Chiapas al Día, No. 277
Gustavo Castro Soto, CIEPAC
February 13, 2002

The first few months of the new year have been marked by many important local, national and international events on an economic, political, social and military level. These events form part of the current context and can help us predict how this year will unfold.

Government officials and institutions are facing a lack of credibility, as do Mexico's supposedly democratic system of representation and political parties. The market system is suffering from an ever deepening crisis and recession. Scandals and fraud plague the following sectors: banking, energy, military industrial complex, pharmaceuticals, export processing plants, automobile and petroleum. There is also a crisis and lack of consensus about a transcontinental government, its resources and spaces for negotiation/imposition (World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Economic Forum, etc). Despite all of these facts, globalization according to the neoliberal economics remains the hegemonic model. This model continues to be marked by increased militarization, the threat of military coups due to international social discontent, and of rebel governments such as Argentina and Venezuela that do not act according to decisions made in Washington. Cynicism is becoming even more common than the ideological discourse used to justify neoliberalism.

Let's look at some areas that mark the current context:

1) Enron's bankruptcy in the United States: Enron was the seventh most powerful U.S. transnational corporation and the most powerful company in the field of energy worldwide. It's bankruptcy shows that corruption is present not only in the private sector, but also in the so-called "First World," and even within the most powerful economy on the planet. Enron gained access to power by buying off government officials, members of Congress, and President George Bush, through large donations to their political campaigns. Their failure bankrupted Enron workers and stole their savings, left behind debts, abandoned investments in the entire world including Mexico, and left a long list of corruptions. However, Enron is just the tip of the iceberg. The United States has frozen the assets of 10 Mexican companies linked with drug trafficking. Many other companies, especially maquiladoras (export processing plants, or sweatshops), have fled the country looking for comparative advantages in Asia and leaving employers in the streets and in debt.

These are the same multinational corporations that President Vicente Fox assures us will bring development, energy generation, better services and lower costs to Mexico. Neoliberalism's proponents often justify the need for privatization with the argument that governments are corrupt monopolies and are not efficient administrators. This argument is not relevant anymore. The large transnational corporations are just as poorly administrated, corrupt and monopolistic, and they offer poor services at elevated costs. One example is the Spanish company Union Fenosa that has taken possession of electric energy in Guatemala.

2) The PPP budget for 2002: This year is the first year that funds will be budgeted for the Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP), according to Mexican coordinator Florencio Salazar. Congress approved a total of 6,764,400,000 pesos, 189% more than the funds allotted to the region in 2001 (2,212,000,000). The U.S. economic crisis lends pressure to move forward quickly this year with 85% of the "strategic corridor" that will unite the entire coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico, from the border with the U.S. to Cancun in the Caribbean. There is also a rush to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Central America. It is apparent that integration and annexation of the region to the North American economy will continue to accelerate in 2002. 4) The historic loan of the IADB: The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), multilateral bank and financial coordinator of the PPP, granted their largest loan ever (one thousand million dollars, approximately nine thousand million pesos) to Mexico this January. The loan is for the purpose of increasing Progresa (Program for Education, Health and Nutrition) coverage to the urban sector. Divided among the 60 million poor people of the country, this would equal 151 pesos (or 16 dollars) per person this year, or 41 centavos (around 4 cents) a day. Divided among the 45 million poor people officially recognized by the government, this would be 200 pesos per person this year, or 54 centavos a day, supposing that these funds actually arrive directly in the hands of the poor people without paying for the bureaucracy or state structure to administer these funds.

Therefore, this social expense, meant to draw attention away from the crisis of the political economy, will further deepen poverty as well as Mexico's dependence on the exterior, and will not resolve the deep roots of the problem. The government will provide these Progresa resources to poor people today, just to take food out of their mouths tomorrow by eliminating other subsidies or increasing their taxes in order to pay off this IADB debt. The worst of it is not external financing, but the conditions attached to this financing. There is also not a real capacity to pay off the debts after having obtained a benefit and strengthening the country.

