Mexicans feud over rights
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from July 1992.
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Roman Catholic Bishop Samuel Ruiz told a reporter last month he was receiving death threats from a group of landowners. It set off yet another round of sparring with the governor, Patrocinio Gonzalez, who claims he is combating human rights abuses.
Gonzalez, Chiapas' first civilian governor after years of military men, has been infuriated to find his record under fire from human rights groups especially the Fray Bartolome Center, run under the auspices of the bishop.
"Those who exaggerate the problems are scaring off investors," said Gonzalez, who seeks to attract investment to his impoverished, violence-ridden state bordering Guatemala.
"Confrontation and violence has afflicted us for 20 years now, and it has left us with nothing but setbacks." Last week, Gonzalez appointed a senior official to investigate the reported threats and vowed he would not stand for them. He has taken out full-page advertisements in Mexico City to publicize his efforts. The center's charges have hit hard at a time when Mexico is trying to polish its image in an effort to attract foreign investment and conclude a free-trade agreement with the United States and Canada.
