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CIEPAC, A.C. |
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Global Exchange |
Introductory
Note: U.S. intellectual and linguist Noam Chomsky has said it almost
nonchalantly: there is a fairly simple answer to the eternal question
"But, what can I do to help construct a better, more just world?" The
answer: get involved, which more concretely translates into organize! Chomsky
says, "The fact is, we can do just about anything. There is no
difficulty, wherever you are, in finding groups that are working on things that
concern you". (quoted in the May 2004 issue of the Progressive).
If what you have seen, heard and experienced during your visit to Chiapas has
motivated you to take the next step and seek out people and groups that are
working on topics that interest you, CIEPAC offers you the following list,
compiled by Jessie Hahn, coordinator of Mexico Reality Tours for Global
Exchange.
The following list has a strong Chiapas bias to it. If you are motivated to
help promote solidarity, in one for or another, with Chiapas, great! But even
if your interests take you beyond Chiapas, we urge you to look over these
resources, and to begin surfing the internet for a group nearer to your heart
and mind, and close to your home.
Please help us maintain the accuracy of this list by contacting Global Exchange
and CIEPAC (see above) with updates and information for groups not
listed. Additional listings for English and French-speaking Canada are
especially welcome! Thank You!.
The following organizations
work directly on Chiapas issues and are active as of May 2004. For a list of
other Chiapas solidarity groups based out of Europe, Australia, South America,
etc. please contact the Global Exchange office.
Bikes for Chiapas http://www.schoolsforchiapas.org/bikes/ San Diego, CA
Building Bridges Chiapas
Observer Project http://www.vcn.bc.ca/building/
Vancouver, BC Canada
Carolina Interfaith Task
Force on Central America http://www.citca.org/ 16 chapters across North and
South Carolina
Charlottesville Latin
American Solidarity Committee (no website) Charlottesville, VA
Chiapas Coalition 98 http://thedagger.com/chiapas/ Los Angeles, CA
Chiapas Education Project
(no website) Durham, NC
Chiapas Media Project http://www.chiapasmediaproject.org/
or http://www.promedios.org/ Chicago,
IL
Chiapas Peace House http://www.chiapaspeacehouse.org Chicago, IL
Chiapas Support Committee http://www.chiapas-support.org Oakland, CA
Cloudforest Initiatives http://www.hwpics.com/cloudforest-mexico/
St. Paul, MN
Committee of Indigenous
Solidarity http://cis.mahost.org/
Washington, D.C
Committee against Repression and for Democracy
in Mexico
(no website) Seattle, WA
Committee in Solidarity
with Central American People http://www.efn.org/~ciscap/ Eugene, OR
Committee on US/Latin
American Relations http://www.rso.cornell.edu/cuslar/
Ithaca, NY
Community Action on Latin
America http://www.calamadison.org/ Madison, WI
Coordinadora Internacional de Apoyo al Pueblo de Mexico (no website) Chicago IL
Denver Chiapas Coalition
(no website) Denver, CO
Doctors for Global Health http://www.dghonline.org/ Decatur, GA
Estación Libre (no website)
various cities in U.S.
Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mexico/ San Francisco, CA
Grassroots Interconnect
publishes a quarterly newsletter called Interconnect whose purpose is to
encourage dialogue on movement-building among 1750 US-Latin America solidarity
groups and to share resources. (no website) Pittsford, NY
Howard County Friends of
Latin America (no website) Baltimore, MD
Illinois Maya Ministry http://www.illinoismayaministry.org/
Westchester, IL
InterReligious Task Force
on Central America http://www.irtfcleveland.org/
Cleveland, OH
Kentucky Interfaith Task
Force on Latin America and the Caribbean (no website) Louisville, KY
Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/ Chicago, IL
New York Zapatistas (no
website) New York, New York
Organic Consumers
Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/chiapas/
Little Marais, MN
Pastors for
Peace/Interreligious Fdtn. for Community Organization http://www.ifconews.org/ New York, New York
Peace Brigades
International http://www.peacebrigades.org/ Washington, D.C.
Pledge of Resistance (no
website) Dayton, OH
Portland Central American
Solidarity Committee (no website) Portland, OR
Pueblo por la Paz http://members.tripod.com/~PPLP Tucson, AZ
Rochester Committee on
Latin America, a project of Metro Justice http://www.metrojustice.org/task_forces.htm
Rochester, NY
Schools for Chiapas http://schoolsforchiapas.org/ San Diego, CA
SIPAZ International Service
for Peace http://www.sipaz.org/ Santa Cruz, CA
Students Taking Action in
Chiapas (STAC) http://www.stacmexico.com/ Halifax, Montreal, and Petersborough
Witness for Peace http://www.witnessforpeace.org/mexico/index.html
Washington, D.C.
