A Massacre Foretold (review)

Abstract

A Massacre Foretold (2007). Directed and Co-Produced by Nick Higgins. Distributed by Icarus Films, www.icarusfilms.com. 58 minutes. This film serves as an excellent example of the power of documentary filmmakers to give voice to those who have limited political and economic power. It is the story of the massacre in Acteal, Chiapas, Mexico on December 22, 1997 of 45 frightened members of the community who were hiding in a church praying for their h ves to be spared. Taking as its focus a critical moment in the history of federal militarization of indigenous communities in Mexico, the film provides an orientation for discussing such issues as human rights, legal process, testimony, community reformation, land dispossession, indigenous rights, and the societal role of artists. Of particular interest is the h ve film footage it presents of events before and after the massacre, providing compelling images of villagers, negotiations, military movements, Mexican and U.S. news broadcasts, and comments by then-President Ernesto Zedillo. Additional live footage and interviews with members of the community - those who survived by successfully hiding or who were away on the day of the massacre - provides vivid testimony to what happened: the harassment that preceded the massacre; the funeral and mass internment of the victims' bodies; the later consecration of the site; and the figures involved. These testimonies have formed the basis for a subsequent, long-term legal and political struggle for justice. In addition, the film looks to figures in religion, human rights, and anthropology to contextualize and explore the government's campaign to destroy indigenous community unity and cohesiveness in Chiapas. There are extensive interviews with Bishop of Chiapas, Samuel Ruiz, mediator in the post-massacre peace negotiations, who establishes a sequence to developments in the talks, and with Blanca Martinez, of the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center in Chiapas, who explains the government's approach to the peace talks. The presence of local collaborators adds complexity to the film's presentation of the events. Anthropologist Andres Aubrey explores the issue of the massacre's material authors - those indigenous community members who collaborated with the military and, with those forces' presence and protection, conducted the massacre - and the logic behind considering these individuals as additional victims. With increasing numbers of indigenous people losing their land and means to support themselves, an assault weapon and paramilitary attention afford a rare measure of prestige, leading some young community members to collaborate with the army in an effort to reduce the uncertainty of their own h ves. …