In the last several weeks, Indigenous people from many communities and regions have voiced their preoccupations.  CIEPAC organizes an annual average of 80 meetings and workshops of analysis with Indigenous communities and organizations in Chiapas with the objective of reflecting together on the current political, social and economic situation in which we live, in the context of the globalization of the neoliberal economic and military model, and in order to look for alternatives and proposals to construct peace and justice.  In the bulleting, we want to share some of these reflections and preoccupations from some workshops in the highland, north and jungle regions of Chiapas.

In the highlands region, responding to the simple question of what are the seven most worrisome problems for the communities, the first group prioritized them in the following manner:

1) Internal divisions of the Church between Catholics and those called “Amatulis” who now support and favor the new Bishop of San Cristobal. 
2) Divisions generated by political parties as well as the internal divisions that are even within the communities.
3) Paramilitary groups who are now entering other communities even more frequently.
4) Low prices for agricultural products, most notable for coffee which is now in a grave crisis that affects thousands of campesinos and Indigenous people in the state. 
5) Militarization in Indigenous communities in the region.
6) Health, because every day we face illnesses without the possibility  of medical attention.
7) Lack of land, given that, “many don’t have even a little piece of land to build a house on.”

The second group said that:

1) The division between the catholics of the parish.
2) Low prices for agricultural products.
3) Fertilizers, because, “they use lots of chemicals that are harming our lands.”
4) Divisions that are caused by governmental projects such as Procampo and Progresa.
5) Militarization because, “each time the military bases are larger”, as well as the presence of paramilitary groups.
6) Drug trafficking, because, “the soldiers give seeds to the PRI members, and then later the soldiers have a pretext to enter communities looking for illegal drugs.  “
7) The Cocopa Law on Indigenous Rights and Culture that the government has not complied with.

The third group chose the following problems: 

1) Political parties generate divisions, rather than supporting the people. 
2) Low prices for our agricultural products.
3) Religions divisions.
4) Military and paramilitary presence.
5) Loss of culture and traditions.
6) Divisions between the communities.
7) Poverty, lack of education, lack of access to health and education. 

After a deep reflection among all of the participants, they came to the following proposals.  What was the most significant result was the need to organize better as a municipality and strengthen themselves, although others stated that it was better to organize themselves as a “people.”  They also agreed not to accept patented or genetically engineered seeds that are offered to them by the government, and to not use agrochemicals offered to them by businesses, in order to defend their food and their lands.  Also to conserve the Creole corn seeds of the region and to consume the corn that they produce, this was another important element for the participants from many communities.  They concluded that “being self sufficient” and “working for autonomy” should be a strategy. 

The participants also rejected the Puebla Panama Plan (PPP) and decided to defend and “conserve our lands and the little that we have.”  They rejected the Program of Certification of Ejidal (communal lands) Rights (PROCEDE), “because it is a way of tricking us” in order to privatize and gain ownership of the communal and Indigenous lands.  However, for them there was nothing more important than working for government compliance of the San Andres Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture.

In another region of the northern zone, after many hours of walking, Indigenous people arrived from various municipalities sand communities.  The question was the same, and the first group chose their most pressing problems:

1) The modification of Article 7 of the Constitution that permitted privatization of our lands and poverty in the countryside. 
2) Divisions between Catholics and Protestants in the communities.
3) Drugs and alcoholism that have been introduced to the municipalities and that negatively effect our families and communities. 
4) The political parties that divide, make promises, and later do not comply.
5) Lack of lands.
6) The government that does not comply with the San Andres Accords and the law on Indigenous Rights and Culture.

The second group chose the following problems: 

1) The Cocopa Law and the San Andres Accords that were rejected by the Congress of the Union. 
2) The PPP that will only benefit the businessmen. 
3) The disappearance of our cultures.
4) Low prices for our agricultural products. 
5) Divisions between the communities.
6) Drug addiction that causes theft and deaths, in addition to the fact that, “the soldiers give the seeds for people to plant.” 
7) Militarization of the communities because, “the soldiers are still here.”

The women also have their opinion, and many times their problems are not heard by the men.  A group of women said that their principal problems are:

1) Discrimination, “We are less, we are treated like we’re worth less, and that our words do not matter.”
2) Inequality, “we are not equal”, and we want to be able to participate.
3) The lack of understanding, “they don’t understand what we want to do,” and, “there are women who want to participate and the men don’t let us.”  
4) Divisions between men and women.  “The men get angry, I want to leave the house and they don’t let me.”
5) Alcoholism that provokes divisions.  “When men are sober they understand, when they are drunk they treat us badly.”
6) Unemployment. “Women do not have positions in the municipality or in the state.  They do not give us a space to speak.” 
7) Illnesses, like headaches that we women have.  

