"Acteal Massacre -- December 22, 1997"

- By Grahame Russell
March 1998

Summary: This report was prepared by Grahame Russell, director of Rights Action (formerly Guatemala Partners), based on a visit to Chiapas (February 1-5, 1998) with his colleague Annie Bird. Contact Rights Action about how you can support human rights and community development work in Chiapas.

1 Intro (this page)
2 Context -- Underlying Causes
3 POHLO -- The Survivors and Displaced
4 NEEDS -- Petition

Beginning January 1, 1994, the EZLN (Zapatista Army for National Liberation) captured a number of key cities and towns in Chiapas, a southern State of Mexico. The EZLN fought the Mexican Army for 11 days, before a truce was achieved, and peace negotiations initiated between the EZLN and the Mexican government. Thus began the "Zapatista Uprising."

Since the peace negotiations bogged down in 1996, the situation has become increasingly repressive; until December 23rd, 1997, however, there has been little news coverage. On December 22nd, 45 indigenous (Mayan-Tzotzil) people from the rural community of Acteal (municipality of Chenalho), were methodically slaughtered; 21 were women, 14 were children, 9 were men, and one was a newborn infant.

The massacre was carried out by a paramilitary group known as "Paz y Justicia" (Peace and Justice). Paramilitary groups, throughout Chiapas, have links to the ruling PRI party of Chiapas and to wealthy regional landowners; Paz y Justicia has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mexican government institutions, for its "development" work. From February 1-5, we met with NGOs providing short-term emergency assistance to the 8,000 people displaced by the massacre and other recent acts of repression, and with NGOs working on long-term community human rights projects.

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