Brief Evaluation

Summing up five years’ work in a single page is almost impossible, but we will try to give a brief summary of our achievements and future challenges. Undoubtedly, the most important boost for the development of indigenous media has been the EZLN’s cultural and communications policies. Zapatistas and “Neozapatistas” have brought on a real media revolution, which can be understood within what Manuel Castells has called the new Age of Information and Network Society (1996, 1997, 1998). This has led political movements and organisations in Chiapas, Mexico and the wider world to rethink their demands and the means by which to make them heard.

Since 1998, the presence in Chiapas of what is now called the “Community Media Project” has permitted certain autonomous communities and municipalities in Chiapas to use video as a political weapon, and as a means to communicate their actions and demands to the world. On a government level, we must also mention the “Project of Audio-Visual Media Transfer to Indigenous Communities”, initiated in 1989 by the INI (Anaya 1990). This project delivered technical equipment to a number of organisations and communities, offering them a basic level of training in radio and television production. Afterwards, the INI set up radio stations and video production facilities in several Mexican states with the aim of establishing a permanent infrastructure (Velázquez 1999). The indigenous video centres, however, tended to turn into “archives” for storing images of “indigenous traditions”, and in recent years have become paralysed due to lack of funds and bureaucratic inertia. From this we may infer that the current development of “indigenous video”, as is the case in many other fields, is led by an organised civil society that moves well beyond what government agencies manage to accomplish. In the case of Chiapas and apart from the Zapatista achievements, we need only examine the diverse ventures into video made by organisations as diverse as Kinoki Lumal, the Network of Community Human Rights Advocates, the ‘Fray Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada’ Human Rights Committee, the ‘Boca de Polen’ Communicators’ Network, the women’s group ‘Las Filmadoras’ and the indigenous organisations CDLI-Xi’ Nich, OMIECH, ORCAO and the Independent and Democratic ARIC, to name a few.

In fact, it is evident in this booklet that the PVIFS has grown mainly due to the enthusiasm of committed indigenous, mestizo and foreign men and women. Their interest in producing promotional, documentary or educational video has allowed for dialogue and the overlapping of agendas, but above all it has allowed us to put down foundations and become pioneers in the promotion of an “indigenous video culture” that is a dynamic and hybrid mediating force. It mediates cultural knowledge and is capable of combating prejudice through cultural understanding and reinforcing the cohesiveness of emerging political and cultural processes (see Ginsburg 1991).

We are not and have not stood alone during this process. The Zapatistas have guided us, indigenous people from Oaxaca (see Brígido-Corachán 2004; Wortham 2004) have been teaching and working with us, and Guatemalan indigenous people have left us almost speechless with the strength of their struggle and spirituality. With all of these people we have forged relations and built bridges with the intention of going beyond academic debates to enter the field of the political cultures of the organisations we are working with.

But it is important to acknowledge that we have invested much more than we have been able to gain. The working conditions for this task have not been the most advantageous. The political situation in Chiapas has not been exactly as we might have hoped for. Furthermore, the institutional support has not been up to par with the needs and demands of the people. In other words, the fruit we harvest today has matured despite the fact that peace accords have not been signed in Chiapas, despite strong political conflicts within indigenous organisations and communities, even though national and international civil society is less and less aware of the situation in Chiapas, and although public institutions of all kinds have not been able to offer systematic and integrated support. But not everything has been loss and desperation; the permanent and regular support of CIESAS has allowed us to have access to a modest production centre over the last five years, as well as the use of classrooms and basic audio and video equipment. The UNICACH, for their part, have always supported us with printing facilities, and CESMECA-UNICACH and CIESAS together have offered us the moral and institutional support to allow us to move forward in difficult times when we thought that all was going to be lost. However, to be able to continue we must undoubtedly create better conditions at all levels, otherwise we will always be swimming against the current.

It is the hard work of everyone involved, which has contributed to this trailblazing effort, but there is still much to do in order to widen this road… Hopefully a second phase of the project would summon a wider participation so that together we may contribute to the struggle of indigenous communities, organisations and peoples of Chiapas and southern Mexico for a just and dignified life…

Xochitl Leyva and Axel Köhler
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas
December 2004.