Breathe
By Sofía Guadarrama
On January 1, 1994, a group of armed indigenous people calling themselves the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), 'Zapatistas' in honor of Emiliano Zapata, attempted to occupy seven municipal capitals. The group was composed mainly of indigenous Tzotzil, Tzeltales, Choles, Tojolabales and Zoques from Chiapas. They declared war on the Mexican government and took control of several municipalities in Chiapas.
Precisely on the same day that the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico came into force.
President Carlos Salinas de Gortari appointed Manuel Camacho Solís as coordinator for Dialogue and Reconciliation in Chiapas, which led to the signing of a treaty that did not do much good. The initial armed conflict lasted 12 days, until the federal government began talks with EZLN leaders.
In those days there was a rumor that Camacho Solís had orchestrated the creation of the EZLN with the help of his father-in-law (the former governor of Chiapas, Manuel Velasco Suárez, grandfather of the also former governor of Chiapas and now Senator Manuel Velasco Coello) to simulate an act in which the heroic Camacho would save the country, and thus be able to run for the presidency if Luis Donaldo Colosio resigned or something happened to him. But time proved that these were only rumors.
Another version is that it was Carlos Salinas de Gortari himself who created the EZLN to declare Mexico in a state of emergency and perpetuate himself in power. One fact that supported this version was that Subcomandante Marcos sent his messages through the Internet, something unusual for 1994. This was a year in which internet access was extremely limited, especially in regions like Chiapas. The only ones who had access to the network were the government, UNAM, PEMEX, CFE and the richest companies in the country.
Likewise, the identity of Subcomandante Marcos, when discovered, identified him as Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente and brother of Mercedes Guillén Vicente, a PRI militant, which raised further doubts about his complicity with Salinas.
In 1996, the Mexican government signed with the EZLN the San Andres Accords on indigenous rights and culture. The main objective was to modify the Mexican Constitution to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples, including their autonomy, culture and education. They also promised to meet basic needs such as health, employment, justice, equality and indigenous representation in the Constitution.
However, many of these agreements were not fulfilled, which led to the breakdown of the dialogue. In 1997, Subcomandante Marcos marched to Mexico City against the militarization of indigenous areas.
The reform approved in 2001 was rejected by the indigenous peoples. In 2003, the EZLN announced the creation of Caracoles and Good Government Councils to consolidate their autonomy, seeking social justice, autonomy for indigenous peoples and rejecting neoliberal policies.
According to the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center, from 2019 to 2022, 190 paramilitary attacks have been registered.
The State policy (counterinsurgency) applied since 1994 has not been changed by the government of the 4T. Worse yet, in some municipalities, such as Chenalhó and Pantelhó, the paramilitary groups have mixed with organized crime and drug trafficking, to such a degree that they are known as narco-paramilitary groups, which are dedicated to "trafficking drugs, migrants and arms, as well as stealing cars". Some members have become affiliated with political parties and have held positions in municipal presidencies in some regions of the state.
31 years later, neither the snails nor the Good Government Boards have disappeared.
The only beneficiary in Chiapas is Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had an ISSSTE clinic built near his ranch with an investment of 686 million pesos; a military barracks, an Inter-Oceanic Train station, a bicycle path and a park, with a value of more than 2 billion pesos.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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