Mexico on the brink?
Sevastopol | 29.03.2008 12:13 | Repression | Social Struggles | Zapatista
Reposted and translated from La Jornada by Sevastopol.
Mountain of Guerrero, 24 of March.
Dozens of indigenous announced their integration to the Revolutionary Army of the Insurgent People (ERPI) and announced that “we are not going to wait until 2010 to make the revolution in Guerrero; here in the Mountains we are already doing it. From here, we will defend our petroleum and natural resources. With militant action we are going to demand teachers, doctors and hospitals. We no longer believe in any political party, in Governor Zeferino Torreblanca or in Felipe Calderón,” affirmed indigenous militiaman Ramon.
Interviewed by La Jornada, five years after the previous interview granted by the national leadership of the ERPI – which took place in December of 2003, the militiaman Rodolfo demanded there be no attempt to involve the Autnomous National University of Mexico (UNAM) with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) nor with the revolutionary organisations active in Mexico and, on the intention of the federal government to privatize PEMEX, he warned: “from here, in our own way, we are going to defend the petroleum and natural resources in general”.
30 indigenous participated in the interview, punctuating the answers with commentaries and at times, simply affirming. But there were more than 50 said to be close by, in the vicinity of the mountain in which the meeting took place. Some had walked more than 12 hours from their communities to arrive at the meeting place.
Without military uniform, but hooded and armed with guns and machetes, unlike other occasions in which they appeared carrying AK-47 rifles, they spoke of their problems in a direct manner, and also announced the formation of guerilla columns made up exclusively of indigenous of the Mountain of Guerrero. On this occasion no regional commanders attended, only two young people responsible for organising work.
The indigenous peoples of the Mountain generally organise according to traditional custom, and usually it is only seniors, the old ones who speak. Don Ramon, an indigenous of about 64 years, explained with machete in hand how dozens of indigenous villages have chosen to integrate themselves to the ERPI: “thank you for coming so far to see the poverty in which the governments of Mexico keep us; we want to say that here we are convoking the organization of the ERPI, because our governments have always been deaf to the indigenous peoples. For many decades they have not taken us into account, and for that reason we are beginning the revolution”.
Because of this, the organization of the ERPI “motioned that we cannot wait any longer, it is already overdue; that is how we see it. For us the indigenous of the Mountain of Guerrero, no other way now exists other than that of revolution, we have already tried all possible routes to secure indigenous rights, but the peaceful route has never produced anything, on the contrary, day by day the situation becomes more difficult”.
The punishments that “the indigenous race” receive throughout the Mexican Republic “is not sent by God, but rather applied by the governors; that is on the one hand, on the other, governor Zeferino Torreblanca was originally a PRD (nominally left-wing party) member, soon said that he did not belong to any party, and soon after it was known that he had gone with National Action (PAN-ruling party); we know that there are countries that help Mexico to fight poverty, but when they receive the support the Mexican government keeps it; then in the election campaigns they give it to the citizenship in exchange for votes”.
“Today we have met to solve our problems. We are analyzing why the 1910 revolution began, and have reached the conclusion that it was because of the bad behaviour of the government. For this reason we say that dead or alive we are going to decide through way of revolution, because we no longer want to hear more speeches. The soldiers are not children of the rich but of poor people, and in a short while, when something happens (the revolution), we think that they are going to support us, for that reason we are calling on all the indigenous of the country to join the ERPI, because now we declare the revolution, many years have already passed, the indigenous race knows that our Mexico belongs to the poor.”
The more reserved Rodolfo, who although he did not say so appeared to be the person in charge of this zone in which the ERPI has presence, narrated the work that the organization has been developing for several years: “in my case I have been here six years, but before, when we worked as the Revolutionary Popular Army (EPR), and long before, the towns were already organizing themselves, including from the time of commander Genaro Vázquez Rojas”.
He indicated that whole communities of the people have joined the ERPI, due to repression, “to the presence of the military, the paramilitary groups, the imprisonment of the indigenous leaders, repression of the communitarian police, migration, to logging, the lack of 83 teachers and schools, doctors and hospitals; for that reason the people of the Mountain are organising for armed struggle.
“With the spurious government of Felipe Calderón the situation has become more complicated; instead of sending resources or projects, they send the military and try to buy helicopters and sophisticated arms in the context of Plan Merida, it does this not in order to fight drug trafficking, but to stop the armed movements and the social organisations who fight against poverty. (He confirmed that in the zone of the Mountain there were already columns of indigenous militiamen.) We like the work of Subcommandante Marcos with the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) in Chiapas. In some things we have followed its methods, its work is well structured and the actions they conduct are getting results. It raises popular power from below as we do too, with all populations on a daily basis”.
