Informant38

Laguna Ocotal, located in the northern region of Montes Azules, is a crystalline lake in the cross hairs. The area, reputedly the reserve's richest in biodiversity, is also a Zapatista stronghold. The lake is particularly isolated. The closest town, Ocosingo, is hours away. To arrive in Laguna Ocotal, it takes take a crowded three bus ride from Ocosingo, followed by a four-hour walk up muddy paths to finally arrive at the lake's edge.
This part of the jungle is also the most militarized in the state of Chiapas, with dozens of Mexican Army bases dotting the landscape. Why has the Mexican military responded with such ferocity to a small, largely indigenous, poorly armed guerrilla movement? The answer has more to do with Chiapas' strategic resources than any alleged military threat posed by the Zapatistas.
It is now clear that although Fox cannot annihilate the Zapatistas militarily, his administration can successfully portray them as the environmental criminals, deserving retribution.
Ignacio Campillo Garcia, Mexico's Attorney General for the Environment Affairs best summed up the government perspective in a press interview last year. "These regions [the Lacandon] suffer from high un-governability, deterring private investment. They [the Army] will guarantee the security for private investment"
The military's role has expanded to include enforcement of environmental law, reforesting and the pending violent "resettlement" of communities located within biosphere reserves. Top on the list are the Montes Azules and Oaxaca's Chimalapas jungle. These regions also correspond to areas of social unrest or insurgent movements.

Ironically, the Mexican Army has been implicated in both in trafficking of endangered species, as well as logging in the Lacandon jungle. In fact, the Attorney General for Environmental Affairs' office currently has open investigations on both charges.
Using the Army, which has an abysmal human rights record, to enforce environmental protection is a pretext to further militarize the region, say local residents.
"The army is arriving not to protect the jungle, but to eliminate us," notes Montes Azules resident and Zapatista Juan Gomez.
In the final analysis, with so many forces converging on the Lacandon, who will win out? Ultimately, the onus for the present crisis in Chiapas rests squarely on the shoulders of the Mexican government. Not only is the government impeding indigenous communities from developing local initiatives for natural resource "management," but also threatening them with violent retribution if they do not immediately vacate their ancestral lands.
"This is our home, the roots of our people. [Relocation] means the death of our people, our culture, our land," says Gomez.