In Mexico, Zapatistas focus on politics, not conflict
Fox administraion welcomes recently formed indigenous governing groups in Chiapas.
By Matthew MacLean | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, MEXICO - The little Chiapan highland village
of Oventic was recently the scene of a big party -
Zapatista style. Nearly 10,000 masked Maya gathered with supporters to
dance, play basketball, and celebrate. They were ringing in the
start of the new "good government committees" formed to administer the
30 Zapatista townships.
In the past, this might have provoked Mexico's government - with which
the rebel group is technically still at war. But last week, the interior
secretary gave a nod of support, calling it a "welcome step."
The government's cautiously positive response to the Zapatista actions
is nearly unprecedented in the 10 years since the bloody uprising in
January 1994, when the Zapatistas demanded indigenous autonomy and protested
the signing of the North American Free Trade
Agreement. Some have prematurely declared it an acquiescence to rebel demands
- the most important being self-rule for indigenous
communities.
In a sense, the Zapatistas are unilaterally implementing the San Andrés
Accords, which the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army
for National Liberation (EZLN) signed in 1996. The accords promised wide-ranging
autonomy for local communities, many of which have had
de facto independence for years.
The government never implemented the accords and has been trying to renegotiate
their terms ever since. The Zapatistas' chief demand
and condition for a return to dialogue has been that the government honor
the accords. "This part of the accords is easier for the
government to accept," says Rafael de la Garza, of the National Autonomous
University of Mexico. More difficult, he says, would be
accepting "autonomous townships if they start exercising control over local
resources."
Mr. Garza says the Fox administration has waited for an opportunity to
ease the confrontation in Chiapas, both to improve its party's
election chances and to facilitate development plans for the region that
include highways, public projects, and ecotourism.
After taking office in 2000, President Vicente Fox ordered the removal
of the army from positions near rebel villages - a source of great
tension - and announced that military action was no longer a serious option
for resolving the conflict.
The EZLN recently revealed that it would no longer set up checkpoints or
collect fees from people passing through its territories. Interior
Secretary Santiago Creel Miranda said the announcement was a positive sign.
"We see the possibilities of dialogue have increased, provided that we
are talking now about a civil movement, not a military one," he said
recently. Still, during recentspeeches, EZLN commanders emphasized their
role in defending the interests of the villagers.
The changes seem to mark an effort to clarify the role of the EZLN and
demonstrate what it has claimed: that it follows the orders of the
villagers. "I was impressed ... that Marcos is taking a step back and following
the lead of the communities," says Mario Galván, an
American member of the Zapatista Solidarity Coalition. "It was clear that
they were the ones in charge."
Subcomandante Marcos has also announced that he will no longer serve as
spokesman for the autonomous townships, but for the EZLN
only. The move could diminish his role in the movement, as well as the
international cult that has sprung up around him since he emerged
from the jungle to help lead the indigenous struggle 10 years ago.
The five new seats of local Zapatista government, called caracoles, or
"snail shells," are to serve as communication centers and reception
points for delegations from the rest of Mexico and other countries.
In the capital of the northern state of Durango, a meeting of the National
Indigenous Congress released a statement of support for the
Zapatista initiative, and said they are considering establishing caracoles
of their own.
"The main founding act of the EZLN was learning to listen and then to speak...."
Marcos writes in one of his opaque communiques. "After
years preparing for firing weapons, it happens that it's words which have
to be fired."