Chiapas massacre fuels rally
MEXICO:Protesters take over intersection to voice dissent
against killings, government
By Dennis Lim
Daily Bruin Contributor
Men in ski masks and bright bandannas, with the help of about
300 protesters, took over the intersection of Wilshire and Veteran
Monday.
The group voiced its concern over the massacre of 45 women and
children in Chiapas last month. The massacre was the most recent
event in Mexico’s troubled peace with the people of Chiapas, a
region of southern Mexico.
Critics claim that the Mexican government is trying to remove
the Chiapas people from their land, while the government claims it
is only defending itself from internal rebellion. The massacre has
lead many to criticize the Mexican government. The more militant
branch of the Chiapans call themselves Zapatistas, after Emiliano
Zapata, a leader of the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
The wall of supporters on Wilshire Boulevard blocked all four
points of the intersection, breaking only once to allow an
ambulance through.
The protesters voiced with megaphones and picket signs their
opinions on the massacre of 45 women and children in Chiapas on
Dec. 22.
"We’re here to show our solidarity with the Zapatistas and the
Chiapas people," said Cynthia Acosta, the gender and sexuality
coordinator for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana y Chicano de
Aztlà n (MEChA).
Signs and screams included copied images of Mexican President
Ernesto Zedillo with devil horns and bright red paint symbolizing
the bloodshed in Mexico.
The protest originally began as a slow march on the corner of
Wilshire and Veteran to the steps of the Federal Building.
As protesters neared the building, security quickly brought
inside anything that could be moved.
The building supervisor and security told protesters that they
needed a permit to protest on federal property. Organizers of the
protest argued with them, claiming they didn’t know of such a
need.
Speakers and protesters continued with their rally unabated,
however, as security negotiated with representatives of the
group.
Zack de la Rocha, lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, and a
famed supporter of the Zapatista cause, spoke at the rally. De la
Rocha voiced his less than flattering views of the Mexican and
American governments in a speech and a poem.
"I will see my own blood flow before you take my land or
liberty," de la Rocha screamed to the audience.
Other speakers included Crystal Echohawk, an organizer in the
event, who outlined the recent events in the conflict between the
Zapatistas and the Mexican government.
"Starting on Jan. 1, 30 Zapatista communities have been
invaded," she said, "essentially breaking the March 1995 law which
says that it is illegal for the Mexican government to arrest,
search or do anything to the Zapatistas."
The protesters also claim that American funds are being used to
support the actions of the Mexican government against the people of
Chiapas.
Blase Bonpank, the director of the non-profit group Offices of
America, was in Chiapas at the time of the massacre. He said that
he saw bodies of people shot in the back, schoolhouses used as
barracks by soldiers, and women pushing soldiers out of their
villages.
Bonpank put blame for the massacre on both Mexican and American
governments; he claimed that the Mexican government did the killing
while the American government gave the means to do it.
"Three thousand two hundred Mexican soldiers were trained at
Fort Bragg by Green Berets last year alone," Bonpank said.
The land on which the Chiapas people live is thought to be the
second richest oil spot in the Western Hemisphere, which many claim
is the reason the Chiapas people are persecuted.
"Our government is sending all of the money that is supporting
the Mexican government," said Ted Robertson, a participant in the
rally.
Robertson implied that the United States government indirectly
supported the massacre by sending funds to the Mexican
government.
Eventually, 24 California highway patrol officers, dressed in
full riot gear, forced the protesters to disperse.
The National Commission for Democracy in Mexico (NCDM), the
group in charge of publicity for the event, said about 20 groups
were told of the event.
However, Jenny Perez, the student representative for NCDM, was
quick to add that the majority of people had come on their own.
Protests were held in 40 other U.S. cities and countries around
the world.
"We are tremendously happy with the turnout of this event. We
were worried that since it was a Monday we would have problems
getting people here, but this just disproves that theory," she
continued.
Maria DuGuardado, a refugee from a similar situation in El
Salvador, reflected on both the protest and her own struggles with
government repression.
"I stand with the Zapatistas," DuGuardado proudly proclaimed.
"When I was in El Salvador, the government troops beat me and raped
me because I worked with the peasants," she said.
"This is a major move for the movement," she continued. "All
people can have the type of government they want. If they want
change, they can have it."AARON TOUT/Daily Bruin
The massacre of 45 villagers in Chiapas spurred a 300-person
protest in front of the Federal Building on Monday.