by Craig Collins, Ph.D.

An Invisible People? For centuries the Mayan people of Chiapas have felt invisible to the world. Labeled lazy, ignorant indios or colorful curiosities.

They survive on the bottom & margins of the dominant societies that surround them.

Life at the Top & the Bottom •  Indigenous Mayan peoples

were mostly subsistence farmers & seasonal laborers on the great estates.

•  Their remote villages lacked schools or health clinics & their farms were on the poorest land.

•  They proudly maintained & passed on their indigenous culture, refusing to assimilate into the Latino mainstream.

•  A handful of wealthy coffee, cattle & timber barons called “The Chiapas Family” have dominated the economic & political life of the state through the PRI. – They had a long history

of forcefully confiscating Mayan land & brutally repressing any resistance to their rule.

During the 1980s & 1990s…���Things Went from Bad to Worse

Agricultural mechanization & the expansion of export agriculture meant: • Loss of communal land • Cultural extermination

Resistance Took Root •  Local church workers & political

activists from the cities came to Chiapas in the ‘70s & ‘80s to help the Mayans defend their land & culture. –  They brought health care, literacy

resources & political savvy. –  They helped spread the word about the

Mayan’s struggle to the outside world. –  From the Mayans they learned to listen

& honor the will of the community. –  They learned patience, perseverance &

respect for the land. TOGETHER THEY BUILT A SMALL

ARMY TO DEFEND MAYAN LAND FROM FURTHER EXPROPRIATION.

Then Crisis Struck • President Carlos

Salinas negotiated NAFTA.

• The Mexican government removed Article 27 from the Constitution to make it compatible with the treaty.

What Was Article 27?

Tierra y Libertad

• It was the centerpiece of Zapata’s 1910 agrarian revolution.

• It protected Indian communal land rights.

• Its removal stripped Indian communities of their collective agricultural holdings & privatized their lands in anticipation of Mexico’s participation in NAFTA.

• The Mayans of Chiapas called this a death sentence that would transform their poverty & invisibility into complete cultural extinction.

BASTA YA!���Enough is Enough!

•  The Mayans of Chiapas voted to declare war.

•  On Jan 1, 1994--the first day of NAFTA--they rose up to reclaim their land & identity & to defend their way of life.

•  They called themselves the Zapatistas (EZLN)

Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional

Why Zapatistas? In 1910, Emiliano

Zapata led his revolutionary peasant army of southern Mexico against the corrupt, venal government of Porfirio Dias & the wholesale expulsion of poor farmers from their lands by the owners of the country’s largest haciendas.

Zapata Means ���Resistance & Unity

•  Today, Zapata’s image is commonly seen on banners & murals. Many popular chants & songs invoke his name:

•  “Si Zapata viviera con nosotros andaría.”

"If Zapata lived, he would walk with us."

•  “Zapata vive, la lucha sigue.”

"Zapata lives; the struggle continues."

Zapata’s Liberating Spirit

The Zapatistas Historical Legacy •  The EZLN’s ideological roots

are a diverse blend of: – Campesino Populist

Nationalism – Agrarian Anarchism – Liberation Theology – Guerilla Revolution –  Indio Communalism

Agrarian Populism & Anarchism •  Zapata himself was

influenced by the renowned Mexican anarchist, Ricardo Flores Magón.

•  His vision can be seen in Zapata’s declaration that, “a strong people need no government.”

•  The EZLN’s commitment to bottom-up, face-to-face, democracy & avoiding mainstream electoral politics are consistent with their anarchist leanings.

Mayan Communalism •  The EZLN’s anarchist influences are

reinforced by the traditional grassroots communalism of the Mayan people. –  Collective decision making –  Accountable leadership –  Common ownership of land (ejidos) –  Communal enterprises –  Environmental awareness

Liberation Theology •  The Mayans of Chiapas &

several EZLN leaders were heavily influenced by the ideas the “red bishop”--Samuel Ruiz Garcia.

•  In turn, his ideas were inspired by the life & ideas of Bartolome de Las Casas. –  God supports the oppressed. –  The poor have the right to

resist & rebel. –  The church has the duty to

help empower & organize the poor to fight their oppressors.

Guerilla Revolution The peasant-based, anti-

imperialist guerilla insurrections led by Ché Guevara, Ho Chi Minh & Mao Zedong were also an inspiration for the Zapatistas. –  “Globalization” (capitalism

& imperialism) are the enemy.

