a. On January 1st, 1994, an armed militia of indigenous people entered the town of San Cristobal de las Casas. They occupied the government buildings, and posted an official declaration of war against the Mexican government and its military.
b. El Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional intentionally timed their invasion with the inauguration of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Among their edicts, their message that NAFTA meant a genocide of indigenous people rang loud and clear.
c. In a country whose people have historically fought to show a cultural link between environmental policy and civil liberty, sanctions to protect the agrarian way of life were suspiciously absent. Still, the foundation that led to an agreement such as NAFTA to pass began to piece itself together far before Bill Clinton, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney put their pen to paper, ratifying the agreement that previous December.
2) Slide 3 – Post-war Economic Shift
a. Between 1940 and 1980, Mexico underwent rapid changes in industry and trade that in turn led to a transformation of Mexican agriculture.
b. Major infrastructure projects were completed and the population nearly tripled from 19.6 million in 1940 to 67 million in 1977. Wide spread urbanization commenced, and the proportion of people living in the rural sector dropped from 80 to 30 percent.
c. Basic food production was no longer the goal of the national agricultural system. It was geared toward supporting international trade of non-essential food items like coffee. Likewise, national demand of once staple items—corn and beans—decreased and foods like meat and cheese increased in national interest.
d. This was a double-edged sword to rural, indigenous farming communities. The worst hunger crises to have ever stuck the nation ensued, and by 1980 it was estimated that 90% of the rural population suffered from “some degree of caloric and protein deficiency.”
3) Slide 4 – The Zapatistas
a. Desperate and increasingly marginalized, peasant groups began to form independent advocacy organizations. Among these, were the Zapatistas of Chiapas.
b. The indigenous people of Chiapas have a 500-year history of defending their territories, and a longer history of growing corn as a staple grain. More recent uprisings have been against sugar cane megaproducers in the early 19th century, and against cattle ranchers in the 1960’s. By 1960, Latifundistas (people who owned more than 1000 hectares of land) controlled more than 60% of the land in Chiapas while comprising less than 2.5% of the population.
c. In 1983, the native communities, named caracoles, began to organize to demand a renewal of agrarian reform, associations to fight for their specialized economic interests, and local groups to fight for higher prices and better access to credit and technology. They named themselves after Emiliano Zapata, a leading figure of agrarian reform during the Mexican Revolution.
4) Slide 5 – NAFTA Abrewin
a. In the same decade, US President Ronald Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney developed a trade agreement between the US and Canada. The 1988 general election, which government officials have since admitted to rigging, put Carlos Salinas de Gortari in the seat of the Mexican presidency. Seeing an opportunity to elevate Mexico from its international reception as a 3rd world country, Salinas began pushing for Mexico’s own deal with US President George H.W. Bush.
5) Slide 6 – Final Straw
a. Over 90% of economically active Chiapans earned less than 1000 pesos per month, 40% of the population was illiterate, 50% of running houses were without running water and electricity.
b. Malnutrition and diseases such as tuberculosis, typhus, and intestinal parasites plagued the indigenous communities. Children were dying of malnutrition and curable diseases. The Zapatistas warned the Mexican government that if they forced their communities to compete with international corporations for ownership of their lands and with pricing of goods in a free market, it would be a genocidal death sentence to their population.
c. Still, the amendments (or supplemental side accords) added between the initial NAFTA agreement and its ratification included no mention of protection of indigenous livelihood or sovereignty of land in their sanctions to enforce “environmental health” and “labor laws” and the agreement became the law of the land.
6) Slide 7 – Revolución
a. Hungry and desperate, the Zapatista Army swarmed upon four towns—San Cristobal de Las Casas, Ocosingo, Altamirano, and Las Margaritas
i. Hard to discern from the photo, but 1/3 of the Zapatista Army were women
7) Slide 8 – Revolución pt 2
a. They took the town with little resistance, but within hours, the Mexican army launched a fierce counter-attack. They launched air strikes and conducted house-to-house searches. By the fifth day of the uprising the Zapatistas had lost the upper-hand, and were desperately fleeing back to the Lacondon mountains.
b. Reports indicate that the Mexican Army resorted to gross human rights abuse.
c. It became increasingly clear that the Zapatistas were ill-equipped to do battle with a modern Army, particularly one trained and equipped by the United States.
8) Slide 9 – Revolución pt 3
a. Still, their actions were loud enough to gain global attention. Twelve days later a ceasefire was brokered by the Catholic diocese.
b. The ceasefire was generally disregarded by the Mexican government, but after the election of Ernesto Zedillo, negotiations began to take place.
9) Slide 10 – Revolution pt 4
a. The main topics discussed by the two groups at these meetings were:
i. Basic respect and recognition for the diversity of the indigenous population of Chiapas
ii. The preservation of the natural resources within the lands occupied by the indigenous population
iii. More participation by individuals within indigenous communities in the decisions and control of public expenditures
iv. More participation of indigenous individuals within their communities in deciding their own development plans, including control over their own political and judicial policies
v. The autonomy of indigenous communities and their right to participate in state affairs
b. On February 16th 1996 the San Andres Accords were signed, legally granting autonomy, recognition, and rights to the indigenous population of Mexico.
c. Since the reaching of this agreement, there has been a significant gap between the rule and its implementation, but the Zapatistas showed, and continue to show how strong they are as a collective, and that they have the power to force indigenous issues to the forefront of the National Agenda.