Page 2 | May 2003 | Vol 30  No 5 | Index

[Continued] As we sit, Fr. Roberto and the sisters have brought a letter written by the Bishop and the diocesan priests of San Cristóbal de Las Casas regarding the situation in Tres Cruces. The men ask that it be read in Tzotzil. Many of the Tzotzil speak only limited Spanish and fewer of the women speak or understand Spanish.  In the rural communities most indigenous are lucky to receive six grades of primary school. Few go on to high school. Women are discouraged from studies because of male bias embedded in the local culture. Sr. Lupita, therefore, translates and reads the letter aloud. The Bishop and the priests ask for action to be taken to resolve the situation in Tres Cruces.

In Tres Cruces there are three main religious groups:

1. the Traditionalists

2. the Protestant denominations, and

3. the Catholics.

The Traditionalists practice a mixture of native rites and Catholicism, although they have separated themselves from the Catholic Church. They have their own priests and do not support contact with Catholic priests or the celebration of Catholic sacraments. Dominican priests from San Cristóbal serve the ten Catholic village hamlets, of which Tres Cruces is one. Fr. Miguel de Las Casas Rolland from the Western Dominican Province has been one of the Dominican priests serving these communities. The Protestants are from various denominations.

Twelve bosses or caciques dominate the town of Tres Cruces. These bosses use money and force to manipulate power in the town. According to Fr. Miguel they fight among themselves to monopolize “pox cane liquor, sale and resale of wax for candles used in worship (a major money resource), incense, Pepsi and Coke, transportation, etc.” Organizing of the Chamula brothers and sisters by Catholic indigenous catechists, deacons, and pre-deacons has threatened the domination of the bosses.

The Traditionalists are the only religious group supported by the bosses. Therefore, the Traditionalists have taken extreme measures to pressure the Catholics. Last year the Traditionalists forbade the Bishop to celebrate 75 Confirmations in Tres Cruces. Therefore the Bishop was afraid his presence would cause more problems with the political bosses, so he delegated authority to Fr. Miguel and Fr. Roberto to celebrate the Confirmations, which they did, under threat of physical harm.

There are two main examples of pressure exerted by the bosses against the Catholics:

1. control of water, and

2. false criminal accusations.

Without water it is hard to live in Chamula country. For some time there has been limited piped tap water in Tres Cruces. However, the Catholics have never been allowed this water; rather, they walked 20 minutes each way to fetch water from eight natural water holes. These were the wells destroyed by the bosses in early January of this year. The bosses have plans to install their own water tower, thereby completely monopolizing all water access. Since the wells were destroyed, the next available water source is two hours away, each way, on foot, and the Catholics face physical danger of attacks should they go to this source for water.

The second means of pressure is false criminal accusations. There is a history of such accusations against leaders of the Catholic community, primarily deacons. Only one deacon remains who has not been accused of criminal activity. Fr. Roberto is concerned the bosses will continue to go after all of the Catholic leaders in Chamula, much the same way they have persecuted the Protestant leaders.

The children and some of the adults remain in San Cristóbal. Their community sent them to San Cristóbal for safety reasons. The bosses are threatening another massacre like the one that took place in the Northern Chiapas Tzotzil community of Acteal, a rural coffee community where some 45 men, women, and children were murdered while praying in their chapel in December of 1997. At this time 150 police officers have been deployed to Tres Cruces, a village hamlet of some 80 families, just over 40 of whom are Catholic.

The brothers and sisters of Tres Cruces have three options:

1. Renounce their faith and live under the dominion of the bosses.

2. Abandon their homes and land. As many as 35,000 indigenous have left this region in the past 25 years due to such pressure. They have taken refuge on the outskirts of San Cristóbal. If they flee, the Traditionalists and bosses will gain all of their land and animals.

3. Stay and live without water, save over two hours away, under the pressure of physical danger and false legal accusations.

The recent violence has not been between Protestant and Catholic groups. On the contrary … the Protestants and Catholics have united to stand against the corrupt violent politics of the Chamula bosses. Friars serving in the area believe the violence to have been perpetrated by various bosses fighting amongst themselves in a rival contest for municipal control.

The Chamula brothers and sisters staying in San Cristóbal have received corn, beans, and chiles from members of the larger

Catholic indigenous community. At first they had no mill with which to grind the corn, but now a hand mill has been provided and they are able to prepare tortillas.

As we were leaving, the brothers and sisters expressed their thanks to Fr. Martin and me for visiting. Fr. Roberto offered the reminder that they are not alone. Many people are praying for them, including in the United States.