January 21, 2003
Rancho Es - no new road

The Rancho Esmeralda situation is still in stalemate. Guests still hike in from Tonina. And the new road idea may not work, as Ellen and Glen point out in this letter:

We haven't written anything for over a week. We've been waiting to have some news to share. But there hasn't been any change. Our road access is still blocked by the Zapatistas. What guests we are getting are walking in on the trail from the Tonina ruins. The idea of an alternative road died as a result of the Zapatista's intimidation of the small property owners involved.

After a number of phone calls on our part last week, the state government
representative here in Ocosingo went to the capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez, for a meeting with the sub-secretary of his department on Friday afternoon. Afterwards the local rep told us that he is going to La Garrucha on Tuesday to talk to the Zapatistas there about the problem. That was already done by two members of our staff back in December and they were told then that the La Garrucha group has no influence with the group that is blockading our road.

Bottom line: we are getting nowhere and finding no one who will intervene actively in this situation. We have some new contacts and new avenues that we intend to explore this week, looking to the federal level and to the human rights commissions for assistance. We can only hope we find some help there. It is very discouraging for all of us. Let's hope there is some news this coming week. When there is anything we will be sure to let you know. Thanks for all your help and support.

Glen and Ellen
Rancho Esmeralda


Meanwhile, Subcomandante Marcos responded to harsh criticism from the Basque rebel group ETA (this from Mexico Solidarity Network):

The Marcos letter clearly distinguished the Zapatistas from movements
that use terrorism, from vanguardist movements, and from traditional political parties. Marcos lays out the Zapatista code of honor, including respect for life, prohibition against the use of criminal methods to obtain resources, and a commitment to dialogue over the use of force.

So are Glen and Ellen's neighbors Zapatistas or just people using criminal methods to obtain resources?

Posted by Dave at January 21, 2003 12:02 PM