Recuperating Trust

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Composting

Lindsey Frye is a member of Laurel Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster, PA. She is currently living in Chiapas, Mexico with her husband Chris, and daughters Ramona and Ruthie. She has a Master of Arts from Bethany Theological Seminary, and is working as an Ecumenism Promoter for an MCC partner organization, The Institute for Intercultural Studies.

When I was in college, I traveled to Latin America and learned about the ill-effects of both NAFTA mostly in terms of small farmers being forced out of the local economy, having no choice but to migrate to cities to work in factories to make cheap clothing for the U.S. A big part of my orientation here in Chiapas, since I arrived in August, has been to learn another side so significant for this southern Mexican state.

A precursor to the passing of NAFTA was a requirement imposed on the Mexican government by the U.S. to eliminate parts of the Mexican constitution (particularly article 27). This eliminated the ejido system, which was a part of the 1917 land reform protecting land that was communally owned and could not be bought, sold or rented. Although president Cardinas eliminated this part of the constitution earlier in December of 1991, it was still the main cause of the Zapatista uprising in 1994, protesting the North American Free Trade Agreement on the day it was announced.

There have been many ripples of that uprising that still permeate Chiapanecan culture. However, the uprising did not change the law. Throughout the later 90s, the government worked to control indigenous movement in the state through military bases and armed force. What they learned is that the Zapatistas had created an international network of a powerful public eye that made that kind of force ultimately ineffective, as it was a reputation squelcher. So, from the early 2000s, they have developed a new tactic which is much more manipulative and effective: the implementation of social programs developed with the intention of controlling social movement.

Building a greenhouse.

I work for an MCC partner organization, called the Institute for Intercultural Studies (INESIN), an ecumenical organization dedicated to development work here in Southern Mexico. These past few months I have been oriented to the work and the context, and workers at INESIN have explained this system to me. Government workers go into communities, set up programs, like the one created under SAGARPA ^[1], for agriculture projects, providing seeds and fertilizers, and explain to community leaders, “the only thing you need in order to participate in our program is the title to your land.” This tactic splinters communities as households divide up the communal lands voluntarily for individual gain. This has led to more than just participation in social programs, but also deals with mining companies, hydroelectric plants, deforestation, government plans to turn sacred places of villages into tourist destinations, the elimination of farmland in the plans to build highways, and, drug trafficking just to name a few.

Examining the plants.

These dynamics lead to feelings of isolation and mistrust. The situation is so complex, it is hard to know who can be trusted. INESIN works at this on various levels, in the Strengthening Communities program, welcoming both Protestants and Catholics to gather together in the holy work of growing food. In the city, with various links to organizations also working for the common good; in the diocese of San Cristobal, reviving the ancient practice of care for mother earth and every being that surrounds us: and with women, to heal the many wounds they carry on an individual, familial and societal level.

In a workshop

Of course, the organization has strategies, plans and goals, all of which are very important. But I think if I were to sum up my impression of this sacred, important work, it is the recuperation of trust, of learning to trust again in the earth that has provided for you for centuries, in your brothers and sisters around you (even if they attend a different church than you), trust in organizations who work beside you, who are no more perfect than you are, but just as committed to creating a better world.

^[1] The Ministry of Agriculture.