Looking beyond... Mexico

With all of the debate about treaties, court decisions, and salmon fishing, it is easy to forget that, just to the south of us in Mexico, aboriginal people are facing a campaign of violence and terror. Virtually the entire country is under military rule, while so-called "right-wing paramilitary groups" (which are in fact organized, armed, and supported by the Mexican army) have been attacking native villages and committing horrendous atrocities, including the Christmas massacre of 45 Indians.

The Mexican army has been receiving training from the Guatemalan army, which has conducted a similar attack against its native population to drive them off their land–in all, it is estimated that some 100,000 people were murdered, the vast majority of them aboriginal.

If the same kind of murderous war is to be avoided in Mexico, it will require a campaign of sustained visibility by human rights groups in Canada and the United States. The purpose of this section is to provide information on events not only in Chiapas, but anywhere in the world where indigenous peoples are fighting for their rights.

Foreign Exchange, by James Petras

This article from the Z Magazine web page, illustrates how trade issues, particularly NAFTA, are directly related to the Christmas 1997 massacre. In this article, Petras details the irrefutable evidence that the Mexican government is organizing the so-called right-wing paramilitary groups as a blind for attacking the peasant population of Chiapas.

The Slippery Slope

In this web site, an ex-US marine describes his experiences among the people of Chiapas.