Mexico Week In Review: 02.26-03.04

[cisdc]

Mexico Week In Review: 02.26-03.04
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Published since 1994, 'Mexico Week In Review' is a service of the
Committee of Indigenous Solidarity (CIS).  CIS is a Washington, D.C.
based activist group committed to the ongoing struggles of Indigenous
peoples in the Americas.  CIS is actively supporting the struggles
of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico while simultaneously combating
related structures of oppression within our own communities.

To view newsletter archives, visit:
http://lists.mutualaid.org/pipermail/mexico-week/

"Para Todos, Todo; Para Nosotros Nada"
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CHIAPAS: PARAMILITARY RESURGENCE SEEN

The General Command of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN)
and the rebels' local civil authorities, the Good Government Juntas
(JBG), report a resurgence of paramilitary groups in their jungle
stronghold in Mexico's southern Chiapas state, the Lacandon Selva.
Local human rights groups also warn of the ascent of the Organization
for the Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights (OPDDIC), an armed
group with links to the official military and the Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI).

JBG Corazón del Arcoiris, based at the settlement of Morelia, reports
that on Feb. 23 three members of the Zapatista support base,
including a council member from the autonomous municipality of Olga
Isabel, were illegally detained by OPDDIC in what began as a dispute
over access to a local spring. The group of some 20 OPDDIC militants
beat the three Zapatistas and threatened to set them on fire before
taking them to the settlement of San José Tenojib. They were held in
the settlement's makeshift jail for over ten hours before being
released. JBG El Camino del Futuro, with its seat at the settlement
of La Garrucha, issued a communque stating that armed men from
Jerusalén settlement invaded several autonomous municipalities Feb.
20, including Francisco Gomez, Ricardo Flores Magón and Francisco
Villa, felling several trees and coffee plants. The statement
asserted the invaders were members of OPDDIC and the allied Rural
Collective Interest Association (ARIC). JBG Hacia la Esperanza, with
its seat at the settlement of La Realidad, also issued a statement
warning of threats from the Union of Ejidos of the Selva (UES) to
expel some 30 Zapatista families from lands the rebels had
recuperated in the uprising of 1994, now the autonomous municipality
of San Pedro de Michoacan. The families had been forced from these
lands by settlers from Ejido Nuevo Momon before the rebellion.

The Chiapas government of Juan Sabines Guerrero has been officially
questioned by Amnesty International in relation to the deadly
November attack on the jungle settlement of Viejo Velasco, in which
OPDDIC has been implicated. Amnesty also cited the questionable
prosecution and "disappearance" of indigenous leaders in recent
months.

Authorities in Oxchuc municipality accuse Zapatistas from autonomous
municipality Moises-Gandhi of "kidnapping" a municipal police officer
Feb. 11, demanding 10,000 pesos for his release. Oxchuc officials
said the money was intended to pay the fine for a local Zapatista who
has been charged with fraud in relation to a land conflict. The
supposed Zapatista, Mateo Gomez Lopez, was arrested Feb. 9 and
remains in the Ocosingo jail until he can pay his fine. Zapatista
communities near Oxchuc have frequently detained local police who
they say operate illegally in their autonomous territories.

Source: http://www.ww4report.com/: 02/25
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CHIAPAS: WOMEN BLOCK ROADS

Women from the National Front of Struggle for Socialism (FNLS)
blocked roads at various locations across Mexico's southern state of
Chiapas, in protest of the "anti-national and pro-imperialist"
government of President Felipe Calderon. They also demanded lower
electricity rates. Traffic was halted for several hours on major
roads through the Highlands, Selva, Northern Zone and Central Valley.
(La Jornada, Feb. 25 via Chiapas95) In a Feb. 14 communiqué, the FNLS
protested the massive federal immigration raids in Chiapas, saying
they revealed the "fascist and ultra-right" nature of the Calderon
government. (FNLS, Feb. 14 via APIA)

Source: http://www.ww4report.com: 02/26
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UN ENVOY: MEXICO DISCRIMINATES AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Mexico discriminates against its indigenous population both in
practice and with its laws, said a United Nations envoy in Mexico
following the issuing of a UN report on justice for indigenous
Mexicans. "This document shows that indigenous people do not achieve
an appropriate defense of their rights in their own nation because of
their... marginalization and poverty," said Amerigo Incalcaterra, the
representative of the UN high commissioner for human rights in Mexico.

