Zapatismo and Globalization (Part 1)

One of the most important events in the movement against global capitalism was the Zapatista uprising on January 1st, 1994-the day NAFTA went into effect. The Zapatista uprising sent shock waves around the world and would help inspire and mobilize massive opposition to transnational capitalism

The Relevance of the Zapatistas to Opposition to the Free Trade Area of the Americas

Zapatismo and Globalization (Part 1)

One of the most important events in the movement against global capitalism was the Zapatista uprising on January 1st, 1994-the day NAFTA went into effect. The Zapatista uprising sent shock waves around the world and would help inspire and mobilize massive opposition to transnational capitalism.

Here was a group of mostly indigenous peasants rising up against both a domestic and international enemy. Although the Zapatista uprising should be viewed as one occurrence of over 500 years of indigenous resistance against
the genocide forced upon them by European conquerors, the Zapatista uprising is one of the most significant events in the fight against „free‰ trade and the global domination of market forces.

How exactly did a group of poor, mostly illiterate and supposedly backward and docile Mayan Indians help inspire worldwide resistance to the evil side
of 'globalization' The domestic enemy of the Zapatistas was the state party system of the Institutional Revolution Party (PRI). The PRI was the ruling party of Mexico for nearly 75 years. That is 75 long years of continued repression, racism and poverty. In the analysis of their oppression, however, the Zapatistas realized that the PRI was only a puppet
for a larger enemy of neoliberalism.

Neoliberalism is the rebirth of 19th century classical liberalism. Here we are talking about economic liberalism that is a hallmark of both liberal and conservative politics in the United States and should not be confused with
the political liberalism of US democrats. Liberalism is free market capitalism characterized by competition, privatization, deregulation and the freedom of capital to move across national borders that results in many
social ills including a deterioration of workers' rights, cutbacks in social expenditures, and a rapid destruction of the environment. Liberalism became famous due to Adam Smith and his book „The Wealth of Nations.‰ Liberalism
was one of the basic drives for colonialism by Western imperialist powers.

Economic liberalism eventually gave way to Keynesian economics that supported government intervention in the economy. Liberalism began to re-surface about twenty-five years ago, hence the name 'neoliberalism' and
is now the dominant economic model. Neoliberalism began in Chile after the CIA-supported coup and economic restructuring of 1973. Other examples of neoliberalism are the IMF, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and
NAFTA. The FTAA is an extension of NAFTA and therefore another neoliberal agenda. An interesting point is that the original liberalism was linked with colonialism. Neoliberalism is also linked with neocolonialism.

In opposition to neoliberalism, the Zapatistas offered the world their vision for humanity as they proclaimed the rebirth of Zapatismo. What should probably technically be called neozapatismo was developed to fight against
neoliberalism. Zapatismo originates from the namesake of the Zapatistas: Emiliano Zapata.

Zapata was a hero of the revolutionary war who was popular with peasants and indigenous peoples. Zapata was fighting against a corrupt government and the first wave of liberalism. A very important and significant point about
Zapata was that he was indigenous himself and his army was primarily indigenous. Zapata fought for indigenous autonomy, political liberties and rights to land. Zapata's battle cry was "Land and Liberty." This expression
was at the basis of Zapatismo. Zapata believed that freedom for poor Mexicans meant throwing off the shackles imposed on them by the ruling classes and redistributing the land to the peasants to work collectively.
Zapata located in the struggle for freedom, equality and democracy a dignity that could not be surpassed. Another of his sayings expresses this beautifully: "It is better to die on ones feet than live on one's knees. " A hallmark of Zapatismo is the assertion of the dignity of indigenous Mexicans and their equality.

Unfortunately, the revolution was stolen and true change was thwarted by moderates who betrayed Zapata and Villa and seized power for themselves. Freedom, equality and justice became scarce in Mexico once again although
some of Zapata‚s agrarian reforms were put in place during the Cardenas presidency. Zapata and Zapatismo would continue to play an important role in Mexican history and be significant for average Mexicans, and especially
the indigenous peoples of Mexico, as a symbol of hope and resistance.

The 1980's brought with them a new wave of privatization, liberalization and exploitation: neoliberalism. This is synonymous in the US with Reaganomics
and Thatcherism in Britain. With neoliberalism comes neocolonialism. The Bush administration worked to develop trade agreements with Canada and Mexico. The Mexican economy was characterized by high levels of state
interference, the protection of local industry through tariff and non-tariff barriers, a high degree of social security and a program that strived for stable development to ensure low prices and interest rates. Beginning in 1983, the Mexican ruling class, along with the help of international lending
agencies, began to reform the economy along lines of the so-called „free market.‰ The Mexican ruling class readied Mexico to become a first world nation in order to be eligible for the newest trade agreement: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The PRI, under the guidance of the US, pushed the Mexican economy into the future prematurely and drastically.

