As the political climate heats up for the selection of the candidates for the presidency of the Republic and for the government of the state of Chiapas in 2000, the government has become desperate to dismantle those social actors who seek democracy. The most heated pressure is within the PRI itself, since it is currently divided into 6 different political camps, and at least four of those are allied tactically in order to prevent President Zedillo from imposing the presidential candidate. Within this framework, there have been a series of events which are worth noting, such as the audits of Roberto Madrazo's state government. This is significant since it was ordered by the Office of the President of the Republic. Another is the persecution of the former governor of Quintana Roo - whether or not he is a drug trafficker - Mario Villanueva, who, along with Manuel Bartlett, the governor of Puebla and other governors, make up the Union of Governors. Others seeking to reposition themselves politically are those members of: the Reflexive Wing, the Renewal Wing, Democracy 2000 and the group of so-called Dinosaurs.

The same thing is occurring in the PRD, in the process of changing its national leadership, where elections had to be voided because the electoral process had been plagued by a series of irregularities. This is quite regrettable, since it takes away from the party's credibility and trustworthiness, given that it is not possible for them to criticize the PRI for what is going on in their own party.

In Chiapas, meanwhile, Governor Roberto Albores has been carrying out a series of actions designed to allow the group in power to impose a new government, not just in Chiapas, but in the entire country, that will preserve the continuity of the neo-liberal program. In order to accomplish this, the path must be cleared of stumbling blocks. That is the purpose of the attacks against Senator Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía of the PRI, because he has criticized his party's attitude and its state leaders. But it is also due to the fact that he is campaigning for the gubernatorial candidacy through a broad front of opposition parties. With this campaign - done without consulting the PRI - Salazar Mendiguchía is making his last moves within the PRI, and he knows perfectly well that it is better to lay the groundwork that will help him sustain, not just the batterings from the PRI, but also the campaign of harassment and attacks from Governor Albores Guillén.

But, for Albores Guillén, another enemy that must be vanquished is the EZLN. Not for being an army, or because it calls on the people to vote or not to vote, but because it has been capable of proposing news ways of struggle and social organization to civil society, something which no political party has been capable of. It is sufficient to mention that, in last year's elections of October 4 and December 6, the number of persons voting [in the state] was 407,000, and the number of citizens participating in the Consulta of this March 21 [in the state] was 460,000. Because of this, the government's tactic is to wrest moral authority from the EZLN in the eyes of society, in order to weaken it and to isolate it politically, and then to assemble a new strategy against it. In order to gain their objective, the government is promoting two key elements:

a) The 'Show' of Disarmament

As a means for wresting moral authority from the EZLN, the government's best ally is the State Press, that is, those media particularly invited to special events who lend themselves to the government's games and who, during the March 21 Consulta, ignored the event. But they do lend themselves to publicizing the speeches that seek to legitimize both the Law for Amnesty and the Disarmament of Civilian Groups in the State of Chiapas and the promise of bringing well-being to the indigenous communities, taking legitimacy away from the EZLN, "because there are no longer any reasons to be armed."

It is within this context that, on March 30, photographs appeared on the front pages of local newspapers of purported EZLN militia laying down their arms, ski-masks, backpacks and uniforms, delivering them to Governor Roberto Albores Guillén in the Rio Jataté, municipality of Ocosingo.

The government released figures stating that 15,311 zapatistas from 60 communities in some 10 municipalities "have deserted and reintegrated themselves into constitutional life." This campaign, in the majority of cases, has been seconded by statements from municipal presidents in the conflict zone. EZLN support base communities belonging to the San Manuel Autonomous Municipality, however, state that those who turned in their weapons in Ocosingo are paramilitaries from the MIRA from La Trinidad community. They further state that they were organized and transferred through a vehicle leased by Caralampio Ruiz Pérez, an employee of the Ocosingo municipal presidency, and who works through general agreement with the representative of the Center for Social Attention (CAS), located in the Nuevo San Jacinto community. They also stated that other paramilitaries are preparing new acts of turning in their weapons to the government, attempting to pass as zapatistas. They say that: "During the last Holy Week fiestas, in the Nuevo San Jacinto community, where the C.A.S. (Center for Social Attention) institution that belongs to the government of the state of Chiapas, Jose Alfredo - who works in that institution in Comitán and in the Municipality of Ocosingo - left 80,000 new pesos in that community, delivering them to Rafael Hernández and to four other persons who live in Nuevo San Jacinto, and who is a leader of the MIRA." They add that the replacement for the PRI in Ocosingo, Antonio Méndez Hernández, is setting up a similar situation in La Union ejido, in exchange for funds for the purchase of cattle. They state that he is doing this kind of work between the communities of El Jordan and Las Tazas, accompanied and guarded by military personnel from the military outpost of El Jordán (Communiqué from the Autonomous Municipality of San Manuel, 4/5/99).

