Science, Extractivism and Dispossession in the Mazateca Highlands
Populations of the Sierra Mazateca, in the northern part of Oaxaca, denounce biopiracy carried out by foreign expeditions on their lands.
indigenous rights
Hugo Blanco, Campesino Leader and Former Deputy, Dies at 88 in Sweden
Hugo Blanco, Peruvian political activist, ex-guerrilla and longtime supporter of the Zapatista movement, passed away on June 25th. He visited Chiapas on a number of occasions and in his last years continued to be a staunch supporter of the environmentalist and indigenous movements.
Indigenous Territory in Latin America Increases In Small Steps
As Latin American economies continue to be based on an extractivist model, recovery and control of territory by indigenous is gradually slowing down. This not only has dire consequences for the indigenous peoples directly affected themselves, but also for the entire planet, as the territories which are inhabited by these peoples are better conserved and have the highest levels of biodiversity on the planet.
Chiapas: necropower and paramilitarism
Chiapas 94 Campaign Plan. This plan had as its strategic-operational objective “to destroy the EZLN’s will to fight, isolating it from the civilian population and achieving the support of the latter, for the benefit of the Army’s operations”. The tactical objectives of Plan Chiapas 94 included “to destroy and/or disorganize the political and military structure of the EZLN”. For this purpose, together with intelligence, psychological, population control and logistical operations, it instructed to organize, train, advise and support “self-defense forces or other paramilitary organizations” (sic). And it added: “In case there are no self-defense forces, it is necessary to create them”. It was ordered to “secretly organize certain sectors of the civil population – among others, cattle ranchers, small landowners and individuals characterized with a high sense of patriotism – who will be employed on orders in support of our operations”.
Residents and Artisans from Zinacantán Respond to the DIOR Brand Appropriation of the Traditional Dress of the Municipality
Cultural appropriation is just one more manifestation of the dispossession and extractivism that indigenous people in Chiapas are constantly subjected to. Recently, the DIOR brand stole and mutilated a traditional item of clothing from Zinacantán in the Chiapas Highlands, without any prior consultation with or the consent of the local people. Here is their response to the company.
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