Zapatista Block http://www.geocities.com/zapatistablock/index1.htm
Washington, D.C.
Zapatista Solidarity
Coalition http://zsc.org/
Sacramento, CA
These Chiapas Solidarity
Groups have Websites but are no Longer Active
Acción Zapatista http://www.utexas.edu/students/nave/ Austin, TX
Chiapas Committee of
Cleveland http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/5862/ Cleveland, OH
Cincinatti Zapatista Coalition http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1364/ Cincinatti, OH
Foco Zapatista http://home.earthlink.net/~ahoyle/ Los Angeles, CA
Tonantzin: Boston Committee
to Support the Native Peoples of Mexico http://www.geocities.com/tonantzinboston/
Somerville, MA
Zapatista Alliance of
Pittsburgh http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/8731/index.html Pittsburgh, PA
Groups that Organize
Chiapas Speaking Tours
Chiapas Support Committee http://www.chiapas-support.org Oakland, CA
EPICA (Ecumenical Program
in Central America and the Caribbean) http://www.epica.org/index.htm
Washington, D.C.
Fellowship of
Reconciliation http://www.forusa.org/ San
Francisco, CA
Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org/ San
Francisco, CA
Grassroots International http://www.grassrootsonline.org/speak.html
Boston, MA
Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/
Chicago, IL
Organic Consumers
Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/chiapas/
Little Marais, MN
Peace Brigades
International http://www.peacebrigades.org/usa/usaevents.html
Washington, D.C.
Schools for Chiapas http://schoolsforchiapas.org/ San Diego, CA
Witness for Peace http://www.witnessforpeace.org/ Washington, D.C.
U.S.-based NGOs
These NGOs do not have
specific Chiapas campaigns but do work on related issues such as international
solidarity, sustainable development, militarization, peace and justice issues,
etc. through community organizing, popular education and advocacy in the United
States. Many accept interns, do Latino community organizing in the States
or border outreach, and have useful resources for local community organizing.
American Friends Service
Committee/AFSC http://www.afsc.org/default.htm
Philadelphia, PA
Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera http://www.afsc.org/central/austin/austin_border-delegations.htm Austin, TX
Ecumenical Program in
Central America and the Caribbean/EPICA http://www.epica.org/index.htm
Washington, D.C.
Fellowship of Reconciliation/FOR
http://www.forusa.org/ San Francisco, CA
(with local groups throughout the U.S.)
Friends Across Borders http://www.friendsacrossborders.org/
El Paso, TX/San Francisco, CA
Grassroots International http://www.grassrootsonline.org/index.html
Boston, MA
Latin America Working Group
http://www.lawg.org/ Washington, D.C.
Latin American Solidarity
Coalition http://www.lasolidarity.org/
Washington, D.C.
Nonviolent Ways Project
(formerly the Strategic Pastoral Action Network) http://www.nonviolentways.org/index.html
Holland, MI
Office of the Americas http://www.officeoftheamericas.org/index.html
Los Angeles, CA
Religious Task Force on
Central America and Mexico http://www.rtfcam.org/
Washington, D.C.
School of the Americas
Watch http://www.soaw.org Washington, D.C. (many local
chapters throughout the U.S.)
Fair Trade Resources:
As part of the effort to
clarify which products being marketed internationally are actually produced by
Zapatista cooperatives, in August 2003 the Caracoles began to certify
autonomous Zapatista coffee cooperatives. The Zapatistas contend that this
became necessary because people were using their name and image in other parts
of the world to sell products which were not actually Zapatista. This list
therefore, only includes groups which sell coffee from known Zapatista
cooperatives such as Mut Vitz, Nueva Luz del Cielo and Tatic Abuelos. Likewise
there are some notable exceptions, like Equal Exchange and Transfair USA,
because they sell coffee from other, non-Zapatista, Chiapas coffee
cooperatives.
The issue of whether or not
to buy exclusively Zapatista coffee is tricky: mainly it depends on how much
the community organizational processes behind the formation of the coffee cooperatives
matter to you. For example in Chiapas, there are coffee cooperatives that grow
shade grown, organic coffee—thus complying with the ecological mandates of fair
trade and organic agriculture—but have members which belong to known
paramilitary groups. This is not to say that all non-zapatista coffee
co-ops are paramilitary, either. If supporting community organizational efforts
is important to you, then look for an importer that shares those same
priorities, whether the co-ops are in Chiapas, Oaxaca or elsewhere.
