Anita Mason - The Yellow Cathedral

Arguably Mason's most explicitly political novel, The Yellow Cathedral is set in the impoverished southern Mexican state of Chiapas in the early 1990s, at the time of the rebellion by the indigenous population and Zapatista activists (the EZLN) against the wealthy landowners and the political establishment. The book relates the attempt by the opposition party (the PRD) to install a (democratically-elected) ‘rebel’ governor, Avendano, in place of Rosas, the placeman of the central government, and representative of the dominant PRI party. The narrative switches between a number of characters who represents different aspects of the conflict. Benito, a young PRD activist, is impatient at the peaceful strategy advocated by his respected uncle Hernandez, and falls in with a group who carry out a disastrous raid on a ranch. Rafael is another young man whose work for the PRD estranges him from his father. Similarly, Rafael’s sister Maria has angered her father over her conversion to evangelism and her rumoured affair with the local PRD candidate, Mateo Mendez. Mateo is eventually beaten by PRI supporters, and Maria driven from her home by a mob. The life of the rebel governor Avendano, who works with little or no equipment or money in the thick of communal life, is contrasted with that of Rosas, the official governor, who frequents meetings with the President and Pereira, the leader of the local ranchers. Pereira wants Rosas to suppress the rebels ruthlessly, but the president has instructed Rosas to win hearts and minds, albeit with few resources that might back up the demands for reform. The Zapatistas initiate an uprising, which is suppressed by the army. In San Cristobal, a mob attacks the cathedral, where the left-wing Bishop Samuel Ruiz is staging a fast in support of the rebels. Indigenous supporters of the Bishop protect the cathedral, and are attacked, but police eventually arrive to disperse the mob.

The novel contains a postscript that explains the political background to its composition, and lists a number of books and websites dedicated to the situation in Chiapas.