In order to be eligible for NAFTA, the government changed article 27 of the Mexican constitution that enables the ejido system of collectivized agriculture to be broken up and privatized. This is significant because the majority of indigenous communities and economies are centered around ejidos.

The privatization of the ejidos poses the threat of the extermination of the indigenous peoples‚ land base as well as their culture. A similar event happened in US history. The Dawes Act privatized a large portion of the system of reservations. This is one of the reasons for the erosion of the land base, and therefore the cultures, of native peoples in the United States. The native peoples of Mexico feared the same fate would befall them.

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) had been hiding in the jungles of Chiapas, Mexico for about a decade when they decided to openly declare war on the Mexican government. They did so on the day NAFTA went
into effect for symbolic purposes. The Zapatistas predicted that NAFTA would be a disaster for Mexico. The Zapatistas were right. The peso devaluated in December of 1994 leading to the crashing of the stock market and a deep
depression. Shortly after the devaluation, the level of unemployment doubled. With the dismantling of agriculture subsidies and a huge influx of cheap corn from the US, the economy of Mexico‚s peasants, including large
numbers of indigenous peoples, was destroyed. This paper does not allow for an in depth discussion of NAFTA but it was essentially a disaster.

Subcomandante Marcos called NAFTA a death sentence to Mexican Indians. The creation of a peace plan rested around 34 negotiating points. Two points of
this plan call for a re-instatement of Article 27 and a re-evaluation of NAFTA. However, the Mexican government has yet to fulfill these two points.

The Zapatista uprising proved to the world that everything is connected and that under neoliberalism this connection spells death. The US gave the Mexican government helicopters, money and training to fight the Zapatistas.
Swiss planes flew over Zapatista communities firing at local residents. If the connections between the resistance of global capitalism and the Zapatistas weren‚t clear enough, it became extremely clear when an internal memo of Chase Manhattan Bank was made public. The Chase Manhattan Emerging Markets Group Memo dated January 13, 1995 was an update on the Mexican political situation. In this memo the author stated that the greatest threat to political stability in Mexico was the monetary crisis and the need
for a political climate that was conducive to foreign investment. Among the propositions put forward in this memo was that „The government will need to
eliminate the Zapatistas to demonstrate their effective control of the national territory and of security policy.‰ The connections between big business, development and militarization against the poor are blatantly obvious.

Because of the symbolic nature of their revolt, their ability to draw connections between local oppression and international structures of institutionalized violence and repression, and their stance on indigenous rights and autonomy, the Zapatistas have been an important part of the
struggle against global capitalism. The Zapatistas, the ultimate underdogs, have constantly and effectively battled not only with arms but also with words, ideas and visions for a sustainable and just future. The Zapatistas have inspired the mobilization of civil society in Mexico and around the
world in the fight for democracy, liberty and justice.

The Zapatistas began to hold formal gatherings and encounters in Chiapas that people from all over the world have attended. These have been about everything from democratic teaching to indigenous forums to building a
global resistance to neoliberalism. In the Fourth Declaration of the Lancondon Jungle the Zapatistas proposed:

„That we will make a collective network of all our particular struggles and resistances. An intercontinental network of resistance against neoliberalism, an intercontinental network of resistance for humanity. This intercontinental network of resistance, recognizing differences and
acknowledging similarities, will search to find itself with other resistances around the world. This intercontinental network of resistance will be the medium in which distinct resistances may support one another.

This intercontinental network of resistance is not an organizing structure; it doesn‚t have a central head or decision maker; it has no central command or hierarchies. We are the network, all of us who resist.‰

With this plan, the Zapatistas showed the world a different way of resistance that differs from the traditional Marxist-Leninist idea of a vanguard and dictatorship of the proletariat. The alternative to seizing power on behalf of the people by a revolutionary vanguard is to create a
space in which people can define and develop their own power. This allows for a more democratic and bottom up approach to internationalism.