In a Mexico that is indebted, lacks national productive plants, is selling it's businesses (they even want to privatize our jails), and providing tax exemptions to the transnational corporations, the question is, "Where will these funds come from?" This loan will be added to the approximately 300,000,000 dollars owed by the entire Mexican State. (The government must publicize the exact amount of this debt incorporating hidden areas or those distinct from the so-called public debt by April 30th) For now, the Mexican government has admitted that the it's total public debt equals 47.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is fitting to note that the United States will spend almost 400,000,000 dollars for it's military budget this year. Loans from and the ensuing debts to the IADB and World Bank, rather than bringing the promised benefits, have led to greater poverty. In 1997, there were 125 million poor people in Latin America and the Caribbean. Three years later, there were 137 million campesinos (subsistence farmers) and indigenous people living under the poverty level, and 47 million of these in extreme poverty. These statistics are from a International Fund of Agricultural Development study that sites the Economic Commission for Latin America (Cepal) and the World Bank, which also affirms that the rural population has diminished from 122 million in 1980 to 111 million in 1997. 2) Vicente Fox's Four Strategic Reforms: President Fox owes creditors four reforms in order to "maintain the country afloat" and to prolong his disastrous rule for five more years. The first is the Fiscal Reform that guarantees payment of at least the interests on the debts to the creditors. Once approved, Fox promised to carry out three other reforms that will forge the State's political path for this year: reform of the state, of the electrical sector and labor reform. In other words, Fox promised to write a Constitution for the large transnational corporations, to privatize electric energy, making the labor force more "competitive" by freezing salaries, eliminating labor rights and privatizing the health care sector.

a) Fiscal Reform: Fox's fiscal reform was approved by the Congress of the Union for 2002. Among contradictions, strong criticisms of the legislators and a great national controversy, the Congress raised taxes and guaranteed the payments to service the foreign debt. Once the reforms were approved, the IADB then granted a historic loan to Mexico. Some of the taxes included in the reform will generate greater inflation. b) Labor Reforms: In order to make the Mexican labor force "competitive" and deter maquiladoras from fleeing to other countries, the minimum wage will be kept low. The increase in the minimum wage this year was between 5.78% and 6.9% depending on the zone of the country. In the majority of the poorer states the minimum wage will remain at 38.30 pesos a day, or 4.2 dollars. Meanwhile, the cost of many of the 84 products classified as basic necessities by the Bank of Mexico continues to rise significantly. Some of these products are beans, rice, cooking oil, sugar, salt, coffee, soap and toilet paper.

Labor reform goes further than this, and includes the privatization of the health care sector and electric sector through an "opening," which will lead to higher costs for workers. Through these reforms, workers will decide to contract private health services and not only the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) that owes the Mexico City Government three thousand million pesos for the payment of 2% for payroll taxes. On the other hand, in order to draw out more resources, President Vicente Fox is trying to "borrow" money from workers who have been forced to save their retirement funds in distinct bank systems that, in addition to providing capital to corrupt and bankrupt banks, aims to invest this money in speculation in the stock market. In this way, the Mexican government will be able to earn more money and invest it in infrastructure works such as those required by the Federal Electricity Commission.

c) Energy Reform: The large credits from the multilateral banks have lead to serious problems. Among these are the severe conditions attached to the loans. One of the promises that the Mexican government has not been able to keep is privatization of electric energy and petroleum. After receiving the IADB loans, the Mexican government had to pay the bill and face the political and social consequences that are now falling on the National Action Party (PAN). This month, the government announced the elimination of subsidies for electric energy, as part of the structural adjustment policies imposed by the multilateral organizations. The PAN, PRI and Green Party each have a proposal for reform of the electric sector, and the PRD is preparing another proposal. The media publicizes and echoes the crisis in the electric sector, preparing the terrain for the privatization of this sector, that in reality already started three years ago. Just as in the telephone communications sector, it is no wonder that if we let the electric sector privatize, the transnational company that buys it will benefit greatly from a sector that the government abandoned supposedly because it was a poor administrator. It is also no surprise that the public will pay more for the same electric energy service. (The government of Mexico City pays 1,300 million pesos for electric energy each year, and the National Supreme Court of Justice pays 400 million pesos in taxes to the government of Mexico City each year).

