:: ANALYSIS

Elections in Chiapas: Who Won?

On October 3^rd elections were held in Chiapas in order to select 118 municipal presidents and 40 local representatives for the State Congress.

The Zapatista Juntas de Buen Gobierno (Councils of Good Government) fulfilled its promise to respect the work of the electoral bodies. The council announced this in August, requesting that "in the same way that we respect those who want to vote, you must respect those who do not." This decision confirmed the non-confrontation option of the Zapatista movement.

Over the past ten years, violent incidents such as robbery, burning of voting boxes, and confrontations between antagonistic groups have been documented in every local and state election. This time the elections were carried out in relative calm, although twelve complaints were later received regarding the possible perpetrating of electoral crimes. Additionally, "client practices" (distribution of supplies and money) and transporting of voters to the election booths continued to be reported.

Voter turnout on October 3rd was high when compared with previous years, with only 45 percent of voters abstaining even though the number of ballots found to be void was over 73,000 (representing more than 5% of those who voted).

Another striking and even paradoxical element is that the majority of political actors consider themselves to have "won" in these elections. Although the PRI, Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party), lost the absolute majority in the local Congress for the first time, it continues to be the principal political force in the state, with 18 out of 40 representative seats. At the municipal level, the PRI took various important cities, such as the capital Tuxtla Gutierrez and San Cristóbal de Las Casas, from the PAN, Partido de Acción Nacional (National Action Party). The PRI lost 19 municipalities. They now control 53 of Chiapas' municipalities, whereas they had previously governed 72.

La Alianza por Chiapas (the Alliance for Chiapas), formed by the PRD, Partido de la Revolución Democrática (Democratic Revolutionary Party), the PAN and the PT, Partido del Trabajo (Worker's Party), ended with almost half of the legislative seats and 27 of the municipalities in Chiapas.

The PVEM, Partido Verde Ecologista de México (Ecological Green Party of Mexico), obtained more than 14 percent of the votes, which places the party very close to the PAN and the PRD. The PVEM will continue governing in 4 municipalities and will be participating in 4 more municipal governments through their alliance with the PRI.

The current governor of the state, Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía, suffered a relative setback as the people close to him were defeated in the elections in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Nevertheless, the election also resulted in the PRI's loss of absolute majority in the Congress. This could allow the governor to strengthen his government projects in the last two years remaining of his administration.

Election of Representatives

Municipal Elections

STATE ELECTORAL PANORAMA IN VIEW OF 2006

The October elections served as a political barometer for the elections of 2006, when the successor to Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía, the current governor of Chiapas, will be elected.

The representatives of the parties which formed the Alianza por Chiapas (PAN, PRD and PT) affirmed in public declarations that only by forming alliances can they succeed in defeating the PRI in 2006. Also, they recognized the polemic character of the coalitions between parties who are "incompatible" at the federal level, as it implies alliances of the left with the right. The PAN does not have much presence in rural zones. The PRD finds itself divided by internal struggles. It remains to be seen how this alliance can be sustained.

In this vein, it is worthwhile to underline the blurring and weakening of the parties (in a smaller measure in the case of the PRI). On September 27, some eight thousand faithful of the San Cristóbal diocese (which includes 46 municipalities in Chiapas) undertook a march in order to demand the liberation of various prisoners from among their parishes (see the previous report). Referring to the electoral process in their public statement, they diagnosed the problem as follows: "politics, under the big economic interests, seems to have lost its way and only expresses itself in a sick struggle and search for power for power's sake, forgetting to respond to the needs and the demands of the general population."

Yet another fact implies a change in 2006: at the end of October a legal initiative was passed, proposing modifications to article 35 of the Political Constitution of the State regarding the requirements for being elected to the state governor's office. This could leave out various "pretenders" such as Roberto Albores of the PRI and Emilio Zebadúa of the PRD.

These modifications include, for example, that in order to contend as a candidate for governor one cannot have previously occupied the office of constitutional, provisional, interim or substitute governor and cannot be subject to criminal proceedings. Also they establish that the candidate must be a Chiapas native and have been a resident of the state for a minimum of five years.