With this call the Zapatistas began to organize Intercontinental Encounters for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism. There have been several of these,
including one in Brazil and one in Spain. These inspired the creation of organizations such as People's Global Action and movements such as Ya Basta!, as well as reawakening, in the face of a deflated and tired left,
the dignity to be found in rebelling and resisting.
People‚s Global Action is a new alliance of struggle against the forces of neoliberalism by grassroots movements unimpeded by the state or NGOs. „This
new platform will serve as a global instrument for communication and
co-ordination for all those fighting against the destruction of humanity and
the planet by the global market, building up local alternatives and people‚s
power.‰ (1) PGA was created by activists from ten of the most innovative
social movements in the world: The Zapatistas, the Landless Peasant Movement
in Brazil, the Karnataka State Farmers Union in India, and others. PGA was
originally inspired by the Zapatistas and the idea was formulated at an
encuentro (gathering) for humanity and against neoliberalism in 1996. A
document from PGA shows the influence:
„It wasn‚t in the acrid mist of Seattle‚s tear gas that this global
movement was born, but in the humid mist of the Chiapas jungle, in Southern
Mexico on New Years Day 1994. This was the day the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, a day when two thousand indigenous
peoples from several groups came out from the mountains and forests.
Masked, armed and calling themselves Zapatistas, their battle cry was „Ya
Basta‰- „Enough is Enough.‰ An extraordinary popular uprising, which was to
help change the landscape of global resistance, had begunPeople everywhere
soon heard of the uprising. These masked rebels, from poverty stricken
communities, were not only demanding that their own land and lives be given
back, neither were they just asking for international support and
solidarity; they were talking about neoliberalism, about the „death
sentence‰ that NAFTA and other free trade agreements would impose on
indigenous people. They were demanding the dissolution of power while
encouraging others all over the world to take on the fight against the
enclosure of our lives by capital. ŒDon‚t join us-do it yourself‚ was their
message.‰ (2)
Another important group that sprung from the Zapatistas was the Italian,
and now worldwide, Ya Basta! Movement. YB! Was born from the inspiration of
the Zapatistas combined with the developing White Overalls Movement both of
which had its locus in the social centers of Italy. The social centers were
squats and community centers that created alternative communities without
help from the state and market forces. YB! Began to spread all over Europe.
At the protests in Prague in 2000 against the IMF and World Bank Ya Basta
came out in record numbers from across Europe and battled the police. At
the World Economic Forum in Mexico in March of 2001, Mexican Ya Basta!s
called White Monkeys battled the police in the protests. The upcoming
protests against the FTAA in Quebec City will include Canadian and American
Ya Basta! Groups. The inspiration went from the Americas to Europe and back
again.
Recently, the French anti-corporate globalization farmer Jose Bove, famous
for destroying a McDonalds, met with Marcos during the Zapatista March on
Mexico City. A banner was dropped in the US proclaiming opposition to the
FTAA and bore a picture of Subcomandante Marcos smoking a pipe.
The Zapatistas have been on the forefront of political debate against
global capitalism as well as creating radical alternatives for the future
from the bottom up. They also point to the often-overlooked role of
transnational capitalism on indigenous peoples. Zapatismo is very relevant
to the Americas today. It is important to remember the Zapatista challenge
while we are confronting the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Everyone
wearing a mask or bandanna over their faces, because dissent has been
criminalized, will echo the Zapatistas, consciously or unconsciously. Like
the Zapatistas say: „Todos Somos Zapatista: We are all Zapatistas.‰ Che
Guevara, commenting on the strife and struggle created by the Vietnam war,
once said that there should be many Vietnams. In light of the FTAA, it may
be necessary for many Chiapas rebellions.

(1) www.nadir.org/nadir/initiative/inter/pga/en/PGAInfos/about.htm
(2) www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/herstory.htm

Zapatismo Transcends Borders
Join the Zapatista Bloc in Quebec City in Solidarity with the Zapatistas and
against neoliberalism. Fri A20. Join the Zapatista Bloc! Individuals and
affinity groups welcome. Meet at Plaines d‚Abraham @ 12 pm. Sat 4/21 Join
the ZB and come out en masse during the large unitarian demonstration: March
of the Peoples of the Americas @ 12pm. Express opposition to NAFTA/FTAA,
support for indigenous rights and solidarity w/the Zapatistas. Look for the
black flag, red star & EZLN. More details to come

http://www.stopftaa.org/zapatistabloc/
(Espaòol/Français/Portuguese)
zapa...@hotmail.com

For more history on the Zapatistas please visit the following sites:
http://www.ezln.org/
http://www.ezlnaldf.org/
http://www.geocities.com/
miriamczc/cpage1.htm

For more information on the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the upcoming
protests in Quebec and around the world visit http://www.stopftaa.org and
http://www.quebec2001.net.

Please Note, a)this Bloc is NOT organized by the Zapatistas of Chiapas,
Mexico.b)masks have been „outlawed‰ in Quebec City