Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group

Mrs. Jacinta Francisco Marcial, an Otomí indigenous woman, was unjustly sentenced to 21 years of prison in Querétaro state penitentiary on December 19th, 2008. Together with Alberta Alcántara and Teresa Gonzalez, she is falsely accused of having kidnapped six agents of the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI for its initials in Spanish) on March 26, 2006 in the community of Santiago Mexquititlán, an indigenous community in the municipality of Amealco, Querétaro. The evidence presented does not support any finding of her involvement in such a crime; rather, her innocence is fully proven and should be recognized on appeal.

Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada   Tuesday, February 10, 2009

by Luis Hernández Navarro

In Chiapas, the harassment of Zapatista communities follows a precise route. As if they were in a relay race, campesino groups linked to the state government take turns in the different regions in trying to wear out the indigenous resistance. Throughout the length and breadth of the rebel territories, an army of initials, that speaks in the name of workers, regularly and systematically provokes the support bases who reject any dealings with the government.

There is no truce in this provocation. It is a case of not giving one moment of rest to those who have dared to construct autonomy without asking permission. One day they occupy their lands, another day they steal their coffee or their cattle, another day they break fences, the next they destroy the small fields on which they grow their coffee. They are waiting for the best moment to ambush the rebels, to brandish their machetes or shoot their slingshots. 

Zapatistas in the autonomous municipality "16th February" have been subjected to death threats and detained by the authorities in the village of Las Maravillas. Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group, who are twinned with "16th February", state: "We are very concerned about the situation in Las Maravillas. The authorities, who support the political parties, have threatened to kill the zapatistas because they have stood up for their principles."

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 Mexican state and paramilitaries. 

Here we outline the forms the attack by the state is taking - from new military deployments, to paramilitaries, to so-called "eco-tourism".  And we describe how the Zapatistas are resisting - from the Other Campaign to The Festival of Dignified Rage.