Café Campesino http://www.cafecampesino.com/ Americus, GA (Mut Vitz)
Cloudforest Initiatives http://www.hwpics.com/cloudforest-mexico/fair_trade_products_coffee.htm St. Paul, MN (Mut Vitz)
Cooperative Coffees http://www.cooperativecoffees.com/
Americus, GA (Mut Vitz) (Cooperative Coffees is a cooperative of coffee
roasters and sellers in the US and Canada who joined together to import coffee.
If you are interested in getting you local café to sell Zapatista coffee,
consider proposing they join this group.)
Dean´s Beans http://deansbeans.com/ New Salem, MA (Mut Vitz)
Galway Coffee Company http://www.mochabeans.com Galway,
Ireland (Mut Vitz)
Global Exchange http://store.globalexchange.org/coffee.html San Francisco, CA (Mut Vitz)
Higher Grounds Trading
Company http://www.javaforjustice.com Leland, MI (Mut Vitz)
The Human Bean Company
http://www.thehumanbean.com Denver, CO (Mut Vitz)
Just Coffee http://www.justcoffee.net/ Madison, WI (Mut Vitz, Nueva Luz del Cielo/Yachil Xolobal Chulchan)
Peace Coffee http://www.peacecoffee.com/home.htm Minneapolis, MN (Mut Vitz)
Fair Trade Coffee
Resources and Advocacy Campaigns
Café Unidos http://www.cafeunidos.org Montreal, Quebec
Coffee Kids http://www.coffeekids.org/ Santa Fe, NM
Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/index.html San Francisco, CA
Oxfam USA http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/campaigns/coffee/what_oxfam_is_doing/ftc_in_the_us
Boston, MA
Songbird Foundation http://www.songbird.org/ Seattle, WA
Groups that Market
Fairly-Traded Chiapas Products Internationally (not coffee)
Casa Bonampak http://www.casabonampak.com/zapcyb.html San Francisco, CA
Cloudforest Initiatives http://www.hwpics.com/cloudforest-mexico/fair_trade_products.htm
St. Paul, MN
LaNeta Chiapas has a
directory of local alternative commerce http://www.laneta.apc.org/sclc/servicio/comercio/comercio.htm
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Resources for Returning to Chiapas:
Groups that Organize Delegations or Work Brigades to Chiapas
Chiapas Media Project http://www.chiapasmediaproject.org or http://www.promedios.org Chicago, IL
Chiapas Peace House http://www.chiapaspeacehouse.org Chicago, IL
Chiapas Support Committee http://www.chiapas-support.org Oakland, CA
Estación Libre http://www.estacionlibre.org/ various cities
Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org/ San
Francisco, CA
Higher Grounds Trading
Company http://www.javaforjustice.com Leland, MI
Illinois Maya Ministry http://www.illinoismayaministry.org/programs.html
Westchester, IL
Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/
Chicago, IL
Organic Consumers
Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/chiapas/
Little Marais, MN
Schools for Chiapas http://schoolsforchiapas.org/ San Diego, CA
Witness for Peace http://www.witnessforpeace.org/sites/mexico.html
Washington, D.C.
If you are interested in
volunteering in other parts of Mexico or Latin America through U.S.-based
organizations, email me for a more extensive listing of groups which organize
volunteers. –JH
Chiapas Peace House http://www.chiapaspeacehouse.org Chicago, IL (places volunteers in Chiapas)
Doctors for Global Health http://www.dghonline.org/ Decatur, GA
(send medical volunteers to the San Carlos Hospital in Altamirano, Chiapas)
EnlaceCivil http://www.laneta.apc.org/enlacecivil/
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas (orientation for human rights observers in Zapatista
communities)
Estación Libre http://www.estacionlibre.org/ various cities
Fellowship of Reconciliation/FOR
http://www.forusa.org/ San Francisco, CA (Chiapas volunteers placed through SIPAZ)
Food First/ Institute for
Food and Development Policy http://www.foodfirst.org/ San
Francisco, CA publishes two books called Education for Action: Undergraduate
and Graduate Programs that Focus on Social Change and Alternatives to
the Peace Corps which are useful for people considering studying or
volunteering in development
Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
Human Rights Center http://www.laneta.apc.org/cdhbcasas/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
(orientation for human rights observers in Zapatista communities)
Schools for Chiapas http://schoolsforchiapas.org/ San Diego, CA (affiliated with a Spanish
language school in a Zapatista community in Chiapas. Does not place long-term
volunteers, but rather organizes periodic delegations/ work brigades.)
