Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #zapatista, aggregated by home.social.
In December, 1,111 Zapatistas will travel to Mexico City, staying for the entire month. To raise funds for the "Tour for Life - Mexico Chapter," I'm helping folks move some merch here in the US.
More background and details here: https://fallingintoincandescence.com/2026/09/24/support-ezln-tour-mexico-city/
Please share!
#Mexico #CDMX #Chiapas #Indigenous #EZLN #Zapatista #GiraPorLaVida #solidarity
Capitan Marcos: “4,500 Indigenous People of Maya Descent Participated in the EZLN Uprising in 1994”
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. In the takeover of seven municipal capitals in Chiapas in the first minutes of January 1994, 4,500 indigenous people of Mayan descent participated, revealed Captain Marcos of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).
“Among the papers and files I inherited from the late Sub-commander Galeano, who in turn inherited them from the deceased, I found the rosters of the units that went out to fight: three regiments, part of what was then called the 21st Zapatista Infantry Division. Each regiment consisted of three battalions, each with 400 combatants including their officers, plus medical personnel, war materiel, communications, and sappers,” he added. In a statement read Wednesday night during the second day of activities at the “Arts Under Siege” workshop (dance, film, and theater) held in San Cristóbal, he noted that “these lists contain the names of each combatant, their real name and nom de guerre, the town, region, and zone they were from, and a next of kin column, to whom notification should be sent in case of death, disappearance, imprisonment, or desertion.”
He added: “If the deceased didn’t lie—and I don’t see why he would have, given that it was his own document—the actions, objectives, logistical plans, and advance routes of each unit were also detailed there, as well as the sequence of initial actions. The existence of four additional reserve battalions was also indicated.” The captain said, “Sub-commander Marcos later confided in me that there were more because many left their communities to accompany us and see what was happening. But let’s stick with the 4,500. You can imagine how many more people, relatives of those combatants, were involved.”
He maintained that “despite the photographic evidence and the military reports from the Federal Army confirming the presence of thousands of combatants, the press, afflicted by the amnesia brought on by the boom years, spoke 30 years after that dawn of only a few hundred combatants. And other experts on everything and knowledgeable about nothing don’t even do that. The infamous Nexos magazine claimed that the Zapatistas numbered no more than 300 and was desperate because the Federal Army hadn’t wiped us out.”
Marcos stated that “the reference to that folkloric anecdote, as a displaced intellectual put it, is relevant, or rather, it depends, because the question isn’t how that was possible—the uprising and a conspiracy involving hundreds of thousands. Racism could be one reason. By that I mean that, since they were Indigenous, there was no need to worry about them.”
He continued: “The question is what those who did that won’t be able to do. Those who did it on January 1st, 1994. What won’t they be able to do? And one answer among many, the one that’s visible now—because with the Zapatistas, things are only revealed when they want them to be—is an anachronistic construction in the middle of the Lacandon Jungle: the infamous operating room named after fallen comrades of the world.”
He recalled that “this is not the first time the Zapatista communities have built a health facility in remote corners of the mountains of southeastern Mexico. There is, for example, the La Guadalupana clinic in the Caracol of Oventic; the Compañera Murcia clinic in the Caracol of Jerusalén; and the La Realidad clinic in the town of San José in that region. But this operating room (which is nearing completion in the Lacandon Jungle) is unique in that it was conceived with the vision, thought, and heart of the people.”
The wonderful thing, he said, “is not only that it brings together the efforts, support, and manual and intellectual labor of individuals, groups, collectives, movements, and organizations from different geographical locations and with different languages, ways of life, backgrounds, histories, cultures, struggles, resistances, and rebellions.”
The captain commented that “just yesterday we received a letter from fellow anarcho-syndicalist organizations in Germany and almost all of unconquered Europe, as well as from the United States and Canada, announcing their support. They have also provided financial contributions, both individually and collectively, here in Mexico.”
He asserted that in the operating room, “they not only work alongside the Zapatistas, non-Zapatista communities, political allies, and former anti-Zapatistas who receive support from counterinsurgency programs of governments of various political hues,” but that “they discuss and agree with the Zapatistas on the uses and needs that the operating room should fulfill.”
‘’What is truly surprising, and what I can’t quite explain’’, he emphasized, “is why politically affiliated communities and indigenous groups, who have closer access to government health facilities with larger budgets, supposedly with specialists and many poorly paid staff, support and participate in this.”
He stated that he has seen the operating room “firsthand, from when it was just overgrown vegetation to the stage of placing the roof. I believe they are now at the stage of installing doors and windows. We hope that photographs and videos of each stage of construction will be presented somewhere in Mexico City next December,” when leaders and supporters will make a month-long visit to meet with groups of mothers and fathers searching for their missing children, among other collectives, and carry out other activities.
Original article by Elio Henríquez, La Jornada, August 19th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
“The Peoples’ Time Has Come” Regarding the Draft Bill for a General Law on the Rights of Indigenous & Afro-Mexican Peoples: EZLN
20.—The agrarian law obviously did not regulate the lands occupied by indigenous peoples. This is a matter of state policy and what is at stake with these maneuvers, which justify the management of clienteles and specific issues, regardless of whether they contradict other laws. Some of the technical advisors are claiming that there is no contradiction between Article 2 and Article 27—and therefore between this document and Article 27 of the Constitution—because they assert that a systematic and broad interpretation of the Constitution is required. They argue that territory is indirectly recognized through traditional communal lands. They are reconceptualizing territory rhetorically.
23.- This document is fundamentally flawed. This reform has its historical roots in the San Andrés dialogue between the EZLN and the federal government, and in the Mexican government’s betrayal of the San Andrés Accords. During those talks, it was said that autonomy marked the end of “indigenism,” but this document shows that “indigenism” remains as relevant as ever, whether through the INPI or the Supreme Court. It is a fact: there is historical amnesia and a return to state-sanctioned “indigenism.”
The proposed General Law on the Rights of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples, as presented, effectively disregards the very right of these peoples to be subjects of public law.
*Pictured are the sponsors of the controversial general bill on the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples: Víctor Suárez Carrera, Adelfo Regino Montes, Guadalupe Espinosa Sauceda, and Diego Prieto Hernández. Photos courtesy of the federal government.
Original text published on Ojarasca Suplemento Facebook.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas
Here Come the Zapatistas
“The capitalist system is an inhumane, cruel, and criminal system,” declared Insurgent Subcomandante Moisés, spokesperson for the EZLN, during the “War Against Humanity” Seminar (Populations and Nature Under Siege), held from July 20 to 24. And he concluded: “We do not believe this system can be humanized.”