After the government announced the decrease in subsidies, mobilizations against this measure began to spring up in Tabasco and other states. In Chiapas, inhabitants of more than 50 municipalities are resisting cost increases by not paying for electricity and others are joining the resistance, among them 5,000 residents of municipalities along the border with Guatemala. The elimination of subsidies is even more immoral if we factor in the liabilities of the bank bailout of 732,751 million pesos that is equivalent to 36 years of Chiapas, budget. In this way, fiscal resources are being used to rescue large businesses and banks from all of the fraud they have committed, while poor people whose salary has been increased by just 3 pesos lose subsidies that according to the Bank of Mexico, will provoke at the same time an increase in inflation this year.

d) Reform of the State: We face the strengthening of the Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP) in the short term, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in the mid-term. In addition, Vicente Fox proposes the creation of a new Constitution of the Republic before the end of his term: he considers the other one obsolete for market interests which demand the dismantling of States. From 1917 to today, there have been around 500 modifications to the Political Constitutions, and the majority of these reforms have been at the hands of the three recent neoliberal governments.

One reason for this is Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution which affirms that, "The ownership of the lands and waters found within the limits of national territory, corresponds solely to the Nation...." Later, the same article states that, "the Nation has direct ownership of all of the natural resources... the waters of the seas... coasts... lakes... streams... springs...", etc. Further on, it is stated that, "Regarding petroleum and carbides of solid, liquid or gas hydrogen or of radioactive minerals, these will not be granted licenses or contracts... rights to these correspond solely to the Nation to generate, conduct, transform, distribute and supply electric energy for the purpose of providing a public service. On this subject, licenses will not be granted to the private sector..." The same article also affirms that, "The law will protect the integrity of lands pertaining to indigenous groups."

In other words, our political Constitution (as well as the constitutions of all sovereign nations) is nothing but a nuisance for investors. Vicente Fox's neoliberal business will attempt by any means possible to draw up another constitution that is appropriate for the FTAA and PPP. We remember that the EZLN called a forum for Reform of the State in 1996, that 2,000 people from all over the country and from many sectors attended, in order to discuss reforms. Civil society had such strength and capacity propose and renovate a Constitution that would take into account the interests of the majority, that just a few weeks later the negotiation process between the EZLN and the federal government was interrupted. These San Andres Accords that were signed by both parties six years ago on February 16, 1996 established the need for the, "recognition in the national Political Constitution of the indigenous demands that should be protected as legitimate rights"; as well as, "To promote a profound transformation of the State, as well as it's political, social, cultural and economic relations with the indigenous peoples that satisfies their demands for justice."

5) Mega fraud of Mexican Petroleum (Pemex): In January of 2002, the mega fraud of 100 million pesos of the state-owned business Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) came to light. The federal government receives 33% of its taxes annually from PEMEX, and this money was supposedly given to the PRI for its 2000 presidential campaign. This had a two-fold effect: it stained the process of internal selection of the national president of the party that took place at the end of February, and it involved PEMEX in an act of corruption that made clear to the public the need for better management of the company in private hands or at least the need for private investment in this sector. The quantity diverted to the PRI is equal to the funds earmarked for the PPP for this year in the South Southeast of Mexico in all of its areas except Communication and transportation: the areas of tourism, environment and natural resources, social development, economy (maquila program) and "The March To the South," Presidency of the Republic and Health. It is also equivalent to nearly 20% of the Chiapas government's budget for they year 2002.

6) Changes in the party sector: The three largest parties, the National Action Party (PAN), the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) will all vote in new national leaders before the first ordinary period of the sessions of the Congress of the Union in mid-March. However, the parties have lost popular consensus given to them in the electoral process in order to oust the PRI from the presidency and the government of Chiapas in 2000. Similarly, the PRD is divided, the PAN scorned due to promises not kept by its president, and the PRI discredited even more because of the PEMEX mega-fraud. In addition, after passing the fiscal reform that was so loudly criticized by all of the sectors of the country, the parties and Congress itself were scorned by the media and by society in general. If we add to the mix government noncompliance of the San Andres Accords according to the Cocopa Law and the announcement of forthcoming reform of the energy sector, government credibility has reached such a low point that the PAN and PRD have launched shameful television commercials with public announcements about the benefits that the political parties have brought to the Congress of the Union. This "democratic" scenario, for some time now, has brought a loss of credibility and possibility of being a political space that represents the interests of the majority. Neither marches, sit ins, nor proposals will make the Legislators turn around and see the poor people.

