It is better to die on your feet than to live
on your knees! The indigenous people of Chiapas profited little from Mexico’s international loans. They profited little more from the coffee plantations which sprung up after the Spanish ranchers drove them off. And yet they suffered as a global drop in coffee prices led to rising unemployment, while the World Bank’s repayment program required cuts in the few social services aimed at a populace where illiteracy and malnutrition rates both hover around 40%. It’s not surprising that protests ensued; what is surprising is how quickly they succeeded. On January 1, 1994, a few hours after NAFTA went into effect, a loosely-organized gang of left-wing rebels seized Ocosingo, Las Margaritas, Altamirano and San Cristobal de las Casas. Calling themselves Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (Zapatista National Liberation Army) after famous Mexican peasant and revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, they labeled NAFTA a “death certificate for the Indian peoples of Mexico” and stated “¡Ya Basta!” (Enough is Enough!) The Mexican government responded by sending in the army; at present there are some 70,000 Mexican soldiers stationed in the Chiapas region. Reports of atrocities began pouring in almost immediately. Unlike Guatemala and Honduras, however, Mexico is possessed of a large and vocal left wing. Massive street protests ensued, tying up Mexico City. Combined with international opprobrium, they were enough to force the Mexican government to the bargaining table after only a few hundred deaths. At present an uneasy truce exists between the rebels and the Mexican government. Large sections of Chiapas remain under Zapatista control and are recognized as “autonomous zones,” but the Mexican military buildup continues and tensions remain high. There are definitely Maoist elements to the Zapatista philosophy, elements which come both from Chairman Mao and from his disciple Guevara. They are an agrarian, grass-roots peasant movement which engaged in “low-intensity warfare” ala Mao’s protracted war. Their practices differ from Maoism in that they are far less centralized. The Zapatistas are a loosely-organized collective of rebels, espousing positions which range from Anarchism to Maoism to Liberation Theology. They are “Marxist” in the Latin American sense of the word – anti-Imperialist, anti-American business – more so than in the strict party line sense. Still, their calls against “neoliberalism” and “global imperialism,” combined with their general adherence to the Geneva Convention and their willingness to negotiate, have made them very popular with left-wingers around the globe. Communists, on the other hand, isn’t quite sure what to make of the Zapatistas. Some of the Old Guard believe their “primitive political philosophy” will lead to their eventual failure; others see their decentralized approach as the new wave of Socialism. The Mexican government has made efforts to link the Zapatistas to the drug trade. There is little proof of Zapatista trafficking – far more evidence exists linking Mexico’s powers-that-be to the drug trade – but “narcoterrorism” is the Latin American version of “Islamic fundamentalism” in Central Asia i.e. a convenient club with which to beat your opponent. Don’t be surprised if the “War on Drugs” heats up in Chiapas and southern Mexico – and be very careful about believing the hype. |