Zapatista and Mexican Protesters Take Center
Stage in the Globalization Debate

MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS SUMMARY
FEBRUARY 22-28, 2001

Contents:
Zapatista march to Mexico City begins; unarmed rebels greeted
by thousands from Chiapas to Puebla
World Economic Forum held amid violence and arrests in Cancún
Briefs

Zapatista March to Mexico City Begins; Unarmed Rebels Greeted
by Thousands From Chiapas to Puebla

On Saturday, February 24, twenty-three indigenous commanders of
the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), accompanied by
rebel spokesperson Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, began an
historic and peaceful journey to the nation's capital, Mexico City.

The rebels insist they are not traveling to Mexico City in order
to sign peace or even to open negotiations with President Fox,
as long as the three pre-conditions for negotiations are not
fulfilled. Apart from compliance with the San Andrés Accords,
those conditions are the release of all the Zapatista political
prisoners, and a full withdrawal of the Army from three more
military positions in Chiapas.

Rather, the high-level, unarmed rebel caravan is making the
journey to open a dialogue with federal legislators in support
of a 1996 constitutional reform initiative which would partially
implement the San Andrés Accords on Indigenous Rights and
Culture, signed five years ago between the EZLN and the federal
government.

Nevertheless, the beginning of the march was publicly welcomed
by President Vicente Fox, who published a message in both the
written press and on television welcoming the Zapatista
mobilization, because, in his words, "this is the hour of our
indigenous brothers…this is the hour of peace, and if we all
want peace, peace will arrive soon."

The Zapatista trip to Mexico City is not a direct or rapid one.
After leaving Chiapas, the rebel caravan took four days to pass
through the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and
Hidalgo, holding rallies with thousands of people and meeting
with representatives of various indigenous and social
organizations along the way. On March 1, the rebel caravan will
travel through the states of Querétaro and Michoacán. In the
latter state, in the town of Nurio, the EZLN leaders will remain
for three extra days to participate in the annual conference of
the National Indigenous Congress.

On March 5, the Zapatistas will travel southeast toward Mexico
State, and will then pass south into Morelos and Guerrero before
arriving back in the outskirts of Mexico City on March 8. Three
days later, the rebels will enter the city center for a mass
rally, and will begin discussions with federal legislators on
March 12.

The journey began late on February 24 after the twenty-three
rebel commanders and Marcos arrived in San Cristóbal de las
Casas from their various towns and villages in the north,
highlands, and jungle regions of the state. Before a crowd of
between ten and fifteen thousand supporters, Comandante Tacho
read an official communiqué from the EZLN General Command
announcing the participation of Monterrey architect Fernando
Yañez Muñoz in the Zapatista delegation as a "special guest,"
adding that Yañez Muñoz would be the "bridge" between the
Zapatista delegation and federal legislators.

The designation of Yañez Muñoz came as a surprise to most
observers. Formerly known as "Comandante Germán" - the leader
of the National Liberation Forces, the guerrilla organization
which eventually gave birth to the EZLN prior to 1994 - Yañez
Muñoz had kept a low profile since his arrest and subsequent
release in October 1995 on charges of illegal weapons
possession. His relationship with the EZLN since 1993 has been
the subject of much speculation in the media and among those who
profited from writing books about the Zapatista insurgency, but
little was known about his current participation in the
movement.

At the San Cristóbal ceremony, Yañez Muñoz accompanied the
Zapatista delegation on the podium and received warm embraces
from all 24 delegates, including Marcos. While the rest of the
delegation wore their traditional ski-masks, Yañez Muñoz's face
was uncovered and he sported a black beret.

From San Cristóbal, the Zapatista caravan departed on the
morning of February 25 for the rebellious city of Juchitán,
Oaxaca, with stops in the Chiapas state capital of Tuxtla
Gutiérrez and the Oaxacan towns of San Pedro Tapanetepec and La
Ventosa.

Since the International Red Cross declined to accompany the
caravan, protection was provided by ordinary civilians (members
of "civil society"), foreign observers, and hundreds of state
and federal police.

