Guía ECC 2015
Content
ITAMMUN 2015
Emerging Crisis Committee
The EZLN Conflict (Mexico 1994)
Undersecretary: Sebastian Guevara
President (A): Rodrigo Zozaya
Vice President (A): José Javier Villicaña
President (B): Alejandro Tame
Vice President (B): Julene Landáburu
Military Intelligence Advisor: Ana Cecilia Samaniego
Political Intelligence Advisor: Paola Aguirre
Economic Intelligence Advisor: Santiago de Regil
Academic Intelligence Advisor: Berenice Rodríguez
Introduction
Welcome to the third edition of the Emerging Crises Committee of the 18th edition
of ITAM Model United Nations. For this year’s edition you are invited to travel into
the past of our country to 1994 and join the Cabinet of the 58th administration of
the United Mexican States or incorporate to the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación
Nacional. During these three intensive days you will be immersed in a completely
different country from the one we currently know as Mexico. From one side you will
represent the Mexican government, one that just got involved in the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and is already facing a legitimacy
dilemma and the increasing critics against it. Under the lead of president Carlos
Salinas de Gortari and a group of secretaries you will be able to take a part in the
decisions of the cabinet while it tries to control a rebellion that just took place at
Chiapas the very first day of the year, among other emerging situations. On the
other committee you will come across with a constant situation of poverty that has
not been solved for years and social and economic inequality lots of Mexicans are
going through. With the guidance of the subcomandante Marcos, you will fight for
the rights of Mexican natives and promote their involvement in the political matters
of the country. You will also put pressure on Salina’s administration in order to stop
the NAFTA from tearing apart native communities. Both committees will have an
important job ahead of them in order to guarantee their integrity and their spheres
of influence; however, they must also take into account that any action they take
will have serious repercussions on the national scenario creating unforeseen crisis
that may determine their group’s future and the history of Mexico. It is an honor for
us to welcome you to this committee and do not hesitate to contact us if you have
any doubts regarding the flow of the debate and how the crisis committee works.
Historical Overview (1910-1988)
The Mexican XX century starts with the beginning of the revolution in 1910 with the
purpose to expel Porfirio Diaz from the power after more than 30 years of
occupying the presidency. After achieving this, the conflict evolved and became a
battle between several groups to establish a government for the whole country. In
this context, Emiliano Zapata, a landowner in the region of Morelos who claimed
for lands for the peasants, commanded one of the groups. Although other forces
defeated the movement, it is remembered with the words “the land belongs to the
one who works it” (La tierra es de quien la trabaja). What’s more important of this is
that it gave a face to a vast series of social demands and ultimately inspired the
EZLN formation.
From the revolution was born the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR) in1929,
which changed its name to Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in 1946, and
held power in Mexico for 71 years. Its legitimacy was foundational; challenging it
was to dispute the principles of the revolution.
In 1934, Lázaro Cárdenas became president and he tried to recover the
revolutionary demands, including some of the ones proposed by Emiliano Zapata.
His period is remembered by the nationalization of the oil industry and an
agricultural reform that aimed to create communal fields for peasants, though this
last one wasn’t successful.
In the 1940’s a new economic model was adopted, it was called the “Import
Substitution Model” and it was focused on developing the internal industry
providing high barriers to the international trade. Roughly from 1950 to 1970
Mexico lived what is called its golden age or the Mexican miracle. During this time
there was a sustainable economic growth and internal stability. Problems started to
present in the decade of the 1960’s with movements that demanded freedom of
speech, political liberties and better work conditions in a hostile environment,
where power was inaccessible in hands of the PRI.
There’s a landmark for Mexico’s history in 1968, when a social movement guided
by college students claiming for their rights against the government was attacked
by federal forces. This is labeled as one of the darkest days in our contemporary
history.
In the decade of the 1970’s above all the political turbulence that was arising,
economic problems started to build their own way. Inflation and devaluation started
to appear in the middle of the decade when José López Portillo won the presidency
in 1976, being the only possible election on the ballot. During his time in office a
vast number of oil fields (Cantarel in Campeche being the most important) where
discovered, this was Mexico’s time to shine. But, it didn’t go so well, the profits
from the oil industry where wasted instead of invested, and even relying on this
industry a big debt was contracted with foreign banks. The problem arrived when
the oil price started to lower and the interest rates of the debt started to rise in the
beginning of the 1980’s. This collapsed the Mexican economy. In 1988 Carlos
Salinas was elected, once more with the PRI, although in this election there was,
for the first time, a real opponent with Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a former member of
the PRI.
Current Situation
The government of Carlos Salinas began with accusations and criticisms of
electoral fraud. Many Mexicans were sure that the fate of the country would
change after the entry of a new political party, the National Democratic Front, which
had as a candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. However, the accounting of the votes
was suddenly interrupted. Manuel Bartlett Diaz, who was in charge of the
Secretary of Interior, and the Federal Electoral Commission informed that a
problem had occurred in the computer system where the results were saved. They
declared that they didn’t know what the problem was but that Mexico needed a
president.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Manuel Clouthier, presidential candidate from the National
Action Party, and Rosario Ibarra, presidential candidate from the Workers
Revolutionary Party, protested and denounced the illegality of the electoral
process. Mexican citizens also showed their dissatisfaction. Finally, the Interior
Ministry announced the results obtained and named Carlos Salinas de Gortari,
from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, president of Mexico. As a result, the new
administration began its term in office as one of the most unpopular in recent
Mexican history.
Salinas took office on December 1, 1988. To reaffirm his authority he fired the
leader of the oil union, Joaquin Hernandez Galicia, also known as “La Quina”. The
Mexican Army arrested him for being accused of murder and possession of
firearms for the exclusive use of the armed forces. Along with Hernandez Galicia,
30 other oil leaders were detained and displaced from their positions. A group
headed by a man named Carlos Romero Deschamps was now in charge of such
union. Salinas also replaced the leader of the National Union of Education
Workers, Carlos Jonguitud Barrios, and put in his place a woman named Elba
Esther Gordillo. These two decisions reflect the president’s attempts to reaffirm his
authority by purging his government from any kind of disloyalties.
