Indigenous and Global Feminist Perspectives on the Women of Chiapas Women's reproductive health is a debated and complex issue in today's society. Nowhere is its severity more prevalent than in areas of extreme poverty such as south and Central America. The resolution to these problems is far from simple. Yet, women are increasingly taking control of their lives and forming groups to combat many of the prejudices that hold them back. However highly debated some tactics for resolution may be it
Fanon's Three Stages Related to the Indigenous People of Chiapas The passage Shadows of Tender Fury by Subcommander Marcos of the Zapatista Army explains that the people of Chiapas are currently facing a period of revolution. The Zapatista army (consisting of Chiapian campesinos) has risen to combat the intolerant system of oppression by the Mexican government and has attempted to create a better lifestyle for the campesinos of Chiapas. Frantz Fanon's three stages to national culture; assimilation
to be fighting for freedom, democracy and autonomy. The communities it works for democratically controlled the army itself. The attack occurred because the communities it serves decided it should happen. Soon after the seizure of the villages in Chiapas the Zapatistas decided to stop attacking and instead go into negotiations with the government. On the Zapatistas side open conflict only lasted 12 days [ii] , though the government has broken the peace several times. So the question is why did this
Indigenous Rights in Mexico and Central America Introduction The injustice surrounding the Indigenous populations in Mexico and Central America began with the Spanish colonies in the sixteenth century, and the struggle for their land and constitution rights has been an ongoing battle for hundreds of years. The indigenous people take up a large part of the population in Mexico and Central America. (See Table 1; Graph 1 below). Indigenous people make up of over 16 percent of the Mexican
of National Liberation; EZLN) constructed a space for indigenous women to reclaim their rights, it was a significant step towards justice. The Mexican government, in haste for globalization and profits, ignored its indigenous peoples’ sufferings. Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, consisting of mostly indigenous peoples living in the mountains and country, grew frustration with the Mexican government. It was in that moment that the Zapatista movement arose from the countryside to awaken a
Throughout history in the Americas many Native Americans have been repressed by conquerors. Since the discovery of Christopher Columbus and the Invasion of Cortez many natives have been dislocated from their land and forced to work for those that invade. In I, Rigoberta Menchu, By Elisabeth Burgos-Debray tells the story of Menchu and native Maya Indians in Guatemala. In this literature it is explained how the natives struggled to keep their rightful lands from the bourgeoisies and to do away with
The Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, Mexico got worldwide attention on January 1, 1994, when they marched to Mexico City against the signing of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The free trade agreement was intended to facilitate trading between Canada, United States, and Mexico. The Zapatista claimed that this agreement would affect the indigenous people of Chiapas by further widening the gap between the poor and the rich. In this paper I will examine the NAFTA agreement and the
On July, 1994 Mexico broke loose on a crisis after the assassination of the Presidential Candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, Luis Donaldo Colosio, in Tijuana. The Organization of the American States had to take action because of the riots and political confrontations in Mexico. The Institutional Revolutionary Party ruled the country of Mexico for a really long time now. They were expected to win the election on that same year until tragedy stroke. The assassination of the presidential
employ over 53% of the state’s population; however, its productivity is considered low (Knoema,pg.1). Some of their major crops are corn, beans, coffee, soybeans, peanuts, sesame seeds, cacao, sugar cane, mangos, bananas, etc. To better understand Chiapas situation and environment one can analyze their statistics. Their life expectancy at birth is 74.0 years. That is about 4 years less than the United States of America. Total fertility rate is 2.50 and the number of births they have is 69,735. The
his jeans. He attempts this journey eight times before he finally succeeds. During the first seven attempts he talks about how he was beaten, robbed, deported and constantly humiliated. Enrique has discovered several important things about Chiapas. In Chiapas, do not take buses, which must pass through nine permanent checkpoints, never ride alone, do not trust any authority figures, and even to be aware of the local residents. Gangsters aboard the train are seen in a negative way because they are