Subcomandante Moisés’s harsh words were borne out throughout the five days of the workshop, during which men, women, and others described the new and old ways in which the system exploits and dominates humanity and nature. Topics discussed included global state terrorism, militarization, recolonization, racism, violence, dispossession, water hoarding, ecocide, forced disappearances, forced recruitment, fracking, exploitation, financialization, artificial intelligence, migration, wars, criminal corporations, exclusion in urban and rural areas, gender, and extractivism. Far from the rhetoric of “shared prosperity” and “conscientious capitalism”—which are nothing more than an updated version of Margaret Thatcher’s “there is no alternative”—the Zapatistas and their guests emphasized something that has fallen by the wayside: the problem is capitalism.
Since their inception, the Zapatista communities have been known for fostering and promoting critical thinking. The study groups they organize on an ongoing basis have featured Immanuel Wallerstein, Silvia Federici, Pablo González Casanova, Sylvia Marcos, Adolfo Gilly, Fernanda Navarro, Michael Löwy, Paulina Fernández, and many others who have helped shape our understanding of and transform the world. Likewise, the Zapatistas have developed their own theory, the result of their emancipatory practice and in dialogue with a grassroots internationalism, which allows them to view the world and chart their course. In this regard, it is worth recalling the reflections they developed beginning in the late 1990s on the characteristics of new forms of war, which are extremely useful for understanding what is happening in the world today (https://n9.cl/60cjz). Strong organization, sound theory, accurate and constantly updated analyses, a vision for the future, and action plans—these are essential for all struggles that seek to transform their reality.
At the “Semillero” convened by the Zapatistas, there were not only descriptions of the new calamities—of the nightmares that large segments of humanity experience on a daily basis—but there was also hope, a great deal of hope. There was talk of new working-class organizations fighting exploitation by app-based companies, of the resistance of sex workers, and of the indispensable role of Indigenous peoples in defending the territory in its broadest sense—that is, water, air, the seas, and the subsoil… There was talk of women’s and transgender organizations, of migrant caravans, of coffee and bread cooperatives, of local farmers, of the resistance of people of African descent, of housing organizations, of the “anti-monuments” in Mexico City, of the “not here” movement in Topolobampo, of the battles over narratives, of Cuba and of Palestine… always Cuba and always Palestine.
The families searching for missing persons in Mexico held a special place throughout the Semillero, not only in the analysts’ presentations but also in the words and actions of the Zapatistas. Thus, Sub Moisés announced that in December 2026, a delegation of 1,111 Zapatistas will travel to Mexico City to meet with “compañerxs of La Sexta and the Declaration for Life,” and also to express “in person our admiration, our affection, and our respect for the collectives of searchers. We feel we must embrace them, listen to them, and let them know that here, in the mountains of southeastern Mexico, we share their pain and, above all, their commitment to truth and justice.”
There are still details to be revealed about this new initiative launched by the Zapatistas, but it is already clear that it will revitalize the political debate and move beyond false dichotomies between neoliberals and neoconservatives, and between “pro-government” and “opposition” forces. It involves acknowledging that there is indeed an alternative beyond capitalism—and this requires understanding that the struggles against capitalism and for life today take on new characteristics, offer new proposals, and involve new ways of organizing, imagining, and building another world.
During the Mexican Revolution, in villages and on estates, people used to say “here comes the bola” to refer to the group of poor, ragged revolutionaries who swelled the ranks of the Zapatistas and Villistas. More than a century later, the neo-Zapatistas have revived the expression “bola” to refer to the process by which indigenous people in Chiapas escaped from the haciendas and farms to begin building what they now call “the Common.” “In a ‘bola,’ in a ‘group,’ in ‘the Common’”—that is how the Zapatistas now refer to the alternative being built from below. Here come the Zapatistas, inviting us to build a world in common.
Original text by Raúl Romero published by La Jornada on August 3rd, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
Joint Statement: Stop the War on the Peoples of Guerrero and Chiapas, Members of the National Indigenous Congress
In the context of Days of Action for the Release of Jésus Plácido Galindo, collectives and individuals gathered in the Plaza de Resistencia in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas to call for an end to the repression, displacement and criminalization of Indigenous peoples. Below is the statement.
To Cipog-Ez And The People Of Guerrero
To Our Compas From Jotolá, The “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market, Agua Clara, And San Francisco, Teopisca, Of The CNI Chiapas
To The National Indigenous Congress
To The Zapatista Army Of National Liberation
To The Networks Of Resistance And Rebellion
To The Sixth Declaration, National And International
To Human Rights Organizations
To The Peoples Of Mexico And The World
We, the signatories of this collective statement, share a deep sense of outrage, pain, and anger over the repeated attacks on the communities, peoples, and neighborhoods affiliated with the National Indigenous Congress. These attacks form a long list that seems to have no end. The arrest of our comrade Jesús Plácido Galindo is a testament to this.
Regardless of the political label they claim to hold, the ways and actions of bad governments remain the same: dispossession, forced displacement, political imprisonment, and a war against those who defend the land, territory, autonomy, and life. Faced with this situation, we cannot remain silent. We join the call for justice by our Tseltal comrades from Jotolá, in the municipality of Chilón, who were displaced from their homes by the State Guard, the Municipal Police, and state officials, and we join the demand for the immediate release of Francisco, who was imprisoned for fighting; to the voice of the 39 co-owners of the “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market, who have been stripped of their workplaces; to the voice of the families of Agua Clara, who have been harassed for over a decade for defending their autonomy; and to the voice of the communities of San Francisco and Teopisca, threatened by a highway project that was never the subject of consultation or consent.
The situations we’ve mentioned are not isolated cases. They are part of the same pattern: the dispossession of land that is advancing hand in hand with megaprojects such as the misnamed Maya Train and the San Cristóbal–Palenque and San Cristóbal–Teopisca superhighways—projects imposed without consulting the peoples who inhabit those lands and sustained by the complicity of all three levels of government. All these deadly projects arise from the alliance between corrupt governments, organized crime, and “legal” corporations, where the lives and freedom of those who envision a different world and resist are in constant danger throughout this territory called Mexico.
We also denounce the arrest of Jesús Plácido Galindo, an advocate for the Emiliano Zapata Indigenous and Popular Council of Guerrero and a beneficiary of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders—yet it appears that this protection exists only on paper. His arrest, which took place on July 17, 2026, during a disproportionate operation involving more than 40 officers from various law enforcement agencies, and the serious violations of due process that accompanied it—solitary confinement, destruction of his panic button, transfer without the knowledge of his family or his defense team, imposition of a court-appointed attorney, and a fabricated charge based on events from 2021 — are not an act of justice, but rather an attempt to silence someone who has named, by first and last name, the criminal and political wings that protect one another in Guerrero.
