Mexican bishop says new groups must replace political parties

Published: 2003-10-06

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A retired Mexican bishop involved in mediating conflicts between indigenous groups and the government said new civic groups are needed to promote peace and structural change. People must develop "new mechanisms" to replace "staid political parties" so that "nongovernmental organizations and community groups truly influence the course of electoral processes and impact change in governmental structures," said Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia. Bishop Ruiz, the 78-year-old former head of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, spoke Oct. 3 at Georgetown University in Washington. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the world has seen an "international schizophrenia" with the start of the war in Iraq despite a "massive popular rejection" of the war, he said in a speech read for him in English. The U.S.-led invasion has resulted in "the dismissal of public opinion," with terrorism and national security used to justify "a state of permanent global war" unilaterally declared, he said.

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