San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, More than 700 delegates from more than 80 communities in the municipality of Ocosingo began a meeting yesterday to commemorate the Indigenous Congress held in San Cristóbal 50 years ago, in order to strengthen unity, as well as analyze progress and challenges, reported Abelardo Gómez Cruz, leader of the Rural Association of Collective Interest Historical Union of Unions (ARIC-UUH).
In a telephone interview, he explained that after half a century, those attending the meeting in the Las Tazas community, in the Lacandon jungle, returned to analyze agrarian, health, education and trade issues in working groups.
Gómez pointed out that the 1974 Indigenous Congress in San Cristóbal is important because it was the beginning of the path of struggle in the communities of the ravines of the Lacandon jungle, but unfortunately very little progress has been made; there is still much to be done in the areas of education and health, above all.
In health, the leader added, there are no doctors or good hospitals. That is why it is time to reflect in the community assemblies. A deep analysis is being made of the progress and challenges to come, because there is a lot of marginalization in these rights that as indigenous peoples we should have already resolved.
He said that there is also no access to real justice, because as we say, maybe it is in some document, but in reality there is no access to all these rights for an indigenous person.
Gómez Cruz reported that the two-day meeting began yesterday morning, with the placement of a Maya altar and a traditional prayer; then work began in different groups.
He indicated that at the end of the work today, the attendees hope to continue walking in unity, to strengthen ourselves from our bases. We know that we share our territories with different ideologies, thoughts and religions and with other organizations.
He insisted: We want to continue walking in unity, to establish a good strategy to strengthen our territory so that there is development in the communities. This is the demand that exists because there are still many needs, but the main ones are health, education, land and trade.
The leader of ARIC-UUH recalled that in the Indigenous Congress of 1974, land, trade, education and health were discussed. He also demanded that 50 years after that meeting, what was agreed upon be resumed, so now the progress is being evaluated and what remains to be done because new challenges, new times and moments are coming.
He reiterated that the objective of the congress that began yesterday is for us to continue organizing and strengthening this struggle that is 50 years old; it has not been easy to walk and many of our old fighters have already passed away, but the new generations remain, to whom it is necessary to instill the value of continuing the struggle that is a legacy that they left us.
He commented that during the work the late bishop of San Cristóbal, Samuel Ruiz García (1924-2011), was evoked, “because we know that the organization and the struggle began through the word of God and one of the first promoters was Jtatik Samuel, who organized the Indigenous Congress in 1974. The first defenders of the indigenous peoples are Samuel Ruiz and Fray Bartolomé de las Casas.”
Original article by Elio Henriquez, La Jornada, October 14, 2024.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.