We recognize in these events a recurring pattern throughout history: when a people, organization, collective, or human rights defender names those who dispossess, repress, and displace, kill, and disappear people, the State—and the official in charge at the time—responds not by prosecuting the perpetrators, but by criminalizing those who speak out, fight, and resist.
Turning a human rights defender and a defender of land and territory into an alleged criminal is an old strategy, but just because it is well-known does not make it any less serious; for those in power, there is no worse criminal than someone who refuses to submit to them. It is abundantly clear that bad governments do not change in form or substance—only in color—and that they will never cease to serve those in power.
Therefore, WE DEMAND:
First. The immediate and unconditional release of Jesús Plácido Galindo and Francisco Moreno, as well as the revocation of the arrest warrants against the other comrades of the CNI and all comrades who are imprisoned and persecuted for their struggle.
Second. A complete end to forced displacement, harassment, and threats of eviction against the families of Jotolá, the “Samir Flores Soberanes” Market, Agua Clara, and San Francisco, Teopisca.
Third. The immediate return of the Traditional Public Market premises to their rightful co-owners.
Fourth. The cancellation of highway projects and all megaprojects imposed without prior, free, informed, and culturally appropriate consultation with Indigenous peoples.
Fifth. Immediate access for Jesús Plácido Galindo to legal representation, his family, and the medical care he requires, as well as unrestricted respect for his presumption of innocence.
Sixth. A genuine and thorough investigation into the links between criminal groups and municipal, state, and federal authorities in Guerrero, rather than the persecution of those who denounce them.
Seventh. An end to all forms of criminalization against people who defend the land, territory, and autonomy of Mexico’s Indigenous peoples.
We call on social organizations, independent media, critical academics, and the peoples of Mexico and the world to remain vigilant and show solidarity with these struggles. As those who resist have rightly said: the land is not for sale—it is to be loved and defended. And as the journey of our comrade Jesús Plácido Galindo demonstrates, defending life is not a crime.
Stop the repression against Indigenous peoples!
Freedom for Jesús Plácido Galindo!
Freedom for Francisco Moreno!
Freedom for political prisoners!
Long live the National Indigenous Congress!
Long live the Zapatista Army of National Liberation!
Sincerely:
Anami López
Andreas Lo Grasso, Alemania
Antonieta Pardo Alarcon
Antsetik Ts’unun. Colectivo autónomo de mujeres defensoras. Chiapas.
Asamblea Libertaria Autoorganizada Paliacate Zapatista, Grecia
Beatriz Vela/mujeres y la sexta/Jalisco
Braulio
Brigada Callejera de apoyo a la mujer, E.M A.C
CAREA e.V. – Alemania
Cátedra Jorge Alonso
Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas A.C.
Colectiva Corazon del tiempo
Colectivo Armadillo Suomi. Finlandia
Colectivo Batsilk’op Chiapas, Mexico
Colectivo Coca Gómez
Colectivo Educación para la Paz y los Derechos Humanos A.C. en Chiapas
Colectivo La Insurgente, Jobel Chiapas
Colectivo Mujeres Tierra
Colectivo Renovador Estudiantil Autónomo-UNAM
Comité de Mujeres Chiapas-Kurdistán. San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México
Comité de Solidarité avec les peuples du Chiapas en lutte (CSPCL), Paris, Francia, Slumil K’ajxemk’op
COMPPA- Comunicadorxs Populares Por la Autonomía, México
Coordinadora de Colectivos Organizaciones e Individuxs por Palestina en Chiapas
Criptopozol+DDHH, México
DAVID JIMÉNEZ. GEO-GRAFÍAS COMUNITARIAS
Delito Tania Cruz Hernandez- Chiapas.
DESMI (Desarrollo Económico y Social de los Mexicanos Indígenas), SCLC, Chiapas, México.
Diana Itzu Gutiérrez Luna. Defensora. Valle de Jobel, Chiapas
El Bordado de Ramona
Empalabrando colectivo
Escuelas para Chiapas
Espacio de Lucha Contra el Olvido y la Represión (ELCOR)
Espacio de Lucha contra el Olvido y la Represión. Elcor, Chiapas.
Espacio de Mujeres de la Sexta Jovel
Familias Unidad contra la Tortura en Defensa de los Derechos Humanos
Fernando Resendiz Rivera
Francisco De Parres Gómez / México
Gialuanna Ayora/Bunko Papalote A.C./México
Grupo de Trabajo No Estamos Todxs
Guillaume Manningham, Québec-Canada
Héctor Zetina/Red Morelense de Apoyo al CNI-CIG, Colectividad Nuestra Alegre Rebeldía
Hijos de la Tierra
Jessica Trejo G. Ciudad de México
Joel Cabrales-CDMX
Kathia Núñez Patiño, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
Laboratorio Popular de Medios Libres
Leon Fierro Resendiz
Lorena Méndez. La Lleca. Ciudad de México
Lourdes Gutierrez Z
Lumaltik Herriak, País Vasco
Marie van der Loos/ Bélgica
Mazatecas por la Libertad. Eloxochitlán de Flores Magón Oaxaca.
Mexicali Resiste
Mínima Galería Íntima/Narraturgias de la memoria
Morada Tropikal El Teatrito Yucatán
Movimiento de Mujeres en Defensa de la Madre Tierra y Nuestros Territorios. Chiapas, México.
Mujeres y Disidencias de la 6a en la Otra Europa y Abya Yala
Na Ch’ul Chan
Oralba Castillo Nájera, nuestra alegre rebeldía, Morelos
Orizaba Ver.
Radio Zapote
Raices en Resistencia
Red de apoyo CNi altas montañas
Red de Resistencia y Rebeldia en apoyo al CNI CIG del Puerto de Veracruz
Red de Resistencias y Rebeldías AJMAQ
Resistrenzas-Puebla
Rizoma, México
Sexta por la libre Yucatán
Silvia Resendiz Flores
Susana de la Cruz Ruíz
Txiapasekin ( Pais Vasco)
Published by Frayba on July 24th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
Ich erinnere mich noch Anfang der 2000er gab es linke Gruppen, die das Motto propagierten
#AllesFürAlleUndZwarSofort!
Bemerkenswert daran war, dass es sich ableitete vom zapatistischen
#AllesFürAlleUndNichtsFürUns!
#ParaTodosTodoParaNosotrosNada
Was fast schon eine Umkehr ist. Und eben auch das Individuum in den Mittelpunkt stellte. Ich fand den Spruch in Deutschland damals schon komisch, aber nachdem ich das Original fand, fand ichs noch komischer.
EZLN Boat Arrives in Cuba with Humanitarian Aid
The Lacandona boat arrived in Cuba as part of the crew of the sailboat Astral, which reached the island on Sunday with humanitarian aid from European solidarity groups, Captain Marcos of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) reported.
