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Woes & Chants from the Mayan World

This year has been pretty violent here in Mexico, but most of that violence has been related to fights among the drug cartels to gain new territories. However, this news from Associated Press is different; and sadly it rings a familiar bell…

Last Sunday five state police officers were arrested in San Cristóbal de las Casas – a municipality located in the southern state of Chiapas – in relation with a raid to remove protesters that had trespassed a Mayan archaeological site, in which 6 villagers were killed.

These Indian villagers had occupied the entrance to the Chinkultic ruins, that are close to the border with Guatemala. They had stayed there for nearly a month.

The villagers, most of them from the Mayan Tzeltal and Tzotzil cultures, were protesting what they call excessive entrance fees and a failure to reinvest gate revenues in local infrastructure and environmental protection. They also demanded a role in the administration of the ruins.

So, why do I say this sad news rings a familiar bell? Well, for starters San Cristóbal de las Casas was the region where the Zapatista movement – a.k.a. EZLN – began, in 1994. During those days the whole world was captivated by the charismatic figure of Subcomandante Marcos, who seemed to be a modern version of the old Revolutionary leaders; and for a moment the western world bothered to remember all the millions of men, women & children from whom there has been no escape of the 500-year yoke brought upon them since the discovery of America; who have received only empty promises and are among the poorer humans in the planet – a cruel irony, considering they live in the richest state in the country, full of natural resources along with incredible tourist attractions.

Alas, in time the public forgot all about the Zapatistas; and all the political capital gathered by Marcos was utterly wasted, with less news papers heeding his words. Aside from a brief reappearance in 2001 when President Vicente Fox had just come into power and finished the decade-long reign of the official party, there has been hardly any news coming from the movement that supposedly sought to gain more rights for the original inhabitants of the continent.

Another reason why this news seems like old news, is that this is hardly the only time the authorities have massacred villagers in Chiapas. The most infamous of those killing occurred in 1995, in the town of Aguas Blancas (if you care to see a video of the massacre, click here). 13 years have passed since that atrocity, and the solving of the case is nowhere in sight.

And in a weird twist of fate, this new massacre happened to coincide with a concert given by world-acclaimed tenor Placido Domingo in the ruins of Chichen Itzá, which caused a bit of controversy among certain circles, that questioned whether an archaeological site was suited for a spectacle intended for a few privileged spectators. It has always been the tradition of the Mexican government to act in a very conservative way when dealing with the archaeological sites; so a cultural event what wouldn’t be a problem somewhere else like Egypt, for example, might be paralysed by the bureaucratic red tape if the INAH (the National Institute of Archaeology & History) considers it affects the conservation effort of the ruins… or even the way those sites are promoted. Of course, most people are not aware of a tiny curious detail: the Chichen Itzá ruins are private property!

One of the most popular subjects currently discussed here at TDG are all the theories and rumours surrounding the 2012 Mayan prophecy. But while we like to read and comment about what changes the future might bring, we have lost sight to the matter that the descendants of that advanced culture have been deprived of a present. They are not even allowed to profit from the monuments built by their ancestors, and when they react outside of the attitude expected from them – silence & resignation – they are always dealt with in the harshest of manners.

  1. Great post
    It was only recently that tourists in Peru were pelted with rocks and sticks when they passed through a remote village. The villagers thought the tourists were foreign officials from multinational mining companies come to steal more of their natural resources. There must be a reason why they reacted the way they did, but the news articles I read never bothered to investigate, and the tourists attacked never bothered to ask.

    I’m um-ing and ah-ing about a trip to Peru/Mexico* myself, but after seeing photographs of tourists flocking to Machu Picchu, I wonder if I really want to be crushed in the crowd if my tourist dollar doesn’t go to the community. It’s ironic that thousands of foreign tourists swarm to Machu Picchu, a city built to escape the encroaching masses through isolation.

    I was also looking at ayahuasca retreats, but I’m a bit iffy about many of them. They seem to be businesses for expat Westerners, and businesses that employ very few people from the local communities. Western amenities are nice, but surely $1500 is better spent going directly to a community’s school or health service (if they have one). Not all Westerners working with ayahuasceros are there to make a buck of course, but browsing the internet it sure is getting harder to discern the sincere ones from those just running a business.

    And now China and Russia have their eyes on Latin America’s vast natural resources. This vast continent rich in culture and environment is being pillaged and plundered left, right and centre. Just as the Spanish almost destroyed the Inca, Aztec and Maya to the last man, woman and child centuries ago, so too does the destruction continue today.

    From Chile to Mexico, there’s much to think about. Thanks for the thought-provoking piece, Miguel.

    *I’ll probably go for a nice leisurely stroll through Tuscany, southwest England and Ireland instead. That’s if we all survive the next six months.

    1. Indeed
      [quote]It’s ironic that thousands of foreign tourists swarm to Machu Picchu, a city built to escape the encroaching masses through isolation.[/quote]

      Ironic indeed; as ironic as the fact that the direct descendants of the Mayans or the Aztecs are not allowed to administer the ruins of their forefathers as they see fit. You may think a government institution would be best suited for that task, but the fact of the matter is there are so many archeological ruins scattered all over Mexico (I suppose we have only uncovered 10-15% of the total amount) that the government simply can’t take care of them all.

      Another thing most people are not aware of, because it doesn’t get much publicity, is that since the appearance of the Zapatista movement in the 1990s, the government has kept a military-guarded belt around these communities; many of them have declared themselves autonomous, but the government leaves them be, as long as they don’t cause any trouble or disturb the Economy of the state.

      Personally I’m mad at myself for not noticing the news of this massacre earlier; now that I have had time to review the older newspapers, I’ve discovered it was printed on the Sunday edition… but it was on the last pages.

      —–
      It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
      It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

      Red Pill Junkie

  2. Shame
    My mother lives in Morelia, and I spend about three months of the year in Mexico. The whole country is very dear to me. Morelia has had it’s recent troubles as well with a grenade attack that killed and maimed many. But no situation angers me more than the situation in the Chiapas. I have spent many a time there, and it is beyond beautiful, and worth treasuring. The people are staggeringly kind, and it is a shame that their plight as well as the plight of all of America’s indigenous is flat out ignored.
    Thank you for posting about this, I find it very hard to find out news coming from southern Mexico.

    1. That…
      [quote]I find it very hard to find out news coming from southern Mexico.[/quote]

      That makes too of us! I don’t know if it is a deliberate censorship from the government, or maybe the Media doesn’t care and prefers to stick with the news that sell, which right now are the drug-related violence and the fights between the government and the dissident teachers that don’t want to be examined to assess if they’re capable of teaching!

      Thanks for the kind comment. I’ll keep trying to keep you guys updated with what happens in my neck of the woods 🙂

      —–
      It’s not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me…
      It’s all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!

      Red Pill Junkie

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