Twenty of the paramilitaries who were among the material authors of the Acteal Massacre in 1997 were released from prison on 12^th August 2009, and the cases of 37 more are under review. A week later, documents were declassified which prove that the Mexican government  and its army authorized the paramilitary activity in Chiapas which led to the massacre. The Acteal massacre was, therefore, un crimen de estado (a state crime) perpetrated by the government of President Ernesto Zedillo. The message sent, that of impunity for atrocity, has encouraged the growing presence of armed paramilitary groups already active in the area. The men are members of the Army of God, an evangelical group. Violence is increasing and tension is high.

Avanza el zapatismo en el frente de la salud - Article by Hermann Bellinghausen, originally published in Spanish in La Jornada.

Ejido Morelia, Chiapas, 25th February 2009

At least in theory and in speeches, the basis of public healthcare lies in prevention. The Zapatista autonomous healthcare system has built up, during more than a decade, a wealth of experience (much more than an experiment) which confirms this basic principle. The people in resistance operate a system of healthcare “without the bad government”, and often they do it better. Medicine for the poor is not necessarily poor medicine.

Los zapatistas ya erradicaron alcoholismo y drogadicción - Hermann Bellinghausen, La Jornada. Originally published in Spanish.

Autonomous municipality Lucio Cabanas, Chiapas 6th March 2009

An indisputable achievement of the Zapatista communities in the field of health is the eradication of alcoholism over the last 20 years, which is to say very quickly. The differences this has made to everyday family and community life are profound and result in less violence, which is in itself an indicator of better health, even more so in indigenous communities knowing the destruction alcohol causes in these, always bad for their health.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF CHIAPAS : TOURIST DEVELOPMENT, MINING, “BIO”FUELS, AND NOW OIL

1. OIL

What Hermann Bellinghausen calls the ‘four horsemen of Chiapas’ have come into focus again with the announcement that Pemex are to start prospecting and drilling for oil in the Lacandon Jungle, among other areas in the Mexican South-East. In 2009, private companies will be invited to tender for this work. During her visit to Chiapas, the Mexican Energy Secretary Georgina Kessel predicted that the Chiapas oilfields could be producing 500,000 barrels of oil a day from 17,000 new wells by 2021. The Zapatistas have always predicted that this prospecting would happen, especially in their heartland area of La Garrucha, invaded by the Mexican army in June 2008. The announcement generated opposition from indigenous communities, and two days later, Ms Kessel denied her previous statement: “I never said there were going to be oil explorations in the Selva Lacandona”. When asked where Pemex’s new refinery would be situated, she replied that this was a ‘highly technical’ matter.

This article was produced for the UK Zapatista Solidarity Network for a meeting to be held at the Anarchist Bookfair in London on October 18th 2008.

We are others, the other. If this world does not have a place for us, then another world must be made. With no tool other than our rage, no material other than our dignity. We still must encounter each other more, know each other better. What is missing is yet to come...

The Zapatista communities in resistance, with their autonomous schools, clinics and decision-making structures, have been an inspiration to the anti-capitalist movement. Now Zapatista villages and lands are sustaining increasingly violent attacks by the state and paramilitaries.

ZAPATISTAS

This article was originally in published in Spanish - La Jornada 30th June 2008 by the well-respected Oaxacan activist and founder of the University of the Earth, Gustavo Esteva; he was one of the EZLN's advisors in their negotiations with the Mexican government.

We need to recognise and acknowledge the grave seriousness of the current situation, which cannot be overstated. Neither should we hide the fact that evil triumphs when people shrug their shoulders at it and return quietly to their daily activities. Now is the time to act. Only with concerted and effective mobilisation can we prevent the disaster that now threatens us.