Academic Programs

Chiapas, Mexico

DePaul University's Chiapas Program is a human rights practicum unlike any other law school experience in the country. The centerpiece of the program is its real-world component, which places student workers in human rights offices in the State of Chiapas, Mexico where conflict and violation of human rights is an everyday reality. First, students learn the history of the ever-changing human rights struggle in Chiapas, developing their legal and political skills to aid the indigenous people of Chiapas. After a semester-long orientation, the students travel to Chiapas where the orientation continues from local lawyers and activists. Some students will stay for ten days of observing local conditions. Others will stay the summer and be assigned to human rights offices where they work side-by-side with Mexican human rights lawyers, whether that work be in the office or in some remote jungle location. The summer-long program is conducted entirely in Spanish and is open to first- and second-year students who are willing to meet once or semi-weekly during the second semester for educational sessions prior to departure. The ten-day program does not require Spanish.

Upon arriving in Chiapas, students quickly learn first-hand that Chiapas is the poorest state in Mexico and one of the poorest regions in all of Latin America. Its population is overwhelmingly indigenous, coming from many different tribal, ethnic and linguistic roots. Many of the indigenous people do not speak Spanish and live in communities without basic facilities or services. Many communities are composed of displaced people or refugees from conflict or expulsions in other parts of the state. Much of the legal work to be done is as much about training and educating the local population about fundamental human rights as it is about handling actual legal complaints. Students quickly see that the human rights battle in Chiapas poses entirely different and more basic problems than similar battles in other international areas.

During the first week, participants meet with numerous human rights and indigenous groups in San Cristobal de las Casas, the regional capital that serves as the program's base of operations. The group also meets with the primary antagonists in the present conflict-the Mexican government and the Zapatista army. After a comprehensive set of meetings, students who are willing to stay are then divided into pairs for assignment to a particular human rights legal organization. The offices may be located in San Cristobal or in any number of other locations in Chiapas, such as Tapachula, Palenque or Ocosingo.

Chiapas is conflict-ridden because, on January 1, 1994 the same day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, many indigenous people and their supporters decided to fight back against the perceived injustices of the government. The people's major concerns included land rights, disappearances and the application of international human rights treatises. On that day, leaders of the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN), including Subcomandante Marcos, having trained an army of indigenous men and women, led the takeover of a number of small towns in Chiapas, including San Cristobal. Smaller scale, low-intensity fighting has continued sporadically over the years, provoking an increased military presence by the government and an international presence of activists in support of the indigenous people.

The primary goal of the Chiapas Program is to expose DePaul law students to a ground-level human rights struggle by having them actually experience the people and communities that are facing the daily strife. In addition, the program seeks to promote the major goal of the uprising which is the recognition of the equal rights of the indigenous. In the past, students have written and filed complaints against the State of Chiapas concerning police brutality, land rights and lack of adequate government services. Students also spend time away from the city of San Cristobal in the indigenous communities where they attend community meetings and gain an understanding of the issues basic to human rights reform.

The program has operated since 1999. DePaul law students find the Chiapas experience to be invaluable. San Cristobal has become an international center for those concerned with the protection and advancement of the indigenous people. Law students have the unique opportunity to receive school credit while making a contribution to the protection of international human rights in a program unlike any other in the country.

Purpose

The Human Rights Practicum is an opportunity to travel to Chiapas, Mexico where you will have the chance meet and work with various human rights organizations, while visiting or living in smaller communities. For the first time this year, the Chiapas program is a two-tiered program: All participating students will be required to attend the several orientation sessions and to go with the group to Chiapas for ten days. From that initial group, those students who are able to stay longer may stay for as long as the entire summer under the auspices of the program.

Those staying only for the first stage will meet with a wide variety of community groups and will have the opportunity to visit at least one indigenous village. For those of you staying for longer than the required ten days, you will work in law offices, gaining hands-on experience in the field and earning at least one and as many as three hours of academic credit. In addition, this practicum will give Spanish-speaking law students the opportunity to study Mexican and Inter-American legal systems in Spanish and to conduct individualized projects and case research on various human rights topics in the state of Chiapas, Mexico where human rights abuses such as impunity and government repression are rampant.

Structure of the Program

The dates for the ten-day portion of this practicum are May 21 through May 30, 2007. That schedule will not interfere with final exams or summer school and should allow participating students to begin their summer employment on time. For those students wishing to stay longer, the program will arrange placements for field work in human rights offices located throughout Chiapas. Present second-year students staying the entire summer may qualify for three hours of extern credit. Other students are eligible to receive one hour of credit. Contingent upon successful fund-raising, students remaining the summer should receive a stipend of $3,000.

The program is directed by College of Law Prof. Leonard L. Cavise. The year 2007 will mark the eighth year of the program.

Prior to departure, there will be a series of required pre-trip orientation meetings scheduled for week-day afternoons. These meetings will consist of discussion of assigned readings, required film and video viewings. Outside speakers will be invited. Attendance will be mandatory.

