Photograpy by Mei Wie - Preface by Monse??or Samuel Ruiz A photographic collection of active resistance for democracy in Chiapas - Mexico. On January 1st - 1994 - the poorest citizens of Chiapas - Mexico?s most southern state - rose up against 500 years of oppression - demanding social justice - equality and an end corrupt governmental control. What makes the Zapatistas different from other Latin American revolutionary movements is the increase and welcome inclusion of all members of civil society. Public participation - through eclectic meetings of individuals - organizations - businesses and political figures - as well as national referendums - and political concentisation has played a huge part in the direction the Zapatistas have taken to dialogue with the Mexican government. Presently - Chiapas is an occupied state at war. Individuals? movements are monitored at army and immigration checkpoints. Military camps are strategically located at entrances to communities suspected of sympathizing with Zapatista demands. Households are threatened - men are scared to work on their subsistence crops of coffee and corn - for fear of leaving their families and for their own safety. Soldiers demand sex from village girls. The photographs in this book document the military?s occupation - the current situation of individuals living in refuge - and their testimonies. The photos were taken by a photographer who worked for the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Centre for five years. (1997 - 60 pages) For more information - visit Global Exchange's Mexico Campaign.
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