In Tuxtla, ten thousand people attended the Zapatista rally,
filling the central plaza and the adjoining streets. Hundreds
more lined the roads in rural Chiapas and Oaxaca to greet the
rebels as the "Zapatour" continued on its way.

In La Ventosa, just outside of Juchitán and located on the
Tehuantepec Isthmus, Subcomandante Marcos spoke out against the
proposed "Megaproject of the Isthmus," part of President Fox's
"Puebla to Panama" development plan which would include a
"modernization" of the narrow stretch of Mexican territory
between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Isthmus
is also considered a possible candidate for the construction of
a future replacement for the Panama Canal. The Megaproject has
been a focal point of opposition for indigenous and social
organizations in the area, and now such groups have received the
backing of the EZLN. "The Isthmus is not for sale," declared
Marcos, to the cheers of thousands.

When the Zapatista caravan left La Ventosa, it was visibly
larger: dozens of members of local or regional independent
organizations, including the Union of Indigenous Communities of
the Northern Zone of the Isthmus (UCIZONI), decided to join the
March for Indigenous Dignity.

"Compañeros," spoke an UCIZONI representative to the Zapatista
commanders, "before your struggle, we did not have clarity. We
knew what we wanted, but we did not know the path. Your fight
is just. Your path is our path."

In Juchitán, more than fifteen thousand people, mostly
indigenous Zapotecos, Huaves, Chinantecos, Zoques, Mixes,
Chontales, and Mazatecos, welcomed the Zapatista leaders. The
city's mayor, Leopoldo de Gyves, gave the official welcoming
address: "We receive you here with honor, because your struggle
for indigenous rights is also our struggle," he said. "There
will not be peace as long as ten million indigenous people
across the country live in misery, there will not be peace as
long as workers, campesinos, and Indians are exploited….We are
with you!"

On behalf of the EZLN, Comandanta Esther spoke in Juchitán of
the "triple exploitation" suffered by indigenous women, for
being indigenous, for being women, and for being poor. "We have
been exploited and forgotten for more than 500 years," she
added. "No one paid attention to us because we spoke our
language and used our traditional clothes. They great powers
wanted to make us disappear, but they could not. Here we are."

On February 26, the rebels and close to three thousand others
accompanying the caravan left Juchitán for the state capital of
Oaxaca. Thousands poured into the central plaza of Oaxaca, many
representing indigenous organizations such as the Movement for
Triqui Unification and Liberation (MULT) and the National
Indigenous Congress, under a giant banner reading "EZLN: Welcome
to Oaxaca!"

Rebel Commander Yolanda spoke of the tradition of struggle among
the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca, saying "The accomplishment of
the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca is that now all indigenous
people can be proud of ourselves."

Subcomandante Marcos also spoke in Oaxaca, reiterating the
intention of the march: "So that it is no longer a crime to
think like an Indian." Referring again to President Fox's
development plans for the region, Marcos insisted "there will be
no Puebla to Panama Plan, nor a Trans-Isthmus Megaproject, nor
any type of project which will result in the sale or destruction
of the home of the indigenous peoples."

Representatives of the sixteen indigenous groups in Oaxaca gave
a special gift to the four women among the Zapatista commanders:
the "bastones de mando," symbolic representations of authority
in their respective communities.

The bastones, said one representative, "represent the commitment
to struggle for the most noble causes of our people. Today that
cause is for the constitutional recognition of indigenous
rights. The bastón de mando signifies the mandate of our
peoples…we give it to you because you have known how to act on
behalf of the demands of our people."

On February 27, the EZLN caravan left Oaxaca for the city of
Puebla, passing first through Tehuacán (Puebla) and Orizaba
(Veracruz). It was the most emotional day yet for the Zapatour,
as the reception granted to the rebels in each of the three
stops was more, much more, than anyone had expected.

In Tehuacán, five thousand people came from the surrounding
villages to the small town in order to witness the arrival of
the Zapatistas. Nahuas, Popolocas, Mixtecos, and Mazatecos
spoke at the rally, welcoming the rebels and speaking of the
discrimination, humiliation, and mistreatment they face on a
daily basis in their own communities.