In addition, Salinas took two other decisions to legitimize his regime: the creation of
the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) and the creation of the National Human Rights
Commission (CNDH). In order to have an impartial institution that gives certainty,
transparency and legality to federal elections, the Congress issued, in 1990, the
Federal Code of Institutions and Electoral Procedures (COFIPE) and ordered the
creation of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE). Through this, Salinas sought to
legitimize democracy in Mexico after the failed 1988 election. 1 On the other hand,
on June 6, 1990 an institution called the National Commission on Human Rights,
1http://www.ine.mx/archivos3/portal/historico/contenido/menuitem.cdd8
58023b32d5b7787e6910d08600a0/
constituted as a decentralized agency of the Ministry of the Interior Agency, was
born by presidential decree. The implementation of this institution was supposed to
guarantee the human rights of all Mexican citizens. 2
Other things also seemed to change, for the first time in Mexico’s post
revolutionary history, the government recognized the triumph of the opposition; the
new governor of the state Baja California was a member of the National Action
Party. Salinas also restored relations with the Church. The outcome of these
decisions was that in the federal Congress, the neoliberal economic policies of the
president were supported by the members of the National Action Party and by the
catholic hierarchy.
Before taking office, Salinas promised the "political, economic, and cultural
modernization" of Mexico and an improvement in Mexico's standing abroad. He
continued with economic measures to combat foreign debt and dependence on oil
exports; the basic assumption of all this measures was that public intervention in
the private sphere had led to distortions and inefficiencies that hindered economic
modernization. Mexico tried to give credibility to its policy of trade liberalization with
the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Besides the
reduction in trade barriers NAFTA partners demanded to reduce restrictions on
foreign investment. NAFTA wasn’t a typical commerce negotiation. It was the first
time that industrialized countries were negotiating with a less developed country
2 http://www.cndh.org.mx/Antecedentes
that had a much smaller economy.3 This led Salinas’ government to a very big
problem, as we will explain soon.
Another reform that encouraged the neoliberal program was the privatization of
public enterprises. Salinas got the Congress to approve again the privatization of
the banks, delivering them to new owners with no experience but with similar
interests with him. He also privatized a Mexican telecommunications company
named Telmex, which was bought by Carlos Slim. The privatization policy provided
the government with temporary economic resources to launch a major program of
social spending called National Solidarity Program.
The last year of the Salinas administration was a time of crisis. On January 1,
1994, the Mexican people received news of the existence of an indigenous uprising
occurred in the state of Chiapas. It was a political-military organization conformed
mostly by the Mayans from Chiapas who rise up in arms for democracy, liberty and
justice for all the Mexicans who lived in poverty. They identified with the name of
the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejercito Zapatista de Liberación
Nacional). Two processes were present at the origins of the EZLN movement: the
social movements that occurred in the sixties and the seventies of the twentieth
century and the centuries of struggle of resistance of the Indian people of Chiapas
against different types of subordination.
3 http://www.economiamexicana.cide.edu/num_anteriores/II-esp/15_PASTOR_245278.pdf)
Public Opinion:
The recent up rise of The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), has
shaken Mexico’s reality and presented a serious challenge to the federal
government. Despite of the NAFTA and the modernizing vision that president
Salinas is introducing into the country, his government has to rethink its internal
policy.
Since the beginning, civil society made it very clear that they are against any
violent intervention from the federal government. Following this, Mexican
authorities are starting to soothe this climate of violence and approach the problem
with a different perspective. The former mayor of Mexico City, Manuel Camacho,
has been sent as commissioner for the peace in Chiapas. Camacho and his team
of mediators are meant to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict and in
exchange, they are able to afford certain concessions for the Zapatistas. The
Church in Chiapas has supported dialogue and held off the Indians and peasants
defending their most basic rights. Different sectors of Mexican society and from
other countries are mobilizing to prevent a military solution against the indigenous
rebels. There are individuals, organizations and solidarity movements protesting,
debating and acting in harmony with the EZLN.
The Zapatista movement has obtained not only support in the national public
opinion, but also of intellectuals and artists from other latitudes, such as Jose
Saramago, Joaquín Sabina and Miguel Rios, to name a few.
The movement has also found resonance beyond the country's borders and even a
network of transnational solidarity for the Zapatistas has been established. The
indigenous Zapatistas of Chiapas are working as symbolic references to a new
generation of social movements, which are geographically dispersed, diffuse and
most of the time against globalization and anything that could be related to it.
Groups and committees, organized primarily in Europe and the United States,
begin to promote travel to the scene. They are the first contacts with indigenous
communities for many activists, reporters, known personalities or anonymous
young people from all over the world that want to know more about their fight. The
Zapatistas have opened their doors to welcome these international actors. Facing
this situation, the Mexican government has been limiting the right to enter the
territory requiring special visas for rebel municipalities. The Zapatistas, aware that
their war is highly dependent on their visibility in Mexico and in the world, promote
the presence of visitors from everywhere.
The Subcomandante Marcos has been recognized as an equal among leftist
intellectuals. Both in Mexico and abroad, Marcos as spokesman and media
personality, has been rated as a translator of the indigenous world and
representative for their cause. With him, the rebels of Chiapas have acquired an
unprecedented scale taking advantage of what has been described as "guerrilla
media". From the first day of the uprising, most of the national and foreign
reporters in Chiapas have acted in favor of the indigenous people. Mexican society
has discovered this ‘hidden’ part of the new “modernizing” development of Mexico.
From the first day of the uprising, most of the national and foreign reporters in
Chiapas have acted in favor of the indigenous people. Mexican society has
discovered this ‘hidden’ part of the new “modernizing” development of Mexico. The
EZLN has become a symbol against global exclusion, achieving a universalizing
singular effect, showing that it can withstand an adverse international context and
become a benchmark for many fights to defend ‘left’ movements around the world.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Secretary of Government
(Jorge Carpizo McGregor)
He is in charge of the affairs within the country. He must overlook that what the
constitution dictates is being followed, he also is in charge of regulating the
relationships between the executive power and other branches of government and
states. The Secretary of Government must also coordinate national security
actions and civil protection.
Secretary of Foreign Relations (Manuel Tello Macías)
The Secretary of Foreign Relations manages the diplomatic relationships of
Mexico. He must also issue statements, and must overlook how certain actions
within the country, especially human rights violations, will affect the image of
Mexico among their strategic partners. It is a delicate situation as the NAFTA
agreement has just come into place and some of the conditionality attached to it
where human rights and democracy improvements.
Secretary of National Defense
(Antonio Riviellio Bazán)
The Secretary is in charge of the military education and defense of the country, it
shares this charge with the Secretary of Marine. It organizes and administrates the
army and the air force of the country. It is important to remember that one of the
official objectives of the Secretary is to maintain national integrity
Secretary of Marine (Luis Carlos Ruano Angulo)
The marine works very closely with the National Defense, it must coordinate efforts
with them in order to find the best solutions. It is important to remember that all
eyes, national and international, will be on the military actions taken against what is
being seen as a movement that is setting pace. Public opinion is in favor of the
movement, and military actions will be highly disapproved, and could even lead to
a human rights scandal on behalf of the civil Zapatism. On extreme measures the
international community could even sanction the country if military action is taken
wrongfully.
