Blase Bonpane
With
very short notice, the Director of Pastors for Peace, Tom Hansen, asked me to
lead a delegation to the peace talks at San Andres Larrainzar in the state of
Chiapas, Mexico. Picture an indigenous village in the highlands of Chiapas where
clouds float in at any moment and obscure the verdant landscape. Here live the
Tzotzil (Bat People). With weeks of planning and following up on the meetings of
the month of April, 1995, the latest session began on May 12th. What we saw was
a model for international conflict resolution. Through the unrelenting efforts
of the Mexican non-governmental network of human rights and the persistent
effort of Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia, a complex and effective system for the
dialogue of adversaries was developed.
Circle
one. These are the Mexican Military Police. Actually members of the Mexican
Army, these troops have arrived according to the agreement armed only with riot
sticks. Everyone is aware that the back-up forces of the Mexican Army are not
far from this village in the surrounding mountains. These troops are ready at a
moments notice to storm the peace talks "if necessary." Approximately
50,000 troops of the Mexican Army are now in Chiapas.
Circle
two. Representatives approved by the National Commission of Mediation (Comision
Nacional de Intermediacion) known as CONAI. The president of this commission is
Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia of San Cristobal de las Casas. This inner circle is
made up of Mexican human rights networks, and international visitors seeking a
peaceful resolution to the conflict. Inside of this circle, and in sync with it
is a belt of indigenous people from the surrounding villages. These groups are
also under the umbrella of CONAI. Together they represent The Peace Circle of
Civil Society (Cinturon de Paz; Sociedad Civil).
Circle
three. This is the Mexican Red Cross and it borders the building where the talks
are to take place. Participants in the three circles are on duty for
approximately four hours at a time followed by a rest period.
In
between the Military Police circle and circle two is a huge stage which is
available to 250 journalists eager for a story. Intermingled with the
journalists are the "journalists" of the Mexican Secret Police who are
eagerly taking moving and still pictures of everyone present. With everyone in
place and hours of waiting, the International Red Cross four wheel drive
vehicles spattered with mud arrive with the players in this dangerous dialogue
for peace. Circle two had been instructed to avoid cheering and slogans…but
there was some cheering even from the journalists when the Zapatista Commanders
descended from the vehicles in their indigenous garb, multi- ribboned hats and
black ski masks. There were no cheers for Marco Antonio Bernal Gutierrez who led
the delegation representing the government of Mexico.
With
the smiles and handshakes and an effort to project informality there remained in
San Andres Larrainzar an obvious fear of treachery. Why? It is a matter of
history. Mexican Emperor Iturbide took the state of Chiapas from Guatemala by
force in 1823. By 1867 the indigenous people of Chiapas revolted under the
direction of Pedro Diaz Cuscat who heard the stones talking and giving counsel
to disobey the Ladinos (Mestizos) and to take back all of the lands stolen by
the hacienda owners. Just as the indigenous warriors were in a position to
capture San Cristobal de las Casas they entered into a dialogue with the
government of Mexico. The peace talks of 1869 were followed by the capture an
execution of the leaders and everything went back to "normal". Then
there is the ghost of Emiliano Zapata. The new Mexican ten peso bill is
emblazoned with Zapata’s piercing stare. It was Zapata who developed the Plan de
Ayala which evolved into Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. But
Zapata’s plans for the peasants of Morelos were a threat to the urban based
Mexican Federales and the hacienda owners who wanted certain political changes
(one term, no reeelection) without an economic restructuring of Mexico. Zapata
was asked to come to dinner for peace talks with Colonel Jesus Guajardo.
Guajardo’s troops sounded the honor call on the arrival of General Zapata, they
presented arms and shot him to death on April 10, 1919. The opportunist
President Venustiano Carranza promoted Jesus Guajardo to the rank of brigadier
general and paid him 50,000 pesos for the assassination.
In
the spirit of Carranza, President Salinas abrogated section 27 of the Mexican
Constitution in 1992. Sub-Commander Marcos and his advisers are very conscious
of this history of treachery. With this in mind Marcos explained that he would
not arrive at San Andres Larrainzar. He knew that the Mexican power structure
still thought they could eliminate the leader and end the movement.
