Known to
the ancient Maya as the "bellybutton of the world", Chiapas is
the most resource-rich state in Mexico, yet also the most
impoverished.
A major source of petroleum, oil and
hydro-electricity, rich in plutonium, uranium, cobalt, amber,
jade, obsidian, quartz, hardwoods and botanical plants,
Chiapas has historically been subjected to conflict over land
and resource ownership.
Land and wealth acquisition has been facilitated
by appropriating ejido (communal) land,
depriving indigents of rights, and slave labor - with current
tensions located between multinational corporations, the
Mexican government, and the ancient Mayan guardians of the
land.
On Jan 1st, 1994, Mexico joined NAFTA,
leading to unparalleled economic collapse - when the
importation of very low-priced American corn depressed the
Mexican peso's value to negative exchange rate levels,
resulting in Mexico's largest economic bailout by foreign
banks in history.
As well as opening the Mexican market to
cheap mass-produced US agricultural products, it eliminated
crop subsidies and drastically reduced the income and living
standards of many southern Mexican farmers who could not
compete with the cheap, artificially fertilized,
mechanically harvested and genetically modified imports from
the US.
Simultaneously, on Jan 1 1994, the Zapatista
movement launched its well documented uprising, demanded land
and basic human rights for indigents, and formed autonomous
communities independent of the central government. Since the
Zapatista intervention, there has been some improvement in the
redistribution of land, and Mayans were granted special
rights, but their ratification has been stalled by lack of
political will.
Many rural areas continue to
suffer from a lack of lands to cultivate, accessible roads and
reliable electricity, and a large number of indigenous people have been displaced
from the land,
Tourism has replaced cash crops in many areas, but little of the tour fees are
actually received by the Mayan people themselves.
Additionally, environmental degradation has become of pressing concern.
Despite producing some of the world's purest
water, many rivers are contaminated, and much virgin land has
already been lost to mining. Of major concern is the Lacandon
rainforest - home to the sacred jaguar and quetzal, as well as
guacamaya, parrots, pheasants, toucans, howler monkeys and
other rare wildlife - and which has already shrunk
considerably as pristine jungle has been destroyed in favor of
cattle grazing. Mayan farmers have resorted to planting their
sacred corn on hillsides, where it produces smaller, pale,
slower yields and is harder to work.
Yet the Maya continue to strive to maintain cultural and
economic integrity, to reclaim their guardianship of the
earth and their own destiny. Please help us help them help themselves.