Secretary of Hacienda y Crédito Público (Pedro Aspe Armella)
The Secretary is in charge of taxes recollection, and more generally speaking
about finances and public spending.
Secretary of Social Development (Carlos Rojas Gutiérrez)
The objective of this Secretary is to fight poverty and create social development
programs that go along with a budget plan for its implementation. The recognition
of social rights of certain marginalized communities has been left behind, and the
Secretary carries the responsibility of including them in the federal planning, so the
uprising is a response of this lack of inclusion
Secretary of Energy, Mines and Parastatal Industry (Emilio Lozoya Thalmann)
Secretary of Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources (Carlos Hank González)
The State of Chiapas has important agriculture sectors. The production of coffee is
one of its most important industries; it exports 80% of its production to the United
States. Most of it is cultivated in communal lands, where indigenous people work in
the production. It produces approximately 30% of the coffee in Mexico.
The Secretary is in charge of distributing federal resources for development to the
different agricultural producers in the country.
Secretary of Communication and Transportation (Emilio Gamboa Patrón)
Secretary of General Control of the Federation (María Elena Vázquez Nava)
This Secretary is in charge of the Federal Public Administration; it must look over
and evaluate public servers, through the creation of norms.
Secretary of Work and Social Prevision (Arsenio Farell Cubillas- Manuel Gómez
Peralta)
As social injustices are being exposed, and exploitation denounced, the Secretary
must take positive actions to mitigate the effects of this uprising. It has the power to
regulate patron-worker relations and state minimum requirements in contracts, so
that fair work opportunities are provided and indigenous people are not exploited
anymore.
Secretary of Agrarian Reformation (Victor Cervera Pacheco)
This Secretary is especially significant in the country as it is seen as the last
standing opportunity for reforming the agrarian sector. It is in charge of protecting
the rights of the land workers to own the land in which they work.
Secretary of Tourism (Jesús Silva-Herzog Flores)
This Secretary is in charge of promoting, coordinating and overlooking tourism in
the country. The state of Chiapas has a large amount of tourists coming in each
year. Since the uprising it has been receiving a lot of journalists, since both
nationally and internationally there has emerged a huge interest in it. The
movement is seen as a brother movement of other leftist in the world and it has
gained popularity that has shaken up the federal government, because of the bad
exposure to which it has been submitted.
Procuraduría General de la República (Diego Valadés Ríos-Humberto Benítez
Treviño)
The Procurador has the responsibility of investigating and punishing all the crimes
committed within the country. The Public Ministries, along with investigating police
and experts are on his charge.
President of the National Human Rights Commission
(Jorge Madrazo
Cuellar)
The National Human Rights Commission is the governmental entity in charge of
overviewing and promoting human rights; they also issue recommendations and
brief about situations where these are being violated. It was created by
constitutional reform on January 28, 1992, and it is a decentralized agency from
the executive power.
In this case the President of the Commission would need to issue a report about
the situation in Chiapas, looking into possible violations.
Governor of Chiapas
(Javier López Moreno)
The Governor of Chiapas is on the spotlight right now. Since the uprising many of
the flaws and injustices that have been taking place under his command have been
exposed. It is clear that people are not happy with the way he has done his job,
and the federal government has been pressuring him for order. He is on a delicate
position, as it is against the government in general, but in the territory that is on his
charge.
LV y LVI Legislaturas
Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN)
Subcomandante Marcos
His real name is Rafael Sebastián Guillen Vicente, and he is the main
spokesperson of the movement. He has a great ability with communications, but he
is also within the military fraction of the movement. Even though he is probably the
best known face of the movement, it is important to remember that things within the
EZLN are managed in a direct democratic manner. This means that his vote counts
no more than any other vote, everyone has the same power, and decisions are
taken as a group. When he appears on photographs he always wears a balaclava
helmet, to remind us that democracies are not about a specific person, but about
the community, and that the fight has no face, because it is for everyone.
Commander Ramona
The “Comandanta” is one of the most prominent faces of the movement since the
beginning. She is responsible of taking over the city of San Cristobal de las Casas
on January 1st 1994. Before the uprising she and Mayor María made a survey
among indigenous women about exploitation, and they wrote a Revolutionary Law
of Women in 1993.
1) Indigenous: Communities from Los Altos and Las Cañadas, Chiapas
Tzeltales: They belong to the great Mayan family. They have been historically
discriminated, like all of the indigenous communities by the inhabitants of San
Cristobal de las Casas. They live of self-subsisting agriculture, and they sell in
markets the extra production that they manage to produce. They also fabricate
some jewelry, but in a very small scale, and they are not paid fair prices for their
work.
Tzotziles: They also belong to the great Mayan family. They have always been
discriminated, mainly because they live very close to San Cristobal. This happens
to the point that their language has diminished in use, and Spanish has
augmented. They conduct themselves according to tradition, and believe that
everyone´s opinion counts, this is why they decide as a community. Everyone
above the age of twelve has a say in the community´s affairs, this works as well
when takins decisions about the movement.
Choles: They have lived side by side with Tzetzales, Tzotziles and Tojolabales.
They consider themselves “men of corn”, and it is sacred for them. They also abide
by direct democracy. They represent 12% of the indigenous people in the state of
Chiapas. They believe that sickness is the result of wrongdoing, it is divine
punishment imposed on the sick person. The half-caste have always had the best
lands within the Choles region, they have always controlled transportation,
commerce and also have the political control of the region. Property has always
been the main source of conflict between them.
Tojolabales
Their lands are not very fertile, they have been stripped out of the possibility to
expand them and are suffering because they do not have anywhere else to move.
They have always been pretty isolated of trouble and have always sfound refuge in
their lands. Trouble is real now that they are being left out of possibilities, and they
cannot even cultivate their subsistence. They also abide by the direct democracy
principle, and take all of the decisions as a whole.
Zoques
They have been forced to change residence because of the earthquake in 1982,
and the eruption of the volcano Chichonal. This means that they are new to the
region and have also found trouble getting their land. The movement has come as
a blessing for them, since they have been having trouble with the lack of available,
safe land. They are the most vulnerable among the other members of the
movement, but they also have the same weight in the decisions. Democracy is the
first right for them, which will then lead to all the other rights, like land.
2) Catholic Church:
Missionaries from the Order of Preachers
They are also known as the Dominican Order, and have been present in Mexico
since the conquest. Batolomé de las Casas was from this order. They are very well
respected among the community, and are known for fighting for indigenous rights,
and human rights in general. In the conflict they have served as mediators between
the indigenous and the government. Their word has a lot of weight among the
community, and although they do not have a vote in the decisions, they do
influence the minds of the rest of the people who actually vote on the movements
that will come next for the uprising.