One of the Nahua speakers gave Subcomandante Marcos yet another
"bastón de mando," in representation of the Nahua communities in
Puebla. "The Nahua peoples," he said, addressing himself to the
Zapatista leadership, "have walked and will walk alongside you,
since time immemorial, because we are the same. We are rebel
dignity, we are the forgotten heart. We will not stop
struggling for the collective rights of our peoples, so that
those rights may be recognized in the Constitution. Today,
February 27, in the name of the Nahua peoples, we ratify our
support for you."

In the closing act of the Tehuacán ceremony, Subcomandante
Marcos read a text in which he affirmed that "the indigenous
peoples are the guardians of history."

"In our memory," he continued, "we keep all the colors, all the
paths, all the words, and all the silences. We live so that
memory may live, and so that which is alive shall not be lost."

In late morning the caravan continued on its way, arriving three
hours later in the industrial town of Orizaba, in the shadow of
Mexico's highest volcano. Thousands upon thousands of people
lined the roads outside of the town shouting their support for
the rebels. The whole city, in fact, had literally come to a
halt. The central plaza was overflowing with people, the nearby
streets were packed, and the city center was completely
paralyzed. The Zapatistas would perhaps have been happy with a
turnout of five thousand people in Orizaba. Instead, they were
received by thirty thousand.

After the prolonged rally, in which the EZLN received support
from representatives of Veracruz's ten indigenous groups, the
caravan moved toward the old colonial city of Puebla. There, no
one seems to have counted how many people participated in the
mass rally for the rebels, but the visual images alone suggest
it was the largest concentration yet along the route of the
Zapatista caravan.

Comandantes Tacho, David, and Zebedeo spoke to the massive
crowds in Puebla, as did Subcomandante Marcos. "We have
demonstrated that we are capable," said Tacho, the Tojolabal
commander from the occupied village of Guadalupe Tepeyac. "We
have reason on our side. We demand together, all of us
together, the recognition of our rights as indigenous peoples in
the Constitution. Enough of humiliation and being ignored!
Enough of silent deaths! Enough of the discrimination of
poverty! We want a more human life, a life which is more just,
more dignified. This is our time, brothers and sisters of civil
society. It is not fair to be poor in a country so rich in
natural resources."

"Let it be clear to those who call themselves governments," he
continued: "they will no longer be able to forget about us."

On the day of this writing (February 28), the Zapatista caravan
has left Puebla and is en route toward the states of Hidalgo and
Guanajuato, and then to Michoacán to participate in the annual
meeting of the National Indigenous Congress. The rebel leaders
will arrive in the center of Mexico City in eleven days.

World Forum Held Amid Protests, Violence in Cancun

The World Economic Forum "Mexico 2001" - a three-day meeting of
influential political and economic leaders from across the globe
- began on February 25 in the tourist city of Cancún on the
Yucatán Peninsula.

Organizers of the event opened the Forum with an overt
recognition that the gap between rich and poor has been widened
by economic globalization, and World Bank representatives added
that, in the case of Mexico, poverty must be "aggressively
attacked" if economic liberalization is to succeed.

The Forum proceedings, held at the Westin Regina hotel in
Cancún, took place amid a strong show of force by public
security officers. More than 2,700 soldiers, local police, and
Federal Preventative Police (PFP) "guarded" the hotel and held
vigil over activities of protesters in order to try to prevent a
repeat of the recent Seattle and Prague events, in which
anti-neoliberal or anti-globalization protests upstaged the
"official" events of the economic conferences in those locales.

Overall, protest organizers estimated at least 5,000 people
arrived in the famed tourist port to take part in
demonstrations, and to participate in a parallel Alternative
Social Forum under the theme "Another World is Possible,"
organized by the Continental Social Alliance.

Differences between the demonstrators themselves came to the
fore on February 25, a day before the working groups of the
Alternative Forum were to begin, as a small group of young,
masked Maoists of the self-styled Popular Revolutionary Movement
(MPR) accused the Forum leaders and the members of the Civil
Disobedience Coordinating Group - all of whom insisted on
maintaining discipline among the activists, including a policy
of "zero violence, zero drugs, zero guns, zero provocations" -
of being members of the PRD party, and thus illegitimate.