Once in Chiapas, most of the first ten days will be spent in San Cristobal where local human rights lawyers, activists and community leaders will help students understand the local legal and political situation. Remaining days of the ten-day program may be spent in the countryside, visiting communities where human rights workers are located. Those students remaining longer will be assigned to various law offices throughout Chiapas that prosecute human rights violations and otherwise serve the indigenous. It is here where students work on human rights cases and accompany local lawyers or defensores as they investigate cases of human rights abuse.

Logistical Arrangements

DePaul will arrange travel to and from Chiapas and all hotel arrangements for our stay in San Cristobal and wherever else the group travels during the initial ten-day program. For those staying longer to work in the communities, participants may arrange hotel, family or other community lodging, in consultation with the Program Director and our community hosts. While in San Cristobal, participants will be required to stay at the program hotel. All participants must be able to travel on the designated dates. No participant may separately arrange travel or schedule different arrival or departure dates. Nor may any participant travel during the program outside of their schedule without the permission of the Director. Any student having separate funding to allow a longer time in Chiapas must make arrangements with the Program Director.

Costs

All participants may register for one-hour of academic credit toward the law school degree under the heading Human Rights Practicum. The credit may be applied toward the Summer,2007 or Fall, 2007 semester, at the participant's option. The law school will arrange and control travel, accommodation, cost of instruction and related program expenses. All program participants should be prepared to pay program costs which, for the ten-day program, will amount to approximately $1000. Partial scholarships may be available for students on financial aid. In no event, however, can a participant pay less than their own food costs which we estimate to be about $200 for the ten-day program. Students staying for the summer will receive a stipend from the program. The Program Director will advise participants about the funding situation as it develops.

Schedule For The Ten-Day Program

The program will be one very full of meetings and visits. If visiting a village outside of San Cristobal, students should bring a sleeping bag and be prepared for spartan conditions. In the past, the group has visited Oventic which is one of the Zapatista centers (caracoles) and Acteal, a village many of whose inhabitants were massacred by paramilitaries in 1997. Some of the groups in San Cristobal with whom the program normally connects are:

Centro de Investigaciones Económicas y Políticas de Acción Comunitaria (CIEPAC)
CIEPAC (the Center for Economic and Political Research for Community Action) is committed to empowering grassroots organizations and communities while also providing information that serves to educate as many people as possible. By providing access to an alternative analysis of current events throughout Chiapas, CIEPAC is able to assist communities in making decisions as well as to demonstrate the issues in Chiapas to national and international audiences. CIEPAC is known throughout the human rights world as a source for reliable information and is often asked to give presentations on its work to international organizations and government groups.

SIPAZ
SIPAZ is a program of international observation that had its beginning in 1995, following the Zapatista uprising in 1994. It was formed to monitor the conflict in Chiapas, México. Today SIPAZ supports the search for nonviolent solutions that contribute to the construction of a just peace through building tolerance and dialogue among the actors in Chiapas as well as, increasingly, in other areas in México (Oaxaca and Guerrero). At the same time, SIPAZ serves as a bridge for communication and the sharing of information and experiences among organizations and networks that work toward the building of a just and lasting peace at a local, national, regional and international level. SIPAZ has a staff of international volunteers who work on specific projects throughout the region, with a base in San Cristobal.

Fundacion Leon XIII
Fundacion Leon XIII works with a wide number of indigenous communities to design projects for sustainable development, provide technical assistance and obtain loans for the projects such as educational initiatives or the rebuilding of homes or buildings. The Fundacion is also able to assist indigenous communities in producing and marketing their products, finding ways to preserve traditional customs and techniques and to distribute farming surpluses throughout communities so as to provide more balanced nutritional choices. Fundacion also has a number of programs aimed at ensuring that basic rights such as health, food, housing, work and education are made available to women and children.

Melel Xojobal
Melel Xojobal means "the true light" in the Tsotsil language. Melel's Children's Project has two components. There is a Children's Day Care Center in San Cristobal for children aged 0-5 whose parents cannot afford child care. The service is mainly used by young indigenous women who are often either single mothers or the sole working parent. The day care center is able to provide children with two meals (usually the only meals the child will have each day) and basic education to stimulate their mental and physical development. The other Children's Project component is the Street Program which works with the mainly indigenous youth population working or living on the streets of San Cristobal. Children as young as five work selling candy, polishing shoes, collecting collectors, and selling cardboard, arts and crafts, and food. The Street program uses alternative educational processes to allow these children to obtain basic skills and have a space in which they can discuss topics such as how to care for one's self or what community means.

Jolom Mayaetik
Jolom Mayaetik is a cooperative of 350 Tsotsil- and Tseltal-speaking indigenous women weavers from six different highland communities in Chiapas. It was formed in 1996 in the wake of sharply declining wages, rising costs of living, intensifying economic and political exploitation of the indigenous people, and military occupation. Its focus is economic and political autonomy for indigenous women, and community literacy, education and health. Cooperative organization provides the women members with economic and learning opportunities. As stated by the cooperative members on their website: "When we started the cooperative Jolom Mayaetik we wanted a different kind of cooperative. We wanted a space where we could have more freedom and do new and creative things. Apart from the commercialization of our products we are taking workshops, we go on sales trips, and we have visited other states and countries. This cooperative is different because it is us who administer it. It is us who go on the trips and speaking tours. Through the cooperative we are able to participate in courses and workshops. With the cooperative we have the option of political participation. And we are independent of the government."