Diocese of San Cristóbal: Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of San Cristóbal
The indigenous have given him the name “Jtotik”, which means good father in
Tzotzil. He is very beloved, and is also the mediator between the government and
the indigenous, he has the most contact with them. He founded a human rights
center in Chiapas, called Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, in honor of the first human
rights fighter in Chiapas. It is rumored that he could even win a Nobel Peace Prize
for the work he has done defending their rights. Many people see his intentions as
selfish, or as looking for attention towards him, but it is far from it, and this is shown
in the respect and trust that the indigenous people have for him. Although he will
still live a long time, when he does die 15 thousand people will attend his funeral,
this gives us a general idea of just how much the love for him goes amongst the
community.
3) Autonomous agrarian and peasant productive organizations
Union of Unions
Multi-ethnic association that groups indigenous people from all of the communities
and also other owners of land in the Lacandon jungle area. It exists since the 80`s
and deals with issues relating land, it has more than 150 ejidos involved. By the
90`s it had six thousand families involved. They control the region and do not allow
strangers to walk into the area without permission. Most of its members, the nonindigenous ones, used to be pawns. Their ideology is that the people should
decide for themselves, and this is why they got together and hold meetings to
decide issues involving their land. Religion and morality are important factors, by
which they guide their decisions.
Alianza Nacional Campesina Independiente Emiliano Zapata
They have always said that the solution is in the people, they have the power to
change circumstances. It used to be the Provisional Coordination of Chiapas. They
have always fought for land rights, ever since Luis Echeverría redistributed land
and left 17 thousand indigenous people without land. This alliance has always
been involved in the multiple uprisings that have occurred in Chiapas since the 70
´s.
4) Left wing sectors:
Union of People
It is an insurgent group, founded by José María Ignacio Ortiz, an ex-insurgent who
was actually trained in Vietnam. He has given military support to the group, many
of the tactics used by the EZLN were his idea. His military knowledge and his
expertise in “guerrilla” have given the Union a very important role.
Popular Revolutionary Front
They are a communist group, known for their radical ideas. They have joined
forces with the movement, because they believe in the emancipation of the
proletariat. There have been many different conflicts between them and the
Subcomandante, because they have radical ideas and little tactic. They plan on
impulse and do not take strategies, for them the only way to emancipation is by
continued force, which does work with the rest of the movement, but they do not
like taking everything by voting and want to decide by themselves quick
movements.
Directing Ideologic Organization
Their line of thought is maoistic. They have been present in the region since the 70
´s, where they have been teaching communal ideas, and helping workers organize.
They are helping the movement with the political organizational structure, and have
a tendency to clash with the already organized workers. It is important to
remember that not all of the organizations within the movement survive, some will
be kicked out at some point. But while they still have their place they should start
securing it.
Conclusions
Since the responsibility of any government is to take care of their citizens, their
security, their properties and their integrity, when an armed movement is originated
against the government’s interests that represent a national threat, this government
should take actions in order to resolve the problem with this movement in a nonviolent manner.
In this case the EZLN, a movement that is against the actions taken from president
Carlos Salinas de Gortari, with United States of America and Canada in order to
have a more globalized economy, along with the lack of interest on the rights of the
ethnic groups and rural citizens of the southern part of the country, specifically the
state of Chiapas.
The objective of the movement is the creation of a new bilateral relationship
between the government and the population in an anticapitalist democracy.
In the crisis room, the government of Mexico along with the members of the
cabinet, should discuss a way to face this emerging crisis in such a way that it
doesn’t affect the actions already taken by the Salinas administration. This
administration seeks many transformations, such as the privatization of
government owned industry, specially the financial sector, along with other more.
The ideological base of the government’s actions will be lead by neoliberal
capitalist policies. Some concern will also be to keep the president´s political party,
PRI, in power.
On the other hand, the EZLN with the leadership of Rafael Sebastián Guillén,
better known as subcomandante Marcos, supported by the agricultural community
of Chiapas with an estimated number of 40,000 members, has taken partial control
of territory in the state in order to express their concern with the situation to act by
their demands.
Even though this is a armed group, the government should respect their human
rights and only use military sources as a last option, to avoid an international
tragedy. The government seeks to use the legislative power and economic
capabilities in order to reach an agreement that both opposite sides can agree on,
since the movement do not seeks to take power, as a revolutionary force, but only
to restructure the economic and political ideals taken by the Salinas government.
As a final reminder we would like to remind delegates that as members of each
cabinet you are entitled to the powers related to your position inside the
government. It is very important for the delegate to always maintain its position in
order to advice the President in the best manner possible. When debating whether
to take an executive action or release a press statement take into account all the
topics that need to be covered which include but arenot limited to foreign policy,
economy, health and education. As amember of the cabinet the President is
counting on your insight to take the best decision possible in order to advance your
countries interests in the global scenario.
References:
Gómez Muñoz, Maritza, Pueblos Indígenas del México Contemporáneo:
Tzetzales. Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, 2004.
(Consultado
el
18
de
mayo
de
2015)
http://www.cdi.gob.mx/dmdocuments/tzeltales.pdf
Obregón
Rodríguez,
María
Concepción,
Pueblos
Indígenas
del
México
Contemporáneo: Tzotziles. Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos
Indígenas,
2003.
(Consultado
el
18
de
mayo
de
2015)
http://www.cdi.gob.mx/dmdocuments/tzotziles.pdf
Leyva Solano, Xóchitl. Militancia Político-Religiosa e identidad en la Lacandona.
