When Magalí Rabasa arrived in Chiapas, Mexico for a human rights project last fall, she planned only to do informational work, such as networking and translating, she said.
That changed when she began traveling with Otra Campaña, a human rights caravan that demonstrates against government oppression and social injustice across Mexico, often with significant political attention and opposition.
Rabasa, a University graduate, shared her experiences Wednesday night in McKenzie Hall as part of a presentation entitled “Zapatismo Today and La Otra Campaña: Reflections and Analysis on Solidarity and Resistance in Chiapas.”
Rabasa said she was happy to have such an active role in the Otra Campaña movement, and although it was only for one week in February, her participation added much to her overall experience in southern Mexico.
“It far exceeded my expectations,” Rabasa said. “It was an incredibly exciting time to be there.”
Rabasa visited three different states during the short time that she rode with the campaign.
“The pace of the caravan is incredibly fast, sometimes covering three or four communities in one day,” she said.
Otra Campaña is a program of the Zapatismo, a larger movement with the same purpose – opposing unjust government and military actions in Mexico. The traveling campaign plans to travel to every state in Mexico this summer to coincide with the impending presidential election on July 2.
Rabasa spent most of her time in Chiapas working with Servicio Internacional Para la Paz (SIPAZ), a small organization that serves as an international presence in the state and that provides networking and communication for various political groups, according to the SIPAZ Web site. The organization formed in 1995, one year after the Zapatista uprising of 1994 in which the Zapatista army fought the Mexican army in battles that lasted just less than two weeks.
The presentation included several pictures taken by Rabasa during the trip with Otra Campaña and in other areas where she worked.
Scott Miksch, a coordinator and organizer with the Committee in Solidarity with the Central American People (CISCAP), said Rabasa presented her message effectively.
“I knew that Magalí had had a lot of amazing experiences in the time she was there, but I was amazed at how well she was able to share those experiences,” he said. Miksch also spent time in Chiapas in 1999, he said.
Rabasa said her work, especially her experiences with Otra Campaña, came under fairly strong opposition in some cases. While she was on the road with the campaign, she said, a group of opponents came to volunteer workers’ homes near SIPAZ at about 4:00 a.m. and pounded violently on their doors, blasting the Zapatista anthem twice at full volume from their cars. Despite the fact that it was the anthem of their cause, Rabasa said, she thought it was obviously meant as an act of harassment.
“I was scared,” she said of first hearing the news from her co-workers. “It was definitely really intense, and with an organization of five women we felt really vulnerable.”
Rabasa also said several communities were divided upon Otra Campaña’s arrival, but that the experience as a whole was worth it.
“As long as there is military repression in Chiapas, U.S. human rights workers could be on the receiving end of it,” Miksch said. He agreed with Rabasa’s statement of the value of her efforts.
“It’s very important work,” he said. “It’s not easy, but it’s very important work.”
Although she returned last month, Rabasa said, she plans on returning to Chiapas this summer during election season to continue her work.