A-Infos (en) Mexico, Collective Rupture (RC): In a historic assembly, the municipalities of Chilón and Sitala in Chiapas elect a council of spokespersons to walk towards self-government without political parties - Demián Revart (ca) [machine translation]

The Mexican State is increasingly shaken by the paws when it realizes that the exercise of 
self-government in its territories (or rather "exterritories") is expanding. By providing 
foreign capital concessions on the largest biological and water reserves, in this case, in 
the state of Chiapas - the main region from which water is extracted for the monopolistic 
Coca-Cola industry, as an illustrative feature of this abomination -; by ignoring the 
millionaire deviations of resources in the municipalities of the most marginalized 
municipalities; and, of course, by creating a climate of paramilitary violence and 
internal divisionism in the villages that have deeply hurt the Cuklejalil lekil [1].... It 
is a clear response that populations encourage social organization to"Look for another way 
to govern without affecting the nature or the people themselves ".

I have stated it too many times: the peoples who decide to self-govern not only establish 
a rupture with the structure of the nation-state, but have also glimpsed their 
antagonistic class position and understood without hesitation the chains of harmful 
situations that this provokes and that threaten seriously against natural and human life.

One of the municipalities that has joined this break to self-govern is Chilón -located in 
the jungle region of Chiapas- that holds 70% of its population in a state of poverty, 
which is in contrast to the high annual budget received by the municipality exceeding 700 
million pesos . "It is an insult to the people that the government receives so much money 
and that even then, this is one of the poorest municipalities in the country. Enough of 
the bad government! " [2]has been the main political argument of the communities of Chilón 
(mostly Chol, Tzotzil and Tzeltal) to generate an organizational nucleus in them and 
decide to confederate in the " MOVEDITE "( Movement in Defense of Life and Territory)that 
also promotes diverse strategies of militancy and internal communication in more than 12 
municipalities of Chiapas that are "candidates" for the imposition of developmental 
projects that are being planned within their territorial demarcation, such as 
hydroelectric dams on the Chakté-Cancuc rivers and the Florido River -Huixtán-; 
explorations of oil wells in the community of El Jardín -Ocosingo-; the project of the 
military barracks in Patria Nueva; a new Coca-Cola factory in the community of Río Molino 
-also Huixtán-; as well as the validity of the project of the Palenque-San Cristóbal 
superhighway that would cross dozens of towns affecting both their lands and the natural 
resources they protect.

Although in Chilón the extractive industry or some megaproject has not been installed as 
such, the environmental-territorial affectations that their sister communities will suffer 
soon will touch them, although their people know thoroughly that "there will always be 
affectations under the command of any partisan government because those leaders are not 
people from here, from the people, " so in 2016, a very visible scenario linked to the 
billionaire budget robbery by the City Council that have denounced all their 
mobilizations, because " the health clinic of the municipal capital of Chilón, has been 
under construction for years without seeing its end ", causing as in much of the national 
territory, health services are scarce and negligent, forcing in the event of illness or 
accidents, residents have to travel hours and hours to state capitals to try - still the 
matter Stagnate in an "attempt" - receive the necessary medical attention.

With interstate meetings, pilgrimages to promote the union "beyond belief" and gathering 
signatures to validate the entry of a request delivered on November 17, 2017 to the 
Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation of the State of Chiapas to achieve legal 
recognition of his free determination, Chilón is walking quickly through the path of 
self-government. His most recent step towards that goal - and which is described in the 
title of this text ... but he could not omit the preamble to the causes of this movement 
without reaching this part! - emerged last Friday, April 20; about 4 thousand people 
gathered at the Bachajón community fair park to publicly present to the Council of 
Community Government Speakers, an elected group of men and women in 20 regions of the 
municipality through their respective assemblies that "will walk spreading the word in our 
communities about this alternative organization that seeks to resist the system of 
election by political parties and recover the constitutional right of indigenous people 
determination (...) that allows us to exercise our own mode of government ".

For its part, on Saturday April 21 in the municipality of Sitala was made public 
presentation in the municipal seat of the councilors who will have the same task as 
chiloneros: "These comrades are not authorities, they are a community charge that will 
have the mission to strengthen the word in the communities in the search for Community 
Government in our territory. "

I have also mentioned - in a stream of occasions! - that what happens in rurality is not 
unique to that geography, since the paradigm shift from the representative to the 
autonomous is applicable in any substantivity (oh, we have everything the work that the 
Citizen Council has done for the Good Government in San Cristobal de las Casas!, who 
support the objective of banishing the party in that gentrified city so that the 
citizenship can self-administer the City Council).

For self-government in Chilón and Sitala, this radical change is summarized in 'renew 
social relations and politics': "(...) we promote COMMUNITY GOVERNMENTS that renew social 
relations among indigenous people, mestizos, diverse religions, adults and youth; 
COMMUNITY GOVERNMENTS that renew the policy (...) to combat corruption and division of bad 
governments and thus guarantee the defense of our Mother Earth and community harmony ".
***
"To those who want something, something has to cost them," the Turkish DHKP-C[3]militants 
say when governments attempt any organizational process, repress or ignore the signs of 
violence within the communities. I quote this sentence because the struggle for autonomy 
in Chilón has also met with different threats.

According to the research carried out by the Center for Indigenous Rights, AC (CEDIAC) , 
insecurity and robbery crimes due to external factors have increased since October 2017 to 
date, with the main concern being the theft of products and raw materials. the Women's 
Cooperative "Luchiyej Nichimetic"[4], which allegorically represent two primary objectives 
of the Community Government proposal: 1) protection, comprehensive support and non-sexist 
reeducation for the emancipation of indigenous women; and 2) enhance the projects of 
economic self-management and own culture, as is the trade-art of traditional weaving.

These crimes -which are added to the constant and express death threats against several of 
those implicated in the Council of Community Government- give guidelines to affirm that 
yes: 'the State trembles the legs'. Baia ... it is not the first time that the state 
machinery takes advantage of the isolation of the communities of the Selva de Chiapas to 
militarize and assassinate the rebelling populations right and left.

I could not keep silent ... I feel tremendous indignation at the impunity and the 
'alertness' in which people who dare to risk their lives live for a common good, however, 
we all know that good always triumphs and in Chilón and Sitala will not be the exception.

NOW CANTICAL AHWALIL LOQU'EM TAL COLILTIC!

ALREADY CANTICAL SLAMALIL QU'INAL, SOC STOJILA SOC TSE'ELIL O'TANIL!

AYUC SMC'UL TE AWO'TAN!!!


[1]In Tzeltal, "the Good Life in Common".

[2]"'Enough of the bad government!', Demands in Chilón, the pilgrimage in defense of the 
land and the territory," Pozol Colectivo , November 16, 2016. ( http://www.pozol.org/? p = 
14041 )

[3]Partido-Frente Revolucionario de Liberación del Pueblo , an armed communist 
organization in Turkey that has been active since 1994, promoting class organization in 
universities, neighborhoods and cities. In recent years they have carried out actions and 
protests in defense of the Kurdish people and ethnic minorities, which are constantly 
violated by the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the popular neighborhoods and borders of 
the country.

[4]"The Bachajón Mission denounces threats to defenders and attempted robbery of a women's 
cooperative", Radio Zapatista , February 22, 2018. ( http://radiozapatista.org/?p=25799 )

http://rupturacolectiva.com/en-historica-asamblea-los-municipios-de-chilon-y-sitala-en-chiapas-eligen-a-concejo-de-voceros-para-caminar-hacia-el-autogobierno-sin-partidos-politicos/
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