States-Mexico border. The Mexican elites saw it as their salvation. Others saw it as “ a death sentence.” The Chiapas region itself exemplifies this gap, as well. The region was split between the relatively prosperous west, which was fertile and characterized by commercial development, and the poor, subsistence-oriented east. It was not by accident that the Zapatista movement began in Chiapas as the struggle between ranchers, landowners, and subsistence farmers was intensified by NAFTA. The thinning
When World’s Collide Reflection Paper To begin, before viewing this film and taking this course, I possessed a very broad sense of the tragedy of the conquered indigenous natives in both the Latin America’s and the USA. I have always despised the ethnocentric depictions of history throughout movies, images, textbooks, as well as other media and musical influences. This film truly helped expand my knowledge and put what we have read so far into perspective. Before this film, one concept that was
The tomb of the Red Queen is the remains of an unknown person, it is located in Chiapas, Mexico. It was discovered in the year of 1994, and during the discovery there is a redness of the skeleton, which is cause by the cinnabar. According to an article called The red Queen of Palenque, during the discovery of the Red Queen in a temple in Chiapas there was a discovery of two other skeletons that accompanied the Red Queen (2014). Based on the investigations on this particular site, they believed
Mexican Capitalism and neoliberalism is destroying the values and traditions of the indigenous people of Chiapas. Throughout this text, Marcos cites many examples about how the government and business owners take many useful resources from Chiapas in order to export them to other countries to benefit the elitists. Marcos elaborates that this Capitalist approach severely damages the community of Chiapas by taking these resources away from the people living there, or making them too expensive for them to
1994, as Mexico was celebrating the entry into force of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), masked rebels seized control of parts of the southern state of Chiapas. The Mexican army quickly pushed these rebels, who were mostly indigenous Mexicans, back into the jungles whence they came, but not before the rebellion in Chiapas gained the attention of the world. As time progressed, these rebels did not go away. They identified themselves as the Zapatista Army for National Liberation and their
Only known by her pseudonyms, Yolanda, and more popularly, Ana Maria; Ana Maria is a Tzotzil, born in Sabanilla, Chiapas in 1969, who dedicated her whole life to became infantry major of the EZLN (Zapatista National Liberation Army). Tzotzil are an indigenous, Mayan people, who make up the largest amount of people in Chiapas. Ana Maria was raised to protest for indigenous autonomy and land reform with her family. Since the liberation of Mexico, land reform has been a reoccurring issue of revolution
1, 2004, over one thousand people in the mountain hamlet of Oventic, Chiapas, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) rebellion with song and dance. Thus, it seems a fitting time to take stock of the successes and failures of the Zapatista movement in the context of its original goals. While the EZLN has been able to establish thirty eight autonomous indigenous communities in Chiapas, it has failed to weaken the Mexican government's commitment to neo-liberal
Understanding Zapatista Longevity When Mexican President Vincente Fox rode into office on a wave of popular support in 2000, he inherited the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas. In 1994, the largely indigenous Zapatista movement began a military campaign to protest economic and political disenfranchisement. Vincente Fox claimed that he could solve the Zapatista uprising in “15 minutes.” Like his predecessor, he has failed to solve the problem. How did the Zapatistas achieve such longevity in the
Rage Against the Machine Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, and Timmy Commerford took to a Philadelphia stage in 1993 clad in black electrical tape that covered their mouths and the initials PMRC written in black marker across their chests. They stood in this fashion for fourteen minutes while feedback from their guitars rumbled through the amps. This seemingly simple prank was actually protest against the censorship of music and the Parents Music Resource Center, founded by Tipper
Ethnicity is an important yet highly imprecise concept in contemporary Mexico. Students of Mexican society, as well as Mexicans themselves, identify two broad ethnic groups based on cultural rather than racial differences: mestizos and Indians. Each group has a distinct cultural viewpoint and perceives itself as different from the other. At the same time, however, group allegiances may change, making measurement of ethnic composition problematic at best. Originally racial designators, the terms