"The global economic and political order is predicated on the exploitation and domination both of humans and of land. The violence by which this system maintains itself is both genocidal, systematically destroying human communities, and ecocidal, systematically destroying functioning ecosystems. The war on humans and the war on the land are merely different aspects of the same problem."
- Bill Weinberg, War on the Land: Ecology and Politics in Central America

Against the history of dual exploitation of people and land, the Zapatistas rose up in rebellion on the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented. By calling for the elimination of communally held (ejido) land and opening the land in Chiapas and throughout Mexico to the exploitation of multinational corporations, NAFTA signed a death sentence against the autonomy and cultural identity of the indigenous people of Mexico.

With each advance made by the Mexican military into Zapatista territory the possibility of retreat fades and tensions increase. The objective of the federal army is to fully penetrate the heart of Zapatista territory and separate the EZLN from its base of civilian support through low-intensity war. This is the second year that the army's military blockades have isolated the Zapatista communities, creating conditions so tense as to prevent them from planting crops. They are malnourished, and in some cases, starving because of it.

The army has constructed roads into Zapatista territory, hoping to expedite the movement of troops into the area for a "surgical strike" at the leadership of the EZLN. Three years ago the Zapatista territory was a relatively undeveloped area with few roads, mostly unpaved.

The United States is not a quiet bystander to the environmental and cultural destruction in Mexico. The State Department admits that it is unable to account for for how military aid to Mexico is used. US equipment has been used in the war against the Zapatistas, and the US continues to send equipment and aid by the millions of dollars. Before the recent arrest of Mexico's premiere drug czar, General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, for taking bribes from a leading Mexican drug lord, Clinton had promised $21 million dollars in military aid to Mexico for 1998. Money for the war on drugs is money for the war against the Zapatistas. A shipment of 33 Huey helicopters (in addition to 20 sent in November, 1996), $37 million in helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft and possibly $10 million for night vision and command and control equipment for land support is planned for 1997.

Major deals have already been brokered between the Mexican government and multinational corporations for the development of forest and petroleum resources in the country. These agreements may be critical to determining the direction of the low-intensity war against the Zapatistas. Neoliberal economic policies seek to maximize the profits of private corporations through deregulation, privatization and the removal of environmental, health and safety regulations, in addition to the cutting of social services--eliminating barriers to the free movement of capital. This compels environmentalists to develop an analysis of the war of neoliberalism and NAFTA against the indigenous peoples, ancient forests and wild areas of the earth.

On February 15, 1997, Jaime Aviles, a columnist with the Mexican journal La Jornada wrote that agreements dating back to 1993 between the Mexican government and major international forestry companies have already laid plans for the development of a Mexican forestry industry. Former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari promised to "create the political conditions to establish immense commercial plantations for rapid growth."

Aviles found as well that, "(In) 1993 a company (then) called Interfin presented a project to plant eucalyptus on a surface of 300,000 hectares in Tabasco, Chiapas and Campeche." "In 1994, the same company (now called Pulsar) established agreements to sell all the wood that it could extract from the southeast to International Paper."

This immense project in Mexico was arranged without consulting the communities that would be affected, nor was the issue raised in negotiations with the EZLN, in spite of the fact that lands of some of their supporting communities would be involved. On June 27, 1995, Mr. Edward J. Kobacker, vice-president and general director of International Paper (IP), sent a letter to the Chief of the Office of the Presidency of Mexico explaining that IP "has identified an initial project of 50,000 hectares in the state of Chiapas. Although at this time, the projections of that project are not positive and the political environment represents a high risk." Included in IP's agreement with President Zedillo was the commitment: "To establish that the development of a Mexican forest industry, strong and globally competitive, supported by commercial plantations is a national priority."

Another serious factor in the plans for exploitation of the Lacand≤n land is the petroleum reserves. Chiapas sits on major petroleum reserves, second only to Venezuela in the Western Hemisphere. Eight unexplored oil sites are located on communally held land under Zapatista control. In November 1996 an agreement was made between Hydro-Quebec International and the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission for development of natural gas resources, including a major natural gas deposit near Ocosingo, Chiapas.

This news is an alert to the ecological implications of neoliberal policies. As Mexico's forestry industry grows we will see more exportation of US forest industry jobs. Initially, this may appear beneficial to US forests. Mexico, however, has even lower standards for environmental protection and public process. This is the basic formula for zero corporate accountability and is exactly what the US industry will push for under the guise of eliminating barriers to free trade.

Neoliberalism establishes the very blueprints for destruction of land as it programs the destruction of community self-determination, sustainability and cultural identity. Indeed, both land and indigenous communities are mined as the "natural resources" valued under neoliberalism--leaving skeletons of both cultures and ecosystems, no longer capable of sustaining the health or identity they once had.

We must demand an end to US military aid to Mexico. Our efforts to fight corporate dominance and neoliberalism here in the United States are as critical to the future of the Zapatistas as to the health of our forests and ecosystems in the US.

For more information on the struggle of the Zapatistas, US military aid to Mexico, neoliberalism and the environment write: NCDM, 2001 Montana, Suite B, El Paso, TX 79903; (915) 532-8382; email moonlight@igc.apc.org