“These days, a sister organization in the struggle for life, the Spanish Open Arms, is landing on the Cuban coast to deliver necessary support for the Cuban people. They are not carrying demands, requirements, conditions, or positions; they are carrying solar energy equipment and medicine for a hospital,” he added.
He said that aboard the sailboat Astral, “as one more element of its vessel and crew, was a small boat called Lacandona, related to the canoes that, five years ago, crossed the Atlantic from the mountains, defying the tide of history to unite a rebellion that knows no borders.” He pointed out that “just as the small Lacandona is the younger sister of the Astral and is the smallest vessel rescuing shipwrecked survivors of military, economic, and racial wars, our words and actions are one more in the great family of those who recognize the struggle for life as necessary, urgent, and imperative. The smallest, certainly, but also part of the whole.”
Marcos explained this at the start of the activities of the workshop “War Against Humanity: Populations and Nature Under Siege,” which will take place in San Cristóbal de las Casas from July 20th to 25th.
“We are summoned by the ultimate crime, crime made systemic, a crime so transparent that light doesn’t pass through it, but rather distorts it like a mirror, a prism that breaks down into pleasant, endearing, desirable, fashionable colors. It accumulates trillions of likes from its sacrificial victims and yet remains unsatisfied. So, we are summoned by a crime,” the captain stated at the start of the proceedings.
“We have a single criminal, the evidence is there, the daily judgment of reality is there, a sentence is always pending. The criminal in question has public defenders, judges, police, armies, banks, industries, businesses, social media, news outlets, World Cups, FIFA, virtual fan clubs, trade agreements, clandestine and open meetings, and the resigned attitude of millions of victims. It will not surrender easily and will not stop in its quest for conquest and subjugation,” he declared.
Original article by Elio Henríquez, La Jornada, July 21st, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
Solidarity Statement from Chiapas Demanding the Immediate Release Compañero Jesús Plácido Galindo, Member Of the Indigenous And Popular Council Of Guerrero – Emiliano Zapata (Cipog-Ez)
July 18, 2026To the Indigenous and Popular Council of Guerrero – Emiliano Zapata (CIPOG-EZ)
To the Sixth Civil Observation Mission
To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)
To the National Indigenous Congress – Indigenous Governing Council (CNI-CIG)
To the peoples, organizations, collectives, and individuals who struggle for life and autonomy.
From this territory we raise our collective voice to denounce the arrest and disappearance of compañero Jesús Plácido Galindo, spokesperson for the Indigenous and Popular Council of Guerrero – Emiliano Zapata (CIPOG-EZ) and member of the Coordination and Follow-Up Commission of the National Indigenous Congress.
We know this is not an isolated event, but part of the war that the bad governments and organized crime, acting in complicity and impunity, wage against the peoples who defend the land, the territory, and life. This alliance between them grows more evident by the day, and it is playing out across the entire territory known as Mexico. The systematic violence endured by the communities of the Montaña Baja region of Guerrero is part of this necropolitics carried out from above against those of us who live below: the killings, the disappearances, the forced displacement, and the criminalization of those who struggle are all expressions of a politics of terror carried out by this system of death, which seeks to destroy the peoples’ processes of autonomous organization.
The arrest of compa Jesús Plácido, which took place on July 17, 2026 in an operation involving military forces and security agencies, is deeply troubling. His whereabouts and the reasons for his arrest remain unknown at this time, and we hold the federal and state governments responsible for any harm to his physical and psychological integrity.
From Chiapas we know well the cost of defending life. Our peoples too have faced forced displacement, militarization, the presence of armed groups, persecution, and the criminalization of those who organize resistance. For this reason, the struggle of CIPOG-EZ is also our struggle.
We demand:
We call on organizations, collectives, communities, support networks, signatories of the Declaration for Life, adherents to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, and all people of dignity to speak out and mobilize until our compañero is presented alive and set free.
Solidarity among peoples is our strength. Facing fear, organization. Facing war, community. Facing disappearance and violence, we will keep defending life.
Immediate presentation and freedom for Jesús Plácido Galindo!
Stop the war against the people!
Sincerely
From Chiapas
July 17, 2026
We sign:
Organizations and collectives
Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas A.C.
Coordinadora de Colectivxs, Organizaciones e Individuxs por Palestina en Chiapas
Escuelas para Chiapas
Espacio de Mujeres de la Sexta Jovel
Grupo de Trabajo No Estamos Todxs
Nantik Meche. Comunicación feminista popular.
Nodo Solidario – México
Desarrollo Económico y Social de los Mexicanos Indígenas A.C.
Territorios en Movimiento
Individual signatures
Concepción Suárez Aguilar. Popular defender. Chiapas
For life, land, territory, and autonomy.
Original text published by Grupo de Trabajo No Estamos Todxs.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
Public Denunciation by the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas
To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)
To the National Indigenous Congress (CNI)
To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion
To the Sixth Declaration, National and International
To the Signatories of a Declaration for Life on the Five Continents
To Unsubmissive, Dignified, and Rebellious Europe
To Human Rights Organizations and Collectives
To the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico and the World
To Free and Independent Media
To Critical Academia
To Social Organizations, Collectives, and Civil Society
As the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, we publicly denounce the repression against our peoples and communities. The capitalist hydra, with the complicity of the three levels of corrupt government—municipal, state, and federal—continues to plunder our territories.
The events of February 12, 2026, carried out by the State Guard, the Chilón Municipal Police, officials from the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples, and the Unitary Agrarian Court against our compañeros from the CNI “Samir Flores Soberanes” Zone 10 Patria Nueva in the community of Jotolá, municipality of Chilón, have resulted in the displacement of eight families and the arrest of two of our members: Francisco Moreno and María de Jesús Sánchez. Their homes were destroyed and their belongings stolen.
Our compañeras and compañeros remain displaced; eight people have arrest warrants issued against them and are facing economic hardship, illness, unemployment, and homelessness. Francisco Moreno remains imprisoned at the Yajalón jail, and María de Jesús is required to report to the bad government every Friday.
As the CNI, we denounce the actions being committed by the corrupt governments against our Tseltal brothers and sisters of the CNI who are organizing at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market, Zone 10 Patria Nueva, in the municipality of Ocosingo.
With the complicity of the corrupt governments, 39 co-owners, have been suffering the dispossession of their workplaces, the destruction of their stalls, the construction of fences to block access to their workplaces, humiliations, threats, violence against our sisters, the kidnapping of our compañeros—including children—and the fabrication of criminal charges before the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Chiapas—acts that we have publicly denounced.
We tell our fellow compañeras and compañeros in the struggle that our brothers and sisters at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market continue to defend the Territory and its Autonomy; they are not for sale to big capital, nor are our existence and the Resistance of our Peoples up for negotiation. We demand an end to this legalized dispossession and any other counterinsurgency actions against our 39 compañeros.