The proposal also foresaw other modifications to the secondary laws in electoral matters. It proposes that spouses or family members of governors or mayors not be allowed to participate in electoral races. The proposal poses the reduction of the campaign period to two months and the creation of an autonomous and independent commission to monitor elections; however, this commission would be appointed by the state Congress by suggestion of the local Executive.

This act invoked diverse opposing reactions, particularly within the state PRI party, who in the voice of the coordinator of the parliamentary faction of this party, Mario Carlos Culebro, described the measure as "antidemocratic, authoritarian, overwhelming, totalitarian, archaic and against the will of the people of Chiapas."

THE INCREASING DELEGITIMIZATION OF PARTISAN DEMOCRACY

What is happening in Chiapas reflects the situation at a national level, as 2006 is also a federal election year. The principal political parties are experiencing a severe crisis of political credibility following recent financial scandals from which none escaped unharmed. In addition, the power games directed at impeding the possible candidacy of the current chief of the Federal District Government, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, by stripping him of official immunity, have come under scrutiny.

In mid-November, another event exacerbated the existing rupture between the executive and legislative power when President Fox announced that he would legally challenge the Budget for Expenditures of the Federation for 2005, approved by the House of Representatives. He described the budget as "incongruent and unviable." He affirmed that the representatives from the opposition want to block the federal government and impede the fulfillment of its objective of improving the lives of Mexicans. Senators from the PRI and the PRD demanded that President Fox stop engaging in confrontations with the Congress and accept the Budget of Expenditures approved by the House of Representatives or he will lead the country into a state of ungovernability.

In November another event occurred which was interpreted as a demonstration of the weakening and discrediting of the institutions and the growing lack of confidence of the population towards these bodies: the lynching of two police officers in Tláhuac in the Federal District. Analysts also pointed to the responsibility of the media, in particular television, in encouraging a "climate of terror" in order to justify the repression and violence. According to the Director of Amnesty International, México Bureau, these expressions of violence are on the rise, especially in those countries where there exists an inability to guarantee the rule of law.

THE SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVES

In this context, on the 27^th and 28^th of November, the First National Dialogue for a National Project of Liberty, Justice and Democracy was convened in México City. This provocative initiative, above all, but not exclusively, due to the coming together of the unions, proposed to convene "all of the social, cultural and political sectors so that we can advance together in the elaboration of a diagnosis of large national and international problems, outlining all of the essential aspects of an Alternative National Project and uniting all of those in resistance to savage capitalism and the corporate system in order to build a proposal capable of disputing the driving of the nation into neo-liberal cruelty."

More than 1700 participants from 164 social, labor and campesino (peasants who work the land), indigenous, student, union and political organizations attended the event and they agreed "to reject the model of destruction and death called Neo-liberalism" and "to continue this process of dialogue in the entire country, with the purpose of strengthening the resistance movements and at the same time nourishing the process of formulating a National Project of Liberty, Justice and Democracy." (see www.dialogonacional1.org). It's fitting to emphasize that various reports made reference to Zapatista caracoles as a positive example of new ways of participation that should be encouraged beyond anti-establishment actions.

In the beginning of December, the forum "Against silence and oblivion: the voice of the indigenous peoples of México" took place in Chilpancingo, Guerrero. The participating organizations reaffirmed their determination to continue the struggle against the "indigenous counter reform of 2001" (a law dealing with indigenous rights and culture approved in 2001 that was disowned by the EZLN and the principal indigenous organizations in the country) and to exercise the right to "be government" through action.

NOTES ON MONTES AZULES

In October, the special representative for the case of the Secretary of Agricultural Reform (SRA), Martha Cecilia Díaz Gordillo, announced that 25 "irregular" communities in the Lacandona Community and Integral Reserve of the Montes Azules Biosphere have signed agreements to resolve the agricultural-environmental problem and that it is negotiating with 18 others the possibility of accepting relocation and normalization via expropriation (El Universal, 12 de octubre de 2004).

On the other side, at the end of October, the EZLN announced its intention of relocating several of its communities situated in the south of the Montes Azules biosphere, requesting support from national and international civil society to help with the move and the regrouping.

