In Mexico today, there is much talk of “civil society.” The communications media report that “civil society” makes proposals to political leaders, takes initiatives, organizes referendums and marches, and otherwise mobilizes.

Since 1994, particularly in the most critical moments of the peace process, numerous communiqués of Zapatista leader Marcos have been directed to “civil society,” asking it questions and making proposals.

After the dissolution of CONAI (National Mediation Commission), in the Fifth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle issued in July, the EZLN renewed its exhortation of the social and political actors to become involved in the resolution of the impasse in the Chiapas conflict. “It is the hour of the indigenous peoples, of civil society, and of the National Congress.” In September, the EZLN accepted the invitation to dialogue with civil society. On the agenda: a national consultation on the proposed “Law of Indigenous Rights and Culture” and the search for solutions to the Chiapas conflict.

But what is this “civil society” and what does it do? What has been – and what might be – the role of this little known actor in the Chiapas conflict?

The emergence of a new political and social force

It is difficult to determine when the concept of “civil society” first appeared. It did not come out of nowhere. Rather it emerged as a way of talking about those important sectors of society with greater awareness of their strength and of their capacity to organize and to participate directly in the resolution of problems the government fails to address adequately.

The student mobilizations of the 1960s were of particular relevance in this gestation process. Later the earthquake that devastated the capital in 1985 led to the emergence of new initiatives around common needs and interests. Civil society grew in maturity.

However, some observers think that those events only included a limited part of Mexican society and that it was only in the 1990s, with the armed uprising of the Zapatistas and the economic crisis, that a very broad spectrum of social sectors mobilized.

Initial organizational efforts

The more or less spontaneous efforts of earlier times have been fleshed out in recent years. Organizational initiatives outside of governmental structures have increased, focusing on everything from neighborhood to national and international issues, forming and re-forming networks and coalitions. Some pursue legal status, hire staff and develop a more formal structure. These are referred to as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Focused on specific social issues (such as indigenous rights, gender, human rights, ecology, children, health, development, etc.), they have achieved a growing influence at the local, regional, national and even international levels.

Speaking broadly of such social movements, Manuel Canto of the Antonio Montesinos Center (CAM) notes, “It is more accurate to speak of ‘organizations of civil society’ instead of ‘civil society.’ They are voluntary associations of citizens who come together to achieve social objectives and who seek to influence public affairs.”

Civil and political society

The growth in the number of civil organizations has fortified considerably the process of democratization in Mexico during the last decade. Many organizations have emerged to contribute to the solution of grave problems in Mexican society as well as to pressure local, state and national government to become more aware of its responsibility.

In 1994 the NGO Civic Alliance was founded at the initiative of citizens and civil groups interested in monitoring the federal and state elections of August of that year. It was the first time that Mexican society decided to undertake citizen electoral observation, reacting to the lack of impartiality and credibility in previous elections. In that year, for the first time, it was possible to document in a systematic manner widespread electoral fraud.

A key factor in the growth of civil society groups is the perception that the authorities have not responded to the demands of the citizens. Hence in Chiapas, several grassroots organizations decided to support candidates independent of the political parties in local elections. In 1995 the indigenous youth organization Yomlej did this in the county of Chilon and succeeded in electing the next mayor.

Recently the same process was repeated in Yajalon and Ocosingo with independent candidates. In Yajalon, the organization Flores Magon proposed its own candidate, Gustavo Robles, on the PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution) ticket. He commented to SIPAZ, “The authorities do not listen to our legitimate demands. Now we are seeking political power in order to try to meet our needs.” The organization Flores Magon made great efforts to raise awareness among the voters in order to involve them in the political process. “So,” said Robles, “we have won whether or not we win the election. Now the people know much better what their role can be in resolving their problems.” (In fact, they lost in the October 4 elections.)

The traditional political structures sometimes find it difficult to understand or accept this new kind of political and social force. A representative of Civic Alliance in San Cristobal de las Casas told SIPAZ, “We went to talk with the mayor about a citizen consultation we were undertaking so that he would understand the objective beforehand. He did not understand and he only asked us, ‘And what do you want from me? What do you need?’ His way of thinking is still, ‘What can I give to quiet them.’ But as aware citizens, we are seeking the cooperation of the political forces in order to resolve problems. In addition to educating the citizens it is necessary to educate the government and the politicians about how to take seriously civil society. But it is also a learning process for us, and in Chiapas it is more difficult because the situation is so polarized.”

Civil society in the beginning of the Chiapas conflict

At the beginning of 1994, CONPAZ (Coordinating Agency of Non-governmental Organizations for Peace) was formed to seek responses to the violence of the government in response to the EZLN uprising. In the succeeding months, other organizations were born in order to address problems of health, human rights, popular education, gender and other pressing issues.