Espiral.
http://148.202.18.157/sitios/publicacionesite/pperiod/espiral/espiralpdf/Espiral2/5988.pdf
Choles
http://www.cdi.gob.mx/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=588&Itemid=62
Tojobales http://www.cdi.gob.mx/dmdocuments/tojolabales.pdf
http://www.letraslibres.com/revista/tertulia/siglo-xx-mexicano
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/opinion/sunday/mexicandemocracys-lost-years.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://elpais.com/diario/1990/09/01/cultura/652140001_850215.html
http://hemeroteca.informador.com.mx/
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas
http://www.lja.mx/2014/02/ejercito-zapatista-de-liberacion-nacional-y-su
trascendencia-internacional-a-20-anos-de-su-conformacion/
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/01/01/world/americas/ap-lt-mexicozapatistas-at-20.html?_r=0
http://inside.sfuhs.org/dept/history/Mexicoreader/Chapter6/ezln%20demands.pdf
http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/publica/librev/rev/polis/cont/19951/pr/pr7.pdf
Emerging Crisis Committee
The EZLN Conflict (Mexico 1994)
Undersecretary: Sebastian Guevara
President (A): Rodrigo Zozaya
Vice President (A): José Javier Villicaña
President (B): Alejandro Tame
Vice President (B): Julene Landáburu
Military Intelligence Advisor: Ana Cecilia Samaniego
Political Intelligence Advisor: Paola Aguirre
Economic Intelligence Advisor: Santiago de Regil
Academic Intelligence Advisor: Berenice Rodríguez
Introduction
Welcome to the third edition of the Emerging Crises Committee of the 18th edition
of ITAM Model United Nations. For this year’s edition you are invited to travel into
the past of our country to 1994 and join the Cabinet of the 58th administration of
the United Mexican States or incorporate to the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación
Nacional. During these three intensive days you will be immersed in a completely
different country from the one we currently know as Mexico. From one side you will
represent the Mexican government, one that just got involved in the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and is already facing a legitimacy
dilemma and the increasing critics against it. Under the lead of president Carlos
Salinas de Gortari and a group of secretaries you will be able to take a part in the
decisions of the cabinet while it tries to control a rebellion that just took place at
Chiapas the very first day of the year, among other emerging situations. On the
other committee you will come across with a constant situation of poverty that has
not been solved for years and social and economic inequality lots of Mexicans are
going through. With the guidance of the subcomandante Marcos, you will fight for
the rights of Mexican natives and promote their involvement in the political matters
of the country. You will also put pressure on Salina’s administration in order to stop
the NAFTA from tearing apart native communities. Both committees will have an
important job ahead of them in order to guarantee their integrity and their spheres
of influence; however, they must also take into account that any action they take
will have serious repercussions on the national scenario creating unforeseen crisis
that may determine their group’s future and the history of Mexico. It is an honor for
us to welcome you to this committee and do not hesitate to contact us if you have
any doubts regarding the flow of the debate and how the crisis committee works.
Historical Overview (1910-1988)
The Mexican XX century starts with the beginning of the revolution in 1910 with the
purpose to expel Porfirio Diaz from the power after more than 30 years of
occupying the presidency. After achieving this, the conflict evolved and became a
battle between several groups to establish a government for the whole country. In
this context, Emiliano Zapata, a landowner in the region of Morelos who claimed
for lands for the peasants, commanded one of the groups. Although other forces
defeated the movement, it is remembered with the words “the land belongs to the
one who works it” (La tierra es de quien la trabaja). What’s more important of this is
that it gave a face to a vast series of social demands and ultimately inspired the
EZLN formation.
From the revolution was born the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR) in1929,
which changed its name to Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in 1946, and
held power in Mexico for 71 years. Its legitimacy was foundational; challenging it
was to dispute the principles of the revolution.
In 1934, Lázaro Cárdenas became president and he tried to recover the
revolutionary demands, including some of the ones proposed by Emiliano Zapata.
His period is remembered by the nationalization of the oil industry and an
agricultural reform that aimed to create communal fields for peasants, though this
last one wasn’t successful.
In the 1940’s a new economic model was adopted, it was called the “Import
Substitution Model” and it was focused on developing the internal industry
providing high barriers to the international trade. Roughly from 1950 to 1970
Mexico lived what is called its golden age or the Mexican miracle. During this time
there was a sustainable economic growth and internal stability. Problems started to
present in the decade of the 1960’s with movements that demanded freedom of
speech, political liberties and better work conditions in a hostile environment,
where power was inaccessible in hands of the PRI.
There’s a landmark for Mexico’s history in 1968, when a social movement guided
by college students claiming for their rights against the government was attacked
by federal forces. This is labeled as one of the darkest days in our contemporary
history.
In the decade of the 1970’s above all the political turbulence that was arising,
economic problems started to build their own way. Inflation and devaluation started
to appear in the middle of the decade when José López Portillo won the presidency
in 1976, being the only possible election on the ballot. During his time in office a
vast number of oil fields (Cantarel in Campeche being the most important) where
discovered, this was Mexico’s time to shine. But, it didn’t go so well, the profits
from the oil industry where wasted instead of invested, and even relying on this
industry a big debt was contracted with foreign banks. The problem arrived when
the oil price started to lower and the interest rates of the debt started to rise in the
beginning of the 1980’s. This collapsed the Mexican economy. In 1988 Carlos
Salinas was elected, once more with the PRI, although in this election there was,
for the first time, a real opponent with Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, a former member of
the PRI.
Current Situation
The government of Carlos Salinas began with accusations and criticisms of
electoral fraud. Many Mexicans were sure that the fate of the country would
change after the entry of a new political party, the National Democratic Front, which
had as a candidate Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. However, the accounting of the votes
was suddenly interrupted. Manuel Bartlett Diaz, who was in charge of the
Secretary of Interior, and the Federal Electoral Commission informed that a
problem had occurred in the computer system where the results were saved. They
declared that they didn’t know what the problem was but that Mexico needed a
president.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Manuel Clouthier, presidential candidate from the National
Action Party, and Rosario Ibarra, presidential candidate from the Workers
Revolutionary Party, protested and denounced the illegality of the electoral
process. Mexican citizens also showed their dissatisfaction. Finally, the Interior
Ministry announced the results obtained and named Carlos Salinas de Gortari,
from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, president of Mexico. As a result, the new
administration began its term in office as one of the most unpopular in recent
Mexican history.
Salinas took office on December 1, 1988. To reaffirm his authority he fired the
leader of the oil union, Joaquin Hernandez Galicia, also known as “La Quina”. The
Mexican Army arrested him for being accused of murder and possession of
firearms for the exclusive use of the armed forces. Along with Hernandez Galicia,
30 other oil leaders were detained and displaced from their positions. A group
headed by a man named Carlos Romero Deschamps was now in charge of such
union. Salinas also replaced the leader of the National Union of Education
Workers, Carlos Jonguitud Barrios, and put in his place a woman named Elba
Esther Gordillo. These two decisions reflect the president’s attempts to reaffirm his
authority by purging his government from any kind of disloyalties.
