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ZAPATISMO
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1. The Zapatista uprising in Chiapas has suddenly taken on a certain
importance. Despite its small scale it has not yet been crushed,
apparently because the PRI fears public outrage. Moreover,
municipalities in various places in Mexico have been taken over by
various groups in sympathy with the Zapatistas. This news has been
blacked out of U.S. media, doubtless for reasons connected with NAFTA.
If the PRI begins to totter, U.S. involvement becomes probable.
2. A reading of Zapatista communiques and manifestos (as translated
by the RESIST! group in California) reveals a program completely in
keeping with the principles of E. Zapata himself--modified for
contemporary relevance but basically anarcho-agrarian--"Tierra y
Libertad." As anarchists we should remember that Zapata's goals were
supported by the Flores Magon brothers, who worked behind the front
organization of the "Mexican Liberal Party," but were in fact out-&-
out revolutionary anarchists. In 1911, European and N. American
anarchists ranging from individualists to wobblies participated in the
short-lived Republic of Tiajuana. The revolt in Chiapas which began
last New Year's Eve would appear to be the first non-authoritarian
movement with real revolutionary potential since Paris '68 or Italy in
the early '70s. We should not let marxist-leninist groups in the U.S.
"monopolize" the Zapatistas. We should demonstrate our support, and
we should make it clear that we offer this support _as anarchists_.
3. Moreover, it seems possible for ALL tendencies within the anarchist
movement to join in offering this support. Anarcho-communists,
anarcho-syndicalists, wobblies, and others with historical reasons to
welcome a rebirth of Zapatismo, will need no convincing. As for the
individualists, post-Situ's, "Type 3's," etc., we should consider that
the Chiapas uprising is a courageous adventure in the spirit of human
freedom. The Zapatistas themselves have evoked the romanticism of
revolt by choosing their name. "Romanticism" is a value despised only
by those too cynical or too tired to remember that--from an
"existential" p.o.v.--revolt is an end in itself.
4. It's important to note that Chiapas seems to be the first real
"post-1989" radical uprising. The involvement of the USSR helped
change the Sandinista movement (also named after an anarchist) into an
authoritarian government. But this time there is no USSR to get
involved. Zapatista documents make no reference to marxist-leninist
forms of organization. (The NY Times even went so far as to call the
Zapatistas "post-modern"!) For the first time since 1916 we don't
have to watch our backs or protect our flank against leninism--or
stalinism. Anarchism is _free to act_.
5. Some anarchists may dislike the involvement of "Liberation
Theology" in the Zapatista movement. But since 1989 the meaning of
Liberation Theology has also changed or shifted. The Vatican, which
tacitly encouraged Lib. Theol. as a wedge into marxism in Latin
America, now no longer needs it and has virtually reduced it to the
status of a near-heresy. In theory, Lib. Theol. must by now be purged
of its "jesuit" wing and its "marxist" wing, leaving only the sincere
radicals. The religious situation in Chiapas is very complex,
involving Mayan/Christian syncretistic cults, and other churches
beside the Roman Catholics. As yet the presence of organized
religions in Chiapas seems to offer no real obstacle to anarchist
enthusiasm for Zapatismo.
6. The Stirnerite anarchist Ret Marut adopted the "existential"
position (see para. 3 above) when he joined the Bavarian Soviet of
1919 with Gustav Landauer and other anarchists. Escaping a death
sentence in Munich, Marut fled to Mexico and changed his name to B.
Traven. In the early '20s he lived for a while in Chiapas and wrote a
book about it (unfortunately never translated). Traven went on to
write the best of all anarchist adventure novels--_The Deathship_, _The
Wobbly_, _Treasure of the Sierra Madre_, and above all his _Mahogony_
series, set in Chipas during the Mexican Revolution. When Traven died
he was buried in San Cristobal--where the Zapatista revolt broke out
last New Year's Eve. Traven is someone we might remember, not only
because he was a "gringo" who loved Chiapas and supported the
Revolution, but also because he transcended all limited "ideological"
anarchist tendencies to embrace a grand vision of human tragedy,
endurance, and freedom.
7. As of this writing the Zapatistas have called on radicals outside
Mexico for support but have not yet specified what form they'd like it
to take. Obviously, in light of the media black-out, _spreading the
word_ has top priority. Sending medicine and supplies, etc., may soon
become both necessary and possible. Given the very great chance of
U.S. involvement to protect the PRI and NAFTA, we should begin the
organization of domestic resistance networkds _now_, so as not to be
caught napping again. The anarchist press should remain closely
informed, and should provide background as well as news (one of our
numbers is in Mexico now, looking for real info). The authors of this
letter are prepared to join with any responsible non-authoritarian
support group which might emerge. If you are organizing or would like
to help organize on behalf of Zapatismo, or if you have information
for broadcast, please contact us.
Tierra y Libertad!
Feb. 14, 1994
Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade
Box 113
WBAI-Pacifica
505 Eighth Ave.
NYC, NY 10018
(email: dmandl@panix.com)