Many violations of indigenous people's rights go unpunished because
they face a great many obstacles when reporting crimes to the police,
according to the report, entitled A Diagnosis of Access To Justice
for Indigenous Mexicans. And only 11 percent of indigenous people
arrested for common crimes were allowed access to a translator when
they requested one, it said.

Italian-born Incalcaterra said that the problem was worst in the
three poorest and southernmost Mexican states of Chiapas, Guerrero
and Oaxaca. Jan Perlin, who led the UN study, said the report was
based on a survey of 1,038 prisoners, 740 indigenous and 290
non-indigenous people. The bulk of the study was conducted with
regards to Oaxaca state, where the highest proportion of indigenous
citizens resides -- 1.6 million out of the total 3.3 million
indigenous population.

Source: Xinhua: 02/28
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UNITED NATIONS OFFICIAL SLAMS CHILD LABOR

The death of a migrant child in the Sinaloa countryside has prompted
a United Nations official to issue a sharp denunciation of child
labor practices in Mexico. In a Mexico City press conference held
this week, Dr. Jorge A. Bustamante, the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, decried the death of
David Salgado Aranda, a 9-year-old indigenous child from Guerrero
state who was run over by a tractor on the edge of a field near
Culiacan, Sinaloa, last January 6. Dr. Bustamante charged that the
accident underscored how Mexico's does not enforce national and
international laws against child labor. "The case of David's death is
not unique," Dr. Bustamante contended. "This is an emblematic case of
a very serious problem that involves thousands of children." Joining
the United Nations official in the press conference were
representatives of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of La
Montana, a Guerrero-based, non-governmental organization that is
assisting the Salgado family in a campaign to obtain indemnification
for David's survivors. The group is also calling for the punishment
of the parties responsible for the child's death. At the time of his
death, the young migrant was reportedly working for the Agricola
Paredes farms, an enterprise that cultivates tomatoes, cucumbers,
chili and other products. According to Tlachinollan, the company is
balking at compensating the Salgado family, using the argument that
David's death occurred on a public road and that there was no written
contract with the victim.

The human rights organization has documented the cases of 12 migrant
children who died while employed in the agricultural harvests of
northern Mexican states during 2006. The causes of death were
attributed to accidents, drowning and exposures to agricultural
chemicals. "The tomato that is sold in New York is the product of the
blood of these children and of David," charged Abel Barrera,
Tlachinollan's director. Since the beginning of 2007, two other
migrant children in addition to David Salgado have died in Mexico and
the United States, according to Tlachinollan. Besides justice for
David Salgado, Tlachinollan is demanding that Mexico adhere to an
appeal by the United Nations Children's Fund to protect young people
from occupational hazards; establish a monitoring system for
companies that contract agricultural laborers; create a national
program to address the structural causes of migration; and comply
with international agreements that Mexico has signed in the areas of
labor, migrant and youth rights.

An estimated 50,000 migrants from the indigenous region of Guerrero
known as La Montana, one of the most impoverished zones of Mexico,
travel north every year to work for Mexican and foreign companies in
the harvests of Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa states. Many do
not have work contracts or social security coverage. From last
September to December alone, a program of the federal Ministry of
Social Development registered the departure of about 10,000 migrants
from La Montana; minor children under 15 years of age accounted for
46 percent of the departing migrants. Barrera said that the loss of
educational opportunities is one major consequence of the mass
migration.

The U.N.'s Dr. Bustamante vowed that he will put an international
spotlight on the widespread practice of child labor in Mexico. "It
does not seem right to me that Mexican authorities presume that they
are doing a lot for human rights when we have the case of David,
which shows in a dramatic way how this is lie," Dr. Bustamante said.

Sources: Frontera NorteSur (FNS): 03/01; La Jornada/AFP: 02/27; El
Sur: 02/27; Frontenet.com/Notimex: 02/27; Proceso/Apro/Cimac: 02/26
====

SOLDIERS ACCUSED OF RAPE, MURDER OF 73-YEAR-OLD WOMAN

Four Mexican soldiers were arrested and accused of raping and
murdering a 73-year-old woman in a case that has outraged Indian
groups in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. Prosecutors said the
victim was bound, beaten and sodomized on Sunday and died at a
hospital from injuries sustained in the attack. The four soldiers -
whose names and ranks were not made public - were arraigned late
Tuesday in the city of Orizaba, Veracruz, on charges of rape and
homicide, state Attorney General Emeterio Lopez Marquez said.