The ERPI is made up of all types. “Several indigenous columns have already joined, and we are still in a long process of integration; the people always get on with those who are with them and respect their customs and traditions”.
In relation to the paramilitary groups he expressed that: “we know that there are already cells of paramilitary groups in Metlatónoc and other zones of the Mountain, or in Tierra Caliente, Costa Chica and Costa Grande. Here in the Mountain we have said to those people that they cannot kill their own brothers, we have tried to dialogue with those who do not understand reason, and who are being trained by the army, but at the same time we are not going to allow these people to grow and to kill the indigenous compañeros and the leaders of the organisations, because we will respond.
“To the federal government we say that we are not going to allow them to massacre the population and we reject their attempts to involve UNAM with the guerrilla of the FARC, and that it now begins to repress the students, trying to link the students of other educational institutions of the country with the revolutionary organisations”.
On the internal conflict of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) he indicated that the ERPI has remained on the sidelines. “We know that the rank and file is made up of pure poor people, and that sometimes they don’t understand why they are in the parties. We see that the system has the political currents in its hands; for example, Jesus Ortega who said that Alejandro Encinas represents the past, we know that the parties will never be the answer, but also see how the government of Felipe Calderón sticks its hands in to divide them. Here on the Mountain that division harmed the indigenous, it is clear that the parties are never going to solve the problem.”
The PAN government of Felipe Calderón “is very repressive from the moment at which it took power. There is more scarcity, massacres between the groups of narcotics traffickers and the same happens with Zeferino (Torreblanca); its the same thing, they seem the same because they have the same structure, when entering government along with Chavarría (the Government Secretary of Guerrero that politically comes from the left) they repressed the students of Ayotzinapa, and the social leaders. We as ERPI we know that Zeferino is the repressor and the businessman who always attempts to become richer. He repressed the teachers in Acapulco and now he’s entered with a hard hand. We respect the bases that said that they were going to support him, but the consequences can be seen”.
Just last October, father Antolín Casarrubias, general vicar of the diocese of Tlapa, declared to La Jornada that “the marginalisation and the misery in which the indigenous towns of the Mountain of Guerrero live could cause a social outbreak of incalculable consequences. It is not possible, for example, that the Hospital del Niño y la Madre works at half measure, solely with preventive medicine”, he warned on that occasion.
Mountain of Guerrero, 24 of March.
Dozens of indigenous announced their integration to the Revolutionary Army of the Insurgent People (ERPI) and announced that “we are not going to wait until 2010 to make the revolution in Guerrero; here in the Mountains we are already doing it. From here, we will defend our petroleum and natural resources. With militant action we are going to demand teachers, doctors and hospitals. We no longer believe in any political party, in Governor Zeferino Torreblanca or in Felipe Calderón,” affirmed indigenous militiaman Ramon.
Interviewed by La Jornada, five years after the previous interview granted by the national leadership of the ERPI – which took place in December of 2003, the militiaman Rodolfo demanded there be no attempt to involve the Autnomous National University of Mexico (UNAM) with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) nor with the revolutionary organisations active in Mexico and, on the intention of the federal government to privatize PEMEX, he warned: “from here, in our own way, we are going to defend the petroleum and natural resources in general”.
30 indigenous participated in the interview, punctuating the answers with commentaries and at times, simply affirming. But there were more than 50 said to be close by, in the vicinity of the mountain in which the meeting took place. Some had walked more than 12 hours from their communities to arrive at the meeting place.
Without military uniform, but hooded and armed with guns and machetes, unlike other occasions in which they appeared carrying AK-47 rifles, they spoke of their problems in a direct manner, and also announced the formation of guerilla columns made up exclusively of indigenous of the Mountain of Guerrero. On this occasion no regional commanders attended, only two young people responsible for organising work.
The indigenous peoples of the Mountain generally organise according to traditional custom, and usually it is only seniors, the old ones who speak. Don Ramon, an indigenous of about 64 years, explained with machete in hand how dozens of indigenous villages have chosen to integrate themselves to the ERPI: “thank you for coming so far to see the poverty in which the governments of Mexico keep us; we want to say that here we are convoking the organization of the ERPI, because our governments have always been deaf to the indigenous peoples. For many decades they have not taken us into account, and for that reason we are beginning the revolution”.
Because of this, the organization of the ERPI “motioned that we cannot wait any longer, it is already overdue; that is how we see it. For us the indigenous of the Mountain of Guerrero, no other way now exists other than that of revolution, we have already tried all possible routes to secure indigenous rights, but the peaceful route has never produced anything, on the contrary, day by day the situation becomes more difficult”.
