January 06, 2003
More on Esmeralda showdown

Ellen sent a second update today.

This morning Glen was invited to a meeting at the Presidencia of Ocosingo (the
county seat). At that meeting local and state officials proposed building a new
access road to the ranch which would bypass the community of Nuevo Jerusalen. This proposed road would cross through four adjoining ranches, beginning at the entrance to the ruins of Tonina, to reach Rancho Esmeralda. The distance of the road would be approximately 2 kilometers and would cross two creeks. Glen has been directed to seek permission from the affected property owners, which he will do this afternoon and tomorrow.

Another meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday at the Presidencia to formalize this possibility. Present at the meeting today were the President of Ocosingo, Omar Burguette, the state government representative in Ocosingo, German de la Rosa, and two of his staff, and an engineer from the Chiapas State Road Comission, Gustavo de la Rosa. The representative of the Chiapas Road Comission indicated that work on this road could begin within two days of a formal decision and construction is estimated to take at least 45 days. The office of Gobernacion, the representative of the state government in Ocosingo, agreed to seek permission from the Zapatistas for open access on the existing road until a new road is completed, although there is not much optimism that this will happen.

Meanwhile, Rancho Esmeralda is open to guests by means of the walking trail that begins at the Tonina ruins. It's a relatively level hike of about a mile that takes about 20 minutes.

That's our latest. We will continue to keep you updated. Thanks for all your help.

Ellen Jones
Rancho Esmeralda

Posted by Dave at January 06, 2003 05:02 PM