Prodesis

Prodesis was a development project in the Lacandon region of Chiapas, Mexico, that ran from 2004 to 2008. The aim of the project was to reduce pressure on the rainforest and combat poverty among its inhabitants, most of them being Mayan Indians and subsistence peasants.

Prodesis was a development project in the Lacandon region of Chiapas, Mexico, that ran from 2004 to 2008. The aim of the project was to reduce pressure on the rainforest and combat poverty among its inhabitants, most of them being Mayan Indians and subsistence peasants. "The new agreement should lead to liberalization of trade and investment between Mexico and the EU [...but also to...] greater social equality and a political system that is genuinely democratic and pluralist and respects human rights. [...] This agreement opens the door to a wide range of potential cooperation activities between the parties, and will allow the EU to provide Mexico with financial and technical assistance for such social programmes as action against poverty, regional development, and cooperation in the field of human rights and protection of indigenous communities. [...] With regard to the current political context in Mexico, the discussions on the new agreement are going hand-in-hand in Mexico with a complex internal political process of democratization and reform. [...] The process of reform currently underway is also being hindered by a range of other factors such as [...] the conflict in Chiapas, the activities of guerilla movements in a number of other areas and the human rights situation, one of the most dramatic recent examples being the massacre which occurred in Acteal on 22 December 1997 and which was strongly condemned by Parliament in its resolution of 15 January 1998. [...] The 1997 agreements [...] include a democracy clause or human rights clause as an essential component. This was a stumbling block to the signing of the framework agreement in 1991. Nevertheless, the difficulties which have arisen in the context of the transition process in Mexico have highlighted the importance of the democracy clause. [...] Parliament therefore considered it vital that the democracy clause be included in the new agreement and that the applicability of the agreement would be conditional on strict respect for that clause." On January 23, 2004, an article in the Mexican newspaper La Jornadareported that in the community of Nuevo San Rafael in the Lacandon forest, 23 houses were burned down and that the victims were chased into the jungle. February 3 Mexican news magazine Proceso suggested a link with a cooperation programme between Mexico and the EU.On several Indymedia-sites [http://www.indymedia.org/it/2004/01/110358.shtml and other news and community sites around the world it was soon suggested that the violence was perpetrated by the Mexican Army against the Zapatista Ch'ol tribe, and that the EU was involved in relation to Plan Puebla Panamá. Before the project even got started Prodesis was already accused of being a counter-insurgency project aimed at getting rid of the local population to gain control over the regions' natural resources. Based on this information Member of the European Parliament Erik Meijer posed a question (E-0546/04, 26-2-2004) to the European Commission (see below). Since early 2004 numerous critical articles (varying in factuality) about Prodesis have been published in Mexican newspapers (mainly La Jornada), magazines (Proceso Contralínea [http://www.contralinea.com.mx/), and on websites of local and international NGOs. On 9 February 2007 58 representants of communities in the Lacandon region signed the Declaration of Moxviquil in which they demanded the project to be suspended. The most important reasons stated in the document were that they were not properly informed about the project, which is a violation of ILO convention 169 and the Mexican Constitution (art.2). Another reason was that they did not see any serious effort in real social development, only some subsidies for cement, tin roofs, chickens and crops. After they had offered the declaration to the director of Prodesis and the head of the European Delegation in Mexico-City, some of those who signed the declaration were threatened by Prodesis staff: if they would stand by their signature, they would not receive any kind of government support anymore (like opportunidades or procampo). "The Commission wants to create a climate favourable to trade and investment. [... It is in the EU's interest to develop and consolidate its market positions and to pursue a dynamic investment policy. [... The current challenge is to find a way to facilitate trade and European investment in Latin America. The Commission's aim is to encourage the development of a legal climate to attract European investments and guarantee the predictability and security of these investments In the WTO framework […] contributing to the development of a stable and predictable framework to help the Latin American countries attract more European investment." Strategy for a stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America "There are destabilising factors that could ultimately jeopardize growth and European investments, and thereby affect the biregional partnership. [...] They jeopardise growth and economic development. [...] These relate, in particular to the Chiapas problem and the integration of the marginalized population groups and the country's indigenous communities in general. These potential instability factors bring with them a cost (lack of security for companies, a distorted image abroad, especially in Europe) and may represent important barriers to the general development of the country, and in particular to attracting European trade and investment." Country Strategy Paper Mexico 2002-2006 (Archived) 24-2-2005: Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, answer E-3589/04 (in French and German [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=E-2004-3589&language=DE) 18-7-2005: MEP Tobias Pflüger, question P-2769/05 "According to press reports and my own local research, those belonging to the indigenous population and farmers living in the Lacandon Jungle region were not adequately informed beforehand about this project, or involved in the planning of the project. Under Article 7 of ILO-convention 169 indigenous population groups have to be consulted before projects may be carried out on their lands. According to human rights organisations in Europe and Mexico, the European Commission is running a risk, in financing this project, of lending support to the counter-insurgency action being waged in the context of low-intensity warfare and of exacerbating socio-economic tensions between communities, by virtue of the fact that only certain individual population groups are benefited by this project." 