Many letters have been
sent from abroad to the Government of Ecuador in the framework of
the campaign to support Ecuadorian social and indigenous organizations
that are endeavouring to avoid the adoption in that country of a
legislation that will imply the expansion of large scale monoculture
tree plantations (see the article on Ecuador in this bulletin).
But we want to publish the full version of the letter sent by the
Council of Traditional Indigenous Doctors and Midwives of Chiapas
(the Compitch) because it reflects the feeling of many and is dictated
by the heart of a Latin American people that at this time beats
in unison with the Ecuadorian people.
“Dr. Ana Alban
Mora, Minister of the Environment of Ecuador and… the others
We are grass-roots
Mexicans, indigenous Mayas, inhabitants of the forests of Chiapas,
all equally Latin American.
We are members of the
largest (but not necessarily most important) organization of traditional
doctors of Chiapas, a Mexican South-Eastern Federal State. We come
from different political affiliations, from all religious creeds
and all the indigenous tongues still spoken in this State.
There are not many
of us, but believe it or not, in 2001, after two years of resistance,
we got the IBCG United States bio-prospecting project cancelled.
One year ago, 24 hours after a lightening march, we also managed
the cancellation of the State bill to define (corporatively) the
biological wealth of the State. A few months ago we were able to
neutralize the bill on a federal law for access to genetic resources.
The reason for our nonconformity and mobilization has always been
the same: the lack of consultation with the interested parties,
in this case us, and others like us, the social majorities.
They tell us that the
same is happening in Ecuador, that they are not convening the grass
roots organizations to participate in a process of public discussion
affecting their natural resources - in this case forests - but they
do convene the business class, the moneyed class.
We will not make a
formal, administrative petition, asking for the bill to be suspended
or modified. But just take a mirror, look at it and look well at
what it reflects, towards the past and towards the future, as we
should always see in a mirror. If this mirror only reflects the
present, that is to say, permanence of the same, then you loose
and our grass-roots Ecuadorian companions win, because you know,
our mirrors from the grass roots reflect memory and times to come,
that is to say, where the face they are looking at comes from and
what is waiting for it on the basis of the face that is looking
at it. But they also win, we win because with us, the difference
is, madam Minister, that nobody pays us to defend the wealth of
our homelands that we safeguard for everyone’s happiness and because,
contrary to you, by doing this we multiply ourselves.
For IUCN, FAO, World
Bank, Tropenbos International, Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, and
annexes, we add some respectful prayers because, in view of their
common track record, we conclude that the above reflection will
not be enough..
From the faithful mirror
of history with time, ours and that of your peoples:
The Board of Directors
of the Council of Traditional Indigenous Doctors and Midwives of
Chiapas (the Compitch).
President: Manuel Pérez
Jiménez, Secretary: Domingo López Sántiz, Treasurer: Francisca Pérez
Pérez
Palenque, Chiapas,
Mexico, this 20th day of June, 2006”
