The language school offered a number of documentary movies, and our teacher encouraged us to go see at least one to practice our Spanish listening skills. We saw the film, Chronicles of a Revolution, which included lots of live footage from several of the Zapatista events of the last 15 years. While I must confess that we were so compelled by the story that we read English subtitles instead of trying to use our Spanish skills. This "bird's eye view" of rebellion in the same streets that we had walked earlier in the day (in San Cristobal) and in the community in which we live (Ocosingo) was more than a little disconcerting. Nevertheless, the story of the Zapatistas and their advocacy for the indigenous & forgotten people of Chiapas was moving. It's ironic that one of the more popular books about the Zapatistas is entitled Basta! (which loosely translated means "ENOUGH!!").
It was clear that there are no winners in the struggle between the Zapatistas and the Mexican Government. To us, it seemed that both the Zapatistas and the Mexican Government showed both poor judgment and incredible restraint throughout the conflicts. There were times that both groups seemed to demonstrate respect for the other and a desire to find common ground, yet their history with each other prevented both groups from trusting the other. The Zapatistas used weapons and attacked in the early years, but this documentary suggested that they shifted strategy and seemed to adopt a philosophy that said, "We have the right to bear arms, but we don't want to use them." The Mexican government would say they were ready on adopt the terms of the Peace Accord of San Andres (which included moving troops out of indigenous communities) then not follow through. There was footage of Mexican indigenous people verbally (and at times, physically) assaulting the Mexican military for their refusal to honor agreements made by their own government to withdraw their troops from indigenous villages. That the young macho soldiers stood their ground without fighting back was impressive, yet it really did symbolize the overall state of affairs.
There they were...indigenous men, women and children shouting for their basic human rights to be honored...outraged that their own government would simultaneously forget them (and their extreme poverty) while camping out with their tanks and guns in their back yards...screaming at the soldiers and beating on them with their fists....while the government (soldiers) does nothing and the indigenous people's actions provoke no meaningful reaction of any kind.
We tried to think about what it would be like if the US government and its military decided that an entire American ethnic group should be considered "the enemy." The very idea was truly mindboggling and impossible to imagine. Now remember, we aren't talking about small group of people here! There are over 10 million indigenous people in Mexico!
That both sides seem to have alienated each other so extremely seemed sad and hopeless. In our mission service here, we see the poverty of the indigenous people. We see the ways in which the government structure and a disguised caste system keep the indigenous people stuck and forgotten. They had been powerless for so long...decided to fight back ...only to discover that they were powerless still.
Please join us in our prayer that the indigenous people of Chiapas and Oaxaca find ways to be heard without violence and that the newly-elected president, Calderon, and his administration can both listen and deliver much needed help to descendents of Mexico's original inhabitants. Somebody's gotta start trusting somebody or things will never change. Calderon might do well to follow the teachings of Proverbs 29:14 “If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.”
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