The third group chose the seven problems they are most concerned about: 

1) Alcohol problems that don’t let us advance. 
2) Low prices for our agricultural products and the problem of corn.  “More “improved” (genetically modified) and contaminated corn seeds are arriving.  The corn is different now.”
3) Divisions that political parties provoke between parties and within parties.
4) The hydroelectric factory that want us to leave our lands.
5) The government that works for businessmen and not for us.
6) Militarization of the communities. 
7) Noncompliance of the San Andres Accords. “The government promised us a lot but there are not changes.  Fox promised to save the Law on Indigenous Rights and culture, and he didn’t comply.  This is a grave injustice.  He doesn’t want us to have the same rights and liberties that they have had.”  “The President of the Republic governs for a group of his businessmen.”

People from various municipalities of the jungle zone, a large group of young Indigenous people organized a workshop of analysis of the political situation.  From their perspective as young people they analyzed the seven most pressing problems.  The first group decided on the following: 

1) Low prices for agricultural products, especially for coffee. 
2) Pollution of the environment.
3) Health problems, illnesses, and malnutrition in Indigenous communities.
4) Divisions generated by political parties in the communities, by parties that, “only look for their own benefit.”
5) Drugs and alcohol in the communities. 
6) Lack of education, of schools, especially in the most marginalized regions.
7) The 15% increase in taxes (IVA- on food, medicines, books, etc.) that the government wants to impose.

The second group chose:

1) Low prices of production, especially of coffee, “which we all depend on, with this we eat and now there is not enough money to live on.” 
2) The unequal distribution of wealth in Mexico. “The wealth is in few hands while there are more poor people and much fewer very rich people.”
3) Privatization of natural resources, “so that foreigners establish themselves in the country and there is nothing left for the local Indigenous people.” 
4) The municipal authorities do not equitably distribute the resources to marginalized communities. 
5) Prices of basic products we buy are each time more expensive.
6) Lack of institutions to attend to the necessities of the communities like clinics and roads.  “There are communities that don’t have health clinics or schools.” 
7) The political parties, “look for sympathizers and when the political leader arrives he divides our communities which before were well organized.  The political parties, “spend a lot of money for their campaigns instead of spending it on the Indigenous communities.  This is excessive and it also divides us.” 

The third group chose: 

1) Marginalization.  “There are more poor people.  The government does not take the Indigenous people into account.”
2) With the modification of Article 27 of the constitution, “Our land was unprotected, the campesinos became small land owners to sell their lands.” 
3) “The Free Trade Agreements made it so that the big businesses can come to sell their products and we cannot, we do not produce anything.” 
4) Pollution of the environment. 
5) Divisions in the Indigenous communities.
6) Low prices of coffee.
7) Migration from the countryside that continues to increase.

The fourth group said:

1) Bad production, “because in our communities we do not have sufficient technology.”  “There are also no government subsidies.” 
2) The lack of a market for our products.
3) Health problems, “There are not health centers for complicated health problems, there is not medicine and the price of medicine is high.” 
4) Education.  “There are no schools.” 
5) Housing.  “There are no subsidies or supports for decent housing.”
6) Deforestation.  “Natural resources are running out.” 
7) Pollution of the environment, “of the soil, and this pollution causes illnesses.”

Finally, the fifth group concluded:

1) Low prices of coffee.
2) Lack of a market for our products, especially coffee, “even though we also produce oranges, bananas....”
3) Divisions from political problems. “The inhabitants of a municipality fight among themselves, this is what politics causes.” 
4) Health.  “There are no clinics or medical attention.” 
5) Lack of education in marginalized communities. 
6) Lack of compliance with Indigenous Rights and Culture.  “We don’t have rights, a voice, or participation.  They always want to keep us marginalized.” 
7) Lack of communication, “between people, political parties do not communicate with each other well, and they do not do what they say they will do.” 

These are just a few examples as an illustration. Drugs, alcohol, government programs, militarization, paramilitary groups, religion and political parties all provoke divisions in the communities.  In this context, the date of elections in Chiapas is approaching to elect the 118 municipal presidents and the 40 representatives of local congress on October 7^th.  In addition, a group of displaced Las Abejas (the bees) families have decided to return on August 28^th to the municipality of Chenalho after various years of living as refugees in San Cristobal.  The dispute for local power, the fear of PRI members of losing power, and of the paramilitaries who still continue with impunity and armed in this municipality, could all generate more violence.  From this, the federal and state governments and the Mexican army will be responsible for what could happen.

In another sphere, the crisis in the countryside of corn, coffee and sugar, among other products, joins to influence along with Procede, that Indigenous people abandon their lands.  Currently, the government is preparing a new strategy, recognizing the grave crisis in the Mexican countryside, and that in order to attend to the problems, to distribute subsidies, the need the Congress of the Union to approve the Fiscal Reform plan that includes a 15% increase in taxes (IVA) on food and medicines, among other measures that the IMF and World Bank have demanded of Vicente Fox’s government, and who keep the economy artificially maintained, while they announce new cuts in the federal budget and a zero growth level of the economy, the federal government announces millions of pesos of support for the countryside.

In spite of all of the problems, the Indigenous people continue proposing and resisting being disposed of by the market.  They have not lost hope.  Autonomy, food self-sufficiency, defense of their land, their territory, their corn, the environment, their identity and cultures continues and will continue to be the strategy to confront the violent blows of Neoliberalism.

Whoever has ears to hear, listen.

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