Liberation Theology and the
Zapatista uprising priests like Ruiz have manipulated simple Indians with their 'liberation theology. What is really
The press calls Bishop Samuel Ruiz of Chiapas
"God's guérillero." The government claims
International Viewpoint #266 May 1995
Mexico by Michael Lowy
Samuel Ruiz arrived in Chiapas in 1965, after studies at the Gregorian University in Rome. After participating in the Conference of Latin-American Bishops (CELAM) at Medellin in 1968, he spent several years as Director of the CELAM Missions Department. These were the years when CELAM was under the influence of the progressive current within the Latin American catholic church. In 1975, Ruiz published a book hailing Jesus Christ as a revolutionary prophet! In the San Cristóbal de las Casas going on?
S'AI DIT:
PAS DE POLITIQUE!
Indians into an armed force, supported by the local communities, was the result of the intervention of organized Marxist revolutionaries, building on the political and social awareness nurtured by the religious activists.
The ideology of the EZLN is not religious. It is more directly inspired by the first Mexican revolution, by the combat of Emilano Zapata and his comrades. Most of the symbolic references of the organisation are drawn diocese of Chiapas, Ruiz built I said "No politics!" up a vast network of 7,800 Indian catechists (lay activists giving a basic religious and moral education), grouped into 2,600 base communities. He was helped by several female religious orders, as well as Jesuit and Dominican Priests. This community work helped provoke an increase in the Indians' consciousness of their political and social situation. It also helped them begin to organize themselves to struggle for their rights, particularly to reclaim their ancestral lands. Ruiz supported the Maya Indian communities in their confrontations with local landowners, particularly the big cattle ranchers. He also helped protect the numerous Guatemalan refugees who fled to southern Mexico in the 1980s to escape the brutal repression in their country.
This clear, practical defence of the poor led Ruiz deeper into conflict with the Mexican authorities, and with the Cattlefarmers' Association of Chiapas, who accused him of "agitating the Indians." A virulent campaign was organized during the Pope's 1993 visit to Mexico to have the "troublemaker" dismissed.
Ruiz wrote to the Pope explaining the complaints and demands of his flock? Several months later, the Pope's ambassador to Mexico ordered Ruiz to resign. Presumably the Mexican authorities had also intervened with the 26
Catholic hierarchy. Ruiz was in the middle of appealing to Rome against this decision when the Zapatista rebellion broke out on 1 January 1994. When the Mexican government realized that they could not crush the movement by force, they were obliged to invite Ruiz to mediate in the negotiations between the state and the EZLN.
All the evidence available suggests that neither Ruiz, nor the Jesuits, nor any of the other religious asociations "promoted" the insurrection. Ruiz has only ever claimed that certain catechists, nuns, or priests were involved in a personal capacity. Asked why the revolt had occurred, Ruiz explained that "the Indians were tired of the government's promises. They felt that they had no choice but to take up arms. They had been pushed to the limits of their patience..." 2
But what is clear is that, like in El Salvador in the 1970s, the work of the progressive clergy, particularly the Jesuits, has promoted mass education, awareness of the possibilities of community organisation, and awareness among the poor of their human and social rights. All this has contributed to a new politicoreligious culture among an important part of the Indian population. And like in El Salvador, the organisation of thousands of from Maya culture. But the patient educational work, the promotion of community consciousness, and the defence of the indigenous communities by
Bishop Ruiz and his catechists was essential in creating a favorable environment for the Zapatista movement.
*
1) Teologia Biblica de la Liberacion (Editorial Jus,
Mexico, 1975.)
2) Proceso, Mexico, 10/1/94, p. 24)
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR
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Marxism and Liberation
Theology by Michael Lowy
• "The bourgeoisie has tumed religion into an opium of the people by preaching a God who is lord of the heavens only, while taking possession of the earth for itself" (Frei Betto)
• An introduction to liberation theology for revolutionary Marxists with open minds.
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