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CHIAPAS: This Time, �Divide and Conquer� Failed by Lisa Martens (reprinted from CPTnet)

July 4, 1999 Polho, Chiapas. On Sunday, July 4, Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) workers spoke with the elders�of a Presbyterian Church, estranged from its wider Presbyterian community in�Chiapas. Though rejected by its own, the congregation is entwined with�Catholic and Pentecostal churches in the same community�Autonomous Polho�and�their closeness is, literally, their wealth. �Here, we are united in our�practice of justice,� Francisco explained, in a country whose government�carefully paints the Chiapas conflict as fighting between indigenous�communities of different religious denominations.

Dominant Mexican leaders would have the world think that the Chiapan war is�religious infighting, rather than expose their gifts of guns and money to�some indigenous people, severing neighbors, and making vulnerable the land�and culture of the people. Autonomous Polho is a municipality mostly of�people who have been driven from their homes by the very paramilitaries who,�according to human rights monitors, are supplied with weapons by the�government. Polho chooses to govern itself.

With dominant politicians paying for hearts, the Presbyterian elders speak�in such a way that theology and access to resources are inextricable. �In�1984, we went to the national Palace to ask Mexican officials for the same�benefits offered most Presbyterians,� explained Francisco. �We were�rejected, as have been the wider community�s requests for basics like�schools and electricity. We have electricity, now,� he smiled, �but we don�t�pay for it.� Chiapas is the Mexican state which provides more than half of�the country�s electricity, and has the smallest percentage of people being�able to afford it. �Also,� our host continued, �we used to ask the�government to come fix our electrical system. We would wait for weeks, and�they would not come. Now we have electricity all the time because our own�people have learned how to repair the system.� �Its not easy, but at least�we�re no longer dying,� the elders said of their ecumenical struggle for�existence as a community. Reminiscent of the early church, the citizens of�Polho have little to spare, but continue to organize and share what they�need in a town made up of 14 refugee camps. In regards to the difficulty of�survival, Francisco said, �We realize that God�s people in the Old Testament�were also refugees. We always look to God�s word for guidance.�

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of�the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence�reduction efforts around the world. CPT has maintained a presence in�Chiapas, Mexico, since June 1998. E-mail: [email protected]. Contact CPT, PO�6508, Chicago, IL 60680; tel: 312-455-1199; fax: 312-666-2677, e-mail: [email protected]. For news or�discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form found on our webpage�at http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/.

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