[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 7 (Wednesday, February 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   THE UPRISING IN CHIAPAS AND THE REACTION OF THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Madam President, yesterday the State Department 
released its report on human rights citing the deplorable condition and 
circumstances which many of the people in the world still live under.
  This morning I want to take a few minutes to express my thoughts and 
my concerns about the indigenous peoples in Chiapas, Mexico.
  As we all know, some of the native people in Chiapas decided to ring 
in the New Year with gunshots and attacks against the Mexican 
Government. They called themselves Zapatistas, after the great Indian 
revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who tried the same thing a century ago 
when he tried to bring fairness to the land peasants.
  I want to emphasize that I, like most people, do not believe in 
violence as a method of advancing the state of affairs of indigenous 
peoples. History shows us time and again that bloodshed leads to more 
bloodshed and, in fact, creates a cycle of violence that hurts the 
indigenous people of the world more than helps them. Unfortunately, 
most social change in the Americas has been predicated on violence.
  We cannot ignore the fact that this conflict didn't start on January 
1, 1994. It started about 400 years ago, and a history of economic and 
political deprivation has made this region a boiling cauldron of 
resentment and anger. It is not so unlike what American Indians faced 
in the recent history of this Nation.
  The Indians of Chiapas have never had political power. They have 
suffered for centuries at the hands of new immigrants who took their 
land away. For many natives of Chiapas, NAFTA was just the latest nail 
in the coffin. NAFTA threatens their entire way of life, as Mexico 
begins to phase out subsidies on these people's main cash crops of 
corn, sugar, and coffee. Because NAFTA made no provisions for 
protecting the rights of these people, the Mexican Government simply 
ignored their problems.
  I know, Madam President, that we cannot undo or improve the bad parts 
of NAFTA in this body. The Mexican Government just let these problems 
fester, and the violent result was predictable. In fact, one of my 
colleagues, Senator Hollings, predicted this very result several months 
ago. The only question is why the Mexican Government had no clue about 
the tensions in Chiapas. They were either intentionally oblivious, or 
blinded by the new riches that would come to Mexico with NAFTA.
  I want to stress that I do not back violence by revolutionary 
fanatics, who might be using the native people of Mexico for their own 
entirely different agenda. Nor do I want to tinker with or interfere in 
the affairs of a sovereign nation. But our own history with regard to 
indigenous peoples is hardly a model to follow. I am reminded of an 
incident in our own country in 1973, when a group of Sioux Indians at 
Wounded Knee, SD, felt they had no choice but to take up arms to get 
the rights they deserved. Two years ago, I went to Wounded Knee on the 
20th anniversary of that incident, and I found the same people still 
fighting for those same rights. They laid down their guns but the fight 
goes on. Obviously modern industrialized nations still have a long way 
to go in understanding the plight of indigenous peoples.
  We cannot ignore the reports of human rights abuses by the Mexican 
army and police forces. I know that President Salinas does not condone 
such abuse. Unfortunately, he cannot be everywhere to micromanage his 
troops. But I strongly urge President Salinas to let expert 
international observers do their work, and then to bring those guilty 
of human rights abuses to justice. Mexico should not try to sweep this 
incident under the rug in the name of increased trade.
  Indigenous people in Mexico still lack economic and political rights. 
Even though NAFTA ignored those rights, I expect the United States 
Government to monitor the human rights situation and pressure the 
Mexican Government to meet international human rights standards. As a 
nation, we obey international standards on human rights. We ought to 
expect our trading partners and our allies to do the same.

  The Mexican Government must take immediate actions to regain 
international credibility. There are already established, peaceful 
indigenous organizations in Mexico, and they should play a major role 
in helping design and implement policies of protection and empowerment. 
And to make sure the indigenous peoples of Chiapas have a fair chance 
to participate in their government, President Salinas should invite 
international election observers to oversee the next round of elections 
in Chiapas.
  Madam President, last year 1993 was designated by the United Nations 
the year of the indigenous peoples. Two years ago, the World 
Environmental Summit focused on the plight of indigenous peoples. I 
just wanted to come down here and say, let us not ignore the rights of 
indigenous peoples. In the name of increased profits I know that 
indigenous people do not want flowery rhetoric that will not solve 
their problems. Those people in Chiapas want fairness and justice from 
the Mexican Government, and they want to live in peace and dignity. 
Thank you, Madam President, and I yield the floor.
  Mr. BURNS addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Montana [Mr. 
Burns] is recognized.
  Mr. BURNS. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Burns and Mr. Pressler pertaining to the 
submission of S. Con. Res. 59 are located in today's Record under 
``Submission of Concurrent and Senate Resolutions.'')
  Mr. BURNS. Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DODD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. DODD. Madam President, is the Senator from Connecticut correct 
that we are in morning business and each Member may be permitted to 
speak for no more than 5 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. For up to 10 minutes.

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