SIPAZ/International Service
for Peace http://www.sipaz.org/fini_eng.htm Santa Cruz, CA (places volunteers
in Chiapas)
Witness for Peace http://www.witnessforpeace.org/work/
Washington, D.C. (volunteers based in Mexico City but travel often to southern
Mexico)
Center for Global
Education, Augsberg College http://www.augsburg.edu/global/mexsem.html
Cuernavaca, Morelos Their two Mexico programs are called Crossing Borders:
Gender and Social Change in Mesoamerica, and Social and Environmental Justice in
Latin America.
Cuernavaca Center for
Intercultural Dialogue on Development http://www.ccidd.org/ Cuernavaca,
Morelos
School for International
Training http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/latinamerica/mexico.html Oaxaca, Oaxaca The program is called Mexico: Grassroots
Development and Social Change.
Online Resources for Chiapas
CIEPAC Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Políticas de Acción Comunitaria, sends out in-depth weekly analysis of the social and economic situation in Chiapas and México in general. Most bulletins are translated into English. http://www.ciepac.org/bulletins/indexguide.htm San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Committee of Indigenous
Solidarity publishes a Mexico Week in Review bulletin with national coverage http://cis.mahost.org/ Washington, D.C.
Global Exchange has a
Mexico News List with occasional updates http://www.globalexchange.org/getInvolved/lists.html San Francisco, CA
Mexico Solidarity Network
sends out a Weekly News and Analysis bulletin with national coverage http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/ Chicago, IL
Religious Task Force on
Central American and Mexico publishes a bimonthly news journal called the
Central America/ Mexico Report http://www.rtfcam.org/report/report.htm
Washington, D.C.
SIPAZ International Service
for Peace, sends out quarterly reports on the situation in Chiapas, written in
both Spanish and English: http://www.sipaz.org/ Santa Cruz, CA
Witness for Peace has a
monthly update from its Mexico team http://www.witnessforpeace.org/mexico/program%20updates/index.html
Mexico City, D.F.
John Ross, an American
ex-pat based out of Mexico City, writes an extremely entertaining weekly
analysis of Mexican politics called Mexico Bárbaro http://home.earthlink.net/~nicadlw/wnuhome.html
Mexico City, D.F.
Chiapas 95 maintains a very
thorough email news listserve dealing primarily with Chiapas news, the four
different lists are categorized according to their level of traffic: http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html
Chiapas 95 listserve
archives—multilingual, primarily English http://www.eco.utexas.edu/~archive/chiapas95/
NoPPP is a
listserve for North American activists challenging the Plan Puebla Panama, its
posts deal with organized resistance from the southern Mexican and Central
American region http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/nopppinfo
AMAP-PPP is a listserve which
coordinates resistance to the PPP within Mexico and is administered by the Red
Mexicana Frente al Libre Comercio http://mailman.laneta.org/mailman/listinfo/amap-ppp
English-language Media
Outlets Covering Latin America
Center for International
Policy maintains a webpage with articles from major US newspapers covering news
from Latin America http://ciponline.org/colombia/newnote.htm Washington, D.C.
Chiapas Indymedia http://chiapas.indymedia.org/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Latin American Network
Information Center http://lanic.utexas.edu Austin, TX
Latin America Press http://www.lapress.org/ Lima, Peru
North American Congress on
Latin America: http://www.nacla.org/ New
York, New York
Resource Center of the
Americas http://www.americas.org Minneapolis, MN
Listings in bold are
considered especially useful.
