August 8 and 9, 2003 in Oventic, Chiapas marked a turning point in the ten year rebellion of the zapatistas with the death of the “Auguascalientes,” the famous gathering points for visitors from national and international civil society and the birth of the “Caracoles” (snails), intended to be somewhat different (but equally legendary) gathering points in the future.
Along with the Caracoles, the zapatistas unveiled their “Good Government Committees.” These five committees represent each of the five regions that the zapatistas have demarcated within their territories in rebellion, representing 30 autonomous municipalities.
At the entrance to the Caracol in the village of Oventic, in the municipality of San Andrés Larraínzar, visitors arriving for the event were greeted with a sign announcing, “You are in the autonomous territory in rebellion of the zapatistas. Here the people command and the government obeys.”
While the rebel zapatista communities have long governed themselves completely, according to Subcomandante Marcos, this has been mainly on the local level. The Good Government Committees are designed to provide a measure of uniformity among the autonomous municipalities.
They are also meant to mediate conflicts between autonomous municipalities and between the autonomous municipalities and the government municipalities, review complaints against the autonomous municipalities for human rights violations and generally assure that the local governments, both autonomous and state run function as good governments, that is, to govern by obeying.
While some legal authorities have said that the Committees are outside the constitution and therefore illegal, both the governor of Chiapas and the government of President Vicente Fox have, for now, publicly accepted their existence in principle. The Secretary of Government, Santiago Creel, who oversees federal law enforcement said that the Committees are “not necessarily incompatible with the constitution,” and that Mexico is “able to have distinct forms of organization” among its indigenous groups. The government of Fox, who campaigned in 2000 saying he would “solve the Chiapas problem in five minutes,” appears eager to reinstate dialogue with the EZLN, with whom the Mexican army remains in a tense and politically uncomfortable standoff. Creel and other members of the federal government have said that they view the recent changes announced by the zapatistas as opening new possibilities for dialogue.
Self government for indigenous regions was part of the San Andrés Accords signed by the EZLN and the Federal Government in 1996. Immediately after taking office in December of 2000 Fox sent the long delayed accords to the legislature for ratification, but the intended law was changed in the legislative chambers, stripping away many of the indigenous rights reforms included in the original agreement. By forming their “Good Government Committees,” the Zapatistas have announced that they are going ahead with the letter and spirit of the derailed “Indigenous Rights Law,” without waiting for permission from what they call the “Bad Government.”
Meanwhile, in Oventic amidst a festival atmosphere, the declarations and communications from the EZLN and the introductions of the Committees were bookended between a basketball tournament in the mornings and dancing late, late into the night. From time to time the spontaneous call and response of “Zapata vive! La lucha Sigue!” (Zapata lives! The struggle continues!) echoed across the valley. The stalls, shops and vendors along the main avenue kept up a brisk business in tamales, atole, vegetables and handmade textiles. The small cafe set up by “Mut Vitz” a cooperative based in Oventic that markets organic coffee produced in zapatista territories was a big hit among the international visitors, who cheerfully waited while the overburdened coffee machines finished brewing the latest potful.
Late in the night of August 8, Comandante Javier declared the death of the Auguascalientes, and moments later Comandante Moises announced the official birth of the Caracoles as “places to talk and to listen.”
The “figure of the shell”, the caracol, was, as Marcos wrote, held in “high esteem” by the ancient inhabitants of Mexico. The spiral of “the conch represents entering into the heart,” and “the conch also represents leaving the heart in order to walk the world.”
The Auguascalientes were born nine years ago as the EZLN’s response to the flood of supporters from Mexico and throughout the world that began visiting rebel territory. The first Auguascalientes was inaugurated on August 8, 1994 with an open invitation to world civil society, who came by the busload to participate in the National Democratic Convention. The Army destroyed that first Auguascalientes, in Guadalupe Tepeyac in February 1995 during a drive to crush the EZLN once and for all. Then they built an army barracks on the spot. The Auguascalientes were later rebuilt in five Zapatista Communities, and others have been since been constructed in other countries.