Union Majomut
Majomut is a coffee collective made up of over 1,700 coffee growing families from five Tsotsil and Tseltal communities in the Chiapas Highlands. Majomut is able to sell its coffee through the Fair Trade industry to Europe, the US and Japan. The collective is highly organized with elected representatives and mechanisms for the creation of social services, health education, technical assistance and loan programs for collective members. Majomut has a small roasting facility close to San Cristobal which allows it to also sell its products on a local and national level.

Possible Community Placements For 2007 For Those Students Staying The Summer:

The following is a list of some of the law offices where DePaul students have worked in the course of this program. There is no assurance the same offices will be available this year. They are listed for informational purposes only.

• Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolome de Las Casas
  The Fray Bartolome is central to the ongoing successes of the other centers. Due to its central location in San Cristobal, the FrayBa is recognized for its ongoing efforts to provide effective communication amongst all people involved in the human right arena. The FrayBa is the center with which the Human Rights Practicum has the longest on-going relationship. Large staff of lawyers and legal workers. They investigate human rights violations and take appropriate measures using both national and international legal remedies.
• Centro de Derechos de la Mujer de Chiapas
  This human rights center is focused on the legal, social and economic obstacles that women throughput the region of Chiapas face. The Center is divided into a number of departments: social services, community outreach and education (go to indigenous communities and present know-your-rights presentations as well as health education), counseling services, advocacy and legal services. The legal services department assists women with a broad range of issues such as domestic violence, divorce, custody, property rights, inheritance and employment discrimination. The Center will obtain a legal judgment under Mexican law and then work with the client's community to ensure that rights are honored within the parallel community law framework. The Center has also been working on a project examining the obstacles that indigenous women face in accessing authorities as part of preparation for a case that the Center ultimately hopes to bring before the Inter-American Human Rights Court in Costa Rica.
• Miguel Austin Pro Juarez
  Located in Palenque, the PRODH is a non-governmental organization that seeks to promote a culture of respect for human rights and to defend persons or groups whose human rights have been violated. Based in Mexico City, and with legal offices in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, the PRODH works with local, national, and international organizations to consolidate human rights protection in Mexico. The PRODH focuses on seven basic areas of work in: research and analysis, legal defense, education and training, investigation and documentation of abuse (including psychological attention to victims), international advocacy, communication, and defense of persons with HIV/AIDS. The Palenque office is a small room in a community human rights center. There is presently one staff lawyer.
• Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Pedro Lorenzo de La Nada
  Located in Ocosingo, an autonomous municipality identified as a major conflict zone for its close proximity to the Lacandon Jungle (a Zapatista stronghold), the Fray Pedro advocates primarily for the Tzeltal indigenous community. The center provides legal services to the communities, and acts as an educational center in that they provide training sessions and workshops for its promotores in various disciplines within the human rights field. The promotores have been elected by their communities to act as liaisons between their village and the outside world. It is the responsibility of the promotores to provide the people with information to the recent occurrences outside of their villages. The center is responsible for maintaining documentation of human rights violations for over 40 communities in the Lacandon jungle. No lawyers, defensores and promotores only.
• Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matias de Cordova
  The Fray Matias is located in Tapachula, a community in the southernmost part of Chiapas on the border with Guatemala. This center focuses primarily on providing immigration services to displaced persons from Guatemala who have settled in Chiapas. In addition to these services, the center handles disputes that arise between migrant workers and the owners of the farms, who exploit them for their labor. The attorneys of the center also visit prisons to provide legal assistance. Three lawyers and several legal workers staff the office.
• La RED de Defensores Communitarios por los Derechos Humanos
  The RED is comprised of young defensores from four regions in Chiapas. The RED provides legal services to indigenous communities but also trains members of "high risk" indigenous communities in Chiapas to legally defend themselves in the event of military or paramilitary action. The Red, therefore, trains local defensores, elected by the communities through their own unique process, to identify the relevant legal human rights violations as they occur, and to respond appropriately.
• Ixim Antsetic - Casa de Apoyo a la Mujer
  This office, located in Palenque, works exclusively with women, most of whom are indigenous. The range of work areas includes domestic abuse, related family matters, employment discrimination, criminal and other disciplines as well as basic education on the human rights of women. The experience may include substantial contact with government officials. There are three lawyers in the office.
• Comission Estatal de Derechos Humanos
  The CEDH is the governmental human rights organization, engaged in the documentation of human rights complaints. Located in both the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez and in San Cristobal, the CEDH has recently expanded its jurisdictional limits to include cases in litigation and the taking of advocacy stances. Our students were instrumental in the drafting of pleadings and investigation of a major land appropriation case that is already processing through the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This office, unlike many others in Chiapas, is well-equipped and well-staffed.