Acción Zapatista http://www.utexas.edu/students/nave/ Austin, TX (now defunct solidarity group,
webpage has useful information)
Big Noise Films http://www.bignoisefilms.com/ Ridgewood, NY (videos on the Zapatistas)
Chiapas 95 http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html Austin, TX (important online
English Zapatista resource)
Chiapas Indymedia http://chiapas.indymedia.org San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas (important
bilingual up-to-date alternative news source)
Chiapaslink http://www.chiapaslink.ukgateway.net/ch0.html#Editorial Bristol, UK (good information for
people interested in volunteering in Chiapas, lots of information on the
Zapatistas and international solidarity)
Chiapas News UK http://www.chiapasnews.ukgateway.net/ Bristol, UK (a project
of Chiapaslink, last updated May 2002)
Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
Human Rights Center http://www.laneta.apc.org/cdhbcasas/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas (has an English version of webpage,
information on human rights issues in Chiapas)
Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mexico/ San Francisco, CA (maintains
ongoing campaigns around issues such as militarization and development,
maintains a Mexico news page, has an excellent links list, recommends
international volunteers for peace camping in Chiapas)
ETC Group http://www.etcgroup.org/
Winnipeg, Manitoba (has information on genetic engineering issues in Chiapas )
Indigenous
Information Network http://www.redindigena.net/ing/
Mexico, D.F. (is not a specifically Chiapas page but is an excellent resource
on indigenous peoples´ organizations and struggles throughout the Americas,
with tons of links)
Irish Mexico Group http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico.html Dublin, Ireland (tons of
information on solidarity, the history of the EZLN, other struggles in Mexico;
the IMG is no longer active but maintains this webpage)
Mexico Solidarity
Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/ Chicago, IL (publishes weekly
Mexico News Analysis, sends delegations to Mexico and hosts Mexican speakers in
the U.S., runs ongoing solidarity campaigns with Mexico)
Organic Consumers
Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/chiapas/ Little Marais, MN (has a
Sustainable Chiapas campaign with information on agriculture in Chiapas: GMOs,
effects of NAFTA, etc.)
Revista Rebeldia http://www.revistarebeldia.org/ Mexico, D.F. (independent Spanish language
magazine focusing on the Chiapas conflict and Zapatista-influenced struggles
around the world, with articles translated into English)
Schools for Chiapas http://schoolsforchiapas.org/ San Diego, CA
SIPAZ International Service
for Peace http://www.sipaz.org/ Santa Cruz,
CA
Washington Office on Latin
America http://www.wola.org/ Washington, D.C.
Women and the EZLN http://struggle.ws/mexico/womindx.html
Dublin, Ireland (texts on the role of women in the rebellion, from the Irish
Mexico Group)
Ya Basta http://www.ezln.org/ Mexico City, D.F. (unofficial
webpage of the EZLN, mostly in Spanish)
Z Net Chiapas Watch http://www.zmag.org/chiapas1/ (translations of EZLN writings, analysis and
news)
Zapatista Index http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/zapatista.html, Dublin, Ireland (excellent
resource—online index of English materials on the EZLN, very thorough)
Zapatista Net of Autonomy
and Liberation http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~zapatistas/index.html
Austin, TX
Zapatista Revolution http://www.zapatistarevolution.com/
Tyler, TX (website for Blake Baileys book Zapatista)
Zapatistas in Cyberspace http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/zapsincyber.html Austin, TX (most comprehensive
listing of Zapatista resources online)
Zaps Net Interface http://www.thing.net/~rdom/zapsTactical/zaps.html
(virtual sit-in used to
disrupt traffic to websites you select, such as Mexican government officials,
etc.)
Diocese of San Cristóbal http://www.laneta.apc.org/curiasc/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Enlace Civil http://www.laneta.apc.org/enlacecivil/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
(index of all press releases from autonomous municipalities, existing sister
cities relationships, contact information for Zapatista products on sale,
Spanish language school in Oventic, health, education and production programs
in autonomous zones)
Frente Zapatista de Liberación Nacional http://www.fzln.org.mx/index.php Mexico City, D.F.
LaNeta http://www.laneta.apc.org/sclc/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Zapatista Information Center http://www.ezlnaldf.org/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Amnesty International USA http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/mexico/index.do New York, New York (Mexico page)
Center
for Justice and Internacional Law http://www.cejil.org/
Washington, D.C.
Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center http://www.laneta.apc.org/cdhbcasas/ San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Global Exchange http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mexico/ San Francisco, CA
Human Rights Watch Mexico http://hrw.org/doc/?t=americas&c=mexico New York, New York
Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights http://www.cidh.org/DefaultE.htm
San Jose, Costa Rica
Inter-American
Court of Human Rights http://www.corteidh.or.cr/
San Jose,
Costa Rica
Just the Facts: A
Civilian´s Guide to U.S. Defense and Security Assistance to Latin America and
the Caribbean http://www.ciponline.org/facts/ Washington, D.C.
Virtual Truth Commission http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/index.html
Analysis of how U.S. policy
affects Latin America, as well as globalization issues such as the World Bank,
IMF, militarization, sustainable energy and development, migrants´ rights, etc.
Americas Program http://www.americaspolicy.org Silver City, NM
Center for Economic Policy
Research http://www.cepr.net/index.html
Washington, D.C.
Center for International
Policy http://www.ciponline.org/ Washington, D.C.
Council on Hemispheric
Affairs http://www.coha.org Washington, DC.
Institute for Policy
Studies http://www.ips-dc.org/ Washington,
D.C.