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Facts about Chiapas
Location :
Chiapas belonged to the General Captaincy of Guatemala until its annexation to Mexico in 1821. He became the 19th state of Mexico on 14 September 1824 after a plebiscite.
Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico, adjacent to the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz to the west and Tabasco to the north and northeast. To the southeast and east lies the border with Guatemala. Chiapas has an area of 73.311 square kilometers, which represents 3.7% of Mexico’s total area (ranking 10th nationally).
Source: National Statistics and Geography Institute (INEGI) 2010
of Mexico’s total area
Nationally
Regions and Municipalities :
Since January 2011, the state has been divided into 15 Economic Regions:
Metropolitan, Zoque Valleys, Mezcalapa, The Plains, The Tsotsil-Tseltal Highlands, Frailesca, The Forersts, Nortth, Isthmus-Coast, Soconusco, Mariscal Sierra, Lacandon Jungle, Maya, Tulijá Tseltal Chol, Comiteca Tojolabal Plateau.
On several occasions since the 90s, and mainly to solve various social, political and religious problems existing in the areas to which they belong, new municipalities have been created. Currently, Chiapas has 125 municipalities.
The state capital is Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
Zapatista Municipalities and Regions :
In December 1994, faced with an impasse in the peace talks with the federal government and as a way to put pressure on it by demonstrating its presence in the state, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) announced the creation of 38 autonomous municipalities superimposed on the “official” municipalities.
Ruled by their own forms of government and ignoring the constitutional authorities, the organizational work of the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ) has focused primarily on education, health, justice, and production projects, under the premise of not accepting government support of any kind, as they declare themselves “in resistance.” As the EZLN itself recognizes, this is neither a new nor an imported process in the Zapatista communities1, but rather the development of ancestral indigenous forms of self-government. The autonomous authorities of the MAREZ are called Autonomous Councils.
Since August 2003, each of the five regions with Zapatista presence (The Highlands, Tzeltal Jungle, Border Jungle, Tzots Choj and the Northern Zone) is organized on a rotating basis in the so-called Good Government Councils (Juntas de Buen Gobierno, JBG).
Their headquarters are located in the “Caracoles” :
- La Realidad
- La Garrucha
- Roberto Barrios
- Oventic
- Morelia
The Good Government Councils are formed by representatives elected by the indigenous communities according to a rotation system, and their work focuses on coordinating the municipalities that fall within their region in regard to health, education, justice, productive projects, etc. JBGs also deal with external players such as the press, NGOs, etc.
Caracoles Zapatistas
Territory covered: Border Jungle (from Marqués de Comillas, including Montes Azules, the municipalities bordering Guatemala, and Tapachula)
Good Government Committee : “Hacia la esperanza” (Towards Hope)
Languages : Tojolabal, Tseltal y Ma’am
Territory covered : Highlands (including the official municipalities of the Highlands, as far as Chiapa de Corzo, Tuxtla Gutiérrez , Berriozábal, Ocozocuautla and Cintalapa).
Good Government Committee : “Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas delante del Mundo” (Central Heart of the Zapatistas in front of the World)
Languages : Tsotsil, Tseltal
Territory covered : Tseltal Jungle (including different zones of the official municipality of Ocosingo)
Good Government Committee : “El Camino del Futuro” (The Path of the Future)
Language : Tseltal
Territory covered : Tzots Choj (including parts of the official municipalities of Ocosingo, Altamirano, Chanal, Oxchuc, Huixtán, Chilón, Teopisca, Amatenango del Valle)
Good Government Committee : “Corazón del Arcoiris de la Esperanza” (Heart of the Rainbow of Hope)
Languages : Tseltal, Tsotsil, Tojolabal
Territory covered : Northern Region (including of the official municipalities in the Northern region of Chiapas, from Palenque to Amatán)
Good Government Committee : “Nueva Semilla que va a Producir” (“New Seed that Will Produce”)
Languages : Tseltal, Ch’ol, and Zoque
This "form" of self-government (which I summarize here in an extreme) is not an invention or contribution of the EZLN. It comes from further afield and, when the EZLN was born, it had already been working for a long time, although only at the level of each community.
On August 17th, 2019, the EZLN announced in a communiqué the creation of new MAREZ, new Caracoles, and a new structure, the Centers for Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion (CRAREZ).
The release lists the following names and locations for these new Caracoles and MAREZ:
- New Caracol, its name: The Heart of Rebellious Seeds Collective, Memory of Compañero Galeano. Its Good Government Council is called: Steps of History, for the Life of Humanity. Its headquarters is La Unión. Reclaimed land. On one side of the San Quintín ejido, where the army of the bad government is located. Official municipality of Ocosingo.
- New Autonomous municipality, it is called: Hope for Humanity; its headquarters are in the Santa María ejido. Official municipality of Chicomuselo.
- Another New Autonomous Municipality is called: Ernesto Che Guevara. Its headquarters are in El Belén. Official municipality of Motozintla.
- New Caracol its name: Dignified Spiral Weaving the Colors of Humanity in Memory of the Fallen. Its Good Government Council is called: Seed that Flourishes with the Conscience of those who Fight Forever. Its headquarters are in Tulan Ka’u, reclaimed land. Official Municipality of Amatenango del Valle.
- Another New Caracol. Its name is: Blooming the Rebel Seed. Its Good Government Council is called: New Dawn in Resistance and Rebellion for Life and Humanity. Its headquarters are in the Poblado Patria Nueva, reclaimed land. Official municipality of Ocosingo.
- New autonomous municipality, it is called: Sowing Awareness to Reap Revolutions for Life. Its headquarters are in: Tulan Ka’u. Reclaimed land. Official Municipality of Amatenango del Valle.
- New Caracol. Its name is: In Honor of the Memory of Compañero Manuel. Its Good Government Council is called: The Rebellious Thought of the Native Peoples. Its headquarters are in: Dolores Hidalgo. Reclaimed land. Official municipality of Ocosingo.
- Another New Caracol. Its name is: Resistance and Rebellion a New Horizon. Its Good Government Board is called: The Light that Shines to the World. Its headquarters are in Poblado Nuevo Jerusalén. Reclaimed land. Official municipality of Ocosingo.
- New Caracol, it is called: Root of Resistances and Rebellions for Humanity. Its Good Government Council is called: Heart of our Lives for the New Future. Its headquarters are in the Jolj’a ejido. Official Municipality of Tila.
- New Autonomous Municipality, it is called: December 21st. Its headquarters are in Ranchería K’anal Hulub. Official municipality of Chilón.
- New Caracol, its name is: Jacinto Canek. Its Good Government Council is called: Flower of our Word and Light of our Peoples that Reflects for All. Its headquarters are in the Community of CIDECI-Unitierra. Official Municipality of San Cristóbal de las Casas.
Uses and Customs Municipalities :
In April 2019, elections by uses and customs for the municipal presidency of Oxchuc were legally held for the first time. In 2020, a cultural study was completed in Chilón, a STEP REQUIRED to verify the previous existence of an indigenous normative system. The consultation process to define a possible system change was suspended with the Covid-19 pandemic. The same process is approved to be carried out in Sitalá.
Due to of the majority presence indigenous population, at least some 25 more municipalities could choose their municipalities through their uses and customs. In March 2020, the General Council of the Chiapas Institute of Elections and Citizen Participation (IEPC) announced that the regulations were approved to see to requests for indigenous consultations on electoral matters that are presented to its institution. In June 2020, new electoral legislation on this matter was approved in the midst of the pandemic and has begun to generate controversy.