The autonomía authorities told the press that the MIRA paramilitaries received 40 head of cattle, a tractor and a bus in exchange for participating in this show. They also said that the purported Lieutenant Manuel is a PRI militant by the name of Domitilo Hernández Paniagua from La Trinidad ejido.

In this regard, it would be relevant to make the following comments: when the EZLN made its appearance in January 1994 in several municipalities in Chiapas, the uniform they came to be known by was a brown shirt, green pants and ski-masks of various colors, many of which had obviously been made out of pieces of sweaters. However, the purported zapatista deserters were characterized by the following: brown pants, green shirt, brand new ski-masks - all of which appeared to be new and purchased in the same styles and forms, and the creases in the shirts indicated they had been well ironed. Upon seeing the photographs, an indigenous from Las Abejas in Chenalhó commented: "That's a paramilitary uniform, you don't see the zapatista brothers dressed like that."

Similar actions have occurred in other places, such as in Sonora and Maravilla Tenejapa, municipality of Las Margaritas, communities in which the majority of the population is active in the PRI, and where the press has reported people leaving the zapatista ranks in order to re-join the PRI. What is curious is that the "arguments" they have allegedly made are similar to those the government uses to attack the EZLN: "we are worse off with the EZLN than before," "now we see that the government is doing something for us," "the EZLN didn't carry out what they promised," etcetera.

Subsequent to these incidents, the governor took it upon himself to visit those places, with his speeches orchestrated to attack the EZLN. These were often contradictory, arguing that the Law for Amnesty and Disarmament for Civilian Groups in the State of Chiapas exempts the EZLN because it is protected under the Law for Dialogue, Conciliation and the Dignified Peace in Chiapas, while, on the other hand, in the municipality of Tecpatán on March 27, he declared: "the existence of an armed group can no longer be justified under any law in the state of Chiapas." (Cuarto Poder, 3/27/99).

Because of the way in which these incidents have occurred, they would appear to be orchestrated within the framework of the proposal by Governor Roberto Albores Guillén Law for Disarmament of Civilian Groups in the State of Chiapas, which has been sent to the Great Office of the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union for its discussion and approval - where they have until April 30, when the Regular Session of the Congress ends - in an effort to legitimize and justify it. Regardless of whether or not those turning in arms are zapatistas, the government has not, at any point, been solving the deep seated issues that generated the armed conflict. The proposals for laws on Redistricting and on Indigenous Rights and Culture, along with the official speeches of the Chiapas government, are the political cosmetics which attempt to conceal the chiapaneco reality. These tactics are endorsed and supported by the federal government, and they have received the approval and backing of the Secretary of Government, Francisco Labastida Ochoa, who stated that this law is a good attempt at disarmament "for which reason it will receive the backing of all sectors of the government"

b) The Re-Initiation of a New Stage of Repression

The other key element in the strategy that is being used against zapatismo, but also against organized groups, and against those groups formed as a consequence of the March 21 Consulta, is physical repression. It is worthwhile to note, then, that the following incidents have occurred just since March 21:

On March 24, the Autonomous Municipality of Francisco Gómez denounced in a communiqué that a group of PRI militants from the Ibarra ejido, led by Antonio Méndez Gómez (who is accused of being a leader of the Anti-Zapatista Revolutionary Indigenous Group, MIRA) tried to dislocate another group of EZLN support bases. On the 28th, the same person headed another group of PRI's who tried to do the same thing in the San Jacinto ejido in Ocosingo (written denunciation from the Ibarra ejido, 3/28/99).

On March 30, another group of PRI's wounded seven FZLN sympathizers by gunshots, stones and clubs in the community of Nazaret, municipality of Ocosingo. On the same day, 115 persons from the Civic Front of Valle de Cintalapa were detained, an organization which had symbolically taken over the municipal president's office, demanding the cancellation of the building of a district jail in the Lázaro Cárdenas community, municipality of Cintalapa.

Simultaneously, at a press conference, the Secretary of Government for the State and the Attorney General threatened to take action - and that "our hand will not tremble in proceeding against those who harm the state of law" - in Nicolás Ruiz. They were referring to the assembly of some 600 comuneros who had elected their municipal president through a plebiscite, and who are governing today under the political aegis of the PRD. They had decided to expel 23 comuneros from the community who had left the PRD and who had affiliated with the PRI. Because of this, they were considered to be traitors, and they were expelled. In addition, this municipality participated in the March 21 Consulta through a communal assembly, issuing an act in which the assembly responded unanimously in a positive manner to the questions.