The EZLN (Zapatista National Liberation Army) explained this decision, affirming that "with the advance of what has been called the 'councils of good government,' a large number of indigenous Zapatista communities have been provided with the means to substantially improve their living conditions. However, the distance and dispersed locations of a number of these communities have represented significant difficulties, by which the EZLN has concluded, with the express consent of the inhabitants, to relocate some of the Zapatista communities in this zone, in order for them to be covered by the jurisdiction of the Council of Good Government in the jungle border region".

The communities that have relocated and will be relocated (while not the only Zapatista communities in this zone) include Primero de Enero, San Isidro, 12 de Diciembre, 8 de Octubre, Santa Cruz, Nuevo Limar, and Agua Dulce. This relocation, which implies a strategic repositioning on behalf of the EZLN, has been considered by some as a withdrawal and by others as the only way in which to better defend and support their communities in the southern part of the reserve. It has taken place without violence or publicity.

In November, 29 Tzotzil families from the San Isidro settlement (a non-Zapatista portion of the population) and Sol Paraíso were relocated to the new community of Nueva Magdalena, outside of the protected forest zone. This same month, representatives of 20 de Noviembre and Nuevo México, two communities of more than 40 people that had been identified for eviction or relocation, broke off negotiations with the federal and state governments. They stated: "We believe that we are the new object of lies, that they want to use us, and we therefore request that the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, Florencio Salazar Adame, and the governor, Pablo Salazar, permanently leave us in this place without disrupting our social peace."

At the end of November, a variety of social organizations from the municipality of Ocosingo with a presence in Montes Azules warned that "if the government wishes to maintain a dialogue, it should do so with respect and from the ground up, persons without decision-making capacity will not be accepted." They also requested an immediate cessation to the harassment that the CISEN (Center of Investigation and National Security) has directed against them.

ONGOING CONCERNS ON THE SUBJECT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

In October, various civil organizations expressed their indignation over the confirmation of José Luis Soberanes as President of the National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) for the 2004-2009 term. They deplored "the manner in which the selection process was conducted: with a partisan agreement at the final hour, an extremely limited and reduced participation as to the number of civil society organizations and the time given to them to present their opinions and proposals, a closed door (…) with no explanation of the criteria on which it was based in order to almost automatically confirm Dr. Soberanes." They affirmed that "the Senator is not contributing to the strengthening of an autonomous body, but rather the opposite. What he is really doing is putting its legitimacy at risk, a legitimacy that has already been called into question, thereby weakening the entire National System of Human Rights Protection in the country."

In November, the Chiapas Network of Human Rights pronounced itself in opposition to the Law for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights passed by the state this month, considering that it would generate a setback in the autonomy and efficacy of the Chiapas State Commission of Human Rights (CEDH). They also questioned the recent designation of Yesmín Lima Adam as the head of the institution, charging that he was nominated "without an adequate framework and without a process that was transparent and inclusive of society." They underlined: "These acts of the State Congress, adding to the arbitrary destitution of Pedro Raúl López in recent months, and to the vigorous State Criminal Code reforms of last May, dramatically harm the integrity of human rights in the state of Chiapas, limiting the enjoyment of fundamental guarantees and weakening the body dedicated to their protection." (see http://www.laneta.apc.org/cdhbcasas)

In December, Amnesty International published a report "Silent abuses in Guadalajara: the refusal to shed light on human rights violations only perpetuates impunity" that states: "The Mexican government has expressed on repeated occasions its promise to prevent and sanction human rights violations in the state of Mexico. However, violations, such as the arbitrary detention, torture and beatings which occurred in Guadalajara during the Third Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union in May 2004 underline that serious abuses of this nature, particularly on the state and municipal level, continue to be common in this country." In respect to this case, although CNDH has documented 118 detentions and 19 cases of torture, the recommendations contained in this report have been rejected by the governor of Guadalajara.