After a series of small scuffles, the MPR members reiterated
their refusal to coordinate their actions with the Alterative
Forum organizers or the other activists (excepting the student
contingents from the ultra-radical wings of the General Strike
Council, CGH, in Mexico City, with whom they marched the
following day). The remainder (the vast majority), meanwhile,
continued planning the working groups for the Alternative Forum,
which included themes of women's issues, the environment, labor
struggles, and opposition to President Fox's "Puebla to Panama
Plan" and the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas
(FTAA).

On February 27, five members of the Alternative Forum sustained
a public debate with five leaders of the World Economic Forum,
at the invitation of the latter. But the dialogue did little to
bring the two sides closer together. The World Economic Forum
participants insisted that it is precisely economic
globalization and liberalization which has assured the great
worldwide economic expansion in the past fifty years, and that
it is thanks to that growth that poverty has diminished in the
same time frame, although they recognized that the rich have
also gotten richer due to poor redistribution policies.
Alternative Social Forum participants, meanwhile, insisted that
what has been globalized is misery, and that the global economic
model is nothing but a vast machine for creating poverty.

The expected outbreak of violence came later on the same day,
when local and Federal Preventative police attacked two
contingents of student protesters, some of whom had neared the
Westin Regina hotel. In one case the police violence appeared
to have been provoked by MPR and CGH protesters; in the other
case it was not. Dozens of students were beaten, some to the
point of unconsciousness, before being hauled away to local
jails. Fifteen people were hospitalized, and fifty-five others
were arrested.

Shortly thereafter, seemingly oblivious to the violence and
police repression a few blocks away, President Vicente Fox gave
the closing address to the World Economic Forum, dedicating much
of his speech to the rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army.
He said that it was thanks to the Zapatista uprising seven years
ago in Chiapas "that a new consciousness has been created about
the rights of the indigenous peoples…now, in Mexico, we all know
that never again should they be excluded or discriminated
against."

He added that the EZLN and the federal government would work
"together" to convince Congress of the need to approve the
COCOPA initiative for constitutional reforms on indigenous
rights and culture.

However, Fox's idea of what is "beneficial" for the indigenous
peoples, and the idea of the Zapatistas, remain far removed from
each other. "We believe in globalization," Fox said to
reporters shortly before his speech, "because we see it as an
opportunity for all peoples, beginning with the indigenous
peoples, who should be the protagonists and the beneficiaries"
of economic globalization.

Briefs

- Chiapas governor Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía announced this week
that twenty more Zapatista prisoners in the state had been
freed, bringing to 58 the total number of Zapatistas released
from jail since Salazar took office in December. Meanwhile, the
remaining 41 Zapatista prisoners incarcerated in various jails
throughout the state announced on February 23 that they had
begun an indefinite hunger strike, both to support the Zapatista
march and to press for their own release.

- Relatives of approximately 600 victims of Mexico's "dirty war"
of the 1970s formally presented a lawsuit this week against
General Mario Acosta Chaparro for his presumed involvement in
the torture, execution, or disappearance of their family
members. Acosta Chaparro is already imprisoned by military
authorities following his arrest last year on drug trafficking
charges. However, military sources had not expressed interest
in widening the charges against him to include his participation
in state-sponsored terrorism against a leftist insurgency in
rural Guerrero during the state government of Gov. Rubén
Figueroa. It is unclear whether civilian or military
authorities will allow the lawsuit, which was presented to the
Attorney General, to proceed.

- For the first time since the Bank of Mexico began recording
two-week inflationary rates twelve years ago, inflation during
the first half of February actually went negative, registering a
deflation of 0.13%. Economists had generally predicted positive
inflation of 0.36%. Nevertheless, all elements of the Consumer
Price Index did in fact undergo positive inflation in early
February, but one category - agricultural products, particularly
fruits and vegetables - registered a strong enough rate of
deflation (-10.65%) that the index average appeared negative as
well.
______________________________________________________________

SOURCES: La Jornada, Milenio, El Universal, Proceso, Milenio
Semanal.

This report is a product of the Mexico Solidarity Network.
Redistribution is authorized and encouraged provided that the
source is cited.

Comments: msn@mexicosolidarity.org

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