With the creation of the Caracoles the EZLN has announced their intention to wield tighter control over what kind of outside support they will accept. In his series of letters in July announcing the death of the Auguascalientes, and the formation of the Good Government Committees, Marcos wrote that in the past, some outside organizations have decided for themselves what the Zapatista communities need .To illustrate the problem he described a pink, high heeled shoe, size 6 1/2 that arrived, without its pair, as part of a shipment of “humanitarian aid.” He said the zapatistas didn’t wish to continue to be a dumping ground for broken computers and expired medicines or of projects imposed from outside. “Imagine the desperation of a community that needs drinkable water and they're saddled with a library. The one that requires a school for the children, and they give them a course on herbs.”
Another problem with aid, he said, was that the best known and most accesible zapatista centers got the most visitors and the most support. With the creation of the Caracoles as the bridges, and overseen by the Good Government Committees, the zapatistas hope to manage a more equitable distribution of outside support, and to decide which projects best serve in the various localities. The Committees will levy a 10% tax on outside aid projects, distributing the proceeds to the other communities in need that aren’t receiving outside help. In no case, says Marcos shall “leftovers, charity and the imposition of projects,” be accepted.
Just as Marcos has described how, when his band of would be revolutionaries came to the forests of Chiapas, they had to first learn to listen in order to be of use to the people, so the Caracoles are a reminder to civil society to first listen to the real needs of the people before rolling up their sleeves and going to work.
The five Good Government Committees are seated in the five new Caracoles, one for each region.
As Marcos describes them, the five Committtees correspond to the following five areas:
"The Selva Border Good Government Committee (which encompasses Marqués de Comillas, the Montes Azules region, and all the border municipalities with Guatemala to Tapachula), is called 'Hacia la Esperanza' [Towards Hope], and takes in the Autonomous Municipalities of General Emiliano Zapata, San Pedro de Michoacán, Libertad de los Pueblos Mayas and Tierra y Libertad.
“The Tzots Choj Good Government Committee (which encompasses part of those lands where the government municipalities of Ocosingo, Altamirano, Chanal, Oxchuc, Huixtán, Chilón, Teopisca and Amatenango del Valle are located), is called 'Corazón del Arcoiris de la Esperanza' [Heart of the Rainbow of Hope], and includes the Autonomous Municipalities of 17 de Noviembre, Primero de Enero, Ernesto Ché Guevara, Olga Isabel, Lucio Cabañas, Miguel Hidalgo and Vicente Guerrero.
“The Selva Tzeltal Good Government Committee (which encompasses part of the land where the government municipality of Ocosingo is located), is called 'El Camino del Futuro' [Path of the Future] and includes the Autonomous Municipalities of Francisco Gómez, San Manuel, Francisco Villa and Ricardo Flores Magón.
“The Northern Region Good Government Committee (which encompasses part of those lands where the municipal governments of the north of Chiapas are found, from Palenque to Amata'n), is called 'Nueva Semilla Que Va a Producir' [New Seed Which Shall Bring Forth], and includes the Autonomous Municipalities of Vicente Guerrero, Del Trabajo, La Montaña, San José en Rebeldía, La Paz, Benito Juárez and Francisco Villa.
Los Altos of Chiapas Good Government Committee (which encompasses part of those lands where the government municipalities of Los Altos of Chiapas are found and which extends to Chiapa de Corzo, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Berriozábal, Ocozocuatla and Cintalapa), is called 'Corazón Céntrico de los Zapatistas Delante del Mundo' [Central Heart of the Zapatistas in Front of the World] and includes the Autonomous Municipalities of San Andrés Sacamchen de los Pobres, San Juan de la Libertad, San Pedro Polho, Santa Catarina, Magdalena de la Paz, 16 de Febrero and San Juan Apóstol Cancuc.”
The Caracoles and the Committees are intended to function together as “bridges,” between the Zapatista communities and the “civil society.” In addition to monitoring aid projects, these seats of good government will allow outsiders to communicate more directly with the rebels, a process which has been somewhat difficult as long as the hard to find Comandancia of the EZLN have served as the main zapatista spokespersons.
