away from any mechanical workshops or gas stations, the car’s battery broke down. Fortunately there was someone eager to help us who provided us with the battery of his van so that we could travel up to Salto de Agua, the closest place where we could get a battery.

We went back to Tila’s lower zone. We were invited to celebrate the anniversary of the returning of formerly expelled inhabitants at Cruz Palenque. One morning in August 1997, some armed men had come and assulted the dwellings of those who were not cooperating with the government. One man was murdered and the rest were able to leave with their families and find refuge in another community. The inhabitants that were members of the PyJ were encouraged to steal the cattle of those who had been expelled. Later on, they realized that they had been deceived and attempted the return of those who had been expelled and to reconcile their differences. They are now celebrating the 4th anniversary of their return.

Nevertheless, for some the war is still not over. Some members of the community told us that the day before, another murder had taken place. Apparently the victim, that was murdered while in his sowing place, was a member of the PRI party and was participating in the reconciliation process with the curch of Tile. One can sense the stress in the surrounding communities. We were told that some men coming from other PRI controlled communities have been seen lately. There has been many assassinations still waiting to be clarified in these communities, and the victims belong to all groups.

We had one puppet show still pending at Nuevo Limar, a highly divided community that is controlled in its majority by the PRI partisans, and it also has army base. Some persons have confessed they feel threatened again and recommended us not to present the play downtown, as we had initially thought, for fear of reprisals.

We finally decided to present the play in front of their house. Surprisingly, it was with this play that the public had a larger participation. Also, we were able to have the attendance of persons of different political and religious trends. People were grateful for our visit; we could feel how they felt encouraged.

We went back to San Cristobal with a happy heart and willingly to proceed with our puppets tour in other communities.”

Translated by: M.L. Andrade
Mexico City, April 23, 2003