–  Begin in the remote countryside. •  Yenan Province •  The Sierra Maestra &

Bolivian Andes

• Build a base among the peasants. • Never fight the enemy where he’s strongest…the war of the flea.

Targets of the Rebellion •  The “Mal Gubiernos” (bad

governments) of Mexico & Chiapas. – Corrupt (PRI) Politicians – Rigged Elections – Repression – Denial of Indio Land Rights

•  Corporate Globalism – Expansion of Giant Agro-

Export Estates. – Loss of Land & Subsistence

Farming.

The Rebellion Erupts The Zapatistas surprised the

Mexican government by seizing all of the major cities of Chiapas on New Years Day, 1994. – They occupied San Cristobal

de las Casas, Las Margaritas, Altamirano & Ocosingo.

•  It was not their intention to overthrow the government of Mexico.

•  They risked their lives to make a powerful political statement that couldn’t be ignored:

We want LAND, JUSTICE, & AUTOMOMY…& for Mexico, unrigged democratic elections.

The Response Was Brutal •  The EZLN seized Rancho

Nuevo military base, capturing weapons & releasing political prisoners.

•  The Mexican army bombed & attacked EZLN villages. Hundreds were killed in 12 days. The Zapatistas were outgunned by 60,000 troops, helicopters & tanks.

•  The EZLN was dislodged relatively easily from most towns except Ocosingo.

•  Air force bombers & attack helicopters drove the retreating EZLN soldiers back into the highland jungle.

The US Aids the Mexican Army • After the uprising,

the US sent $235 million in arms (including 103 attack helicopters) to Mexico.

•  American, Chilean & Argentine counter-insurgency advisors trained the Mexican Army.

Mexicans Responded with Outrage •  In response to the army’s

bloody reprisals, a half-million people filled the Zocalo demanding an immediate cease fire in Chiapas.

•  Within days, President Salinas, unnerved by the sympathy for the EZLN’s cause, called a halt to the bombings & executions.

The Zapatistas Became Media Magnets •  Peace negotiations began in

San Cristobal & were mediated by Bishop Ruiz.

•  Subcomandante Zero (Marcos) & the masked Mayan rebels became media sensations & popular heroes.

•  But the government refused to bargain in good faith.

•  The Mayan communities rejected their hollow proposals.

Aguascalientes ���Making Friends, Maintaining Momentum

•  To overcome this deadlock & maintain pressure on the government, the EZLN decided to call a National Democratic Convention in their Lacondón jungle headquarters of Aguascalientas--6,000 attended.

•  Coming weeks before the Presidential election, this was an opportunity to bring all the anti-PRI elements of civil society together to discuss strategy.

Support Yes, Success No •  A wide spectrum of Mexican

society opposed PRI’s monopoly on power & supported the Zapatista’s cause.

•  However, this was not enough to bring these disparate groups together around a common political project that could unite them & break PRI’s grip on power.

•  When the PRI candidate, Ernesto Zedillo, was elected, the EZLN went into political hibernation & stayed quiet (at the national level) for a number of months.

Zedillo Cracks Down •  Chase Manhattan Bank issued a

report calling for the Mexican government to “eliminate the Zapatistas.”

•  The army mounted a massive invasion of Zapatista territory, implementing a strategy of civilian-targeted warfare.

•  The army displaced 20,000 campesinos, destroyed Aguascalientes & occupied much of the Chiapas.

•  The Zapatistas respond by constructing 5 more Aguascalientes.

Repression & Resistance •  Like a giant boa constrictor, Zedillo’s

army tightened its cordon around EZLN lands: –  Building new roads & bases –  Cutting off access to the outside world –  Pitting peasant groups against each

other & bribing them to turn against the EZLN.

•  The EZLN was forced to break through these blockades & disappear into the mountainous jungles.

•  In 1995 the army launched a new offensive. –  Heavy destruction of villages & crops.

•  Pro-Zapatista demonstrations rocked Mexico City. “We are all Zapatistas!”

•  Once again, the army had to call off their effort to crush the EZLN.

The PRI was Forced to Negotiate

Peace talks produced a historic agreement…

The San Andrés Accords

•  Respect for the diversity of the indigenous population of Chiapas;

•  Conservation of the the natural resources within the territories used & occupied by indigenous peoples;

•  Greater participation of indigenous communities in decisions & control of public expenditures;

•  Indigenous community participation in determining their own development plans, including control over their own administrative & judicial affairs;

•  The autonomy of indigenous communities & their right of free determination of their governing structures.

