Mazatec Resistance Denounces the Municipal Government of Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca

The Movement of Articulation of the Forgotten Peoples of the Cañada (MAPOC) denounce the clientelism and false discourses of the municipal president of Huautla de Jiménez, Oaxaca, David García Martínez.

To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)

To the National Indigenous Congress (CNI)

To the Public Opinion

To the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico and the World

To the Media

To our Mazatec Brothers and Sisters

The Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca has historically been subjected to the interests of political parties who since the last century have done extensive damage to the fabric of our communities. This situation has favored the exploitation of our resources and the weakening of our traditional forms of organization.

In this context, in recent years, David García Martínez has implemented a politics of clientelism seeking to convert Huautla de Jiménez into a node of tourism and extractivism, benefiting external interests using a discourse of modernity. However, his administration has been characterized by an increase in violence, femicides, the fragmentation of communities, and the enrichment of the few, while our communities face the deterioration of our collective life.

Recently, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Oaxaca announced that David García Martínez will face charges for the crime of attempted homicide. He was charged after being arrested on January 8 on Lazaro Cardenas Street in the municipality of Santa Lucia del Camino, in front of the Centro Cultural y de Convenciones de Oaxaca. It is important to remember that García Martínez, who won the municipal elections on June 2 of last year on a coalition ticket of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has already been municipal president twice. This is his third term in office.

During his rule, David García Martínez has obstructed autonomous processes and the self-determination of the different communities of Huautla de Jiménez that haven’t aligned with his logic, including communities who he considers his opponents, imposing his close associates as authorities. This practice has generated a climate of political violence fracturing even more the community dynamics.

Today, alluding to Zapatista and Magonista discourses, he is trying to position himself as a political prisoner. From our perspective, this is a maneuver to instrumentalize the social struggle for personal ends, distorting the values that guide genuine resistance of Indigenous peoples. In his current situation David García Martínez likes to mention the principals of freedom, however during his administration he has forgotten about justice for the communities of our municipality, denying them their free self-determination.

As Mazatecs organized in different collectivities and communities without political party affiliation, and as participants in the National Indigenous Congress, we strongly pronounce that David García Martínez is not part of our movement.

We distance ourselves completely from his narrative which does not represent the principles, objectives, nor the autonomy of those of us who defend our territory, our culture, and our forms of community life.

Furthermore, we make clear that whatever repression against our communities or community organizers that might take place is the responsibility of David García Martínez, his political allies, and the municipal government that he leads.

We call on society in general to not be fooled by these manipulative discourses and to show solidarity with the true struggles of Indigenous peoples. These struggles do not seek individual economic interests, but to preserve life, justice, and dignity in our communities.

Sincerely,

Movement of Articulation of the Forgotten Peoples of the Cañada (MAPOC)