Let's talk about the Zapatistas.
As an indigenous person, I am particularly interested in the Zapatistas (http://www.ezln.org/) and their struggle for autonomy in Mexico. They have managed to maintain their base of support for more than 10 years now with a minimum of violence (at the very beginning).
What do you think of them? Of what they have done (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapatista_Army_of_National_Liberation) and what they plan to do?
What...the Zapatistas aren't exciting enough because they don't have regular shoot-outs with the Mexican army? Has everyone forgotten about them? (all for the better then if it means they keep the autonomy they've gained)
Monkeypimp
04-08-2005, 15:24
I didn't really know about them, so it was hard to forget about them.
I didn't really know about them, so it was hard to forget about them.
Seriously? Can I ask how old you are? They started their revolution a day after NAFTA came into effect in 1994. But they have certainly been in the new since then...????
My little brother is a die hard Zapatista fan. Comes from his listening to Rage against the Machine. Him and his friends like posing as Subcommandante Marco in his famous mask and pipe pose.
Honestly, I'm not indisposed to the Zapatistas. Their cause, a proper representation of the indigenous population, decendants of the mayas, is pretty noble. The fact that they don't use all that much violence makes all the better... But I've honestly not been interested enough to engage in any deeper study of the topic.
Monkeypimp
04-08-2005, 15:36
Seriously? Can I ask how old you are? They started their revolution a day after NAFTA came into effect in 1994. But they have certainly been in the new since then...????
No more than any other group around the world wanting independance. Keeping in mind that I live half a world away from Mexico.
Oh, I'm very interested. In Canada and the US, as we have been discussing in the "Natives ( http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=434108), privileged or not" thread, have their tribal autonomy written into the founding documents of our two countries. Tribal sovereignty for us is a legal fact, though it is still being translated into reality. No such autonomy exists among aboriginal groups in Latin America. The fact that this group has remained mostly indigenous (in terms of leadership and support), and has remained true to the communal organisation of indigenous people (where there is no ONE leader, not even subcomandante Marcos [subcommander, spokesperson]) AND have managed to achieve certain levels of autonomy in a fairly non-violent fashion is important. If they can do it...why not indigenous communities in other nations, such as Chile and Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and so on?
Even the way they have organised their schools and health care is something that us Canadian and Usian natives can learn from. But it's not just about indigenous people. It is about ALL people who want to try their own solutions to deal with poverty and inequality, and resist neoliberalism. They've been enormously successful as a movement, despite their lack of violence, despite not having a kind of cult of personality around one leader....or maybe because of it. If anyone seriously considers revolution as an option, they should take a look at what the Zapatistas have done in Chiapas.
No more than any other group around the world wanting independance. Keeping in mind that I live half a world away from Mexico.
Not wanting...achieving. And unlike many groups wanting independence, they are not resorting to terrorist acts and other violence in order to get there. Things have stalled a bit in terms of getting laws changed to protect their autonomy, but short of a full-scale invasion, the Mexican government is not going to get rid of them any time soon.