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The Plan
Puebla-Panama As if the indigenous people in southern Mexico didn't already suffer from malnutrition, displacement, and militarization, Mexican President Vicente Fox has devised a new free trade agreement that will surely push these marginalized communities into further despair. The Plan Puebla-Panama (PPP) is an 8 billion dollar development package that would create a development corridor from the Mexican state of Puebla through the country of Panama. It is being promoted under the guise that it will bring the people of these areas out of poverty by creating new economic opportunities for them, as well as for big business. Furthermore, it is said to promote trade, tourism, education, and protection of the environment. As Fox quotes, [the PPP] could end the `back-wardness´ of the region in order to incorporate it fully into the corridors of world commerce." However, it doesn't take much to realize that this plan was created solely for the advantage of transnational corporations, and will actually worsen conditions for indigenous people throughout the region. The basic projects that PPP includes are: the construction of new hydroelectric dams, a boost in gas and oil production, the setting up of new maquilas (factories), the establishment of large scale agribusiness, and the construction and/or renovation of trains and highways, as well as other means of importing and exporting goods. Obviously, this plan is super attractive to big business. The area which PPP covers is extremely rich in natural resources, not to mention that it holds a large pool of unskilled labor. And where has President Fox designated to be the 'central axis' of PPP? Chiapas. The Zapatistas have heavily condemned PPP. In response, Fox has stated, [Zapatismo] "does not have anything to do with Plan Puebla-Panama, except in the case of there being some project which a community does not want to happen through that zone, then we will set it somewhere else. We are not going to fight anyone..Everything IN Plan Puebla-Panama is positive." Let's not forget that in corporate lingo "positive" is synonymous with "high profit," no matter what the price to the people and the land. As we examine the PPP closely, it is obvious that there are many projects in the works that are hardly beneficial to the indigenous populations of this region. Under the PPP, Chiapas alone is the site for 71(!) new hydroelectric dams, mostly in Zapatista territories. Are we to be fooled that the people of Chiapas will benefit from this? Hardly. The installation of new dams means that communities that have traditionally relied on these specific water sources will be affected (their access to the water), as well as the vegetation of their land (which could lead to displacement). And, while many of these areas don't even have access to electricity themselves, most of this energy will be shipped out to the USA (don't forget the power crisis we currently are experiencing in California). Furthermore, in terms of oil production, the primary targets for these projects are Tabasco, Campeche, and Chiapas (and once again, solely in Zapatista territory ? the Lacandon Jungle is extremely abundant in oil). The oil, as expected, will probably head north as well. The PPP is also promoting southern Mexico as a prime spot to set up maquilas (sweatshops) for multinational business. Fox is pitching to employers who are currently set up along the US/Mexico border that they can pay their workers 40% less in salaries than that which they are currently paying their factory workers in northern Mexico. The plan then is to head production south. It is projected that by next summer 92 sweatshops will have moved to the region. In addition to the maquilas, PPP is also promoting agribusiness to come set up production on the land as well. They have already established 65 million dollars worth of large scale irrigation systems to be installed within the 8 southernmost states of Mexico alone. This will largely consist of genetically modified monocrops, which will not only destroy the means of sustainable farming, as well as force small farmers to sell their crops for super cheap market prices (and further push them into poverty), but it will also destroy indigenous seeds, in that the farmers will become reliant/forced to use GMO seed for large-scale production, and the indigenous seed will therefore be lost and/or abolished. The other fear is that their seed will also become 'property' of the corporations, in that the corporations will patent the seed, and thereby steal it permanently from the indigenous people. Speaking of seeds and property issues, another plan of the PPP is to create national protected areas throughout Southern Mexico as part of a biological protection project. This project is backed by the World Bank, acting as a front for mega-gene giants such as Monsanto to go into indigenous land and patent indigenous plants and medicine, otherwise known to us as 'biopiracy', but of course they're calling it "biodiversity conservation and management." This would insure that not only the secrets of indigenous medicine would be stolen and exploited, but that the indigenous people themselves would no longer have access to their traditional means of healing themselves. As expected, in order to facilitate transport for all the above-mentioned projects, PPP has incorporated plans to revamp the trans-isthmus railway as well as the construction of an 8 lane super highway. 420 million dollars has already been set aside to work on over 2,200 km of additional motorways throughout the region. Furthermore PPP calls for the expansion of water ports and airways. This all will no doubt cause devastating destruction to the land, but will also result in the displacement of countless communities. The people of these regions have already spoken out and held demonstrations against Plan Puebla Panama. The PPP covers a population of 65 million people, much of which suffers from extreme poverty (especially Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua). Fox has stated: "All those living within the region and outside the region have the opportunity to participate and to contribute ideas; everybody will be listened to, everybody will be consulted, not only the indigenous communities, but all the communities in the region. It is a plan based on agreement, it is a plan that unifies wills and it is a plan of work to impel the sustainable development in the entire region." Remember, this is coming from the man who promised peace in Chiapas, but who recently signed the new Law on Indigenous Rights (or 'Cocopa-lite') in Mexico, which instead of granting indigenous people the autonomy, land and cultural rights, and equal rights and protection that they deserve, instead took nearly all power away from them, leaving them legally helpless to defend themselves and their land. It doesn't seem too accidental that this law was created hand in hand with the implementation of the Plan Puebla Panama, with such precise timing. Under this law, the people of southern Mexico will have hardly any legal basis for resistance, as they will not be able to challenge the power of the corporations and investors. To make matters even worse, Plan Puebla Panama comes right out of Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). FTAA has been referred to as 'NAFTA on steroids' and basically extends a free trade agreement throughout the entirety of the Americas (from Canada to Chile). FTAA grants the right to corporations to sue any government for any law or measure that would thereby hinder their profit or business? just as NAFTA does. This means that not only do the indigenous people in Mexico hardly have any means to protect themselves under the new Indigenous Rights Law, but they furthermore are overridden by corporate interest under FTAA. Furthermore, the corporations are guaranteed maximum security under PPP, which implies heavy militarization of the region. Basically, what all this means is that the indigenous people can expect nothing less than further displacement, oppression, violation of their human rights, and corporate domination under PPP. And, of course, if they resist, they will only be met with aggression. Although in his speeches Fox has emphasized the consent of the indigenous people to the PPP's projects, it seems obvious that he will in no way let the indigenous people in his way of developing southern Mexico. Not only has he not consulted with them, but he has already begun to put PPP into effect and signed a new law that further disempowers the indigenous people from protecting themselves. It is clear the indigenous people will in no way benefit from any of this. They should be granted rights to land and natural resources, and not instead be subject to globalization. They should be granted resources rights to their own forms of culture and identity, and not be oppressed by further privatizations. They should be granted rights to their own political representation and government bodies, and not be victims to corporate imperialism. As stated
in a declaration from the Third National Indigenous Congress: Indigenous
people need autonomy, which is what the Zapatistas and the people of Chiapas
have been fighting for all along. Sources: CHIAPAS
SUPPORT COMMITTEE P.O. BOX 3421 Oakland, CA 94609 (510) 654-9587 email:
cezmat@igc.org |