Authorities say the attack occurred in the mountain town of Soledad
Atzompa, about 120 miles east of Mexico City. The soldiers apparently
will face the charges in civilian courts. It was unclear whether they
might face additional counts in Mexico's military justice system. The
town's mayor, Javier Perez Pascuaza, has demanded that authorities
investigate and that soldiers be withdrawn from the predominantly
Indian region. On Tuesday, the army dismantled three nearby military
encampments.

Source: Associated Press: 03/01
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JUAREZ FEMICIDE UPDATE: BULLDOZING THE MEMORIES OF MURDERED WOMEN

In the run-up to International Women's Day 2007, the memories of
murdered women in Ciudad Juarez are being erased. Workmen have
started clearing a portion of the old cotton field where the
tortured, raped and mutilated remains of 8 young women were
discovered in November 2001. Located near the site of the new US
Consulate in the border city, the cotton field is suddenly in the
middle of a hot commercial zone. New hotels and other establishments
catering to the diplomatic and immigration services offered by the US
government are expected to open soon for business.

Currently, 8 big crosses erected in memory of the murder victims mark
a section of the cotton field. Now a landmark, the field is almost a
required stop for foreign journalists, filmmakers, human rights and
women's activists, and others who reclaim the memories of the young
women. Mothers and other relatives of the victims hold memorials in
the cotton field. For almost five years, Chihuahua state law
enforcement authorities misidentified three of the victims as
Guadalupe Luna de la Rosa, Veronica Martinez and Barbara Aracely
Martinez, all of whom are now considered disappeared persons. Thanks
to the efforts of the Argentine Anthropological Forensic Team, two of
the victims were correctly identified last year as Merlin Elizabeth
Rodriguez Saenz and Maria Rocina Galicia Meraz, both of whom vanished
in 2001. The eighth cotton field victim remains unidentified. "One
does not forget," said Javier Camacho, the new owner of the cotton
field property under development.  "It's sad what happened, but
nothing is gained by the crosses, and one way of stopping this is by
developing the border."

Although the cotton field case and scores of other rape- murders in
Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City stand unsolved, some local officials
and business leaders have increasingly grumbled about the so-called
"myth" or "black legend" of femicide that is allegedly giving Ciudad
Juarez a bad name on the world stage. Especially within the last
year, Ciudad Juarez media have downplayed the women's murders. A
long-running website that publicized the cases of disappeared women
and men, pesquisasenlinea.org, mysteriously vanished from cyberspace,
as did the long-running femicide section of the Norte newspaper.
Readers of major Ciudad Juarez news websites would have had no idea
that Jennifer Lopez was recognized by Amnesty International in a
Berlin ceremony this month for her role in the upcoming Gregory Nava
movie Bordertown, a fictional film about the Juarez women's murders.
While JLO's award received ample attention in the Mexican national
and international press, it did not even register a blip on several
Ciudad Juarez news web sites.

Still, even the leading El Diario newspaper has had trouble
swallowing the official story surrounding three men first accused
last year of orchestrating the cotton field murders. In a February 18
editorial, El Diario questioned the authorities' case and recounted
the long history of police fabricating femicide scapegoats in Ciudad
Juarez and Chihuahua City. Late last week, the Ciudad Juarez press
was also forced to report on a possible new femicide after the body
of a semi- naked woman was discovered on the morning of February 23
in an empty near the city's international airport. Like numerous past
cases, the woman's body was found by playing children. Although the
unidentified woman was found in various stages of undress, a
preliminary official report claimed she was not murdered. Neighbors
said it was the second time that a dead body had been discovered in
the same lot.

Sources: Frontera NorteSur (FNS): 02/25; El Diario de Juarez: 02/18,
23 and 24; Lapolaka.com: 02/23; La Jornada: 08/22, 08/24; Norte:
02/21-22

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The above articles were originally published and copyrighted by the
listed sources. These articles are offered for educational purposes
which CIS maintains is  'fair use' of copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

end: Mexico Week In Review: 02.26-03.04
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