In addition, Salinas took two other decisions to legitimize his regime: the creation of
the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) and the creation of the National Human Rights
Commission (CNDH). In order to have an impartial institution that gives certainty,
transparency and legality to federal elections, the Congress issued, in 1990, the
Federal Code of Institutions and Electoral Procedures (COFIPE) and ordered the
creation of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE). Through this, Salinas sought to
legitimize democracy in Mexico after the failed 1988 election. 1 On the other hand,
on June 6, 1990 an institution called the National Commission on Human Rights,
1http://www.ine.mx/archivos3/portal/historico/contenido/menuitem.cdd8
58023b32d5b7787e6910d08600a0/
constituted as a decentralized agency of the Ministry of the Interior Agency, was
born by presidential decree. The implementation of this institution was supposed to
guarantee the human rights of all Mexican citizens. 2
Other things also seemed to change, for the first time in Mexico’s post
revolutionary history, the government recognized the triumph of the opposition; the
new governor of the state Baja California was a member of the National Action
Party. Salinas also restored relations with the Church. The outcome of these
decisions was that in the federal Congress, the neoliberal economic policies of the
president were supported by the members of the National Action Party and by the
catholic hierarchy.
Before taking office, Salinas promised the "political, economic, and cultural
modernization" of Mexico and an improvement in Mexico's standing abroad. He
continued with economic measures to combat foreign debt and dependence on oil
exports; the basic assumption of all this measures was that public intervention in
the private sphere had led to distortions and inefficiencies that hindered economic
modernization. Mexico tried to give credibility to its policy of trade liberalization with
the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Besides the
reduction in trade barriers NAFTA partners demanded to reduce restrictions on
foreign investment. NAFTA wasn’t a typical commerce negotiation. It was the first
time that industrialized countries were negotiating with a less developed country
2 http://www.cndh.org.mx/Antecedentes
that had a much smaller economy.3 This led Salinas’ government to a very big
problem, as we will explain soon.
Another reform that encouraged the neoliberal program was the privatization of
public enterprises. Salinas got the Congress to approve again the privatization of
the banks, delivering them to new owners with no experience but with similar
interests with him. He also privatized a Mexican telecommunications company
named Telmex, which was bought by Carlos Slim. The privatization policy provided
the government with temporary economic resources to launch a major program of
social spending called National Solidarity Program.
The last year of the Salinas administration was a time of crisis. On January 1,
1994, the Mexican people received news of the existence of an indigenous uprising
occurred in the state of Chiapas. It was a political-military organization conformed
mostly by the Mayans from Chiapas who rise up in arms for democracy, liberty and
justice for all the Mexicans who lived in poverty. They identified with the name of
the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejercito Zapatista de Liberación
Nacional). Two processes were present at the origins of the EZLN movement: the
social movements that occurred in the sixties and the seventies of the twentieth
century and the centuries of struggle of resistance of the Indian people of Chiapas
against different types of subordination.
3 http://www.economiamexicana.cide.edu/num_anteriores/II-esp/15_PASTOR_245278.pdf)
Public Opinion:
The recent up rise of The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), has
shaken Mexico’s reality and presented a serious challenge to the federal
government. Despite of the NAFTA and the modernizing vision that president
Salinas is introducing into the country, his government has to rethink its internal
policy.
Since the beginning, civil society made it very clear that they are against any
violent intervention from the federal government. Following this, Mexican
authorities are starting to soothe this climate of violence and approach the problem
with a different perspective. The former mayor of Mexico City, Manuel Camacho,
has been sent as commissioner for the peace in Chiapas. Camacho and his team
of mediators are meant to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict and in
exchange, they are able to afford certain concessions for the Zapatistas. The
Church in Chiapas has supported dialogue and held off the Indians and peasants
defending their most basic rights. Different sectors of Mexican society and from
other countries are mobilizing to prevent a military solution against the indigenous
rebels. There are individuals, organizations and solidarity movements protesting,
debating and acting in harmony with the EZLN.
The Zapatista movement has obtained not only support in the national public
opinion, but also of intellectuals and artists from other latitudes, such as Jose
Saramago, Joaquín Sabina and Miguel Rios, to name a few.
The movement has also found resonance beyond the country's borders and even a
network of transnational solidarity for the Zapatistas has been established. The
indigenous Zapatistas of Chiapas are working as symbolic references to a new
generation of social movements, which are geographically dispersed, diffuse and
most of the time against globalization and anything that could be related to it.
Groups and committees, organized primarily in Europe and the United States,
begin to promote travel to the scene. They are the first contacts with indigenous
communities for many activists, reporters, known personalities or anonymous
young people from all over the world that want to know more about their fight. The
Zapatistas have opened their doors to welcome these international actors. Facing
this situation, the Mexican government has been limiting the right to enter the
territory requiring special visas for rebel municipalities. The Zapatistas, aware that
their war is highly dependent on their visibility in Mexico and in the world, promote
the presence of visitors from everywhere.
The Subcomandante Marcos has been recognized as an equal among leftist
intellectuals. Both in Mexico and abroad, Marcos as spokesman and media
personality, has been rated as a translator of the indigenous world and
representative for their cause. With him, the rebels of Chiapas have acquired an
unprecedented scale taking advantage of what has been described as "guerrilla
media". From the first day of the uprising, most of the national and foreign
reporters in Chiapas have acted in favor of the indigenous people. Mexican society
has discovered this ‘hidden’ part of the new “modernizing” development of Mexico.
From the first day of the uprising, most of the national and foreign reporters in
Chiapas have acted in favor of the indigenous people. Mexican society has
discovered this ‘hidden’ part of the new “modernizing” development of Mexico. The
EZLN has become a symbol against global exclusion, achieving a universalizing
singular effect, showing that it can withstand an adverse international context and
become a benchmark for many fights to defend ‘left’ movements around the world.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Secretary of Government
(Jorge Carpizo McGregor)
He is in charge of the affairs within the country. He must overlook that what the
constitution dictates is being followed, he also is in charge of regulating the
relationships between the executive power and other branches of government and
states. The Secretary of Government must also coordinate national security
actions and civil protection.
Secretary of Foreign Relations (Manuel Tello Macías)
The Secretary of Foreign Relations manages the diplomatic relationships of
Mexico. He must also issue statements, and must overlook how certain actions
within the country, especially human rights violations, will affect the image of
Mexico among their strategic partners. It is a delicate situation as the NAFTA
agreement has just come into place and some of the conditionality attached to it
where human rights and democracy improvements.
Secretary of National Defense
(Antonio Riviellio Bazán)
The Secretary is in charge of the military education and defense of the country, it
shares this charge with the Secretary of Marine. It organizes and administrates the
army and the air force of the country. It is important to remember that one of the
official objectives of the Secretary is to maintain national integrity
Secretary of Marine (Luis Carlos Ruano Angulo)
The marine works very closely with the National Defense, it must coordinate efforts
with them in order to find the best solutions. It is important to remember that all
eyes, national and international, will be on the military actions taken against what is
being seen as a movement that is setting pace. Public opinion is in favor of the
movement, and military actions will be highly disapproved, and could even lead to
a human rights scandal on behalf of the civil Zapatism. On extreme measures the
international community could even sanction the country if military action is taken
wrongfully.