We also denounce the harassment being suffered by 10 Tseltal families from the community of Agua Clara, located in Zone 5 Roberto Barrios, municipality of Salto de Agua, Chiapas—members of the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas. For the past 10 years, our brothers and sisters have been fighting to defend their territory, their autonomy, and their right to self-determination.
We state that with the arrival of megaprojects such as the misnamed “Maya Train,” the threats to our territory have increased. Now, with the construction of the San Cristóbal–Palenque superhighway, they are destroying our hills, cutting down trees, and this has caused droughts; the water levels of our rivers have dropped; and the harvest road that runs through our plots has caused divisions within the community. We were never informed by the ejido authorities—who claim it is for the benefit of the population—when we know it is actually to facilitate tourism.Our compañeros in the CNI are being threatened with dispossession and eviction from the lands they have occupied for years. On June 23, 2026, government supporters threatened that the Pakales Immediate Reaction Forces would enter to evict them from their plots. These repressive actions are carried out with the complicity of the three levels of corrupt governments.
These same acts of territorial dispossession are happening to our comrades who are members of the National Indigenous Congress, Zone 11 Tulankao, in the community of San Francisco, municipality of Teopisca, Chiapas. On March 24 of this year, they were informed by two engineers from the state government that a highway from San Cristóbal to Teopisca would pass through their territory, for which 60 meters of land were needed. The engineers arrived with their tricks and lies, claiming that the other communities had agreed to the project. We publicly state that our brothers and sisters from many communities do not agree to the construction of this highway.
The campesinas and campesinos of San Francisco know that the highway is for the benefit of business owners. As Indigenous Peoples, we know it will only destroy our lands and trees, bring air pollution, and destroy our culture and peace. As Indigenous Peoples, we say NO to this highway project.
As the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas, we observe that the war against Indigenous peoples continues; there is no peace—there is dispossession of our workplaces and our territories. The corrupt government uses repression to destroy our organization. Deadly projects continue, such as the San Cristóbal-Palenque superhighway and the San Cristóbal-Teopisca highway. Our compañeros remain in prison, and families have been displaced.
Therefore, WE DEMAND:
A complete end to the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples’ territories.
An end to the attacks on the autonomy of our brothers and sisters in the National Indigenous Congress in Chiapas.
The full release of our compañeros María de Jesús Sánchez and Francisco Moreno.
The revocation of the arrest warrants against our compañeros and compañeras.
That the forced displacement of our compañeros and compañeras be addressed.
The immediate and unconditional return of the market stalls to our compañeros and compañeras at the Dr. Belisario Domínguez “Samir Flores Soberanes” Traditional Public Market.
An immediate end to the threats, harassment, and any attempt at eviction against the CNI families of Agua Clara in Zone 5 Roberto Barrios, municipality of Salto de Agua.
A halt to “death projects” such as the San Cristóbal-Palenque superhighway and the San Cristóbal-Teopisca highway.
Respect for our community organization and our right to remain on the land we inhabit.
Our land is not for sale—it is to be loved and defended!!!
Long live the Resistance of the Indigenous Peoples!!!
Truth and Justice—Samir Lives!!!
Long live the National Indigenous Congress!!!
Long live the Zapatista Army of National Liberation!!!
Stop the war against the Zapatista communities!!!
Never again a Mexico without us!!!
To see the press conference at Frayba go to: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JmguuXiMi/
Original text published by Frayba on July 14th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=35195 #chiapas #cni #ezln #mexico #nationalIndigenousCongress #northAmerica #zapatista
Die neue Tierra y Libertad Nr. 86 ist erschienen!
EDITORIAL
Liebe Leser*innen,
die Welt gerät weiter aus den Fugen − neue absurde militärische Gewalt und gleichzeitig viele weiter ungelöste Konflikte. Entwicklungen, die den Faschismus wieder greifbar als konkrete Gefahr bestärken und eine fast als P
https://girahh.noblogs.org/post/2026/07/16/die-neue-tierra-y-libertad-nr-86-ist-erschienen/
#deutsch #TierraYLibertad #YaBastaNetz #Zapatista #ZeitschriftFrSolidarittUndRebellion #Zeitung
GO GO Zapatistas GOOOO! Aren’t we all a bit like Zapatistas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC3fjlwmPfc
#music #mexico #rebeliom #anarchy #powertotehpeople #zapatista #libertaion #army
IX. and Final -The Strange and Singular Case of the Crazy Parakeet and the Forgotten Superheroes
A Tractor and the Case of the Crazy Parakeet
I should clarify, right off the bat, that the parakeet isn’t—and never was—crazy. It was all just a misunderstanding. But before I continue, let me tell you about the difficulties we’ve faced in recounting this story to you. The first—and, in my opinion, most important—is respecting the secret identities of superheroes. I know it might seem strange that, in a story about a parakeet—who, by the way, isn’t crazy—the topic of superheroes and their secret identities would come up.
You see, believe it or not, we superheroes suffer. Yes, speaking in the first-person plural. And the thing is, even though I don’t have superpowers and I’m not a star from Marvel, DC Comics, or whatever, in my spare time, I’m the gatekeeper in charge of access to the village where forgotten superheroes come to live temporarily.
Yeah, you probably already know that all superheroes have a secret place where they take refuge so they can walk around without a mask, without underwear tucked into their pants, or those skirts and tight-fitting suits that superheroines usually wear—which, let’s face it, are hard to believe—and so they can just chill in “casual” mode. There’s, for example, the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman goes without underwear and shares dog food with his dog Krypto. Then there’s the Batcave, where Batman, Robin, Alfred, Batgirl, and Catwoman play Rayuela, or “You Bring It” (also known as “English Hide-and-Seek”), which is the game featured in the video from two posts ago, with Veronica “tackling” her victim. Of course, there’s Aunt May’s house, where Spider-Man stuffs himself with butter cookies. Iron Man has his high-tech mansion (Elon Musk’s wet dream).
There are also the places where superheroes gather to, as they put it, “save the world”—like the Hall of Justice—though in reality they just get together to show off to one another. The Justice League is like a shareholders’ meeting, where they tally up the profits from Marvel, DC, and the villains who tag along with them.
You’ll agree that the way these characters acquire their superpowers is usually ridiculous: Superman is nothing more than an immigrant, separated from his parents by the evil Lex Luthor, dressed in an ICE uniform. And yes, seeing him with his tight underwear over his tight pants, one wonders if, in the Fortress of Solitude, there’s a closet from which the native of Krypton will finally emerge—even if his weakness is social media. Batman and Iron Man? Bored millionaires, tired of exploiting workers and pretending to fight the villains they themselves created. Peter Parker was bitten by a spider. Who hasn’t been bitten by a spider? And yet, you don’t see anyone charming a redhead with the old “hey, I got bit by a spider” line. The Hulk is just a driver—enraged and with liver problems—and you can find him in any city traffic jam. Captain America is the product of experiments—like AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19—and he came out of Vietnam and the Bay of Pigs pretty battered.
