The Chiapas Support Committee of Oakland, California announces a Human Rights Delegation to Chiapas Mexico. We hope you will join us for this in-depth exploration of how corporate globalization is affecting indigenous communities constructing autonomy (self-governance).
Delegates will receive briefings from Mexican non-profits working in indigenous communities. We will also visit Oventik, an EZLN Caracol, and its Good Government Junta to learn about autonomous governance. We will visit San Pedro Polhó, an autonomous municipality that provides food and shelter to 6,000 internally displaced Zapatistas. Next, we will visit the Caracol of La Garrucha, located in the canyons of the Lacandón Jungle and then continue on to our partner municipality of San Manuel, located in a beautiful river valley east of the city of Ocosingo.
This delegation provides an opportunity to visit and interact with civilian Zapatista communities constructing autonomy and resisting corporate exploitation. Delegates can shop for clothing, jewelry, CDs, coffee or videos in the community coops. While in San Cristobal, there will also be time for shopping and entertainment. So, we invite you to join us for an amazing learning experience.
If you are interested in the Chiapas Support Committee delegation to Chiapas in March 2010, please fill out the application form below. We will send you more information as plans develop. In order to confirm this application and reserve a space, a deposit of $100 is required. Applications and checks must be mailed to:
CHIAPAS SUPPORT COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 3421
Oakland, CA 94609
For more information, please contact: cezmat@igc.org
Or by phone: (510) 654-9587
HUMAN RIGHTS DELEGATION to CHIAPAS, March 21-28, 2010
The Chiapas Support Committee of Oakland, California announces a Human Rights Delegation to Chiapas Mexico. We hope you will join us for this in-depth exploration of how corporate globalization is affecting indigenous communities constructing autonomy (self-governance).
The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) rose up in arms against the government of Mexico on January 1, 1994 and took control of large expanses of land owned by cattle ranchers. Thirteen days later, the Zapatistas laid down their weapons and declared a truce. The government also declared a truce, but prepared for war. In February 1995, the Mexican army entered "Zapatista territory" and set up military bases and camps close to indigenous communities. The army has never left and the soldiers remain there to this day. The territory claimed by the Zapatistas and militarized by the army is known as a "conflict zone."
Since the Zapatistas put down their weapons in 1994, they began to construct another world, characterized by regional self-government, collective economic projects, autonomous education and health care. This delegation takes place six and a half years after the Zapatistas renamed their 5 government centers Caracoles (shells) and created 5 autonomous regional governing bodies, called Good Government Boards, or Juntas; and nearly five years after launching the Other Campaign, an effort to unite anti-capitalist movements into a political force within Mexico.
The indigenous peoples of Chiapas confront a design by multilateral organizations such as the World Bank to re-conquer indigenous territory for exploitation by transnational corporations. The Zapatistas live in resistance to the Mexican government and are committed to resist corporate acquisition of their lands and natural resources. They say they will not permit the Plan Puebla Panama (now renamed the Mesoamerica Project) within their territory. That project threatens the people of Chiapas with eviction from their land in order to exploit the natural resources and construct hydroelectric dams, soft drink bottling plants, upscale tourist facilities, oil and mining exploration and mono-crop export agriculture.
Delegates will receive briefings from Mexican non-profits working in indigenous communities. We will also visit Oventik, an EZLN Caracol, and its Good Government Junta to learn about autonomous governance. We will visit San Pedro Polhó, an autonomous municipality that provides food and shelter to 6,000 internally displaced Zapatistas. Next, we will visit the Caracol of La Garrucha, located in the canyons of the Lacandón Jungle and then continue on to our partner municipality of San Manuel, located in a beautiful river valley east of the city of Ocosingo.
This delegation provides an opportunity to visit and interact with civilian Zapatista communities constructing autonomy and resisting corporate exploitation. Delegates can shop for clothing, jewelry, CDs, coffee or videos in the community coops. While in San Cristobal, there will also be time for shopping and entertainment. So, we invite you to join us for an amazing learning experience.
Getting there, cost, etc.