On March 31, Public Security Police detained three PRD activists from the community of Las Limas, municipality of Pantelhó, accused of assassination. It is worth noting in this case that there is a wide EZLN support base in Pantelhó, and there have been confrontations between PRI and PRD activists for some time.

That same day, Juan Luna Vázquez, a member of the Polhó Autonomous Council, was detained by judicial police, accused of having assassinated Agustín Vázquez Secum on December 17, 1997.

On April 2, when the parishioners in the community of San Felipe Ecatepec, municipality of San Cristóbal, were celebrating a mass, individuals who were in the atrium of the church were attacked with firearms by a group of municipal police. There is a history to the incident, since the communal assembly had decided to belong to the National Coordination of Indian Peoples (CNPI), because the authorities had not respected their communal system of land tenancy, and the acting presidents had wanted to force them to affiliate with the PRI. This is in addition to the fact that, during the promotion process for the Consulta, EZLN delegates were present in this community.

On April 4, an ambush against campesinos took place in the Galeana ejido, municipality of Siltepec, resulting in two deaths. This is added to other incidents that have occurred during the past year, where EZLN support bases have been attacked by PRI militants in La Piñada community.

On April 6, Public Security Police officers took action against more than 300 activists from the Emiliano Zapata Proletarian Organization of the Proletarian Forces Block (OPEZ-BFP), who had begun a march to the Federal District in order to participate in the commemoration of the Anniversary of the Assassination of Emiliano Zapata on April 10. This act of repression resulted in 249 detained and several injured from beatings and tear gas.

On April 7, 300 members of the Public Security Police dislocated and momentarily and "peacefully" recovered the public building belonging to the municipal president of San Andrés Larráinzar. This has been in the hands of EZLN support bases as the seat of the San Andrés Sacamch'en de los Pobres Municipal Autonomy for 3 years and 4 months. The purpose of this action was to hand it over to the PRI municipal president there. However, on the following day, 3000 EZLN and PRD sympathizers peacefully recovered the building, dislocating more than 100 police officers who were guarding the building. The justice authorities are once again threatening to dislocate them.

While this was going on, the "modernization" and privatization program is advancing, seeking to reinforce investment channels, where those benefiting the most are the national and transnational businesspersons. This is going on without their having the most minimal interest in stopping the structural violence, causing the Indian peoples to remain those who are marginalized, forgotten and the victims of repression.

The Corridor of Los Altos and the Border Region

The government of Roberto Albores Guillén, trying to clean up its image of repression and authoritarianism, is carrying out a series of projects which do not benefit the marginalized population, but rather national and foreign investors. That is why the corridors of local investment are being reinforced, which make up the great national corridors, in which the physical space of the country is distributed, as established under President Zedillo's National Development Program.

For these interests, the 962 kilometers of border that Chiapas shares with Guatemala - in 16 of its municipalities - is important. The most important commercial entrances are Ciudad Cuauhtémoc in the municipality of Frontera Comalapa; Talisman, for the municipalities of Tuxtla Chico and Ciudad Hidalgo. Today the government's priority is the strengthening of the corridors that meet with Guatemala. That is why two lane highways, airports and services are being built and why communications infrastructures are being improved. However, at the same time, military barracks to protect those interests are being reinforced. The three significant permanent check-points maintained by the federal army are in Chamic, the Jocote and the crossroads of Mesilla Guatemala-Comalapa.

One of the most important of these corridors is the La Mesilla-Guatemala-Ciudad Cuauhtémoc-San Cristóbal-Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas to Cosoleacaque in Veracruz, with a length of some 400 kilometers, where a two lane highway is being built. The starting point for the first stage, primarily aimed at reinforcing the Mayan Route, is the construction of more than 45 kilometers of highway from San Cristóbal to Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Work will begin on this in early May, and it is scheduled to be completed in February, 2000. A second stage will be from San Cristóbal-Comitán-Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, and the third from Tuxtla Gutiérrez to Cosoleacaque, Veracruz.

In this context, the state capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, would become merely a great commercial marketplace, where large companies, such as Sams Club, Chedrahui, McDonalds and Axa Yashaki are establishing themselves. There are new companies present as well, including Banco Bilbao and Santander, among others. Who better to administer for them than the PAN, which is why the state capital has been governed by that party for three consecutive terms.

Of course, in the first stage of the construction of the 45 kilometers (Tuxtla-San Cristóbal) 150 million pesos will be invested, and some 5000 workers will be temporarily employed. Of course, it will be the cheap labor from Los Altos who will take care of it, in this case those displaced from Chenalhó by paramilitary groups and the indigenous from San Juan Chamula who have been expelled by PRI caciques.

Within the context of the trade agreements between Mexico and Central America, it will be the great transnational capital that will benefit the most, and that are already investing in Chiapas.

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