Secretary of Hacienda y Crédito Público (Pedro Aspe Armella)
The Secretary is in charge of taxes recollection, and more generally speaking
about finances and public spending.
Secretary of Social Development (Carlos Rojas Gutiérrez)
The objective of this Secretary is to fight poverty and create social development
programs that go along with a budget plan for its implementation. The recognition
of social rights of certain marginalized communities has been left behind, and the
Secretary carries the responsibility of including them in the federal planning, so the
uprising is a response of this lack of inclusion
Secretary of Energy, Mines and Parastatal Industry (Emilio Lozoya Thalmann)
Secretary of Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources (Carlos Hank González)
The State of Chiapas has important agriculture sectors. The production of coffee is
one of its most important industries; it exports 80% of its production to the United
States. Most of it is cultivated in communal lands, where indigenous people work in
the production. It produces approximately 30% of the coffee in Mexico.
The Secretary is in charge of distributing federal resources for development to the
different agricultural producers in the country.
Secretary of Communication and Transportation (Emilio Gamboa Patrón)
Secretary of General Control of the Federation (María Elena Vázquez Nava)
This Secretary is in charge of the Federal Public Administration; it must look over
and evaluate public servers, through the creation of norms.
Secretary of Work and Social Prevision (Arsenio Farell Cubillas- Manuel Gómez
Peralta)
As social injustices are being exposed, and exploitation denounced, the Secretary
must take positive actions to mitigate the effects of this uprising. It has the power to
regulate patron-worker relations and state minimum requirements in contracts, so
that fair work opportunities are provided and indigenous people are not exploited
anymore.
Secretary of Agrarian Reformation (Victor Cervera Pacheco)
This Secretary is especially significant in the country as it is seen as the last
standing opportunity for reforming the agrarian sector. It is in charge of protecting
the rights of the land workers to own the land in which they work.
Secretary of Tourism (Jesús Silva-Herzog Flores)
This Secretary is in charge of promoting, coordinating and overlooking tourism in
the country. The state of Chiapas has a large amount of tourists coming in each
year. Since the uprising it has been receiving a lot of journalists, since both
nationally and internationally there has emerged a huge interest in it. The
movement is seen as a brother movement of other leftist in the world and it has
gained popularity that has shaken up the federal government, because of the bad
exposure to which it has been submitted.
Procuraduría General de la República (Diego Valadés Ríos-Humberto Benítez
Treviño)
The Procurador has the responsibility of investigating and punishing all the crimes
committed within the country. The Public Ministries, along with investigating police
and experts are on his charge.
President of the National Human Rights Commission
(Jorge Madrazo
Cuellar)
The National Human Rights Commission is the governmental entity in charge of
overviewing and promoting human rights; they also issue recommendations and
brief about situations where these are being violated. It was created by
constitutional reform on January 28, 1992, and it is a decentralized agency from
the executive power.
In this case the President of the Commission would need to issue a report about
the situation in Chiapas, looking into possible violations.
Governor of Chiapas
(Javier López Moreno)
The Governor of Chiapas is on the spotlight right now. Since the uprising many of
the flaws and injustices that have been taking place under his command have been
exposed. It is clear that people are not happy with the way he has done his job,
and the federal government has been pressuring him for order. He is on a delicate
position, as it is against the government in general, but in the territory that is on his
charge.
LV y LVI Legislaturas
Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN)
Subcomandante Marcos
His real name is Rafael Sebastián Guillen Vicente, and he is the main
spokesperson of the movement. He has a great ability with communications, but he
is also within the military fraction of the movement. Even though he is probably the
best known face of the movement, it is important to remember that things within the
EZLN are managed in a direct democratic manner. This means that his vote counts
no more than any other vote, everyone has the same power, and decisions are
taken as a group. When he appears on photographs he always wears a balaclava
helmet, to remind us that democracies are not about a specific person, but about
the community, and that the fight has no face, because it is for everyone.
Commander Ramona
The “Comandanta” is one of the most prominent faces of the movement since the
beginning. She is responsible of taking over the city of San Cristobal de las Casas
on January 1st 1994. Before the uprising she and Mayor María made a survey
among indigenous women about exploitation, and they wrote a Revolutionary Law
of Women in 1993.
1) Indigenous: Communities from Los Altos and Las Cañadas, Chiapas
Tzeltales: They belong to the great Mayan family. They have been historically
discriminated, like all of the indigenous communities by the inhabitants of San
Cristobal de las Casas. They live of self-subsisting agriculture, and they sell in
markets the extra production that they manage to produce. They also fabricate
some jewelry, but in a very small scale, and they are not paid fair prices for their
work.
Tzotziles: They also belong to the great Mayan family. They have always been
discriminated, mainly because they live very close to San Cristobal. This happens
to the point that their language has diminished in use, and Spanish has
augmented. They conduct themselves according to tradition, and believe that
everyone´s opinion counts, this is why they decide as a community. Everyone
above the age of twelve has a say in the community´s affairs, this works as well
when takins decisions about the movement.
Choles: They have lived side by side with Tzetzales, Tzotziles and Tojolabales.
They consider themselves “men of corn”, and it is sacred for them. They also abide
by direct democracy. They represent 12% of the indigenous people in the state of
Chiapas. They believe that sickness is the result of wrongdoing, it is divine
punishment imposed on the sick person. The half-caste have always had the best
lands within the Choles region, they have always controlled transportation,
commerce and also have the political control of the region. Property has always
been the main source of conflict between them.
Tojolabales
Their lands are not very fertile, they have been stripped out of the possibility to
expand them and are suffering because they do not have anywhere else to move.
They have always been pretty isolated of trouble and have always sfound refuge in
their lands. Trouble is real now that they are being left out of possibilities, and they
cannot even cultivate their subsistence. They also abide by the direct democracy
principle, and take all of the decisions as a whole.
Zoques
They have been forced to change residence because of the earthquake in 1982,
and the eruption of the volcano Chichonal. This means that they are new to the
region and have also found trouble getting their land. The movement has come as
a blessing for them, since they have been having trouble with the lack of available,
safe land. They are the most vulnerable among the other members of the
movement, but they also have the same weight in the decisions. Democracy is the
first right for them, which will then lead to all the other rights, like land.
2) Catholic Church:
Missionaries from the Order of Preachers
They are also known as the Dominican Order, and have been present in Mexico
since the conquest. Batolomé de las Casas was from this order. They are very well
respected among the community, and are known for fighting for indigenous rights,
and human rights in general. In the conflict they have served as mediators between
the indigenous and the government. Their word has a lot of weight among the
community, and although they do not have a vote in the decisions, they do
influence the minds of the rest of the people who actually vote on the movements
that will come next for the uprising.
