by Mar°a B. Del R°o
Daily Lobo
Imagine waking up at five in the morning to haul wood, grind corn or make tortillas for breakfast.
Then, going out to a river to wash clothes or tend to a herd of animals. Health care is miles away and education is minimal.
Enter the life of 22-year-old Maria Luisa Ruiz Diaz, a Mayan woman from the region of Oventic Chico in Chiapas, Mexico. Diaz, a weaver in the co-op Jolom Mayaetik, said this is a typical day in her life or any other woman's in her co-op.
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Last Friday and Saturday, the Mexico Solidarity Network put on an event featuring Diaz weaving traditional clothing worn by the Mayan people. Colorful textiles hand-woven and handmade by a women's co-op were displayed at the event. In addition to textiles, the Mexico Solidarity Network sold videos, books, shawls and organic coffee.
The two-day event offered a slide show presentation documenting where Diaz lives. There were slides of the land in Chiapas, photographs of the women's co-op and their houses. Up to 12 people live in these houses made of a tin roof and mud brick structure, Diaz said.
A video of the basic history of the Zapatistas in Chiapas was also on display. Jessica Marquez, with the Mexico Solidarity Network, said the Zapatistas rose in 1994 coinciding with the first day of the North American Free Trade Agreement's implementation. NAFTA was signed by Canada, the United States and Mexico to make trading easier between these countries by integrating the economies.
"It's incredibly lopsided and favors large multinational corporations at the expense of small producers in agriculture, small business, labor rights and environmental protection," Marquez said.
Jolom Mayaetik weaves for economic self-sufficiency, she added. Co-op weavers make scarves, bags, pants and huipils, which generate income for their survival. Most of the textiles are bought by tourists.
Co-ops also give their participants choices, she added. Traditionally, Mayan women as young as 10 are forced to marry under the threat of abuse from their families. In the co-op, they have the freedom to not marry or marry whom they choose. A video featured a group of women dressed in huipils and skirts, unarmed, pushing back Mexican paramilitary groups in full army attire riding a tank. Diaz said her co-op has been attacked by U.S.-trained Mexican paramilitary groups.
"There are many groups like the School of the Americas where one strategy of low intensity warfare is to take away the water from the fish," Barbara SchÅtz, from K'inal Antsetik said. "They intimidate civil society and organizations so that the social fabric is broken down."
The co-ops are not Zapatistas, she added. Still, the uprising in 1994 impacted co-ops, like the one Diaz belongs to. They identify with Zapatista demands, specifically the San Andres Accords. The co-ops ask for the same basic human rights - adequate housing, education, economic justice and social participation by woman.
The Mexico Solidarity Network is a coalition struggling for democracy, economic justice and human rights on both sides of the border. For more information, go to www.mexicosolidarity.org.
K'inal Antsetik is an organization in Mexico that provides training for women's co-ops such as Diaz's. They can be reached at www.laneta.apc.org/kinal.
