La Jornada
August 17, 1999
By Andres Barreda

In the last 5 and half years, beginning with the Zapatista insurrection in Chiapas, a broad spectrum of reporting from national news syndicates has talked about important oil reserves in the Lacondon Jungle in Chiapas, Mexico. In contrast to the small number of reports from Pemex and including certain North American geological exploration institutions that recognize that there is the presence of very small quantities of petroleum in the Maya Jungle (in Chiapas, Guatemala, and Belize), numerous sources and data indicate that gigantic oil reserves exist in this region.

To fully understand the dynamics of this issue it is essential to point out that the desire to privatize Mexican oil reserves directly coincides with the violent expulsion of tens of thousands of indigneous farmers from their lands. The privatization of Pemex (Mexico's national oil company), partially administrated, but secretly and systematically promoted by the federal government, doesn't only imply that the principal source of wealth and national sovereignty will be pawned off to foreigners, it also implies that Mexicans that live above these oil reserves will be violently removed. In relation to this, it is important to note that Vicente Fox and Roberto Madrazo (pre-presidential candidates for the PAN and PRI) have openly offered Mexico's oil to foreign capital (Financial Times, Aug. 9th, 1999).

Certain documents of Pemex indicate that they are aware of two vast and important oil regions, Ocosingo and Marques de Comillas. At the same time these documents have also emphasized their persistent search to find oil in San Fernando, a region close to Yaxchilan and Bonampak. Studies that were done by the prospect teams of Pemex between the years of 1953 and 1986 at a number of geological faults in the north, center and south of the Lacondon Jungle have helped solidify and add to the information that Pemex has in regards to the whereabouts of oil in this region. Reports from Oil and Gas Journal, and U.S. Geological Survey as a result of the work from George Baker and the General Accounting Office in the U.S. government, have also helped to solidify and add to the information already in the possession of Pemex. At the same time the work of the group Ecosur also has also had a significant role in the growing awareness of oil in this area. Through its promotion of the privatization and tri-nationalization of the Usumacinta River, Ecosur produced a map entitled the "Salinas Project" in which it describes with precision seven enormous oil reserves that didn't completely coincide with already known data.

In addition to all of the preceding information, there are numerous testimonies from farmers who have directly worked with those foreign companies dedicated to exploration, that can affirm much of the speculation on the whereabouts of oil in Chiapas. Furthermore it is also important to consider the intense exploration and exploitation of transnational businesses in the last 20 years along the border of Guatemala and Mexico in the process of understanding the extent of, and duration that foreign interest in oil has existed in this region.

A map of all of these areas of oil reserves would illustrate how hundreds of indigenous communities of the Lacandon Jungle and numerous EZLN autonomous municipalities exist directly above or at least close to these giant oil reserves. The town of Valle Amador however (where the Mexican Federal Army has recently invaded), located to the north of Miramar, is not solely recognized for its oil, but also because the CFE (Federal Commission of Electricity) has recognized this area as one of the 74 places in Chiapas where they can construct a hydroelectric dam that would eventually be privatized. For Semarnap (The Environmental, Natural Resources, and Fishing Department) this area represents one of the entrances to the strategic Montes Azules Bio-reserve which is administered by Conservation International who, at this time, is curiously enthusiastic about the privatization of natural protected areas.

While the pre-candidates of the official parties have been equally devouring each other with their mud-slinging and Vicente Fox has been attempting to cover up his already stated full support of the selling of Pemex, the new military operation in the jungle has been unfolding (La Jornada, Juan Balboa, Aug. 15th, 1999). While this military offensive is protecting the future privatization of oil reserves in Mexico, it is also punishing the EZLN for the solidarity it has developed with various and diverse social struggles in Mexico. At the same time this offensive is intentionally attempting to open up a new political crisis to momentarily distract attention from the serious internal rupture that is threatening the stability and strength of the PRI.

This invasion could also serve as a means to new negotiations between state departments (and national and international interest groups) about the exploitation of oil and the conservation of the bio-diversity of the jungle. The unjustified new military occupation and invasion of the north and northeast of the jungle in Montes Azules, is destined to open multiple highways that cross the last intact sector of this bio-region.

Consequently, this would help Pemex (and all of the oil businesses that would use the highway) to put itself in a better position to renegotiate with Semarnap, who along with Sedue (The Department of Urban Development and Ecology) established borders for protected areas before oil reserves were found in this same region in the 1980's. The problem is based on the anti-ecological exploitation of petroleum that corresponds to a very technical model and aggressive sector of world capital rooted in decadence. At the same time bio-diversity (connected to genetic engineering) represents the vanguard and future of world capital.

This completes the mosaic of different geo-economic and political strategies and interests, that although often contradict each other, have seemed to agree upon beginning the process of expelling indigenous peoples from these regions. The question that now faces us is; will civil society permit this new exploitation of oil and military aggression against indigenous communities and the jungle?

Translated by Global Exchange