Speaking of this difficulty of communication, Marcos writes that “only those persons, communities, cooperatives and producers and marketing associations which are registered in a Good Government Committee shall be recognized as zapatistas. In that way, persons shall be prevented from passing as zapatistas who are not only not zapatistas, but are even anti-zapatista (such is the case with some organic coffee producers and marketing cooperatives).” With the establishment of the Committees, people with questions as to the authenticity of self-proclaimed zapatistas “will just have to get in contact with the Good Government Committees and in a matter of minutes they will be told if it is true or not.”
Subcomandante Marcos didn’t appear at the Caracol because of “stomach trouble,” but his words were transmitted in a taped statement and through the inaugural broadcast of Radio Insurgente, mixing political commentary and his characteristic observations with music ranging from Mexican love songs to BB King and Crosby Stills Nash & Young’s “Ohio.”
Intended to be transmitted worldwide by short wave radio, the broadcast was reportedly interfered with by the Mexican Government. Having contemplated this possibility, Marcos announced on his show that, if necessary the program would be distributed by “pirated CDs.” (The hour long program of Radio Insurgente can be heard at www.chiapas.indymedia.org)
While the international idol Marcos was absent, the other comandantes
of the EZLN unveiled the word of the Zapatistas on Saturday August 9. By the end of the day it was clear that there is plenty of authority and charisma in the EZLN even when “el sup,” calls in sick.
Comandanta Esther spoke to the indigenous of Mexico, saying “we the indigenous have the right to be Mexicans as well. We don’t have to change our culture, our clothing, our language, our way of praying, our way of working and respecting the earth, and we don’t have to give up being indigenous in order to be recognized as Mexicans. We don’t have to quit being who we are.” And she called on other indigenous communities to follow the example of the zapatistas and institute the indigenous rights laws of the San Andrés accords in their own regions.
Comandanta Rosalinda affirmed the strength of the zapatista struggle saying “Today we have demonstrated again that we are strong.” She said that after ten years “the bad government hasn’t defeated us because they can’t.”
Comandante Omar spoke to the youth, saying it was “time to wake up,” and called on them to work with zapatistas and other authentic organizations to build a better world for the future.
Comandante David assured the non-zapatista indigenous living in the rebel zones that they would be treated fairly and with respect by the Good Government Committees. “It’s not necessary to be zapatista in order to be looked after and respected by the good government committees of the autonomous municipalities. By being members of the community, you have the right to be attended to.”
Comandanta Fidelia spoke to the “sisters” in Mexico and throughout the world, and to the men as well, reminding that women deserve respect, at home and in the factories, “not because we’ll make long faces,” but because it is right, and because she and other women are going to fight to make it so.
Comandante Tacho spoke to the campesinos, pointing out that the they have been feeding Mexico while the “bad governments,” have done nothing but scorn them and rob them to benefit the rich. “They are only interested in filling their wallets and don’t care if the campesinos are each day more miserable.” He called on the campesinos to work together to “defend our lands in whatever place in whatever state of the Mexican Republic” from the depredations of the neoliberal schemes that are destroying their communities.
Comandante Brus Li announced the “Plan la Realidad/Tijuana,” the zapatista response to the “Plan Puebla Panama” and other neoliberal projects like NAFTA. Among its seven resolutions and seven demands, the Plan la Realidad/Tijuana includes the creation of local and national networks of fair trade in basic necessities, regional and national networks to defend and promote cultures threatened by neoliberal globalization and the demands to respect communal lands, defend natural resources and fair salaries for everyone.
Comandante Zebedio spoke of the international resistance against the USA’s imperial war against Iraq and against neoliberal globalization. He announced that the “word of the zapatistas” will take part in the mobilizations in Cancun against the WTO in September.
On Sunday, as the visitors were packing up and leaving and the zapatistas of Oventic were picking up the random litter left behind, an announcement over the loudspeaker said that if anyone had shoes, or cooking utensils or other items they wanted to donate, to take them to the headquarters of the Good Government Committee. In short order a line had formed outside the newly constructed wooden building. And so the Caracoles were born, and the spiral continued to unfold throughout the world. |
BUSQUEDA / SEARCH