The infamous Acteal Massacre of mostly women and children is but one example of a growing repression. The survivors of Acteal were forced from their homes and live in squalid conditions with no clean water, medical care, sanitation, employment or decent shelter. The refugees rely on international assistance for their very existence. Since the native population in Chiapas gained international attention on January 1, 1994 by taking over several towns in the name of the Zapatista National Liberation Front (the "Zapatistas"), the level of brutality in the lives of the people of Chiapas has increased dramatically. The Zapatistas have informed the world about the Mexican government's removal of native people's collective land rights in Chiapas in order to comply with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The native population of Mexico in Chiapas, the poorest segment of the Mexican population, has thus been deprived of the basic source of their livelihood. The United States supplies weapons to the Mexican government and trains Mexican military personnel at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.

     The massacres of Mayan and other native peoples of Chiapas, was commemorated on the sixth month (6/98) anniversary of the Acteal Massacre.

Images of Acteal

     For further information or comment on this page, contact Wells Staley-Mays at 207-772-0680 or (FAX) 207-828-8620.