Delegates will arrive in Tuxtla Gutiérrez by plane and then travel by bus or taxi to the colonial city of San Cristobal de las Casas. We will assemble at a hotel in San Cristobal de las Casas on March 21. Several days later, the delegation travels into the canyons of the Lacandón Jungle to spend two or three nights in indigenous communities. Conditions there are like rough camping and require both a sleeping bag and a hammock. (Accommodation can be made for one or two delegates with special needs.)
Cost of the delegation is US $500.00. This does NOT include airfare nor bus transportation to and from San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. It DOES include most food, lodging and ground transportation to the communities. It ALSO includes a donation for each community we visit, an honorarium for each NGO briefing we receive, delegation expenses and educational materials. We provide each delegation with an experienced group leader and translator. Delegation dates are March 21 to March 28, 2010. We will prepare a day-to-day itinerary and will send it to all those who express interest in the delegation when it is ready.
Who is the Chiapas Support Committee?
The Chiapas Support Committee is a grassroots nonprofit organization founded in 1998. All of us are volunteers. Our mission is to provide information about the human rights situation in Mexico in the Bay Area and beyond, and to provide material aid to victims of human rights abuse. Therefore, we support indigenous and campesino (peasant) organizations, autonomous communities and non-governmental organizations in Chiapas. We certify human rights observers, organize delegations, fund autonomous projects and process applications for the Zapatista Language School. We have a partnership with the autonomous municipality of San Manuel, Chiapas. Simply put, we are your connection to Chiapas.
Conditions in Chiapas
As described above, the areas we visit in Chiapas are in a "conflict zone." There are military bases and paramilitary groups within the zone. The EZLN maintains its own army, although it does not use its weapons offensively. The conflict is almost entirely between unarmed Zapatista communities and the paramilitary groups, sometimes accompanied by local police. Violence has not been directed at or against foreign visitors. Between 1998 and 2000, the Mexican government expelled some foreign visitors from Mexico for "interfering" in internal Mexican politics because they were working in Zapatista communities, but changed its policy at the beginning of 2001 and there have been no problems for foreign visitors since then. Nevertheless, it is a zone of conflict and, therefore, violence is not entirely predictable. Delegates travel at their own risk.
How to apply
To apply, complete the application below and send by first class mail to P.O. Box 3421, Oakland, CA 94609. We must receive all applications by February 10, 2010. A deposit of $100 is required with your application to reserve a space for you on the delegation. There are only 4 spaces left on this delegation and we accept applicants in the order the application is received. So, act now! Balance is due February 28, 2005. For those who want more information, just email your questions to: cezmat@igc.org or call (510) 654-9587.
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APPLICATION for CSC MARCH 2010 DELEGATION TO CHIAPAS
NAME (please print) __________________________________________
ADDRESS ________________________________________________
CITY, STATE, ZIP ____________________________________________
HOME PHONE ________________________________
WORK PHONE ________________________________
E-MAIL ________________________________
PASSPORT NUMBER _________________________
EXPIRATION DATE _________________________
COUNTRY __________________________________
DATE of BIRTH ______________________________
1 - Please rate your Spanish language ability (check one)
None___ Poor___ Fair (Intermediate)____ Good____ Fluent____
2 - Please provide names and phone numbers for two references:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3 - Have you been to Chiapas before? (yes or no) ____________
Why do you want to go to Chiapas? ____________________________
_____________________________________________________________
SIGNATURE and RELEASE:
I have been informed that I am traveling into a "conflict zone," and understand that this could potentially involve some personal risk. I assume personal responsibility for my own safety and hereby release the Chiapas Support Committee and its officers and delegation coordinators from liability for any harm that may come to me from third parties during delegation activities in Chiapas.
_____________________________________ _____________
Signature DATE
If you are interested in the Chiapas Support Committee delegation to Chiapas in March 2010, please fill out the above application form. We will send you more information as plans develop. In order to confirm this application and reserve a space, a deposit of $100 is required. Applications and checks must be mailed to:
CHIAPAS SUPPORT COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 3421
Oakland, CA 94609
For more information, please contact: cezmat@igc.org
Or by phone: (510) 654-9587
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