Chiapas: Zapatistas clash with opponents

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Mon, 09/17/2007 - 01:42.

Zapatista and anti-Zapatista Chol Maya peasants clashed with machetes Sept. 12 at the Cascadas de Agua Azul eco-tourist zone, in Tumbalá municipality of southern Mexico's conflicted Chiapas state. One anti-Zapatista was wounded and three Zapatistas captured by their adversaries before state and rebel authorities managed to negotiate a truce. The agreement called for the placing of 25 state police agents to keep the peace between both sides, and avoiding the interference of the military. The clash originates in a land dispute between the pro-Zapatista Ejido San Jerónimo and the anti-Zapatista Ejido Agua Azul, which controls the tourism site. Ejido Agua Azul protested that Ejido San Jerónimo had established a checkpoint to tax tourists on their way to the waterfalls. Zapatista commanders from La Garrucha were called in to mediate the truce. (Proceso, Sept. 12)