Declaring enough was enough (Ya basta!), the Zapatista Army =
of National Liberation (EZLN) took four towns in Chiapas in =
the early hours of New Year's Day 1994, taking the world by =
storm. =
Although the Federal Army had clashed with a small armed =
group in the Lacandona Forest the previous summer, the =
Mexican government, at that point trying to convince the =
U.S. Congress of its internal stability in order to get the North =
American Free Trade Agreement passed, had denied the =
existence of a guerrilla movement in Chiapas. Now, on the =
very day the NAFTA came into force, a small force of men =
and women wearing scruffy wellies and armed with =
peashooters had declared war on the government. In the =
poorest state a group of indigenous people were claiming the =
right to defend themselves against a government and a social =
order which offered them nothing and wanted their land. =
The rebels caught the imagination of the world. They quickly =
withdrew from the towns they had taken, making a stand =
only in Ocosingo, where they had to fight their way out of a =
Federal Army trap . The behaviour of the official forces =
contrasted with the Zapatistas' apparent disinterest in killing, =
but national and international protests forced the =
government to agree a truce on the 12th of January (1994). =
Samuel Ruiz, the Catholic bishop of San Crist=8Bbal, Chiapas, =
offered to mediate. He described the rebels as follows: =
The Zapatistas do not want to represent all the people of =
Mexico, but rather to make an appeal to the whole nation =
from the perspective of the marginalized indigenous people =
-- so that all sectors of Mexican society can participate in =
building a better country ... after all this is over, the Zapatistas =
do not want to become a political party or a movement. =
Rather, they want those in power to open the system to the =
participation of all. They want power to no longer be based =
on domination, but on service and participation. =
The rebels, it turned out, had been organising in the jungle =
for ten years. The supreme command rests not with a general =
or a Chairman, but with the Indigenous Revolutionary =
Clandestine Committee (CCRI), a large body made up of =
delegates from all the Zapatista communities. The delegates =
are in turn bound to reflect the wishes of the village =
assemblies, open forums where everything from land use to =
war on the government is declared. The EZLN are the first =
grass roots controlled army of the 20th century - perhaps of =
any century? In addition, 35% of the Zapatista Army are =
women, who are treated as complete equals by their male =
comrades - as required by the Women's Revolutionary Law. =
The poetic communiqu=8Es of the EZLN, usually issued by =
enigmatic spokesman Subcommandante Insurgente Marcos, =
and the empowering sight of the Zapatistas, who always =
appear masked either by balaclavas or bandanas, taking on =
the powers that be with the power of the imagination and =
guns that had been begged, borrowed or stolen, brought the =
world's press and television reporters to Chiapas. But in =
February 1995 the government, under pressure to crush the =
rising before it spread (Chase Manhattan Bank sent them a =
memo 'advising' that future investment would depend on =
the elimination of the Zapatista challenge), rushed forty =
thousand troops into Chiapas. =
After another storm of protest, including demonstrations of =
over 100,000 in the capital and protests to Mexican embassies =
throughout the world, the offensive was halted. But =
although the peace process has resumed, and even made =
some progress, at least on paper, the troops remain. Often =
camped right beside a village, they and the police carry on a =
'low-intensity' war against the peasants who dared to =
challenge the government. International human rights =
monitors from groups as respected as AMNESTY =
INTERNATIONAL and Human Rights Watch have =
documented many cases of unlawful detention, torture, rape =
and murder. The systematic abuse of human rights, =
prevalent throughout the country, is compounded by the =
massive army presence. =
In the face of this provocation, the EZLN have continued =
resolute in their search for justice, rebuilding what has been =
destroyed and looking for new ways to tackle the old =
oppression. On New Year's Day 1996, two years after they hit =
the headlines, they announced the birth of the Zapatista =
Front for National Liberation (FZLN), a movement open to =
all not affiliated to a political party, seeking to write a new =
constitution for a new nation. Although the EZLN do not =
intend to give up their guns, the new FZLN is to be an =
unarmed organisation, based on but not controlled by the =
EZLN. And its aims go further than reform of Mexican =
society. The Zapatistas have issued an invitation to the world =
to join them in the Lacandona Forest for a World Meeting of =
people struggling against neoliberal economic and social =
politics (Thatcherism and Reaganomics for the 90s). It could =
be the start of something big ... =
-- =
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Find out about the Revolution in Mexico
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3102/
This summer 4,000 people from 43 countries met
"for Humanity and against neoliberalism" there
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/3849/gatherdx.html