7) Changes in the business sector: This year businesses will also change leaders and directors on a national level. Raul Picard will leave his position as head of the National Chamber of Industry of the Transformation (Canacintra), Claudio X. Gonzalez will end his term as head of the Business Coordination Advisory (CCE), and Roberto Zapata Gil will leave the National Chamber of Commerce of Mexico City (Canaco). Hector Rangle Domene will end his term as head of the Association of Banks of Mexico, and the Advisory of Kimberly Clark will also elect a new president. The business sector now has a new challenge to face in order to defend its interests. Their pressure and lobbying in Congress is strong. Some companies have been profiting but the majority have suffered. Fiscal reform has hit many of them hard and some have been fingered by the U.S. government as being linked with drug trafficking, especially to the Arellano Felix cartel.

8) The Church neglects the poor indigenous people: After the Bishop of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, ordained seven permanent indigenous deacons in the northern zone of Chiapas in December 2001, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments of the Vatican demanded that the Bishop not proceed with, "any more ordinations of permanent deacons for a period of at least five years." In the letter sent to the Bishop, the Congregation for Divine Worship affirmed that, "If the number of permanent deacons continues to increase, the danger we perceive is that the initiative sustained by Mons. Samuel Ruiz Garcia continue, therefore impeding the normalization of an ecclesiastic life of the Diocese, and promotes other ecclesiastic circumscriptions, therefore lending an implicit message of support by the Holy See of an "alternative" ecclesiastic model (...)." In his turn, Mons. Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel sent a communiqué dated February 12, 2002 to the Priests of his Dioceses where he laments the decision of the Vatican, but was resigned and without and hesitating for a moment to defend his indigenous and poor church, accepted the "petition" of the Vatican that he appeared to desire.

In this letter, the Bishop stated that, "(...) Making the sacrifice of obedience, I respect without any doubt the provisions of the Holy See. Therefore, for at least five years, I will not ordain any new permanent deacons." And he also exhorted his Diocese that, "Facing this, I beg you and your pastoral agents to assume an attitude of faith, obedience and ecclesiastic communion. Even more, this evangelization about the Church is that which I beg you to share with your deacons, and above all, with your candidates for deacons."

This only served to fail the indigenous peoples of Chiapas. The country does not recognize their rights and culture, the government has not complied with the San Andres Accords, their communities militarized and paramilitarized, they are impoverished in their fields and their corn threatened with the invasion of genetically modified seeds from the international corporations assisted by the government, and the government does not take them into account for development plans, instead it imposes the PPP. The Church now is a hierarchical one that excludes indigenous people and does not accept that poor indigenous people be ordained to the position just under priesthood. It turns out that being a married layperson and a deacon, just as the origins of the church were, is now interpreted by the hierarchical church as something "alternative." In addition, there is a Bishiop who, without pausing to think, as do other pastoral agents, obeys not with resignation and much less with a prophetic voice, but however with pleasure. The Diocese is shifting more quickly towards the right.

9) Human rights put pressure on free trade: The theme of human rights in the country has taken a relevant role. After the murder of lawyer Digna Ochoa last year, pressure on Fox's government increased with respect to human rights. Therefore, just a few weeks later, the two environmental political prisoners from Guerrero were released. This year, Fox granted freedom to two fisherman from Michoacan, and finally to General Francisco Gallardo, who was a co-author with Global Exchange, CIEPAC and other specialists of the book, "Always Near, Always Far: The Armed Forces in Mexico." Another pressure that weights on the federal government is the opening of the files about the massacre of students in Tlatelolco in 1968 and of the "dirty war." Meanwhile, in Chiapas, after some work together, the tension between human rights NGOs and Governor Pablo Salazar have led to strong tensions in public opinion. This was deepened when the State Human Rights Commission (CEDH) and the state government confronted each other at it's height when the head of the CEDH suffered from an attempt on his life, and claimed that Pablo Salazar's government was responsible for the attack. This served to draw attention away from anomalies inside of the human rights institution that caused a public opinion scandal.