:: FOCUS

REFUSING TO PAY FOR THE LIGHTS: A LOCAL STRUGGLE AGAINST PRIVATIZATION

'NO PAYMENT' FOR ELECTRICITY AND THE 'BETTER LIFE TARIFF'

This December marks a year from the date that the state government of Chiapas signed an agreement with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the body in charge of supplying the Mexican population with electricity. This agreement brought into being the program known as Tarifa Vida Mejor (TVM) - or "The Better Life Tarriff" - valid until 2006. According to the Governor of Chiapas, the objectives of the new plan are as follows: to put an end to the "culture of 'not paying,' to begin an era of 'co-responsibility' and (…) to reach a just electricity rate for all Chiapans." Prisoners serving time for their role in the social struggle against unjust electricty costs were pardoned, and all legal actions being carried out against them were dropped.
(see www.contraloriachiapas.gob.mx/tarifamejor/discursotarifa.htm).

The increase in electricity prices and the consequences derived from the refusal to pay represent one of the major problems in communities throughout the state of Chiapas. Various groups with whom we spoke during our recent visit to the Norte region (municipality of Tila) have protested along these lines. In the same vein, the Council of Good Government (JBG) of Roberto Barrios commented that the conflicts surrounding electricity and the CFE has been the main problem addressed during the council's first year of work.

Overcharging for electricity is not unique to the municipalities in the Norte region, nor to the state of Chiapas. In the state of Tabasco, which borders on Tila, 52% of the population has not paid for electricity for the past 10 years, which represents one of the most important resistance movements in the nation. The movement was started by López Obrador (at the time a candidate for state government for the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), and the current governor of Mexico City) to protest the electoral fraud that gave the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) control of the state government (El Universal, 30 Oct. 2004).

But, we must remember that the municipality of Tila suffered the greatest level of violence carried out against the Zapatista uprising. In Tila, the group "Desarrollo, Paz y Justicia" - or "Development, Peace and Justice" - is accused of commiting paramilitary acts, which brought fear, displacements and death to community members who were not members of the group and were part of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) or other organizations opposed to the PRI government, such as supporters of the PRD (known as "perredistas") or members of 'Abu Xu' (a coalition of civil society organizations).

Currently, excessive charges for electricity are affecting all existing groups in the communities, although their responses to the problem differ depending on the organization. This problem sharpens social fractures existing since the conflict and is reason for worry among those of us familiar with the region.

In the communities in the Norte region, the houses have an average of three light bulbs per family; only a small percentage have electronic appliances, such as refrigerators or televisions; they only use light between 7 and 9 pm, since the rhythm of their lives coincides more with daylight hours. In many communities, electricity only arrived recently, including in some like Jolnixtié where the use of this service during the most intense period of the conflict was available exclusively to supporters of the PRI (referred to as "priistas").

At first, families were charged $15 or $20 (in Mexican pesos), but recently they have begun to reach $50, 80, 300 or 500 pesos per family without any corresponding increase in the consumption of electricity. These are families that do not even receive the monthly minimum wage (1200 Mexican pesos, or approximately $120 US) so for them it is impossible to pay such high bills, leading to debts of thousands of pesos.

In addition to the difficulty of paying for electricity, the arrival of CFE officials in communities in order to cut power lines as retaliation for their failure to pay generates violent reactions from an indignant population frustrated by being saddled with the burden of electricity costs disproportionate to the economic conditions of their lives.

In this context, the TVM was presented as a resolution to the conflict. The plan established a minimum bimonthly consumption rate (300 or 400 kw/hour depending on the region of the State). Of this, consumers would receive a 51% discount on the first 150 kw used and a 12% discount on the next 100 kw. The lack of adequate information led many consumers to believe that the new rate would not take into account previous debts owed, that is to say, as if starting from a clean slate. Instead, the signing of the agreement implied recognizing the 'record of consumption,' and therefore previously accumulated debts. To the surprise of many, the debts have become so high that although the government took responsibility for a percentage of the total owed, the debts represent an impossibly high sum of money for families with no liquid assets.

