Narco culture infest Chiapas indigenous Tsotsiles, Tzeltales and Choles

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San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas

New luxury trucks with tinted windows; men who wear hats and pointy boots; parties with shots fired in the air from high-caliber weapons, narcocorrido … The influence of the narcoculture is rapidly changing values ​​in Chiapas.

The growing migration of people from the indigenous peoples of Chiapas to the United States and the influence of narcoculture are rapidly changing the values ​​of the state. Proof of this is the participation of young people from Los Altos in activities such as drug dealing, kidnapping and human trafficking, but also in illegal logging, smuggling, piracy and pornography … This, in a context of violence caused by the impunity with which the armed groups have integrated into the politics of the municipalities. 

“I’m going to sing a corrido, I want you to listen to me well, I’m not from Sinaloa, I’m not from Monterrey, I’m from the Highlands of Chiapas, Chamula blood too. Proud Mexican, one hundred percent indigenous… ”, says a narcocorrido played by the band Los Cárteles de San Juan, from this Tsotsil region. It can be found on YouTube. 

Another narcocorrido says: “Not just in Durango there are chingones men, in the state of Chiapas there are also bastards; They wear boots and hats and bring their good stoves. They are not afraid of death and much less the devil, when they want to kill each other, they kill themselves like dogs, and they do not split with anyone ”

From the north of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and the entire Altos de Chiapas region, passing through Chamula, Chenalhó, Pantelhó, Simojovel, Chilón and Yajalón, the narcoculture settled among the Tsotsil, Tzeltal and Chole peoples. 

The migration of thousands of indigenous people to the north of the country and to the United States caused a rebound among the Mayan peoples and communities, where now you can see sumptuous houses that contrast with the poverty of the environment. 

Chamula. Change of Values

New luxury trucks with tinted windows; men who wear hats and whistled boots. Parties with shots in the air from heavy caliber weapons such as goat horns are videotaped and uploaded to social networks. 

Faced with failed public policies accumulated over the years, migration became common in this region of the Highlands of Chiapas, where “Tijuana” trucks leave daily, carrying up to 50 people from the southern border to the north at an affordable price. 

The markets of luxurious vehicles abound. Some Tsotsiles from Los Altos do business with weapons, others with drugs or stolen cars that come from other regions of the country and the state. Still, others traffic in timber from illegal logging or pirated products. 

There are also residents who venture into profitable migrant smuggling and in recent years have innovated in the local production of pornography, which is sold in clandestine markets in the north of San Cristóbal de Las Casas. 

This text is a preview of the report published in issue number 2333 of the printed edition of Proceso, in circulation since July 18, 2021.

San Cristobal Post