Chiapas | Human Rights Brigades in Mexico: The Globalization of Hope

How have you managed to continue the purely volunteer project of the Observation Brigades for over 30 years?

The other day, I received an email from a young man in Spain. He wrote that his parents used to participate in the brigades and always talked about it. Now he's finally old enough to participate himself. News like that makes me happy and gives me hope. In old pictures, you can see how young the people were back then! I think to myself, no matter what they're doing today, they carry this experience from Chiapas within them – and perhaps pass some of it on. The project is an attempt to move closer to peace, to deter violence through physical presence. It's a project of encounters; the brigadistas meet the people from the communities here and the other guests – and, not least, each other. In 30 years, 11,450 people from over 60 countries have participated and lived in a total of 140 different communities. Many people are very loyal to the project. And the collaboration with the 30 national and international collectives that recruit observers has also contributed to the project's sustainability.

How has the situation developed compared to the 1990s?

Initially, the violence came directly from state actors: officials, the military, and paramilitaries. This slowly changed from 2006 onwards. New armed groups are constantly emerging, and since the pandemic, some with clear links to organized crime. We had to adapt our security standards, including for the brigades. We cannot confront organized crime as confrontationally as we can the state, but of course these crimes must also be documented. Therefore, we are looking for "safe places," so to speak, from which we can monitor the situation. The observation camps are such places for us.

The project is based on the assumption that the Mexican government gives more weight to the voice of observers than to those affected by the conflict, due to their passports or their whiteness. Doesn't the project therefore also support racist and colonial structures?

I've actually heard a wide variety of opinions on this question from our participants, especially from Europe. Yes, of course, you can see it that way, but it depends on where you look at it from, what you've learned, and where you see yourself within these structures. Some people go into the communities and first see this continuity. I tried to focus on something else. In the situation we find ourselves in, it's about sharing our struggles and resistance. We need to globalize hope. In addition to the documentation work, the brigades are an opportunity to meet people. If I sit in the community for two weeks and just think about my privileges, fine, but then nothing happens. Nevertheless, it's important to conduct this analysis to see how we then use the given elements. Unfortunately, it's still the case that the state listens more to the voice of those who come from elsewhere. So let's use that. And at the same time, that's not an exclusion criterion. The compas (comrades) in the communities welcome anyone who is interested in learning about their struggle and showing solidarity.