The punishments that “the indigenous race” receive throughout the Mexican Republic “is not sent by God, but rather applied by the governors; that is on the one hand, on the other, governor Zeferino Torreblanca was originally a PRD (nominally left-wing party) member, soon said that he did not belong to any party, and soon after it was known that he had gone with National Action (PAN-ruling party); we know that there are countries that help Mexico to fight poverty, but when they receive the support the Mexican government keeps it; then in the election campaigns they give it to the citizenship in exchange for votes”.
“Today we have met to solve our problems. We are analyzing why the 1910 revolution began, and have reached the conclusion that it was because of the bad behaviour of the government. For this reason we say that dead or alive we are going to decide through way of revolution, because we no longer want to hear more speeches. The soldiers are not children of the rich but of poor people, and in a short while, when something happens (the revolution), we think that they are going to support us, for that reason we are calling on all the indigenous of the country to join the ERPI, because now we declare the revolution, many years have already passed, the indigenous race knows that our Mexico belongs to the poor.”
The more reserved Rodolfo, who although he did not say so appeared to be the person in charge of this zone in which the ERPI has presence, narrated the work that the organization has been developing for several years: “in my case I have been here six years, but before, when we worked as the Revolutionary Popular Army (EPR), and long before, the towns were already organizing themselves, including from the time of commander Genaro Vázquez Rojas”.
He indicated that whole communities of the people have joined the ERPI, due to repression, “to the presence of the military, the paramilitary groups, the imprisonment of the indigenous leaders, repression of the communitarian police, migration, to logging, the lack of 83 teachers and schools, doctors and hospitals; for that reason the people of the Mountain are organising for armed struggle.
“With the spurious government of Felipe Calderón the situation has become more complicated; instead of sending resources or projects, they send the military and try to buy helicopters and sophisticated arms in the context of Plan Merida, it does this not in order to fight drug trafficking, but to stop the armed movements and the social organisations who fight against poverty. (He confirmed that in the zone of the Mountain there were already columns of indigenous militiamen.) We like the work of Subcommandante Marcos with the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) in Chiapas. In some things we have followed its methods, its work is well structured and the actions they conduct are getting results. It raises popular power from below as we do too, with all populations on a daily basis”.
The ERPI is made up of all types. “Several indigenous columns have already joined, and we are still in a long process of integration; the people always get on with those who are with them and respect their customs and traditions”.
In relation to the paramilitary groups he expressed that: “we know that there are already cells of paramilitary groups in Metlatónoc and other zones of the Mountain, or in Tierra Caliente, Costa Chica and Costa Grande. Here in the Mountain we have said to those people that they cannot kill their own brothers, we have tried to dialogue with those who do not understand reason, and who are being trained by the army, but at the same time we are not going to allow these people to grow and to kill the indigenous compañeros and the leaders of the organisations, because we will respond.
“To the federal government we say that we are not going to allow them to massacre the population and we reject their attempts to involve UNAM with the guerrilla of the FARC, and that it now begins to repress the students, trying to link the students of other educational institutions of the country with the revolutionary organisations”.
On the internal conflict of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) he indicated that the ERPI has remained on the sidelines. “We know that the rank and file is made up of pure poor people, and that sometimes they don’t understand why they are in the parties. We see that the system has the political currents in its hands; for example, Jesus Ortega who said that Alejandro Encinas represents the past, we know that the parties will never be the answer, but also see how the government of Felipe Calderón sticks its hands in to divide them. Here on the Mountain that division harmed the indigenous, it is clear that the parties are never going to solve the problem.”
The PAN government of Felipe Calderón “is very repressive from the moment at which it took power. There is more scarcity, massacres between the groups of narcotics traffickers and the same happens with Zeferino (Torreblanca); its the same thing, they seem the same because they have the same structure, when entering government along with Chavarría (the Government Secretary of Guerrero that politically comes from the left) they repressed the students of Ayotzinapa, and the social leaders. We as ERPI we know that Zeferino is the repressor and the businessman who always attempts to become richer. He repressed the teachers in Acapulco and now he’s entered with a hard hand. We respect the bases that said that they were going to support him, but the consequences can be seen”.
Just last October, father Antolín Casarrubias, general vicar of the diocese of Tlapa, declared to La Jornada that “the marginalisation and the misery in which the indigenous towns of the Mountain of Guerrero live could cause a social outbreak of incalculable consequences. It is not possible, for example, that the Hospital del Niño y la Madre works at half measure, solely with preventive medicine”, he warned on that occasion.
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