Municipal leadership in Tila has been contested since the October 3rd elections.  First results showed that the Alianza por Tila (Alliance for Tila -- composed of the Partido de Trabajadores and the Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) had won the elections.  The PRI, who has a long history of leadership in Tila, but was not the party of the incumbent, contested the results with the State Electoral Tribunal, who confirmed an Alianza victory.  The PRI then carried its complaints to the Federal Electoral Tribunal, which reversed the state board’s previous decision, naming PRI candidate Juan Jose Diaz Solorzano municipal president, to take office on January 1st 2005.

Many Tila residents, who are primarily indigenous Chol, oppose Diaz’s presidency.  His campaign has been accused of vote-buying and voter manipulation, and Diaz himself, although he has previously served two terms in other municipal offices, is not actually a resident of the municipality.  However, the greatest source of opposition to a renewed-PRI leadership in Tila is grounded in the candidate's well-known membership in the paramilitary group Paz y Justicia, responsible for at least 4,000 displacements and murders of people in the region, primarily between the years 1995 and 2000 (please see other news update for further information on Paz y Justicia's role in the northern region of Chiapas).     

Fearful of a return to PRI-paramilitary rule, at least 60 residents (the numbers have not been dependably documented) occupied the municipal presidential building starting on January 1st, in an attempt to prevent Diaz from taking office.  The protestors claim to have attempted dialogue with the PRI leadership throughout the 44 days of occupation, but to no avail.  In addition, they proposed an alternative form of presidency, called a "municipal council," provided for in Chiapas law as a recourse when there is no resolution to regular elections.  The State Congress, which had the power to approve the proposal, neglected to do so.   In addition, the leaders of the Alianza, reportedly through an agreement with governor Pablo Salazar Mendiguchia, withdrew their bid for municipal presidency, essentially isolating the protestors and making them more vulnerable to the violence that followed. 

On February 15th, over 800 state police officers ended the occupation with a show of force.  Over 50 people, many reported to be indigenous leaders in the community, were detained.  Hundreds of residents were gassed or injured, six houses burned down and three cars destroyed by the police, the State Agency of Investigations, and civilians reported to be Paz y Justicia paramilitaries, who accompanied the officials and pointed out the houses of individuals in resistance.   Dozens of families were forcibly displaced on the 15th while have continued to leave the area since the PRI candidate, Diaz, took office on the 16th.  Residents report living in terror of the threat of ongoing violence and chaos.  The detainees continue to be held in an undisclosed location where they have no access to legal counsel or contact with their families. 

Compiled from the following sources: www.laneta.apc.org/cdhbcasas/, www.jornada.mx.unam, http://chiapas.mediosindependientes.org/, www.cuarto-poder.com