Case Study Mexico and the Chiapas Problem   Instructions: Enter your answers into the boxes below. If you'd like a print-out of your responses, click on the Submit button at the bottom of the page, and you will be taken to a printer-friendly page. If you have been instructed to submit your exercise online, enter both your and your instructor's name and e-mail address, then click the Email button at the bottom of the page. Your answers will be e-mailed immediately.   The Haves and Have Nots :: The Sledgehammer :: A New Opportunity?   The Haves and Have Nots At the heart of this conflict is the extraordinary poverty that is a way of life for the Chiapas Indians. The horrendous living conditions experienced by these people are, to a great extent, the product of decades of discrimination and corruption. The problem is determining what the Mexican government should do about what is admittedly a horrific and unacceptable set of circumstances. What it chooses to do will reveal much about what kind of nation Mexico is to become. One of the demands of the Zapatista National Liberation Army is the necessity for land reform. Chiapas, like so much of Mexico, is an area in which land and wealth are controlled by a small elite, while large groups of people live in situations that barely rise to the level of subsistence. The Zapatistas contend that the government must engage in a policy of land redistribution. Their argument is that the Mexican government has an obligation to address the consequences of years of corruption, taking from those who have benefited from a flawed system and giving to those who have been unjustly deprived of property. This sort of reform is controversial, to say the very least. Those who oppose such a move contend that if Mexico is to be taken seriously as an economic force, the last thing in the world it should do is engage in policy of land redistribution. This is the sort of foolish action associated with discredited economic philosophies like socialism. Mexico must reestablish its commitment to capitalistic principles. If the Indians of Chiapas want to improve their conditions economically, they should work harder to achieve success instead of looking to the government to give them property. The Zapatistas respond that in the current system the Mayans could work twenty hours a day and still not make a dent in their circumstances. True reform can only come from governmental action. Land reform is only one component of this problem. The poverty of the Mayan Indians could be addressed in any number of additional ways. The Mexican government could intensity its efforts to ensure that its people have enough to eat, drinkable water, adequate housing, a minimal income, and necessary health care and education. In addition, the government could take steps to eliminate the isolation of those in Chiapas by investing in basic services such as roads and telephones. Through improving the means of transportation and communication available to these people, the Mexican government could take extraordinary steps toward addressing the conditions in Chiapas. However, even these measures cause controversy. Critics argue that Mexico does not need to waste its extremely limited resources creating a bloated welfare system that ultimately serves to reward sloth rather than encourage diligence among its population. In addition, although investment in transportation and communications is a worthy endeavor, it should be focused on those regions of Mexico that have the greatest commercial and economic activity, not on the most remote parts of the country. Do you view land redistribution as a legitimate policy by any government? Does the history of government corruption in Mexico influence your view on the legitimacy of land redistribution in this particular case? Should Mexico become more concerned about ensuring the health, education, and welfare of its citizens? Should it devote more resources to achieving this goal? If Mexico had protected the health, education and welfare of the people of Chiapas, would the Zapatista National Liberation Army ever emerge? Is there any way to reconcile the competing considerations of making Mexico a strong competitor in a world driven by capitalism and protecting the interests of those who are wracked by poverty? If a choice must be made between these two priorities, which one do you believe should receive the priority of the Mexican government?     Student Name:* Student Email:*   Professor Name:*   Professor Email:*         *required