On the other hand, the state government continues playing a game between reconciliation and impunity: after neglecting to detain paramilitaries, in recent days it detained a "Paz y Justicia" leader, Diego Vazquez in the municipality of Tila for crimes committed in 1997, which has not occurred before. The federal and state governments have long lists of paramilitary members as well as apprehension orders they have not carried out. The detention of Diego Vazquez took place after the government freed other members of the same group, now divided, among them the local ex-Deputy of the PRI, Samuel Sánchez Sánchez. The government also refused to sign a reconciliation agreement with the indigenous communities in the northern region. It appears that the paramilitary groups that agree to sign reconciliation agreements under the state government's plan receive the prize of continuing to enjoy impunity. For now, indigenous Tzotiles of the municipality of Pantelho denounce that intimidations continue by two paramilitary groups called Los Xiles and los Patees.

Other demons are also running wild. The World Bank is prowling around Chiapas and looking for alliances, pollen of genetically modified (gm) corn runs wild already in Oaxaca, the stores of Diconsa in other states of the republic and possibly in Chiapas distribute gm corn, and paramilitary groups are free and enjoy impunity.

Facing a powerful and egotistical neoliberalism, communities are building trenches of struggle and resistance in order to defend their food sovereignty, land and natural resources. This is a resistance against the mega-projects, against shrimp farming that degrades the environment and does away with the small fishermen, against the big monoculture plantations promoted by the state government, against the displacement of the population located in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), etc. etc. Within the multiple and diverse international social movements, we can build events and processes that construct alternatives with the hope that a different world is possible.

Some dates from the World Social Agenda for 2002:

February 21-23: COMPA Regional Meeting- Managua, Nicaragua. www.sitiocompa.org

March 8: International Women's Day

March 15-16: Barcelona: Summit of the European Heads of State (protest).

March 18-22: Monterrey: Conference of the United Nations. Alternative Forum Financing the Right to Sustainable and Equitable Development www.ffdforoglobal.org

March 20 a 24: I Forum of the Regional Front Against PPP Dam Projects. www.laneta.apc.org/biodiversidad

April 17: International Day of the Campesina Struggle

April: Buenos Aires: Presidential Summit on the FTAA (protests)

May 1: International Workers, Day

May 31: International Day Against Militarization and For Peace.

May 17-18: Madrid, Summit of Latin American, Caribbean and European Heads of State (protest).

June 8-13: Roma, Italy, World Summit on Food of the FAO (protests)

June 21-22: Sevilla, Spain, Summit of the Heads of State of the European Union (protests).

June: II Week for Biological and Cultural Diversity; Guatemala. www.laneta.apc.org/biodiversidad

July: Canada: G-8 Summit (protests)

June: Thessaloniki (Greece) Summit of the European Union (protests)

July 22: Campaign in the U.S. against Coca-Cola

October 7: Day of Homeless People

October: Ecuador: Continental Social Forum "A new Integration is Possible"

October 12: Shout of the excluded (Grito de los Excluidos y Excluidas)

October 16: International Day for Food Sovereignty

September: Johannesburg (South Africa): Río + 10 (protests)

November 5-10: III COMPA Assembly- Havana, Cuba. www.sitiocompa.org

November: Havana (Cuba) second Hemispheric meeting against the FTAA

November-December: Mexico, WTO Ministerial Round(protests)

December 10-14: International Human Rights Week

December: Copenhagen: Summit of the European Heads of State 2003 (protests)

Gustavo Castro Soto

Sources: Revista Epoca No. 555; Week for Biological and Cultural Diversity www.laneta.apc.org/biodiversidad; CIEPAC; Cuarto Poder, September 29, 2001; original text of the San Andres Accords: www.ciepac.org in the section on the peace process (proceso de paz).