TV : Mexico

Whatever happened to Marcos and the Zapatistas? They’re still fighting, it seems.

Remember the Zapatistas? The rebels led by the masked Marcos in Chiapas who were fighting for indigenous rights in Mexico?

Well, they’re still at it, even if their cult status has diminished with the passing of time. Here Road Junky TV gives you the lowdown of the Zapatista Liberation Army’s (EZLN) latest campaign against the Canadian Company Minera San Xavier.

MSX is exploding the historic landmark mountain and town 10 km outside of SLP and using a cyanide process to extract minerals, on top of the most important water table of the San Luis Potosi valley. The pro-business PAN government in San Luis has ignored the legal and constitutional objections to this exploitation.

Marcos was extremely popular in the mid 1990’s throughout Mexico, his popularity dwindled with rumors of financing by the Catholic church. The church opposes the Minera San Xavier, as does Greenpeace and Canadian environmental groups, along with the local FAO – a well organized collaborative activist organization.
May 1, 2007 5 students were jailed in a protest that shocked tranquil San Luis.

Ironically the government might have shot itself in the foot as these University students were from “good” politically powerful families. The MSX company has been accused of hiring paramilitary thugs to beat up and threaten Cerro de San Pedro residents and protestors. Road Junky will continue to cover this issue from San Luis Potosi.

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