Currently, those who accepted the terms of TVM and cannot pay their bills are seeing their electricity cut off definitively. The program has not produced the desired results as the majority of people 'in resistance' have rejected it and have maintained the 'no payment' stand.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF RESISTANCE TO UNJUST ELECTRICITY RATES

In the Norte region, there are many forms of resistance to the unjust electricity rates. For their part, Zapatista bases of support have not paid for electricity since 1994 as part of their resistance movement against all government taxes and costs. In this instance, not paying for electricity is used as a tool to exert pressure on the government to honor the Peace Accords signed by the federal government and the EZLN on February 16, 1996. The Zapatistas claim electricity is the collective property of the nation, and therefore, demand that its distribution be public. The Councils of Good Government are taking over control of transformers to make up for the lack of CFE service in their territories.

Another form of resistance is known as the 'civil resistance movement,' created specifically by an organization in resistance to paying for electricity. In the municipality of Tila, the majority of civil society organized against the government during the conflict, and was thus displaced by the violent presence of the 'Paz y Justicia' paramilitary group. Their resistance began when they returned to their houses, after having narrowly escaped with their lives, and encountered bills with all of the debt accumulated during the time they had been displaced. The impossibility of paying such high bills, and indignation at being in debt to the CFE after having been forcibly displaced from their land, led to community members resisting against the CFE and later joining together as the civil resistance movement. Members of the movement refuse to pay while there are unjust rates. The organization Alianza Estatal de Resistencia Civil del Estado de Chiapas - or the "Civil Resistance Alliance of the State of Chiapas" - was formed in April of this year to lead the movement with the goal of fighting for a just electricity rate that is "consistent with the economic reality" of the population. The organization sees TVM as a trick to get people to pay their debts without establishing a truly fair rate.

Although supporters of the PRI are traditionally closely tied to the government, receiving government contracts or support, some "priistas" (many of whom originally accepted 'TVM') have stopped paying for electricity in the face of impossibly high bills.

There are also exceptions like the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, where different political groups (supporters of the PRI, the PRD, and the Worker's Party (PT), as well as Zapatistas) have organized to take over and repair the local transformer and maintain service for all community members.

WHY PAY SO MUCH FOR SUCH A BASIC NATURAL RESOURCE?: PRIVATIZATION

Electricity is part of a set of fundamental economic, social and cultural rights that are necessary to ensure a dignified life. Electric energy in Mexico has been considered a public service since the administration of Lázaro Cárdenas, who had nationalized the Electricity Industry entirely by 1960. The CFE was created as a decentralized body in the late 1940s to provide electricity to the entire Mexican population, with the exception of private companies. Considered property of the Mexican populace, the CFE was supposed to be a public good.

The national energy policy was altered in 1992 when Article 27 of the Constitution was reformed, which opened the door to private investment in the nation.

According to the Center for Research on Economic, Political and Community Action (CIEPAC), Chiapas generates between 45% and 65% of Mexico's hydroelectric energy. The contradictions become even more extreme when one notes that most energy produced in Chiapas is destined for Mexico City and its surrounding suburbs while, according to the Council of Good Government of La Realidad, 90% of the communities in its jungle region lack electricity.

Despite these social and economic inequalities, federal policies do not respond to local necessities but rather to the interests that come from "development" and consumerism in more industrialized countries. The high rates of consumption of energy in the United States and the lack of energy producing resources within the US explains its interest in free trade zones throughout the Americas, within which regional energy markets are created that can cover the needs of the US during the coming decades. CIEPAC believes that the resistance to paying for electricity may serve as an obstacle to the implementation to the Plan Puebla-Panamá (PPP), which would establish the Central American Electricity Interconnection System (SIEPAC). By 2007, they are hoping to establish a high capacity pipeline/trade corridor that will connect the region from Panama to Mexico and from Mexico to the United States. According to the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), the aim is to create 'a Mesoamerican corridor that will encourage the private sector to participate in the development of the electricity market in the region' in order to improve 'the economic efficiency of the entire process of supplying electricity.' (LaJornada, “Los frentes del PPP”/"The frontlines of the PPP," 18 October 2004).

