A strategic, well-coordinated campaign of paramilitary attacks has reached alarming levels in Chiapas, Mexico. Since mid-August 2002, new paramilitary attacks have taken the lives of four Zapatista leaders, wounded 20 supporters and displaced hundreds of indigenous community members. President Fox claims peace in Chiapas, but the paramilitary campaign--in close coordination with local police and the Mexican Army - represents a new initiative directed against autonomous indigenous (Zapatista) communities. Anyone holding authority in a Zapatista community stands in the cross hairs. Zapatista communities have called on the international community--once again--to stand with them and resist the violence.

 

Antonio Mejia, a Zapatista leader from the community of K'an Akil, was the most recent victim. As Antonio's wife escaped from the scene under fire, she was able to identify the killers as paramilitaries from with the PRI-affiliated &8220;Los Aguilares." So far, none of the memebers of this group have been arrested. Unfortunately, this kind of impunity is all to common in Chiapas, where PRI-affiliated paramilitaries often coordinate with local police and the army.

The current conflict centers around control of land. Much of the land in areas of Zapatista influence is communally held and governed by autonomous authorities. Tensions increased in recent months as the state government offered financial assistance to individuals with land titles. In response, paramilitary groups are trying to claim the land for private use. Chiapas Governor Pablo Salazar was elected in 2000 on a platform of peace and negotiation, though Zapatista communities largely refused to participate in the election. Salazar appears to have abandoned his commitment to reconciliation in favor of bowing to his new constituency. Salazar was elected under a multi-party banner led by the PAN, but he was a PRI official for most of his political career.

The federal government also has a hand in increasing tensions. Autonomous communities report increases in troop movements in recent weeks and there appears to be support, if not outright cooperation, between the military and paramilitary groups. Zapatista supporters report paramilitary groups are often armed with AR-15s, a military weapon whose use is strictly limited to the army.

The recent attacks betray campaign promises by President Fox to comply with the three Zapatista demands that would re-start peace talks: release of Zapatista political prisoners, de-militarization of seven Zapatista-held areas, and passage of an indigenous rights bill based on the San Andres Accords. Fox initially paid lip service to a lasting and dignified peace in Chiapas. Now he shows his true colors by sending in more troops and turning a blind eye to paramilitary violence. The current paramilitary attacks also reveal the failures of Fox's so-called Federal Indigenous Law to resolve the root causes of the conflict in Chiapas. Indigenous communities and organizations rejected the law because it gutted the provisions of the previously signed San Andres Accords.


The United States also shares responsibility through the training of Mexican military personnel, and the supplying of arms and military equipment. In the four years between 1996-2000, the US government provided more than $141 million in grants. (http://www.ciponline.org/facts/mx.htmOverview