Zapatista Update
The Zapatista are a rebel army that grew out of the indigenous communities of Southern Chiapas, a state in
which the people are among the poorest in Mexico, despite great natural resources. Firm believers in
grassroots democracy, the Zapatista's conducted a secret referendum in all their communities before
launching an uprising on New Years Day 1994.
They continue to consult with all the communities about the direction of the negotiations they entered with
the Government. Their commitment to equality of human beings is also striking. Unlike most guerrilla
armies they do not want to seize power and form a "provisional " government. Instead they are to open a
space for "civil society"-- for the citizens at large, in groups big and small- to change the shape of Mexican
society.
Zapatistas take you all the way. A Revolutionary movement at the end of the Century....It's not all road
protests and vegetarianism. Saving the World take's form in different places. In Mexico, the Zapatistas-
new age revolutionaries armed and media friendly, are ready to take on the whole world of injustices and
include you in the process.
At first it all seemed familiar- a band of armed and masked rebels rises up and spectacularly takes control of
some towns in one of the more wretched corners of our world. Chiapas in Southern Mexico, the poorest
of the poor, populated by indigenous people, 500 years of dispossession, ignorance, misery, oppression. So
they came down from the mountains, the forever dead, toting AK47's and insolence, to declare 'Basta Ya!'
(Enough is enough), here we are, a government nightmare, off our knees.
That was New Years Eve 1994. Nobody imagined that they would survive a week. Everybody expected
the Mexican Army to step in and destroy the impudent rebels. Nobody imagined the 'Gringos,' the US
Government would tolerate such stupidities in their 'backyard.' Everybody expected a US-backed counter
insurgency like in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, to destroy the gallant but doomed little rebellion.
Three years later, against all odds, Asterix and Co. of Southern Mexico are proving indomitable and
refreshingly imaginative. Their magic potion? People's power--civil society and grass-roots support. A little
bit of magic and a lot of vision and organising!
Against the might of the Mexican Army they pitted the strength of a million Mexicans who took to the
streets to demand STOP THE MASSACRE!! Against the dictatorship that is the Mexican Government,
they pitted Truth and Justice. Having fought to a negotiating table with the Government, they assembled a
strong team of dissenting voices from all sectors of Mexican society--alongside the masked rebels--to
expose the lies, deceit, and non-sense that marks Mexican political life.
Against US Involvement they used International solidarity and the strength of International pressure. 'Be a
Zapatista wherever you are' they urged supporters and Human Rights activists. When the Chase
Manhattan Bank of New York sent a message to the Mexican Government to "eliminate" the Zapatistas in
order to straighten out their economy, activists occupied the New York Stock Exchange. A mountain of
pressure from concerned people seemed embarrassing enough for the Trans-National to back off.
The Zapatistas were a mere 10,000 strong army (E.Z.L.N.) and a support base of a few hundred thousand
within the indigenous communities of Chiapas. Over the three years they have applied the idea: ACT
LOCALLY, THINK GLOBALLY with impressive results. The Zapatista demands for Justice and Freedom
for the indigenous of Chiapas has become a global call, against the general economic system that affect us
all. They defined it as Neo-Liberalism, the Capitalist model of development: profits before people, competition before co-operation. By breaking their own chains of oppression. the Zapatista were making
links with struggles in other places.
Locally, the Zapatistas occupied lands owned by wealthy landlords and took control of municipalities,
driving out the corrupt government incumbents. They released their desire for TIERRA Y LIBERTAD,
Land and Freedom, and defended the gains of the uprising with arms.
Nationally, they brought people together under a civil society based Zapatista Front. Here the energy of the
millions who had marched or spoke out in their name could organise. They held a national plebiscite to ask
the people did they support the Zapatista demands and a resounding 1.3 million responded YES.....
Meanwhile they held an indigenous convention where representatives from Mexico's 44 Indian tribes came
together to demand Autonomy.
Internationally, they made extensive use of the media and the Internet to make links with people all over the
World. The fruits of this came in a huge International gathering in the mountains of Chiapas based on the
theme for humanity and against Neo liberalism.
From the mountains of the Mexican southeast came the call to an Intercontinental Encounter for Humanity
and against Neo-Liberalism. The encounter took place last Summer in five small villages in the mountainous
jungle of Chiapas hosted by the Zapatistas. Four thousand people from 43 countries (including half a dozen
from Ireland) gathered for five days to discuss how people are resisting Neo-Liberalism across the planet.
Neo-Liberalism is the economic and social policies pioneered by people like Maggie Thatcher and Ronnie
Reagan. "Liberalisation of the Market" for Big Business (Busy-ness) means axing the Welfare State and
breaking down workers' organisations by making strikes, etc illegal. A big plank in the Neo-Liberal
programme is the globalisation of the market-place; allowing multi-nationals to take what they want, sell
their products or dump their waste any where they choose. All over the world the progress of Neo-
Liberalism has meant an increase in unemployment, a fall in standards of living and loss of civil liberties.
The thread running through the Encounter was a shared belief. All of us who believe in Humanity, who
think that people matter more than profits, must build as wide an alliance as possible to defeat the many-
headed monster that is Neo-liberalism. Out of the encounter came the plan to build a global network of
struggle, an International of Hope to resist the International of Despair. In Ireland this project was taken up
by the Irish Mexico Group, two of whom were at the encounter. As the group admits, they have made little
headway so far.
Now is perhaps the time for change. This year a second Intercontinental Encounter will take place, in the
Summer or Autumn, at various places in the Spanish state. A European Continental Encounter will happen
in Prague in March, to act as a kind of first stage on the way. Preparation has already started and the
organisers are asking people to start making plans to come to the Encounter to represent whatever struggles
they are involved in, and to listen!!
The Encounter does not aim to set up, a new wonder party with all
solution to the world's problems. If it takes off as the first Encounter did, it will bean Energy-and-Hope-
giving meeting of the peoples of the world, and another step towards building that global network for
survival. As Subcommandante Marcos said: 'It is not necessary to conquer the world. It is enough just to
recreate it. Ourselves. Today.
Details of the encounter (the first and second) are
available from the Irish Mexico group, Latin America
Solidarity centre, 5 Merrion Row, Dublin 2.
Fax/telephone (01) 6760435
email mark_c@geocities.com
THE ZAPATISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY
LANETA. Mexican NGO'S. The Association for Progressive Comunications(APC)(spanish)
The daily struggle of Mexican people "LA JORNADA" newspaper (Spanish)
The weekly magazine: "PROCESO" (Spanish)
The TETIZ AND HUNUCMA STRUGGLE for justice and freedom at Yucatan
The newest in justice's efforts in Mexico: EL FRENTE ZAPATISTA (Spanish)
The Rural Yucatan (Spanish)
Zapatista pages around the world
Steve Wright - MELBOURNE ZAPATISTA PAGE.
Harry Cleaver Chiapas 95 ACCION ZAPATISTA DE AUSTIN TEXAS.
Oscar Hernandez RED DE SOLIDARIDAD CON MEXICO.
Serafino Maurizio COMITATO CHIAPAS-TORINO .
Andrew Flood IRISH MEXICO GROUP.
Frank Gaebler- INICIATIVES AGAINST NEOLIBERALISM PAGE.
COMITE DE SOLIDARIDAD CON CHIAPAS EN HOLANDA.
Marc-Michael Mueller SOLIDARIDAD DIRECTA CON CHIAPAS PAGE.
Serafino Maurizio -COORDINAMENTO ZAPATISTA PER L'ITALIA.
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