The United States National Energy Policy Development group released a report stating that: "The increased production of energy and cooperation between the United States, Canada and Mexico would bring us more security in terms of energy and, through our economic ties laid out in NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement), would fundamentally improve the economic security of each nation." Furthermore, the report indicated that the constitutional reforms of 1992 mean that private corporations may generate electricity for their own use and sell the excess to the CFE.
(http://usinfo.state.gov/espanol/mexico/01082905.htm)

In the context of regional 'free markets,' the Secretary of Treasury of the federal government released a decree to modify energy rates, eliminating some government subsidies (published in the Official Journal, on February 7, 2002). The measure was designed to funnel more government subsidies to users with the lowest levels of consumption and, at the same time, to collect more resources so that the public supply could be of the highest quality. However, the measure has not produced both of these projected results because the consumers who use the least amount of energy are those who are suffering the most from the modified rates; from community testimonies it becomes clear that the CFE has continued to be characterized by its unwillingness to provide maintenance and fair deals for communities. Months later, in August 2002, the federal executive presented a proposal to reform article 27 to allow the private sector to generate energy, a power historically reserved solely for the nation, and only maintaining federal control over the public administration of energy.

In April 2003, the National Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) provisionally suspended the above decree. This decision opened the door to intervention through protective measures against the practice of overcharging, signaling that the subsidized rates should be reinstated and the difference returned to consumers.

There was a push to implement the protective measures in Chiapas, but they were never put into place due to corruption on the part of the lawyer in charge of processing them.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: A PATH OF RESISTANCE

We have been able to verify that the 'TVM' is an aggregating factor in areas such as Tila where the social fabric is already damaged by war. Government institutions have exerted direct and indirect pressure on the population to accept TVM, insisting on its advantages and the convenience of complying with the plan. CFE officials have forced communities to sign on, threatening them by saying they would not repair transformers if the community didn't sign. In some communities, even the designated 'commissary' (community authority) has pressured families to sign the agreement, and in others, community members have been forced to sign in order to receive government contracts or support.

On top of this all, the quality of energy supply has not improved: blackouts occur daily in communities. There are also constant brownouts and spikes in voltage that damage electronic appliances. Consumption is not measured or checked directly in communities, which is reflected in the cynicism among consumers when neighbors compare bills and see that families with more electronic appliances are paying less, or that some do not even receive bills.

The organized resistance is trying to defend the people from these repressive actions, but the most vulnerable in these cases are those who do not have the backing of a group such as the EZLN or the civil resistance movement, and are having their electricity cut off permanently as has happened in some neighborhoods in the municipality of Yajalón. The leaders of the civil resistance movement have been victims of 'selective' power cuts, but thanks to their organization have been able to exert enough pressure to get their service reinstated.

Organized civil disobedience has become a survival response by society to unjust laws or decisions made by the authorities. In this case, it is being carried out against a rate policy and overall against a policy surrounding public services that has forgotten their social function. This route seems to be the only option when the rest of the paths are made impossible by lengthy and costly legal process and the lack of credibility of state institutions.

The resistance movement sees the privatization of the energy sector as the main reason behind increased electricity rates: "by charging high rates, the government is seeking to show foreign investors that the CFE is a business ripe for the picking" (Document produced by the Regional Coordinators of Civil Society in Resistance in Chiapas). The other dominant opinion posits that a general refusal to pay for electricity would be a perfect excuse to argue for the insolvency of the CFE and therefore the need to introduce private capital.

In this context, signing on to the 'TVM' plan, beyond being controversial, represents a partial and limited proposal to not influence energy policy, which is decided in international political spaces, far from the reality of communities and where the voice of civil society was not included in the negotiations.

These resistances are part of the opposition of civil society to the privatization of electric energy. They shed light on the reasons that the Zapatista uprising coincided with the signing of NAFTA, and they indicate the importance of that struggle within the larger global movement against the privatization of basic resources such as electricity, oil, water, and biodiversity. These experiences are important steps in the restoration of autonomy, on the path towards bringing to life the vision of a world in which the people decide the policies that affect their daily lives.

