Through a video and descriptions of personal experience, Melissa Birch brought the conflict between the Mexican government and the indigenous Zapatista people to the attention of an audience of approximately 40 students and faculty in Hinman Forum last night.
Birch, a member of Action for Community and Ecology in the Rainforests of Central America (ACERCA), recently returned from an expedition to Chiapas, an area in southeastern Mexico which is home to the Zapatista and is rich in natural resources.
The Zapatista conflict affects U.S. citizens, ecologist Adrian Barnett said in a video following Birch's presentation, because "this is not Nicaragua, this is not Angola ... this is our neighbor on the North American continent, and we're making a major military commitment to a very corrupt government [of Mexico]."
Although the U.S. does not officially endorse the Mexican low-intensity warfare on the rebelling group, Birch said the U.S. is the largest arms supplier and trainer of the Mexican military.
Birch discussed the particulars of the Zapatista situation and also set forth her thesis that the conflict represents the fundamental conflict between indigenous and Occidental, or western, world views.
Birch characterized Meso-American world views as being focused on spacial rather than temporal structure, diversity, the present, organic government organization, self-sufficiency and stewardship to nature. Western world views, on the other hand, she said she views as focused on time, uniformity, the future, centered state government structures, profit driven and distant from nature.
Neolibralism, a new form of capitalism dominant in Mexico, threatens the Zapatista's and other indigenous people's ways of life, Birch said. Neolibralism, supported by the North American Free Trade Agreement, encourages un-governmentally regulated economic activity. For the Zapatista communities where 40 percent of the population make less than two dollars per day, this macroeconomic vision is not in the interest of indigenous people.
The Chiapas area produces half the electrical power of Mexico, 13 percent of the corn, 13 percent of the natural gas power and a large percentage of other national resources, yet most of the Chiapas people have no running water, according to Birch.
The Zapatista uprising distinguishes itself from previous guerrilla groups in three ways, Birch said: one, arms have been largely symbolic and no shots have been fired since 1994; two, the group has rejected the Marxist strategy and has not attempted to seize power; three, ecological issues are a major consideration; and four, women have played a strong role in resistance.
The movement crystallized in 1994 in reaction to the passage of NAFTA. Over the year, the Zapatistas conducted a nationwide consultation to determine what the people needed from their revolutionary group. The survey culminated in a decision for the group to function as a civilian political force and make demands on the Mexican government.
Birch said the resistance is "a logical manifestation of 500 years of conflict between western and Meso-American cultures."
The Zapatistas have made demands to the Mexican government for land, autonomy and constitutional reforms. They demand "not just a space to grow food in but a place to develop a culture," Birch said.
The group articulated their demands in the San Andreas Accords with the Mexican government -- the government officially approved the agreement but has not acted on its words, Birch said.
Presently, the government threatens the indigenous people with plans to construct a mega-development on a nearby isthmus, to establish destructive eucalyptus plantations, and with deforestation of the Lacandona jungle, according to Birch.
By asking for autonomy, the Zapatistas in turn threaten the Mexican government because recognition of multiple indigenous nations would "undermine the idea of a Mexican nation," Birch said.
"Why do they fear us? ... Because we have challenged them and the challenge tends to become an example," said an unnamed Zapatista leader in a video following Birch's presentation.
In a handout she published, Birch said she recommends that people interested in the Zapatista cause contact ACERCA for literature and information, and educate themselves on the situation in Mexico so they can organize to fight for the cause.
Living in Vermont, Birch works on a number of political and ecological organizations including Vermont Chiapas Action Network (VCAN), the Northern Spy Central Vermont Alternative Newspaper and the Burlington-Puerto Cabezas Sister City Program.
Birch previously worked in her native Canada with organizations fighting the passage of NAFTA. She then became involved with Vermont radical environmental groups and focused on the Mexican conflict.
"The Zapatistas inspired me," Birch said, and are the motivation for her work.
A reception at the Native American House followed the speech.
