Tremendous blog/article my friend! You didn't hear much about Chiapas but it appears to be changing. Very interesting to learn the history in this region is predominantly Mayan--much different from that of the Aztecs. Also, I was interested in the Evangelical movement in Mexico. About two years ago I found myself doing work in Huejutla de Reyes and discovering a growing Evangelical movement which has caused friction in those parts with the non-Evangelicals. It was at that time, that I was schooled in the Nahuatl language which appears to be increasing in popularity. The round trip bus ride (from Tampico) was arduous but it was well worth a peek into this fascinating part of Mexico. Thanks for sharing your informative story!
Just saying, stories like this are why you're one of my first stops on this app. So many intricate threads combine to make the thing people call "organized crime"; and yet they think they can ignore all those and just police it away. Sounds like the Chamula used OC to seize an agency previously denied them by Mexican society. More evidence for the "transitional phase hypothesis "?
Great note. It scares me. I lived in San Cristobal in the early 90s, after visiting frequently during the 80s. Displacement of evangelical converts had an economic motive behind, more than religious: evangelicals wouldn’t drink posh anymore, thus affecting a business owned by local authorities in San Juan. So it is really no big surprise their linkage to narco economy, i see it as a simple upgrade. Thanks Ioan!
When you say that the word 'mestizo' isn't used anymore, do you mean that the word 'mexican' itself (when referring to an ethnicity) is equivalent to mestizo?
I'm in San Cristobal for a week or two, and just broadcast my radio show from here on shortwave. Curious if you are going to do an article on Chilean Ex-president Sebastián Piñera, who died tragically in a helo crash last week. I hit the subject on the radio show, but it is not widely known who this man was. Piñera divorced conservatism from the catholic church and led the rise of conservative presidencies in the Americas long before Donald Trump entered politics. https://open.substack.com/pub/gospelgunslingers/p/lbts-75-death-of-sebastian-pinera?r=366mf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Yes I did notice the difference. You seem pretty cynical in ‘Blood Gun Money’. The thing I appreciate about that book, and El Narco too, is your honest attempt to drill into the heart of the problem and not to attach to any certain narrative. That might be the easy way to go and properly presented might sell more product.
The Los Motonetos, which seems to be a loose description of various scooter gangs, seem to be a group for hire to do any violence requested by anyone who will pay them. Did the Chamula cartel evolve from the Los Motonetos who seemingly evolved from the extortion efforts by businessmen in San Cristobal. A leader of a faction of the Los Motonetos who was assassinated last year was a businessman heavily involved in the extortion and protection racket in San Cristobal.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has really escalated it's violence in Chiapas the past couple of months and it seems that the CJNG has aligned itself with the Kaibiles which probably means more violence in San Cristobal with the Chamula Cartel aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel. If there are actual trained members of the Kaibiles working with the CJNG, the violence in San Cristobal and Chiapas will really be extreme.
Great work Ioan. My cousin who is a Chiapas native and still lives there has urged me in the past to visit as soon as I can as she says the state is changing a lot and not always for the better. She says she still wants me to see the many good things the state has to offer before they disappear or become inaccessible, mind you she was also referring to some of the effects of the changing climate that she says was endangering some of Chiapas’s natural beauties. However, I wonder what Chiapas looks like a couple years from now.
That photo of the large house is quite incredible especially since its the kind of sight you dont associate with southern mexico often. All the best there Ioan
There was a shooting in the San Cristobal central market today. The deceased was supposed to be a heavy-hitter, "El Fallo" or something similar. Rival factions of indigenous cartels are gonna rumble!
Wouldn't be surprised if the government has given carte blanche to cartels in Chiapas, to weaken the Zapatistas or any likeminded nascent movements.
There's mega construction and petrol projects being held up, one in the heart of EZLN land. Would be a cheap and nasty way to settle it. Ends a thirty year PR quagmire to boot.
Collusion with criminal elements to combat labour/radical politics is not a foreign concept to SA, nor the rest of the world.