:: ARTICLE

School of the Americas: no más, no more

Sunday, November 21st: The day begins cloudy and the street slowly starts to fill with people who gather in front of the entrance to the military base at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, USA. Within a few hours we are around 16,000 strong. Everyone carries a white cross. On each cross is written the name of a Latin American person, with their age and the date of their death. In my hands, I carry a white cross with the name Lorenzo Gómez Perez, victim of the massacre at Acteal, on December 22nd, in Chiapas. The march begins at 10 am, moving slowly towards the entrance to the military base. From the podium, people chant to a Gregorian melody the names of thousands of victims - children, elders, youth, men and women. The 16,000 voices respond with a cry of "¡PRESENTE!" ("present"), and for more than two hours we march slowly until all of the crosses have been placed in the chain link fence at the entrance to the base.

This is the protest that happens yearly at the School of the Americas (SOA) to denounce the existence of this institution dedicated to training soldiers throughout Latin America. These days, its name has been changed and it is now officially called The Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). The School was founded in Panama in 1946 by the US military to help Latin American governments promote "stability" and "democracy" in their respective countries, and was moved in 1984 to Fort Benning, Georgia, USA. However, the school soon lost credibility when it was revealed that its graduates had contributed to establishing at least 10 military dictatorships and that various graduates had participated in assassinations, massacres and human rights violations in Latin America.

One of the most extreme and well-known cases was the murder of six Jesuit priests, their assistant and her daughter in El Salvador in 1989. The UN Truth Commission determined that 19 of the 27 soldiers involved in the massacre were graduates of the School of the Americas. Unfortunately, this is just one of many similar occurrences that have happened in countries like Honduras, Guatemala and Peru.

The School manuals published in 1996 made clear that the institution taught and trained soldiers in techniques of physical and psychological torture, interrogation, counter-insurgency, low-intensity warfare, as well as in sniper and commando operations (Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Políticas de Acción Comunitaria-CIEPAC).

During the school's first 50 years of existence, México sent few students to the School of the Americas. But during the past decade, México's participation has increased to the point that in 1997, one third of the school's graduates were Mexican. At least 18 military officials with high-level appointments in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca were trained at the School of the Americas.

But this year's protest was not only dedicated to denouncing the consequences of the school experienced in Latin America, but also the sending of thousands and thousands of US troops to the war in Iraq. The mother of a soldier who had gone missing in combat shared with us the importance of seeing every soldier killed not only as a "casualty of war" but as a person in a social context, with family, friends, a job, etc...

There were all kinds of people among the activists: nuns, punks, students, war veterans (many from the Vietnam War), journalists, and children. Every year this act of civil disobedience has consisted of "crossing the line." Before, it meant literally crossing over a line on the ground that marked the entrance to the base, which is prohibited and therefore to cross it means being arrested. This year one had to climb over the fence that bars entrance to the base. Twenty people were arrested and will be forced to serve between 3 to 6 months in prison for entering the base and opposing the policies of their own government during an act of civil disobedience. Since 1990, when these annual protests began, 170 activists - including many nuns - have served a total of 85 years in prison for protesting the school and its policies.

For me, this protest was the final part of a three week tour of the US which I began just two days after the country's presidential elections. It was the first time in years that I had been back to the US. Passing through immigration was a strange and terrorizing experience, not just because of the disagreeable face of the immigration official, but also because of the fingerprints and photograph they took of me. This was just the start to my trip in the self-proclaimed nation of freedom.

But most distressing was finding friends from the US who were disillusioned and saddened by the results of the election, which gave Bush another four years as president. Many of them had decided to participate and put great amounts of energy into the effort to end the pro-war policies that Bush represents. One acquaintance told me that this was the first time they had participated in electoral politics because they could not stand the idea of living 4 more years with George W. Bush as president. Others also went to Florida to work on the campaign to prevent the same fraud that influenced the past elections. In the end, they were unable to achieve the desired results.

One of the things that most surprised me was the polarization that exists within US society, and which was even more evident during the time of the elections. At the protest, there were people wearing shirts and pins that said "Protest is a Patriotic Act." I didn't understand what the phrase meant until a friend explained to me: "The Republicans have a monopoly on the word 'patriotism.' When we protest against the government they see it as though we are against our own country. For us, it is important to show that not only is our protest a democratic right but that by protesting we are exercising the democracy without which our country could not exist."