They—in addition to wearing ridiculous and provocative outfits (those colorful shorts, the little skirts, the costumes that look like “body paint,” the cumbersome capes that are outdone by any well-tied bandana), and other paraphernalia—usually have a secret identity. That is, an identity that makes them seem “normal.”
But this story isn’t about those boring superheroes; it’s about others—the forgotten ones. These superheroes go unnoticed most of the time because they only reveal themselves on special occasions. You see only ordinary people: the supermarket cashier and the elderly man who bags the groceries; the public transit driver; the anonymous street sweeper; the elementary school teacher; the CNTE teacher; the mother searching for her missing child; the migrant who must cross the vast border (courtesy of the 4T) stretching from the Suchiate to the Rio Grande; the boy who plans to change his name to “Goku,” despite his parents’ opposition; the doctor skilled with a scalpel who treats prostate and uterine issues; the indigenous Zapatista woman who prays for a fierce downpour the next day so she won’t have to go out and gather thorns; the other woman who carefully chooses the lights that will adorn her on Pride Day. In short, ordinary people who perform feats so often that they aren’t even aware of it.
Well, sometimes these people become aware of their powers and realize they need a secret identity. They know that if they don’t, journalists and cameramen will show up to bother them, they’ll end up in comics and trending topics, they’ll be prey to streaming services, and all those things that pretend to be modern but are really just frivolous. So it turns out that these people decided to build a community together, where they can be who they are without anyone bothering them. That’s where I work, guarding the gate.
And, of course, there are also the places where supervillains gather. And it’s not in Washington, Tel Aviv, Moscow, the Paris-Rome-London axis, or Beijing where they reside. No, the ones who live there are just employees of the real bad guys: the bankers. Well, but that’s another story.
I’m telling you this so you can picture a boy with an unusual superpower. I have to protect his secret identity for obvious reasons, and I also had to get permission from his parents to share what I’m about to tell you. Since we need to give him a name so you can identify him in this story, we’ll call him “Ernesto.” And not to pay homage to that brilliant figure who was and is Oscar Wilde, but because, if I had named him “Marcos,” it would have been too vain. So let’s stick with “Ernesto.”
Well, that’s why Ernesto’s superpower is something incredible: he invents games without needing artificial intelligence! And without any electronic devices! With that sense of wonder at the world that only a child can experience, he plays with whatever he can find.
I met him at one of the previous seminar/seedbeds. It was during one of the breaks, and I was presenting the editorial team with the hypothesis that the World Cup final would be between Mexico and the United States. I was explaining how, in the final, everything was planned so that the U.S. team would be the one to lift the trophy (while they threw a party for Infantino and his henchmen of the moment). Trump had invited Sheinbaum to the final. We’ll never know if she attended or not because here’s what happened: the CIA and ICE showed up in the Mexican team’s locker room with the classic “You know the drill,” and threatened the players with revoking their U.S. visas and said Malu Campos would be the team’s godmother if they didn’t lose. As expected, that worried Vasco and the others. Did the threats from the “Empire of Stripes and Shadowy Stars” have any effect? We’ll never know. What is certain is that the letter in which the players and coaching staff expressed their solidarity with the searching mothers was never made public.
Because it turns out that, in my scenario, all the latino homies surrounded the “New York” stadium and slammed the doors shut, marching right past the ICE and the U.S. Navy, and hurling a shower of tacos and raw tamales onto the field, just as the game was about to start. Trump was knocked down by a migrant girl, and as he tried to get up with his fist raised and shout “Fight! Fight!”, a cascade of Eje Central-style hot sauce (I don’t know if it’s still called that) covered his face. When he tried to wipe his face, the orange paint came off, leaving him green with a looooot of chili. The Air Force quickly rescued the tycoon as best they could and transported him to Epstein Island, hoping that nostalgia would lift his spirits. The game, however, was not suspended. On the contrary, since the players had fled to save their commercial deals, a pickup game broke out with the searching mothers. They filled the cup with pozol and passed it around the crowd. Although, it must be said, more than a few—men, women, and everyone in between—couldn’t appreciate the heavenly flavor of sour pozol. In the end, everyone gathered in the center of the field and dedicated a resounding “culeeeeeero” 1 to Gmail for blocking the registration emails.
Just as I was wrapping up my brilliant hypothesis—and ignoring the skeptical glances from the Tobi Club on the editorial team—I began to outline my “Plan B,” in which the final would be between Japan and South Korea (an epic battle between K-Pop and anime) —I spotted a little boy—I’d guess about 3 or 4 years old—running around with… some girls from the Popcorn Squad! At that very moment, the little boy fell onto the gravel. All of us “machines” held our breath, expecting the inevitable scream and tears that would challenge the sacred law that “men don’t cry.” A deathly silence fell over the world… okay, okay, over the CIDECI plaza. But no, the boy got up, brushed off his clothes, and kept running aimlessly.
Shortly afterward, I saw him throwing what I assumed was a rag. He was tossing it upward, as high as his short stature would allow. He tried again and again. The rag would rise and then fall back down. I approached cautiously, sensing that something serious and momentous was happening. I ventured, “What are you doing?” The boy, without stopping to toss the rag—which wasn’t a rag, I now know, but a toy shaped like a parakeet—and without stopping what he was doing, said to me, “It just won’t fly.” I wanted to explain the law of gravity and all that nonsense to him, but it was clear that wouldn’t stop him. I pulled up a chair for him and suggested, “Try standing on the chair.” The boy did so and tried again, but the toy once more landed with a thud on the ground. I then told him, “You have to convince it that it can fly.” The boy paused to catch his breath (defying the law of gravity can be exhausting, believe me) and asked me, “How?” In a burst of honesty that surprised even me, I replied, “No idea.” Then SubMoy called me to prepare one of the topics for the workshop.
A few days later, I found out what had happened: in the place where that damned little devil of a kid was spending the night… oh no, that’s from another story. Well, where the boy slept with his mother, there’s also a parakeet. But it’s not just any parakeet—it’s multilingual. It speaks dog language, cat language, and decent Castilian Spanish. Little Ernesto thought it would be a good idea to ask the parakeet how to fly.
But lo and behold—who would have thought it? Parakeets have their own efficient intelligence service (unlike the Mexican government’s, which, it solemnly declares, is only now realizing that FIFA is raking in a multimillion-dollar business), and it had found out that one of its own had been thrown to the ground regardless of his condition.