16-2-2006: Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, answer P-2769/05 1) The current Chiapas State Government, elected in 2000, qualified as beneficiary institution in this EC project due to its reconciliatory position in the conflict between federal government and EZLN, that has been recognised by the latter on several occasions. [... After its election, the Government of Chiapas also politically assumed the principles of the San Andrés Agreement between the federal Mexican government and the EZLN, as well as the 169 ILO Convention. 2) The State Government's position is sustained by the fact that one of the most delicate subjects in the Lacandona region, the agrarian (land) reform and resulting conflicts over land and delocalisation of “informal settlements” (especially in the Montes Azules area – that is not part of Prodesis' area of intervention), are falling under federal competence. The Chiapas Government hence is not participating in the very tense negotiations between local communities and federal institutions on that issue. 3) From an institutional point of view, major emphasis has been put on inclusive participation and control by civil society within PRODESIS' Consultative Council, whose “civil society college” currently includes 30 members¹ of regional and national civil society organisations. The renowned Chiapas expert and EZLN's external consultant during the negotiation of the San Andres Agreement, Professor Jan de Vos, is also a member of that Consultative Council. Comments on answer P-2769/05 by Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner 1) Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner refers to the political situation in 2000: Newly elected president Fox had promised to revive the peace process and ratify the Cocopa legislative proposal which, taken to the constitutional level, would mean the fulfillment of the San Andrés Accords. However, in April 2001 Mexican Congress adopted a diluted version of the Cocopa law, which was criticised by the International Labour Organization for violating ILO-convention 169 The EZLN felt betrayed and broke off all dialogue with the federal and state government and installed juntas de buen gobierno (communities of Good governance). Furthermore, in 2004 Ruben Velazquez Lopez (secretary of government of Chiapas) said he would "not tolerate land-occupations anymore", threatening informal settlements with eviction. So the legitimation the Commissioner gives in her answer of February 16th 2006 conceils the changed political situation between 2000 and 2004, when Prodesis started. 2) The Commissioner suggests that conflicts over land and delocalisation of informal settlements happen only in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, which falls under federal competence. Prodesis' area of intervention is the Lacandon region around Montes Azules, which is Chiapas territory. The Chiapas Government (beneficiary of the €15,000,000 for Prodesis), hence would not be involved in these matters. This distinction however is purely theoretical: in reality conflicts over land, para-military attacks, Zapatista presence, and Prodesis' 16 micro-regions are all located in the Lacandon region around the Montes Azules Reserve. This is illustrated by this map (see on the right) of Chiapas' Lacandon region, with Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (green area) at the center. The green circles represent Prodesis projects, the blue circles represent areas with conflicts over land, and the red markings represent areas with para-military presence. 3) Although emphasis has been put on inclusive participation and control by civil society within Prodesis' Consultative Council, several members of that council (among them Jan de Vos and Tim Trench) are critical of Prodesis' consultation process, and sceptical of its effectivity, stating that the project might indeed be worsening the situation in the region. 15-7-2008: MEP Eva Lichtenberger, question H-0628/08 "Why was an extremely strife-torn region chosen without consulting or securing the agreement of the local population? [... What mechanisms does the EU intend to use in order to guarantee that its projects are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples concerning the need to secure free and informed consent for any project being carried out on land belonging to indigenous peoples?" 25-9-2008: Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, answer H-0628/08 "At every step of the project cycle, and even now with PRODESIS in its closing stages, the Commission has been aware of the difficult political and social situation on the ground. This is reflected both by Prodesis' openness to local partner institutions, and its strong commitment to accountability to final beneficiaries and communities. During the feasibility study and formulation mission, there were multiple contacts and consultations with local beneficiaries and communities as well as national and regional civil society organisations. During the project launch and execution, each planning exercise and productive activity financed by the project necessarily depended on the prior agreement and free consent of local communities and grass-root organisations. From an institutional point of view, emphasis has been put on civil society participation and control within the project's Consultative Council, whose independent Civil Society College included approximately 30 members of regional and national Non State Actors (NSA)." Prodesis TV commercial #2 (in Spanish) Prodesis TV commercial #3 (in Spanish) Prodesis promotion video (from DVD, in Spanish) EU-Delegation in Mexico City EuropeAid (Mexico) EC's External Relations with Mexico Country Strategy Paper Mexico 2002-2006 1st part of an introduction to a documentary film about Prodesis (Spanish and English spoken, Dutch sub-titles) 2nd part of an introduction to a documentary film about Prodesis (Spanish and English spoken, Dutch sub-titles) brief history of the conflict in Chiapas (1994-2007) Marco Appel: "Chiapas: La Operación Fracaso" (Operation Failure), Proceso, January 20th 2008 Video on palm leaf project in Las Rosas, municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas Video by FORD MOTOR on conservation of the natural resources in the Lacandon region de:Entwicklungsforschung fr:Sociologie du développement ja:開発学 fi:Kehitysmaatutkimus

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