Chimalapas, located primarily in southeastern Oaxaca and partially in western Chiapas,  is one of the bioregions of top importance not only in Mexico but also in all of Mesoamerica. It is a region of rich biodiversity and within its boundaries a variety of ecosystems are found, including rainforests, cloud forests,  and pine forests. Chimalapas is home to a large variety of species including jaguars, pumas, tapirs, quetzal birds, and tucans. Its plant wealth is enormous and remains largely undiscovered, much to the consternation of the Mexican government, select NGOs, and private businesses.

Though an extremely important region in Mexico in terms of biodiversity, Chimalapas is not a wildlife reserve or a protected space. The Mexican government for many years attempted to classify Chimalapas as a "Natural Protected Area" (ANP) but the indigenous communities of the area adamantly refused. The health, existence, and high quality of conservation within the diverse ecosystems of Chimalapas exist not because of government efforts, but rather they are a direct result of the presence and deliberate care of the indigenous communities living within Chimalapas. The inhabitants of Chimalapas come from a variety of ethnic groups including the Chinantecos, Mixtecos, Zapotecos, Tzotziles, Tzeltales, and the Zoque Olmecas, who are the legal owners of Chimalapas.

The Zoque people are descendents of the Olmeca people, who have lived in Chimalapas for more than 2,500 years. Before the Colonization of Mexico by Spain the Zoque people lived in unity and peace. When the Spanish arrived one of their principle routes of travel passed through the Tehuantepec Isthmus and, in order to avoid confrontation with the Spanish, the Zoques simply stayed away from their route of passage. In the late 1600s the route changed and brought the Spanish right into the Zoque lands of Chimalapas. Shortly thereafter the Zoque were pulled full strength into a struggle for land that persists to this day.

In 1687 Domingo Pintado bought the lands of Chimalapas, known then as Santa Maria and numbering more than 900,000 hectares, from the Spanish Crown for 25,000 pesos in gold. Pintado then resold these lands back to the Zoque people, who had lived in the Chimalapas for thousands of years. Pintado was able to force the Zoque people to buy back their lands under the act "los Títulos Virreinales", which required that the Zoques, in order to avoid being stripped of their ancestral lands, purchase them.

The Zoques paid Pintado and thus became land holders. In the 1850s the Zoques began to lose their landholdings when foreigners arrived in Southern Mexico and began to accumulate vast amounts of land. Many of these haciendas belonged to North Americans, for example, the Hearst Estate, belonging to Randolph Hearst. By 1967 the Zoques had lost 300,000 hectares of land.
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Today Chimalapas is divided into two parts, Santa Maria in the North (460 million hectares) and San Miguel in the South (134 million hectares). Though the Zoque people are the official land ownders, there are many different groups of people living within the forests of Chimalapas. Most of these indigenous groups live in Chimalapas with the permission of the Zoque, but there are some that squat on the land without permission.

When the Mexican government wanted to turn Chimalapas into a Natural Protected Area the Zoque refused, hired lawyers, and repeatedly defeated the government plan. The Zoque refused to hand over Chimalapas to the Mexican government because they were not willing to lose the rights to control the natural resources of Chimalapas, partially knowing that the government is controlled by private interests such as private ranches, narcotraffickers, cattle ranches, and large private land holders that benefit from private lands located within the forests of Chimalapas as well as NGOs like Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund that would eat away the good things of Chimalapas and leave instead a deforested land devoid of plants, animals, and water.

The Mexican government is still attempting to fill its hands with the riches of Chimalapas. Currently there are two fights for Chimalapas. The first and larger fight is the continuing struggle for bioprospecting and water rights. The Mexican government along with private corporations and Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund are battling the people of Chimalapas. This fight is at a temporary standstill, with both sides looking warily at the other.

The second issue concerns 40,000 hectares of land in Eastern Chimalapas that the Mexican government currently controls, but that the people of Chimalapas are fighting to get back. In order to subdue the fighting passions of the indigenous people the government is injecting the indigenous political authorities of Santa Maria and San Miguel with bribes of money and social programs.

Chimalapas remains not only a beautiful land of rich biodiversity, but it also remains situated at the threshold of several potentially devastating battles. And so, the people, as they have been doing for hundreds of years, wait and fight.

Indigo Jamee Eriksen is the assistant to the director of the Chiapas based Mexican NGO Maderas Del Pueblo, A.C. Their work focuses primarily on the environmental and human rights struggles within the bioreserve Montes Azules. Indigo has been a Peace House volunteer since December 2004 and will continue with Maderas until October 2006.

Sources

An interview with Miguel Angel Garcia, Director of Maderas Del Pueblo, A.C. a Mexican NGO that has been working in Chimalapas for the last fifteen years.

Other sources are documents and publications written by Maderas Del Pueblo, A.C.