A delegation of Chicago-area religious and political leaders left for Chiapas on Sunday on a fact-finding mission to investigate possible human rights violations in the war-torn Mexican state.
The group, headed by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Rep. Bobby Rush, will spend four days meeting with Mexican officials and leaders of the Zapatista rebels. The Chicagoans plan to present their findings to Congress and to Chicago’s Mexican-American community when they return.
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“We are going in with our eyes open and our minds open to see and learn,” said Gutierrez, whose congressional district is about 50 percent Mexican-American. “We can learn more and better prepare our government, or challenge our government. Congress has to take action on these issues.”
Chiapas has been the focus of numerous international human rights investigations since 1994, when an army of mostly Indian peasants formed to rebel against the government and demand jobs, housing, schools and hospitals. International scrutiny of the area intensified in December when pro-government paramilitaries killed 45 people in the pro-Zapatista village of Acteal.
The latest flare-up occurred three weeks ago when nine people were killed after the Mexican army and police tried to retake the town of El Bosque. That uprising intensified international scrutiny of possible human rights violations.
The Mexican government already has rejected U.S. pressure and has expelled numerous foreigners, saying they are meddling in a domestic issues. In fact, Mexican officials offered a chilly response to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s recent remarks pressing Mexico to resolve the dispute.
Rush said he respects the “sovereignty of the Mexican government” but said he was persuaded to venture to Chiapas by the pleas of Chicago’s Mexican-American community.
“The Mexican-American community here, and in the entire nation, has a deep, deep interest in possible human rights violations in Chiapas, and I believe it is incumbent upon us as elected officials to look into it,” Rush said while attending the prayer service. “We intend to find out about human rights violations and we intend to encourage the parties to . . . settle this conflict.”
Gutierrez and Rush will be joined by 12 other local leaders, including State Sen. Jesus Garcia (D-Chicago), State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) and members of the Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, which is sponsoring the mission. The church held a prayer service Sunday to offer encouragement to the group.