unrest in Chiapas

The president of Chamula was just killed and there is fighting in Chamula.  

If you have any plans to go to Chiapas in the near futur check the news it is  a powder keg right now. I will be there on Tuesday..so more  news later..

The news from Chamula were blocked  because of the heavy internet traffic, I just got a whatsapp message from a Chamula friend who is at work in San Cristobal and is not sure she can go home..

Oh nooooo. That's bad. Pobrecita Chiapas.
Cuidate.

yes it is a mess and this event has nothing to do with the teachers.

But different groups the Panduzos and anoher group ataked the teachers on Wednesday and wonded 2 teachers. Because the blocked road were preventing them (Panduzos) to take the trees they illigaly cut int eh mountains in Chamula..The other group is a union of merchants from Chamula, equally feared..

It is hard to keep tract of all the stuff going on down there as there is general unrest..

After the events of Wednesday all the blqueos from te CNTE are going back up..Thank God I have friends in Tuxtla because there is no telling if I can get home or not..

Meanwhile my friend from Chamula is going to stay at my house in SC until she can figure out if i is sage to go back. They are looking for he guys who killed the presidene and the head of the sindicato and some other people...they are some gruesome pictures on the alertachiapas site... What a bunch of violent people..

Why are you even going there in these terrible times, Brigitte? Why not just stay here at your home in Ajijic until things settle down? No property is worth risking your life.

I am not going for my property, my family is arriving from France soon and many of my friends are there. It is not dangerous if you are not involved in the conflicts and I am not.
You just have to know what is going on where and my friends tell me so I am not afraid of going there. Life goes on. There is an amber fair and competition I want to see , I want to go to the jungle in August to meet with Lacandones I cannot contact other than going and on and on, My life is down there not up here.

This morning they were tourists in the plaza this morning when the assassins arrived and started shooting and the tourists were told to leave..no one is interested in hurting tourists or foreigners.
If you do not live there and are not aware of what is going on it can be very inconvenient but otherwise life goes on.

I do not like Chamulas and do not go there unless a friend from there needs to see me over there so there is very little chances for me to be caught up in the middle of that town..

Please take all precautions and be safe. Wishing you well.

We had friends booked into an Airbnb stay in Chiapas in several locations and felt they needed to cancel due to the difficulties there......owner refused to give back their money which I thought was rather small of them and not a very forward thinking business practice. They will certainly rate a negative review from these people. It's really too bad for everyone, especially the school students!!!

Which houses are refusing to refund the money? Can they ask for a credit for a later date. This mess will end eventually,

My friends called me telling me to postpone as the airport will be taken over tomorrow..who knows for how long..so it is a little difficult to know what to do. Of course they could also change their mind at the last minute..
Yes they are right to postpone or cancel because it is a pain to go from point A to point B ,,It looks like the roads in the highlands are open and that most of the problems are on the roads entering and leaving Tuxtla or between Tuxtla and San Cristobal but you always have surprises and if you do not know the area it is a pain.
I am going to go to the airport tomorrow to see what I can do about changing my ticket for the second time.. My family is arriving on the 17th but who knows if it will be better or not as it has been going on off and on since June 27..

Although not related, the assassination of the mayor and 4 other people in Chamula is also something that makes people nervous and many people are waiting for the other shoe to drop..

The economic loss to hotels , restaurants and business has to be huge..It is the San Cristobal fiesta right now..and my friends at the amber fair are telling me that they have no customers..

This is really sad. We are going to San Cristobal de las Casas in February to attend an intensive Spanish language school, and of course, travel to see the Maya ruins. If you have any suggestions about where to stay or what to do while there, I would appreciate any recommendations.

I will be there in February so I can give you ideas then. Palenque is the obvious ruin to see but do not miss Toniná which is half way to Palenque then take the time to go visit Bonamák and Yaxchilan. Yaxchilan is my favorite of all there and that includes Palenque. Bonampak is small and worth seeing for the paintings.
Stay in Lacanja if you want to see a Lacandon settlement or by the river at Escudo jaguar.
If you feel adventurous check out at customs at escudo jaguar,/ Ftontera Corazal same place ..check out of immigration in the afternoon and take the first boat out to cross the river . around 8 or nine is fine then you will land in a money changing post..around 11 a coletivo shows up to take you to the immigration post in Guatemala and you are on your way to Flores. Stay in FLores and take a colectivo to Tikal,, The jungle thre is magnificent and so are the ruins. DO the same to go back or go and explore Guatemala.
From there you can take colectivos to Rio Dulce where the rich park their yacht when there is a storm or go for replenishment..They are lots of nice place along the river there.. Then take a boat down river, and spend the night in Livingstone, a town settled by runaway slaves. They speak a mixture of an African language, French. English and Spanish and of course Spanish. When you are there you are in Guatemala but also at the point between Belize Honduras and Guatemala and you can go into any of these country on a boat ride.
Then take a ferry across in Guatemala and go via colectivo to the ruins of Copan..The stelaes there are magnificent, they could be Chinese and it is one of the ruins without a large amount of steps which believe me after all the others you really appreciate..There stay in Copan la Ruinas..do not stay in Guatemala, the town there is not worth stopping at but the town on the Honduras side is charming.
From there you can take a ride to Guatemala city then ANtigua, then Lake Pana then Mesilla Chiapas and back to San Cristobal..go for a good 2 weeks otherwise it is just too much..of course you can always cross back the river in Bethel.
There is plenty more to see that you can see during the week ens you will have, Many of the indigenous villages are between 1 and 2 hours from San Cristobal and all the colectivos leave by the municipal market in the north part of town..
It is a wonderful place so I am sure you will have lots of fun.
It looks like the unions won over the federal government so if the government gives in or has given in to all their demands..there will be peace until the next blackmail from them..

There are other churches where you can see the same rituals as in Chamula so by then you can go there if you want to or visit more out of the way places that are not overtaken by the tourists.

Tight now the place is off limit until the new politicians are in place and until they figure there is peace...

Thanks. I just finished a class in Maya Art and Architecture and this is one of the reasons I want to visit Chiapas, particularly the ruins you mentioned. I appreciate all the good information.

do notmiss chinkultic at the entrance of the Lagos de MOntebello if you are ito ruins.. This is a small ruin in a beautifull wooded location with lots of bromeliads, it has a cenote and you can see the lakes from the small pyramid..
Try to go up and down stairs before starting the trip, a few years ago we did a ruin a day and by the time we got to Tikal I could not walk any longer..those things are tough on the legs..