Of course, he flew into a rage and attacked the mother, who had no idea what was going on. The boy Ernesto declared, “Don’t worry, Boss, I’ve got your back.” And sure enough: a bite from the furious parrot struck the child on the cheek and caused the mother no small number of injuries to her arms. All hell broke loose. Lawyers, prosecutors, and even a jury made up of some Chihuahua puppies and several kittens showed up.
Taking refuge in the Common Settlement of Forgotten Superheroes (PCSO, for its acronym in Castilian), Ernesto told me what had happened and asked me for two things: first, and most importantly, that his mother—and everyone involved—forget the incident because, if they didn’t, she and the others would find out that the little boy was a superhero. In other words, he had to regain his secret identity. The other request was that I represent him at the trial where they would decide who was at fault.
I gathered as much information as possible, including the videos you’ll be able to watch at the end of this post. I also learned that the prosecutor was a little bug with delusions of being a “shopping mall senator” in the U.S.—before they revoke his visa and J.C. Penney loses one of its most loyal customers. Yes, just like you, I suspected it was none other than Durito. The situation looked complicated, so I suggested to little Ernesto that we try to reach an out-of-court settlement. The boy hesitated, but refused. Truth and justice (what the Searching Mothers and the Missing of Ayotzinapa hope for) had to prevail. So I showed up for the trial while that damned beetle stared at me and smiled mockingly.
Durito presented photos and videos of the boy throwing the doll into the air and, maliciously, a slow-motion shot of the moment it hit the ground. There were cries of outrage. I had a complicated case, and the odds were stacked against us—in Las Vegas, the odds were 77 to 1 that we’d lose.
I began my presentation by quoting the late SupMarcos—may God keep him in His holy glory and may the Blessed Virgin shower him with blessings. The late SupMarcos explained that heaven and hell do exist, but not as they are portrayed by various religions. Sup pointed out that both heaven and hell were in the same place and that there were no angels, no heavenly courts, no Saint Peter, or anything of the sort—only a multitude of little animals of all sizes. He said that the person, whether supposedly damned or saved, would appear before them, and they would say, “Just as you treated us in life, so will you be treated here.” In other words, if you mistreated animals—kicked them, killed them, dressed them up in ridiculous costumes for Christmas, Halloween, and national holidays, or forced them to perform all sorts of tricks and participate in competitions—then that’s what would happen to you. So you had to imagine what it would be like to be kicked, or dragged around, or dressed up in a pumpkin costume, or as Chucky, or as Trump, or as Salinas Pliego… for all eternity.
I explained that little Ernesto had not only never hurt any living animal, but also that his intention—as the superhero that he is—was to free the rag parakeet from the bondage of the unjust law of gravity, and that he didn’t want to harm it but rather to help it “fly.”
And that is why he approached the live parakeet with the purest scientific curiosity. Although the parakeet thought, given the circumstances, that he would be thrown up into the air again and again only to fall back to the ground, ruining his magnificent plumage.
The parakeet asked to speak and addressed the jury—made up, as I’ve already said, of puppies and kittens. Contrary to what one might think, the parakeet did not speak out against our superhero. On the contrary, he explained how he suffered every time his feathers were clipped. That flying is the aspiration of every self-respecting parakeet, no matter how multilingual or made of rags he may be. That he understood Ernesto and that the only one to blame was the damn capitalist system. And he went on to give an explanation that the bigwigs—who claim to study… but never learn—would love to be able to give.
The jury deliberated. I rejected the requests for house arrest or, the very minimum, a restraining order. Durito pulled some sour faces because he knew he was doomed. And finally, the verdict was handed down: the puppies and kittens, along with another parrot that happened to be passing by, decided that there was no crime to punish, that it had all been a misunderstanding, and that, if anything, the system that allows animal abuse should be tried and sentenced.
El Perico and Ernesto hugged, and I could tell that the bird was whispering something in the little boy’s ear. Of course, without biting him. Ernesto nodded in agreement, and his face lit up. Did the parakeet reveal the secret so the doll could fly? Only the boy knows that. And it must be something amazing, because now he’s trying to make a rock “fly.”
The moral of this story is clear: it’s better to check whether the tamale is undercooked or not before chowing it down. The sewer system and the outhouse will thank you for it. And, of course, consider switching to Yahoo… or Hotmail. Oh, oh, Hotmail doesn’t exist anymore? Hmm, that explains why nobody chats with me anymore. Sigh.
Anyway, as SubMoy already said, you do things with what you have and with your head. You’re welcome, Vasco (if you want a lineup suggestion for the final, that’s a separate charge). If they take away the mattress commercials, there’s always “La Migaja Hammocks” (they’ll be listed on the stock exchange soon—watch out, Musk).
Ta-da.
(now not to be continued)
The Captain.
Mexico, June 2026.
P.S. — Well, here’s the call for submissions for the Resistance and Rebellion gathering and the Arts gathering. Both will take place in August 2026.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Original text published at Enlace Zapatista on June 17th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
Footnotes
Clínica para todxs
Auftakt der #medico-#Spendenkampagne für eine #Klinik in den zapatistischen Gebieten in #Chiapas.
Samstag, 20.06.2026, Beginn: 19:00 Uhr
Veranstaltungsort: unten im medico-Haus, Lindleystraße 15, 60314 #Frankfurt
Widerstand braucht große Träume:
Das 1989 gegründete #Menschenrechtszentrum Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (Frayba), mit dem #medico seit einigen Jahren kooperiert, begleitet im südmexikanischen #Chiapas indigene Gemeinden in ihrem Kampf um Gerechtigkeit. Obwohl #Frayba unabhängig ist, inspirieren die Ideen der zapatistischen Bewegung die Mitarbeiter:innen. Dora Roblero, Direktorin von Frayba, erklärt die Zunahme der #Gewalt gegen die indigene Bevölkrung von Chiapas, und warum das Projekt der Klinik Anlass für Hoffnung ist.
Interview von Anne Haas.#Mexiko #Zapatista
Eine andere Art der Daseinsvorsorge.
Der Arzt Joel Heredia Cuevas über Erfolge und Perspektiven des zapatistischen #Gesundheitssystems. Joel Heredia Cuevas arbeitet als Arzt seit Jahrzehnten mit indigenen Gesundheitspromotor:innen in #Chiapas zusammen und leitet die Gesundheitsorganisation #SADEC.
VII. IMAGES ABOVE. The Order is the Order from Above — Zapatista Statement
Part VII of A Tractor in Common and the Case of the Crazy Parakeet
“… there’s no point in complaining; no one cares that you don’t eat, that you’re malnourished, that you eat dirt, that you’re always ravenous, or that you have nowhere to bury your children—whether dead or miscarried—because of hunger; their remains lie at the bottom of the lake, among spiders, ants, flies, and minnows.”
