This next one contradicts the general impression of friendly, peaceful indigenous people: Most people have the impression of the Maya Indians in Chiapas being totally supportive of the Zapatista movement. Not so. The majority of the indigenous population is controlled by a mafia like local elite steeped in perverted ancient traditions and utilised by the national ruling class (most notably the PRI) to deliver the support of their traditional communities when needed. This elite maintains its control by utilising indigenous traditions and violence. It has caused the exodus of hundreds of thousands of indigenous people who have fallen out with the traditional leaders and threatened their political and economic power. Alas, rather than joining the Zapatista movement the vast majority of these people end up with evangelical sects whose roots and politics emanate from the USA. One such place, San Juan Chamula, in the Chiapan highlands is the stronghold of these perverted traditional practices:
San Juan Chamula
These cruel men with their silly hats,
This multicoloured ethnic mafia,
Maintaining their power with ancient traditions.
500 years of successful resistance,
Resistance to threats to their all encompassing control.
Intolerance and cruel retribution,
In the name of maintaining social peace,
And cultural heritage.
But can one call culture,
That, that imprisons a people in poverty and ignorance?
Cultural analfabetism!
Cultural disease!
Cultural malnutrition!
Yes, the culture of the empty stomach!!
This is the dictatorship of tradition,
Passing on its scourge through generations,
Traditional oppression!
Traditional expulsion!
Traditional violence!
The tradition of the machete and the burning torch!!
The tradition of el pueblo tzotzil bravo y valiente de Chamula?!
Ya Basta! No?
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