ricardo dominguez on Thu, 12 Sep 2002 12:06:22 +0200 (CEST) |
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
<nettime> Farmers Declare Town Autonomous (SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, Mexico ) + more |
Farmers Declare Town Autonomous Wed Sep 11, 1:52 AM ET By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, Mexico (AP) - Radical farmers have declared this town outside Mexico City to be autonomous, two months after they forced the government to abandon plans for a new airport. If Tuesday's declaration in San Salvador Atenco holds, it would be one of the first "autonomous municipalities" outside of the southern state of Chiapas, where Zapatista rebels run some towns. "We are aware that that the government will not recognize this action by the people, but they have no choice but to respect our decision," a new, 14-member People's Council said in a statement read at their swearing-in ceremony. Council members said Tuesday's declaration meant that police and government officials would no longer be allowed to enter the town. They said the decision was approved by voice-vote in neighborhood assemblies. Government officials refused to comment on the move until the know more about the situation. Federal and state authorities have been kept out of San Salvador Atenco since machete-wielding farmers erected barricades to protest the low price the government offered for their land to build a new international airport. "What they have done is frankly illegal," said ousted Atenco Mayor Margarito Yanez, who was forced from his office last fall, when federal officials first proposed the new airport project. In July, the farmers clashed with police, seized 15 hostages and launched a five-day standoff that forced the government to cancel plans for the airport. Since then, radicals have seized almost any government vehicle that comes near town and have kept order with "security patrols" armed with machetes and steel pipes. "They rule by intimidation, shouts and screaming," said Ruben Sanchez, 62, a resident of the township who, like many here, is worried that "autonomy" will mean an increase in crime and the loss of federal and state funds. Sanchez said he knew of no one in his neighborhood who had been allowed to vote for the council's members. But resident Victor Manuel Mata said the majority of the town supports the new council. "They try to scare people with the word autonomous, but what it means that the people's will is respected," the 33-year-old said. "It doesn't mean we want to close ourselves off. The people are just going to decide how to police the town." The People's Council said that, unlike the Zapatistas, they would accept state development funding. The Zapatistas' largely Indian rebel townships refuse all contact with the government, including aid. But the government is unlikely to give money to a town that has declared itself in rebellion and allied itself with a motley array of Zapatista supporters, anti-globalization activists and far-left groups. <<>> Former French First Lady laments Court decision on Indian Rights law DPA - 9/10/2002 Former French first lady Danielle Mitterrand expressed sadness Monday over a Supreme Court decision upholding an Indian Rights law opposed by Zapatista rebels and indigenous peoples across Mexico. "We have learned with sadness about the decision," Mitterrand wrote in an open letter printed in La Jornada daily. "[However], I and all of those whom my voice represents tell civil society; the Zapatistas, that we will continue to walk by your side." The Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lawsuit brought by 330 indigenous communities against the Indian rights law approved by Congress in April 2001. The court decided it could not overrule Congress in matters pertaining to constitutional amendments. The law was approved after President Vicente Fox pulled troops out of southeastern Chiapas, the site of the short-lived Jan. 1994 Zapatista rebellion, fought for indigenous rights. Fox also ordered the release of nearly 100 insurgents upon taking office. As a condition to return to peace talks, Zapatista leader "Subcommander Marcos" had demanded the passage of a law that established respect for native traditions as well as self-rule. But the Senate approved only a watered-down law that sparked the anger of Zapatistas and other indigenous groups <<<>>> Subject: EFE,Indigenous groups protest "inadequate" legislation,Sep 10 Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2002 07:11:37 +0200 Indigenous groups protest "inadequate" legislation EFE - 9/10/2002 Mexican indigenous groups and their supporters demonstrated Monday outside the Supreme Court to protest the tribunal's ratification of an "Indian rights" law rejected as inadequate by virtually all advocates for the country's 10 million indigenous citizens. The Court last week ruled out any changes in the law upon declaring "inadmissible" the 330 constitutional challenges filed against it by municipalities in states with the largest numbers of Indians. Groups representing most of the nation's indigenous communities have rejected the legislation, saying it does too little to guarantee indigenous peoples' control over their resources, their autonomy or their cultural patrimony. The law was also repudiated by the Zapatista National Liberation Army, a guerrilla organization in the southern state of Chiapas that supports broader Indian rights. The Zapatistas broke off contacts with the government with the approval of the Indian law in April 2001. The guerrillas said the document "mocks" indigenous peoples. Activists gathered Monday in front of the Supreme Court to call on Indians from all across the country to mobilize themselves against the law and take part in a series of protests culminating in a huge demonstration on Oct. 12, known in Latin America as "Dia de la Raza." "It's a worrisome ruling due to the consequences it might bring," Jesus Gonzalez, spokesman for the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Center for Human Rights, said. "The resolution prompts confusion and uncertainty among indigenous peoples vis-a-vis the government," he added. The center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has announced its plans to join in the protest and introduce a bill aimed at reforming the constitutional changes incorporated in the controversial law. The PRD made the decision "with an eye to the possibility that this might spill over into violence, because the existence of armed groups in several of the states is well known," Rene Lobato, the party's human right's secretary, explained. Chamber of Deputies head Beatriz Paredes said the Court's ruling will be respected, noting that the Indian issue, nonetheless, "remains alive." "There are alternative ways to go about it in terms of new initiatives, new reforms and institutional agreement building," she said. Different sectors of the Catholic church have urged officials to guarantee respect for Indian rights and improve the living conditions of indigenous peoples to avoid confrontations. "Indian peoples deserve to have their cultures, their viewpoints and their autonomy recognized," said the Mexican Bishopric's Social Pastoral Commission, which has called for a new "national dialogue" on the Indian question. "Indians, unfortunately, don't eat laws," said Cardinal Norberto Rivera, archbishop of Mexico City. While the law fails to satisfy all indigenous demands, it must be respected if outbreaks of violence are to be avoided, said Felipe Arizmendi, the bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. Arizmendi called on state legislatures to apply all necessary regulations that would make the law "respond to the most basic needs and situations of each ethnic group." # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net