PRI Breaks Its Word

•  A dramatic national campaign to build popular support for the accords ended in a demonstration of 250,000 in Mexico City.

•  But the PRI refused to ratify or implement them. –  The government refused to

recognize locally elected governing councils in Zapatista areas or allow Mayans to control the resources in their territories.

•  It became clear the PRI was using the peace talks to buy time in which to further militarize eastern Chiapas.

•  The EZLN cancelled all further discussions & reached out for global support.

The Repression Grew

• In 1997, a right-wing group massacred 45 villagers in Acetal. A public outcry forced the PRI to investigate.

•  Meanwhile hundreds of murders & disappearances were attributed to shadowy paramilitary groups.

•  Zedillo expelled human rights observers from Chiapas.

•  State police occupied the EZLN community of San Andres & installed a PRI mayor.

•  3,000 unarmed Zapatistas nonviolently forced the police to leave their town then re-installed their own elected authorities.

In the late 1990s, the government set up networks of informants & funded paramilitary groups to attack the Zapatistas.

Building a Solidarity Shield Time & time again the Zapatistas relied on national & international campaigns & conferences as well as the internet to keep their struggle &

the militarization of eastern Chiapas in the public eye while simultaneously building solidarity networks across Mexico & the world.

Los Encuentros--The Encounters •  As the peace process

faltered, the EZLN held the First Intercontinental Gathering for Humanity & against Neoliberalism or El Encuentro.

•  Four thousand delegates from many different countries attended this inaugural conference in the Lacondón jungle.

•  Two have been held since, in Spain and Brazil.

Over 4,000 people attend the First Encuentro in the Jungle

Was Fox Just Foxy? •  Spotting a political opportunity

in the 2000 presidential campaign, PRD candidate Vicente Fox pledged that he would solve the problems in Chiapas “in 15 minutes.”

•  Upon taking office, he ordered troops to pull out of 4 small army bases in Chiapas & released some Zapatista prisoners.

•  He sent Congress a watered-down indigenous rights bill.

•  The EZLN took their campaign to the people…

The Zapatista’s National Caravan •  An EZLN caravan criss-

crossed the country from Chiapas to Mexico City’s Zocalo where Zapatista leaders addressed the people & the Congress.

•  But Congress completely gutted the law. It became a vague shadow of its former self. The EZLN denounced it as the “Indian Wrongs Law”.

•  From then on Fox ignored the Zapatistas & initiated his Plan Puebla Panama.

Plan Puebla Panama & Low Intensity Warfare ���Economic & Military Erosion

•  Fox claimed Plan Puebla Panama would build roads, dams & maquiladoras (low-wage assembly plants); expand agro-export, timber & oil extraction in Chiapas & increase trade between southern Mexico & Central America.

•  It was designed work in tandem with “low-intensity warfare” to break down EZLN communities through constant military & paramilitary harassment & intimidation.

Building Mayan Autonomy •  In the regions where the

EZLN protected peasants from the violence of the big landowners’private armies (Guardias Blancas), the Indians of eastern Chiapas reclaimed more land throughout 1994-95.

•  2,222 Zapatista villages covered an area the size of Maryland.

•  They were organized into 30 autonomous municipalities led by Juntas de Buen Gubierno held in political-cultural centers called caracoles.

Caracoles These centers contain schools, hospitals, economic & agricultural co-ops, host conferences, festivals & celebrations, self-defense classes, health care education classes & other events.

They are also the community’s political meeting place.

Zapatista agricultural, health & educational projects draw support from all over the world.

Deep Roots, Pretty Leaves, Weak Stem •  The Zapatistas have built a substantial base of

unofficial Mayan autonomy in Chiapas. •  They have woven a global support network among

progressive NGOs & left-wing political groups. •  But, despite several attempts, they have not been

able to build a more cohesive, multi-class challenge to neo-liberalism or Mexico’s ruling establishment.

•  The Zapatistas’ La Otra campaign never picked up momentum & the EZLN’s refusal to defend democracy against the electoral fraud that sabotaged Lopez Obrador’s presidential bid in 2006 marginalized the EZLN at a time when their influence & input were important.

The Struggle Continues…