Tremendous blog/article my friend! You didn't hear much about Chiapas but it appears to be changing. Very interesting to learn the history in this region is predominantly Mayan--much different from that of the Aztecs. Also, I was interested in the Evangelical movement in Mexico. About two years ago I found myself doing work in Huejutla de Reyes and discovering a growing Evangelical movement which has caused friction in those parts with the non-Evangelicals. It was at that time, that I was schooled in the Nahuatl language which appears to be increasing in popularity. The round trip bus ride (from Tampico) was arduous but it was well worth a peek into this fascinating part of Mexico. Thanks for sharing your informative story!
Just saying, stories like this are why you're one of my first stops on this app. So many intricate threads combine to make the thing people call "organized crime"; and yet they think they can ignore all those and just police it away. Sounds like the Chamula used OC to seize an agency previously denied them by Mexican society. More evidence for the "transitional phase hypothesis "?
Great note. It scares me. I lived in San Cristobal in the early 90s, after visiting frequently during the 80s. Displacement of evangelical converts had an economic motive behind, more than religious: evangelicals wouldn’t drink posh anymore, thus affecting a business owned by local authorities in San Juan. So it is really no big surprise their linkage to narco economy, i see it as a simple upgrade. Thanks Ioan!
When you say that the word 'mestizo' isn't used anymore, do you mean that the word 'mexican' itself (when referring to an ethnicity) is equivalent to mestizo?
Another brilliant one. I look forward to seeing how you gather this together into the next book 👍✍️
I'm in San Cristobal for a week or two, and just broadcast my radio show from here on shortwave. Curious if you are going to do an article on Chilean Ex-president Sebastián Piñera, who died tragically in a helo crash last week. I hit the subject on the radio show, but it is not widely known who this man was. Piñera divorced conservatism from the catholic church and led the rise of conservative presidencies in the Americas long before Donald Trump entered politics. https://open.substack.com/pub/gospelgunslingers/p/lbts-75-death-of-sebastian-pinera?r=366mf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Yes I did notice the difference. You seem pretty cynical in ‘Blood Gun Money’. The thing I appreciate about that book, and El Narco too, is your honest attempt to drill into the heart of the problem and not to attach to any certain narrative. That might be the easy way to go and properly presented might sell more product.
The Los Motonetos, which seems to be a loose description of various scooter gangs, seem to be a group for hire to do any violence requested by anyone who will pay them. Did the Chamula cartel evolve from the Los Motonetos who seemingly evolved from the extortion efforts by businessmen in San Cristobal. A leader of a faction of the Los Motonetos who was assassinated last year was a businessman heavily involved in the extortion and protection racket in San Cristobal.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has really escalated it's violence in Chiapas the past couple of months and it seems that the CJNG has aligned itself with the Kaibiles which probably means more violence in San Cristobal with the Chamula Cartel aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel. If there are actual trained members of the Kaibiles working with the CJNG, the violence in San Cristobal and Chiapas will really be extreme.
Great work Ioan. My cousin who is a Chiapas native and still lives there has urged me in the past to visit as soon as I can as she says the state is changing a lot and not always for the better. She says she still wants me to see the many good things the state has to offer before they disappear or become inaccessible, mind you she was also referring to some of the effects of the changing climate that she says was endangering some of Chiapas’s natural beauties. However, I wonder what Chiapas looks like a couple years from now.
That photo of the large house is quite incredible especially since its the kind of sight you dont associate with southern mexico often. All the best there Ioan
There was a shooting in the San Cristobal central market today. The deceased was supposed to be a heavy-hitter, "El Fallo" or something similar. Rival factions of indigenous cartels are gonna rumble!
Color and Tradition Chiapas touch
Another great piece to your ongoing tapestry. I’m really enjoying your work. Just finished El Narco. Moving on to the next one. Keep writing.
Wouldn't be surprised if the government has given carte blanche to cartels in Chiapas, to weaken the Zapatistas or any likeminded nascent movements.
There's mega construction and petrol projects being held up, one in the heart of EZLN land. Would be a cheap and nasty way to settle it. Ends a thirty year PR quagmire to boot.
Collusion with criminal elements to combat labour/radical politics is not a foreign concept to SA, nor the rest of the world.