I want to go to Chiapas

[Circle E Society]

with Solidarity without borders. The problem is their website isnt helpful as to how I can go about doing so. Does anyone have any experience first or second hand with Solidarity Without Borders?

I also found another website: Schools for Chiapas but their programs dont seem to adhere to radicals in any way however I mean nothing in writing is made to do that but I'm still skeptical of it.

Also has anyone here been to Chiapas or know any other programs for going to Chiapas?

Note:Not sure this belongs in DIY but "hobo lifestyle" was the closest thread content wise to this and I had no idea where else to put it.

[Plagueround]

Travel advice usually ends up in DIY, so you're in the right place. ;)

[Holden Caulfield]

Also has anyone here been to Chiapas or know any other programs for going to Chiapas?

the Levellers Standard will be able to clue you up if you ask him real nice

[Circle E Society]

alright maybe I shall do that... although you seem skeptical yourself.:(

[Forward Union]

Were you the chap that posted this on the Anarchist Black Cat forums?

Anyway it's really simple. Basically, wherever you're from, get yourself to Mexico city, stay there for a couple of nights to adjust to the time, and then asap get a coach to Tuxla (capital of chiapas). I say night as its an 8 hour drive. Then, when you get to Tuxla, get a minibus from Tuxla station to San Cristobal de Las Casas, the last state goverent city before reachng Zapatista Territory. Once there, there's loads of Zapatista solidarity offices. Not always useful. The best one is CAPISE, http://www.capise.org.mx/ a group who actually ideologically support the zaps. The rest are human righs types who send abuse reports to the government (one specificalyl called Freyba, who will waste your time and ruin your life, avoid at all costs). You want CAPISE to write you a letter of recomendation adressed to the Junta. This is easiest if you have a letter of recommendation from a grou#p back at home of some sort. (the letter should include your name, the organisations name, it should be adressed to the "Junta" and be dated and signed)

Once you have a letter of reccomendation, and ID, you just need to drive to Zapatista territory (a collectivo - or minibus/taxi will take you there, normally for 20 pesos) (one of the caracoles). The nearest one is The Zapatista Caracol of "Oventic" which is like, a shithole tourist village, that san cris tourists always go to. You could do work there. Or you can go to one of the others, Morelia (boring), La Garrucha (hard hard work), etc. The furthest is La Realidid (Suicidal day long journey into central americas biggest jungle, but madly beautiful), there are noo real roads that far out (many of the roads to Zapatista caracoles were built by the zaps theselves) and can take a days driving.

Once you turn up to a zap caracol, the guards take all your papers, and tell the Junta, who then decide if they want you to help. Sometimes they say yes in 10 mins. Sometimes they say no after 2 days. Both of those have happened to me. My friends actually got put in a holding cell overnight once.

This is a pretty basic guide to how to get there. I can give you specific adresses, like where to get the coaches from, etc, if you want. If you're not clear about anything or have more questions let me know!

[griffjam]

same here. I am hoping to go to Chiapas some time in the future also.

[ellipsis]

good advice given above. I never made it further than san cris as the zaps were on alerta roja at the time. If you want to get college credits check out Mexico Solidarity Network (http://www.mexicosolidarity.org/), whose programs are accredited by a Hampshire College in the US. They are also helpful in emailing questions. Good people in my experience.

[kalu]

Forward Union is right. Sucks that you can't get a bus from D.F. direct to Tuxtla, I actually went straight from Oaxaca to San Cristobal so that was nice.

Also, if you talk to CAPISE, if I remember correctly, it takes them about one week to get permission from the Zapatistas to get you in (after which you actually go to the caracol and like Forward says, can wait ten minutes or two days). Point is...don't do something silly like me and expect to go to a caracol within two days of arriving at San Cris. And yes, Oventic is definitely the "tourist" spot.

ON a side note, the Zapatistas are really starting to decline. I didn't encounter one Mexican, including a few who directly work(ed) with the EZLN, who didn't say "Yep, it's done." I don't know enough about the situation to say why, but don't go expecting anything HUGE.

If you're a person of color, you can also get to chiapas through "estacion libre."