Within this context, I heard two stories that exemplify the polarization that I noticed. An eleven year old girl expressed her opinion on the war in Iraq in class, saying: "so many people have already died, and so many more innocent people will die that it would be better if the troops would come home." The teacher punished her by sending her to sit in the corner. A university professor told me that after giving a lecture against the Iraq war on television, he had been forced to leave his job.

After seeing this situation, which is so difficult to understand from afar, the only thing that comforted me was to meet so many people who are fighting for change within their own society. I found many different people who dedicated part of their time to organizations that work to fight against economic, social and political injustice. This fight led by US citizens against the policies of their own government is part of the global movement that is trying to bring to life the dream that another world is possible. I admire these people as I admire the 16,000 voices that traveled to Fort Benning to honor the memory of all of those who have died because of the SOA, shouting "NO MAS NO MORE…"

For more information, see:
www.soaw.org
http://www.ciepac.org/bulletins/100-200/bolec181.html
http://faculty.hope.edu/psych/psy281/soa.html
http://www.benning.army.mil/whinsec/

:: SIPAZ ACTIVITIES

October- December 2004

ACCOMPANIMENT

In October and November, we met with the Councils of Good Government of the five Zapatista "caracoles".

We carried out election observation in the Chenalhó municipality during election day on October 10.

In November, we went to the Northern Zone of Chiapas in order to interview different actors about the situation in the region and to conduct research regarding the resistance to making electricity payments, the theme of our Focus.

CONTACTS AND INFORMATION

We received visits, delegations, students and journalists — primarily from the United States and Europe — in order to introduce them to the situation in Chiapas and the work of SIPAZ.

In October, we met with members of the United States Embassy (Chiapas) and in November, with members of the German Embassy (México City).

In October and December, we held interviews with various persons in Mexico City in order to foster the exchange of information on a national level.

In October, we completed two videos: a general one about the work of SIPAZ and another more specifically about the puppet project that we have developed in collaboration with Alianza Civica, Chiapas.

In November and December, we participated in two sessions of the seminar "The work of Immanuel Wallerstein: a grammar for understanding the current work in a critical perspective" coordinated by the "Center of Studies, Information and Documentation: Immanuel Wallerstein” from the University of Tierra-Chiapas and the Centro Indígena de Capacitación Integral (CIDECI).

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

We continue to participate in the Peace Network, a space of action and reflection that seeks to support peace processes at organizational and community levels in Chiapas.

In November, we co-facilitated a two-day exchange with the Mexican Network of Peace Builders in Mexico City. The work involved concepts of Peace and Transformation of Conflicts, and this work continues in the design of a strategic plan for this discussion.

We continue to lead workshops on the Culture of Peace and Human Rights with youth from the Center of Community Development (CEDECO) of San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

In October, the puppet troupe "Diversity" presented shows on respecting diversity to more than 1,200 students from schools in the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

We held meetings and interviews with religious leaders from Chenalhó and San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

We attended the Second International Symposium on Protestantism that was held in San Cristóbal de Las Casas on October 19-22.

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL WORK

On November 15-16, we participated in two lectures at an event entitled "Globalization, Free Trade and Groups in Resistance" that was held in the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP).

In November, we participated as lecturers at the 14th Jornadas Lascasianas Internacionales, organized in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, and convened by the Institute of Legal Investigations of UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) and by the Universidad de Quintana Roo. The themes of these conferences centered around Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) regarding the rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.

We attended as observers the First National Dialogue for a National Project of Liberty, Justice and Democracy that was held in Mexico City on November 27-28. The purpose of this gathering was to hold discussions on the following themes: National Sovereignity and Globalization; New Models of Economic Development; New Models of Democracy; Identities, Cultures and Education; Justice and Social Rights; and Alternatives of Organization and Alliances.

In November, a member of the team toured the United States for three weeks, primarily the cities of Washington D.C. and Chicago. This person met with various members of our coalition and attended demonstrations at the School of the Americas (Fort Benning, Georgia).

In December, another member of the team began a tour of Germany that will visit various cities throughout the country.