Tepoztlan: rebel town
In July 1995 the people of Tepoztlan, in the Mexican state of Morelos, began a movement to prevent the construction of a golf club on 240 hectares of common land within a local ecological reserve. In the following 18 months, the large mobilisations, international petitions, illegal arrest of local leaders and seemingly endless negotiations with civil servants, illustrate, at the level of one town, the deep rebellion of the Mexican people against the PRI party-state, Jose Martínez Cruz* reports
The struggle in Tepoztlan is a struggle for land and freedom. In 19 months of struggle, the 10,000 inhabitants have, by peaceful means, transformed their lives. More than half the population took part in the election of local representatives, despite government refusal to recognise the process.
The Mexican police are not welcome in Tepoztlan. If they enter, they are detained by the popular patrols, made up of local youth. Three police agents were almost lynched last year, when they entered the town to arrest a member of the Tepoztlan Unity Committee (Comite de la Inidad de Tenoztlan). the (Comite de la Unidad de Tepoztlan), the group which leads the movement.
Tepoztlan is protected by a ring of mountains, and dominates a valley famous for magical and religious traditions linked to Ouetzalcoatl and the god Tepoztecatl. Stone barricades have been built on the access roads, and on several occasions literally hundreds of police agents have been turned back.
This is the third time that local people have blocked neo-liberal plans to privatise the environment. The first project which provoked popular resistance was the construction of a cable car, which threatened to damage the pre-Columbian pyramid Tepozteco. The second protest blocked the construction of a scenic train route which would have damaged the delicate equilibrium of the high-mountain micro-region.
The government has used repression and endless negotiations to try and defeat the popular movement. Local teacher Gerardo ("Galo") Demeza, has spent over 12 months in prison, falsely accused of the murder of Pedro Barragan, who died in a confrontation between Los Ratones (The Rats) an armed gang of government thugs and the local population.
Other leaders and members of the Tepoztlan Unity Committee have been arrested, but then released following popular protests. Nevertheless, more than 170 detention orders against Tepoztlan residents are still valid.
This small town has acted in the spirit of the Zapatista Commune of 1914, when peasants in Morelos joined the rebels of the Southern Liberation Army of Emiliano Zapata in a struggle for land, which involved organising self-government in the townships. 22 International Viewpoint
That high point in the resistance and self- organisation of the indigenous communities has remained in their memories. The struggle for land and freedom continues! *
*The author is a leading member of the Revolutionary
Workers Party (PRI), Mexican section of the Fourth
International. He can be contacted at PRT, Xola No.181,
Col Alamos CP 03400, Mexico DF. Tel 590 0969, Fax
5902021, <[email protected]>