Teresa, who during the uprising sold tortillas in a school, related her decision to participate actively in the citizen movement in this way: “When for the first time I saw the Zapatistas and Marcos walking through downtown San Cristobal, I thought, ‘They are doing something, and I don’t do anything.’ The aerial bombardment three days later against the inhabitants of my town moved me to assume my responsibility. It was on January 12 that for the first time I participated in a march and I began to become involved in efforts to stop the war.”

Civil society played an important role at the local, national and international levels in stopping the war in the first days of 1994 as well as in limiting subsequent violence (for example through the Peace Belts that provided security at peace talks and through the Civilian Peace Camps in indigenous communities). Civil society also worked to ensure that the peace process included a broad national dialogue.

However the enervation that resulted from the prolonged stalemate in the peace process and internal divisions, added to the weight of multiple national economic and social problems, have weakened civil society in recent years. Many analysts have also asserted that in order to make a qualitative leap, civil society must overcome its tendency to focus on short term reactions to events and the atomization that have inhibited the implementation of a more strategic vision. If it can meet this challenge, and especially in the wake of the dissolution of CONAI, civil society has the potential to become a key actor in creating new movement in the stalled peace process.

Coordination and Convergence

The strengthening of civil society in Chiapas continues today. The magnitude of the problems and the diversity of interests of the various civil society organizations has made it necessary to seek a greater degree of coordination among NGOs in order to be more effective. There have been a number of such attempts in the past. Recently 15 NGOs that work in Comitan and the border area came together to form the Comitan Network (Espacio Comitan). Another initiative is the “Forum: Let’s Stop the War in Chiapas,” made up of several NGOs from San Cristobal and Comitan. It brings together organizations from Chiapas that work on issues such as health, education, human rights, and gender, seeking to respond to the low intensity war there.

At the national level there are also several such coordination networks, each with its own area of work. The Convergence of Civil Organizations for Democracy (Convergencia de Organismos Civiles para la Democracia), for example, includes 140 groups in 16 states. It organized the participation of 39 groups in the government/EZLN peace talks. The Network of Civil Human Rights Organizations ‘All Rights for Everyone’ (Red de Organismos civiles de Derechos Humanos – Todos los Derechos para Todos) documents human rights abuses and publicizes them at the international level.

Tribunal against Violence and Impunity

A recent initiative is the National Assembly for Peace (Asamblea Nacional por la Paz) that was formed in August 1998 after the dissolution of CONAI. It includes the National Indigenous Congress, the Convergence of Civil Organizations for Democracy, and some churches. One of its most important projects is the Tribunal against Violence and Impunity that was proposed by Forum: Let’s Stop the War in Chiapas. The formation of the tribunal is still in its preparatory stage. It is expected to get underway in 1999. According to the organizers, the initiative “…is a response of civil society to the violence against society and the indigenous peoples by the government and to the impunity enjoyed by those who break the law. The government does not fulfill its obligations, and this is what we wish to demonstrate through the tribunal, examining prototypical cases. In this way we want to manifest the dissent of civil society in the face of the government’s argument that ‘there is no war and there are no human rights violations in Chiapas.'”

Harassment and threats

Some civil society groups who seek nonviolent change for Mexico have been victims of a campaign of harassment and threats. Some have even abandoned the movement out of fear. Leaders and staff of NGOs receive threatening anonymous phone calls in their homes, as happened several times in September to Ana Valadez Ortega of Doctors of the World. Others observe that they are being followed by unknown persons, as in the case of the leaders of the group K’nal Antzetik in San Cristobal. The organization IDEFEM (Feminine Investigation and Development) in Comitan told SIPAZ that some authorities attempted to intimidate them and followed them on some of their trips to the rural communities where they work. In areas of paramilitary presence in the highlands, northern region and Lacandon jungle, some indigenous organizations continue to be threatened, and some leaders have been assassinated. In spite of the denunciation of these and other incidents, none of these killings have been solved.

Conclusion

The evolving awareness of broad sectors of Mexican society gave birth to a growing number of organizations and associations which have had wide-ranging impacts. In the face of the incapacity or ill will of the national and state authorities when it comes to solving the most pressing problems of the population, we see a certain coming together and coordination among the NGOs and other civil society groups in an effort to collaborate on seeking real solutions.

Civil society has been and continues to be a key actor in the democratization of Mexico. Other peoples may have a lot to learn from this process. It demonstrates the value of solidarity in a context where individualism reigns, that a society is the fruit of those who actively build it, and that the people are the makers both of the present and of the future they desire for their children.