Bishop says peace possible between Mexico, Chiapas rebels

c. 1996 Religion News Service LONDON (RNS)-Mexican Bishop Samuel Ruiz says he is confident peace is possible between the Mexican government and the Zapatista rebels who have been waging a two-year rebellion in the southernmost state of Chiapas.”No one is now thinking in terms of a military solution,”Ruiz told RNS during an interview. Ruiz, the […]

c. 1996 Religion News Service

LONDON (RNS)-Mexican Bishop Samuel Ruiz says he is confident peace is possible between the Mexican government and the Zapatista rebels who have been waging a two-year rebellion in the southernmost state of Chiapas.”No one is now thinking in terms of a military solution,”Ruiz told RNS during an interview.

Ruiz, the bishop of the diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, made his comments just before a new round of talks between leaders of the rebel force and the government began Tuesday (March 5) in San Andres Larrainzar, Mexico.


The bishop has been the leading mediator between the Zapatistas, largely made up of indigenous Indians in Chiapas, and the government. As an outspoken advocate of the rights of the Indians, Ruiz has been a frequent target of criticism from Mexico’s government and the nation’s conservative economic and military elite.

His support of a Mexican brand of liberation theology has also brought Ruiz criticism from some leaders of the church, most notably the Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican ambassador) in Mexico.

In August 1995, John Paul named Bishop Raul Vera Lopez, a prelate with a reputation as a conservative, as a co-adjutor bishop in the San Cristobal diocese. The new bishop was given certain responsibilities in the running of the diocese that were not made public.

Ruiz said he was optimistic about the possibility of peace because a framework is now in place for a settlement of the conflict.

The conflict began on Jan. 1, 1994, when masked bands of armed but generally nonviolent rebels took over several towns in Chiapas. The uprising was timed to coincide with the effective date of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the trade pact between the United States, Canada and Mexico that sharply reduced trade barriers among the three nations.

With trade barriers removed, the price of many Mexican-produced goods was sharply reduced.”The immediate cause of the uprising was the fall in the price of coffee, which was the last straw for people who were at the bottom of the heap in our present economic system (and) the burdens (that system) places on Third World countries, particularly the poor in those countries,”Ruiz said.

About 145 people, most of them rebels, were killed before a cease-fire was declared and the rebels withdrew into their jungle mountain hideouts.


The indigenous Indians in Chiapas are among Mexico’s poorest citizens.

In addition to claiming they are being economically exploited by large landowners and ranchers, the Indians-primarily descendants of the Mayans-also say they are being stripped of their culture.

Ruiz said the rebels were demanding a recognition of their cultural rights, including their language, and the incorporation of native legal systems into the justice system of Chiapas.”They want to be judged by their own laws, which have been transmitted orally from generation to generation,”Ruiz said.

Ruiz was instrumental in brokering the talks that resulted Feb. 15 in the first of what is expected to be a series of accords between the rebels and the government. He called the pact”significant”because the Indians were”now able to sit down and talk to the government and do this on a more equal basis.” The accord promises official recognition of indigenous languages and the right to bilingual education as well as other unspecified social and economic rights.

The talks that began this week involve the difficult issue of democracy and justice.

Ruiz said that he has received support from both the Mexican bishops’ conference and Pope John Paul II for his role in defending the poor and as a mediator.

He cited recent letters from the Mexican bishops’ conference commending the peace process and from Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, encouraging his efforts.

John Paul II also gave Ruiz indirect support in a meeting the pontiff had Feb. 1 with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.


While telling Zedillo he supported the nation’s economic development, John Paul also said it must not be achieved at the expense of the”least protected members of society.”He specifically listed the country’s Indians, youth and unemployed as among those he called”least protected.”

MJP END NOWELL

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