Diocese of San Cristóbal: Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of San Cristóbal
The indigenous have given him the name “Jtotik”, which means good father in
Tzotzil. He is very beloved, and is also the mediator between the government and
the indigenous, he has the most contact with them. He founded a human rights
center in Chiapas, called Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, in honor of the first human
rights fighter in Chiapas. It is rumored that he could even win a Nobel Peace Prize
for the work he has done defending their rights. Many people see his intentions as
selfish, or as looking for attention towards him, but it is far from it, and this is shown
in the respect and trust that the indigenous people have for him. Although he will
still live a long time, when he does die 15 thousand people will attend his funeral,
this gives us a general idea of just how much the love for him goes amongst the
community.
3) Autonomous agrarian and peasant productive organizations
Union of Unions
Multi-ethnic association that groups indigenous people from all of the communities
and also other owners of land in the Lacandon jungle area. It exists since the 80`s
and deals with issues relating land, it has more than 150 ejidos involved. By the
90`s it had six thousand families involved. They control the region and do not allow
strangers to walk into the area without permission. Most of its members, the nonindigenous ones, used to be pawns. Their ideology is that the people should
decide for themselves, and this is why they got together and hold meetings to
decide issues involving their land. Religion and morality are important factors, by
which they guide their decisions.
Alianza Nacional Campesina Independiente Emiliano Zapata
They have always said that the solution is in the people, they have the power to
change circumstances. It used to be the Provisional Coordination of Chiapas. They
have always fought for land rights, ever since Luis Echeverría redistributed land
and left 17 thousand indigenous people without land. This alliance has always
been involved in the multiple uprisings that have occurred in Chiapas since the 70
´s.
4) Left wing sectors:
Union of People
It is an insurgent group, founded by José María Ignacio Ortiz, an ex-insurgent who
was actually trained in Vietnam. He has given military support to the group, many
of the tactics used by the EZLN were his idea. His military knowledge and his
expertise in “guerrilla” have given the Union a very important role.
Popular Revolutionary Front
They are a communist group, known for their radical ideas. They have joined
forces with the movement, because they believe in the emancipation of the
proletariat. There have been many different conflicts between them and the
Subcomandante, because they have radical ideas and little tactic. They plan on
impulse and do not take strategies, for them the only way to emancipation is by
continued force, which does work with the rest of the movement, but they do not
like taking everything by voting and want to decide by themselves quick
movements.
Directing Ideologic Organization
Their line of thought is maoistic. They have been present in the region since the 70
´s, where they have been teaching communal ideas, and helping workers organize.
They are helping the movement with the political organizational structure, and have
a tendency to clash with the already organized workers. It is important to
remember that not all of the organizations within the movement survive, some will
be kicked out at some point. But while they still have their place they should start
securing it.
Conclusions
Since the responsibility of any government is to take care of their citizens, their
security, their properties and their integrity, when an armed movement is originated
against the government’s interests that represent a national threat, this government
should take actions in order to resolve the problem with this movement in a nonviolent manner.
In this case the EZLN, a movement that is against the actions taken from president
Carlos Salinas de Gortari, with United States of America and Canada in order to
have a more globalized economy, along with the lack of interest on the rights of the
ethnic groups and rural citizens of the southern part of the country, specifically the
state of Chiapas.
The objective of the movement is the creation of a new bilateral relationship
between the government and the population in an anticapitalist democracy.
In the crisis room, the government of Mexico along with the members of the
cabinet, should discuss a way to face this emerging crisis in such a way that it
doesn’t affect the actions already taken by the Salinas administration. This
administration seeks many transformations, such as the privatization of
government owned industry, specially the financial sector, along with other more.
The ideological base of the government’s actions will be lead by neoliberal
capitalist policies. Some concern will also be to keep the president´s political party,
PRI, in power.
On the other hand, the EZLN with the leadership of Rafael Sebastián Guillén,
better known as subcomandante Marcos, supported by the agricultural community
of Chiapas with an estimated number of 40,000 members, has taken partial control
of territory in the state in order to express their concern with the situation to act by
their demands.
Even though this is a armed group, the government should respect their human
rights and only use military sources as a last option, to avoid an international
tragedy. The government seeks to use the legislative power and economic
capabilities in order to reach an agreement that both opposite sides can agree on,
since the movement do not seeks to take power, as a revolutionary force, but only
to restructure the economic and political ideals taken by the Salinas government.
As a final reminder we would like to remind delegates that as members of each
cabinet you are entitled to the powers related to your position inside the
government. It is very important for the delegate to always maintain its position in
order to advice the President in the best manner possible. When debating whether
to take an executive action or release a press statement take into account all the
topics that need to be covered which include but arenot limited to foreign policy,
economy, health and education. As amember of the cabinet the President is
counting on your insight to take the best decision possible in order to advance your
countries interests in the global scenario.
References:
Gómez Muñoz, Maritza, Pueblos Indígenas del México Contemporáneo:
Tzetzales. Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, 2004.
(Consultado
el
18
de
mayo
de
2015)
http://www.cdi.gob.mx/dmdocuments/tzeltales.pdf
Obregón
Rodríguez,
María
Concepción,
Pueblos
Indígenas
del
México
Contemporáneo: Tzotziles. Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos
Indígenas,
2003.
(Consultado
el
18
de
mayo
de
2015)
http://www.cdi.gob.mx/dmdocuments/tzotziles.pdf
Leyva Solano, Xóchitl. Militancia Político-Religiosa e identidad en la Lacandona.
Espiral.
http://148.202.18.157/sitios/publicacionesite/pperiod/espiral/espiralpdf/Espiral2/5988.pdf
Choles
http://www.cdi.gob.mx/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=588&Itemid=62
Tojobales http://www.cdi.gob.mx/dmdocuments/tojolabales.pdf
http://www.letraslibres.com/revista/tertulia/siglo-xx-mexicano
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/opinion/sunday/mexicandemocracys-lost-years.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://elpais.com/diario/1990/09/01/cultura/652140001_850215.html
http://hemeroteca.informador.com.mx/
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas
http://www.lja.mx/2014/02/ejercito-zapatista-de-liberacion-nacional-y-su
trascendencia-internacional-a-20-anos-de-su-conformacion/
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/01/01/world/americas/ap-lt-mexicozapatistas-at-20.html?_r=0
http://inside.sfuhs.org/dept/history/Mexicoreader/Chapter6/ezln%20demands.pdf
http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/publica/librev/rev/polis/cont/19951/pr/pr7.pdf