All
of the commanders who arrived at the dialogue were indigenous. Marcos also
wanted the world to know that the indigenous commanders could negotiate for
themselves. They did not need him. The model designed by the Zapatistas of 1995
is not the model of Latin America revolutions of the 2Oth century. They do not
seek state power. "We did not come here to ask for the National
Palace", said one indigenous commander, " we came to seek, justice,
democracy and liberty." Even as the dialogues of 1995 took place there were
reports of the Mexican Army advancing in the areas of Guadalupe Tepeyac and
Ocosingo. The night of Sunday, May 14th was one of ominous signs. Thunder,
lightening, wind, rain, fog and clouds struck San Andres Larrainzar. The
Zapatistas were tired of being lectured to by the Mexican government
representatives. The eldest rebel, a woman, Commander Trinidad, accused the
government of lies. Rhetorically the Zapatistas said, "Why are we here? Why
should we continue if you have no substantive offers?" Actually the
Zapatistas had begun the meeting with an audacious statement that they were
stronger than the Mexican government. "The rhythm of the Mexican government
is not our rhythm", said the Zapatista leadership.
A
singular lightening bolt was created by the General in charge of the Military
Police at about midnight. In an instant the metal detectors were removed and the
Military Police were ordered away from their circle. Everyone knew this was a
signal for the armed troops in the mountains to descend on San Andres Larrainzar.
The indigenous men of circle two sent their wives and children to a safe area
and actually expanded their numbers as some of the other circles began to be
depleted. The indigenous were clearly putting their bodies on the line in
defense of the Zapatistas in the conference hall. The engines of the vehicles of
transport for the government were started and the vehicles were pointed toward
San Cristobal de las Casas. An imminent departure of government representatives
was expected.
Bishop
Samuel Ruiz Garcia moved from delegation to delegation seeking a continuation of
the faltering dialogue. The Zapatistas took the initiative by saying that they
would respond to the government’s statements at 10:00 AM on Monday morning, May
15th. Reporters asked Marco Antonio Bernal Gutierrez, head of the government
delegation, just who gave the order to the Military Police to take such
precipitous action. Bernal shrugged his shoulders. When the General was
questioned he explained that he had evidence of arms on the compound. None of
the journalists present were able to verify the presence of any arms.
Monday,
May 15th was a day of substantive communication. The government has proposed a
plan for routes to open space for the EZLN (Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion
Nacional) to group its contingents reciprocally and proportionally in defined
communities. The areas identified are principally near Guadalupe Tepeyac and
Ocosingo. The government gave assurance that the Mexican Military would stay a
large distance from these proposed routes. It further stated that the Zapatistas
were neither required to surrender nor put down their arms. The Mexican
Government even conceded to the Zapatistas the maintenance of public order and
security in rebel areas. On their part the Zapatistas responded that they would
consider the offer and return with their reply on June 7th. In a unique model of
substantive democracy, the EZLN will bring this proposal to all of their
communities for consultation.
Commander
David offered a formal invitation. "The government is invited to our
indigenous communities to see how we carry on consultation with the people on a
local level. The government is invited to walk in our villages, to talk to our
people, to talk to the women and the children. The government is invited to
observe the life of the poor…see how we eat, see how we sleep. Even if it is
only a brief moment to share the experience. You can accompany us for a time.
The
final observation by Mr. Bernal of the Mexican government was his desire to
succeed in finding a mechanism to convert the armed Zapatistas into a legal
entity. Our delegation left San Andres Larrainzar understanding why the
audacious Zapatistas said they were more powerful than the Mexican government.
Any effort to eliminate them militarily will trigger a national response from
the Mexican people. A million Mexican died in the Mexican revolution of
1910-1929. It is urgent that the United States not foster any effort for a
military solution to this conflict. The peace process will continue in Mexico if
the treachery of the past is rejected and the root causes of the conflict are
addressed.
Pastors
for Peace and the Office of the Americas urge the nomination of Bishop Samuel
Ruiz Garcia for the Nobel Peace Prize. This will enable the Bishop to have a
larger forum to give a voice to the voiceless. Reinstatement of article 27 of
the Mexican Constitution of 1917, recognition of the absolute failure of
neo-liberal economics, the end of murderous structural adjustment policies of
the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are part of the solution.
Back in January of 1994 when we originally visited this war in Mexico we heard
the clear objections to NAFTA. The missing elements in the agreement are accords
on social justice, human rights, the rights of labor and environmental
protection. We do not support war in any form. In our opinion the greatest
achievement of this historic meeting in San Andres Larrainzar is the fact that
it happened. We urge continuation of these dialogues for months, years or
decades if necessary. Let this be the end of 19th century laissez-faire
economics and the beginning of a century of cooperativism. The Tzotzil,
Tojolabal and Tzeltal people of Chiapas in Mexico can show us how to do it.