José Cueli.
An “Enlightened” Right?
Ayuso and Cayetana? Seriously? Aren’t there any right-wing women in Mexico who are even remotely intelligent and can articulate their views? Well, at least she knows how to make photocopies, Margarita. Huh? Malu? Honestly, it’s just unbelievable. Or is it that there few women left who let themselves be manipulated by the executioners? Come on, guys, prove that, within your ranks, gender equality isn’t just limited to ignorance, stupidity, and cynicism. The heirs of “Sir” Diego Fernández de Cevallos should step into the media spotlight. Come on!
The Alitos, Fox (who, following his Hispanic sponsors, should go by “Foj”), Calderón, and the pencil pushers who accompany them find fertile ground in ignorance and are in their natural element. The blessing comes from Spain above, with Vox (“Voj,” if they’re consistent), amid psalms and hysterical screams. But the right, in Mexico and around the world, is suffering. And that’s because they can’t agree on who gets to take the stage.
In Proceso magazine, Ximena Arochi published (August 5, 2025) an interview with Raúl Tortolero, a member of the National Action Party (PAN) and “leader” of the “National Council of the New Right.” Concerned about the fragmentation of the right in Mexico, he declares that the “enemies” of the far right are well defined: “They have to do with LGBT supremacy, feminist supremacy, Black supremacy—especially in the United States—indigenous supremacy, and eco-animalist or environmentalist and animal rights supremacy.” Whoa! That’s more than half of Mexico’s population. And it seems he’s right: murders, disappearances, imprisonments, and beatings are all too common among, among others, environmental defenders, Indigenous people, those with dark skin… and women. The “National Council of the New Right” includes members of the Citizens’ Movement.
Even though they’re rowing against the current. Antonio Salgado Borge, in an article published two years ago (June 18, 2024) in Proceso magazine, points out that the far right in Mexico is being sidelined because the 4T—that is, López Obrador fanbase—has “snatched away” its natural social base, some of its arguments and excuses, and… its history. The notion of a natural social base can be understood in terms of social programs (which, in reality, are clientelistic and constitute a social and financial time bomb); as well as a supposed opposition to and criticism of “the institutions” (AMLO presented himself as an “outsider,” even though he has been a member of at least three political parties—the PRI, the PRD, and MORENA); “populist” rhetoric; and the denial of facts and rational arguments (the “other data”). These elements, the analyst notes, are common to far-right “populist” governments and politicians around the world: Jair Bolsonaro, Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, and Giorgia Meloni.
I would add hatred toward human rights NGOs, environmental activists, Indigenous people who refuse to bow down, women who resist and rebel, anyone who refuses to submit and obey… and non-artificial intelligence.
The author points out that, just like the European right, a golden age is being touted here as something to which we must return: the second half of the 20th century (“when God Almighty was omnipotent and Miguel Alemán was president,” my grandmother used to say sarcastically). And the nostalgic PRI supporters (inside and outside Morena) used to say and still say: “Back then, dogs were tied up with chorizo… and they didn’t eat it” (of course, changing it to “my dogs”). But the Morena party, in its current phase, has gone even further: all the way back to pre-Hispanic times. Mexico’s “golden age” is when Mexico wasn’t Mexico, and the oppressor in the territory was… the Aztec Empire.*
-*-
The Heirs of the Aztec Empire.
Thanks to the “clever” strategy of López Obrador’s camp to ally with the PRI—which never really went away (a strategy so highly praised by those who now criticize it as “a mistake”)—what was once its strength (ha!) is now its weakness. For decades, the PRI—let’s call it “secondary” or Mesozoic (the Tertiary or Paleozoic PRI era was with the PAN)—became the promoter and manager of crime in municipalities and states. Crime evolved; the PRI did not—it merely transmuted, first into the PAN, then into the PRD, PVEM, and PT (the Quaternary-Pleistocene PRI), and now into Morena (the Quaternary-Holocene PRI).
Alito Moreno, the current president of the Mexican PRI, when he accuses the ruling party of ties to organized crime, is actually accusing it of plagiarism. Corrupt governments hold the copyright. The “copyright” dates back to the Primary or Cenozoic period: the National Revolutionary Party and the Party of the Mexican Revolution.
Enlightened López Obradorism, without the slightest shame, champions the legacy of the Aztec Empire. They speak of “the” Aztec “empire,” … yet call themselves “anti-imperialists.” Perhaps because they act just like their spiritual historical guides: plundering, disparaging, exploiting, and repressing other indigenous peoples. The ethical dilemma—convictions or a paycheck—is resolved in favor of defending a spot in the budget.
That business of wrapping oneself in the national flag while, at the same time, intoning the requisite patriotic chant, is so Díaz Ordaz, so Echeverría, so López Portillo, so… shameless. But, for practical purposes, for the 4T, sovereignty lies in the U.S. visa to go shopping. “Yes, the CIA and Rocha Moya business is bad, but revoking visas—now that really heats things up, young man. That’s why we’re going to amend Article 39 of the Constitution, and it must read: ‘National sovereignty resides essentially and originally in the U.S. visa.’ For the good of all, visas first.”
-*-
Fragmentation.
In “modern” or current wars, the goal is to control territory—either by controlling those who hold power or by controlling key parts of the whole.
The model the U.S. State Department is following for Mexico is one of fragmenting the territory. It has already marked the states that interest it (for now): Tamaulipas, Nuevo León (which has long followed the frivolous U.S. model), Coahuila (already in the hot seat), Chihuahua (a CIA affiliate), Sonora, Sinaloa (though not a border state, it is of interest due to its strategic location in the Gulf of California), and Baja California. Oh, that’s almost the entire northern border. Oh, oh, Texas in the future? Wake up, friends.
“Whoever controls the key parts controls the whole”—this maxim of political-military theory was understood (and applied) by the various cartels. Now it’s Trump… well, the Trump cartel. To this end, he has the enthusiastic and open complicity of the National Action Party and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (a remastered version of the Mesozoic-era PRI). Huh? Yes, and of the 4T.
-*-
Virtual Reality and Real Reality.
If big business is now interested in “combating organized crime,” it is not because it cares about people’s well-being. It is because it believes it has already done its job (destruction and depopulation), and it is time to move on to the next stage: reorganization.
SEMARNAT, through its head Alicia Bárcenas, tells the residents and environmental defenders in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, that they don’t need life, but tourism. And that the supreme government (of proven efficiency and honesty, ha!) will ensure that there is “Shared Prosperity.” That is to say, that invading businesspeople and dispossessed residents will prosper.
Mahahual might see itself reflected in the mirror held up to it nearly 3,000 kilometers away:
On Mexico’s west coast, in Topolobambo, Ahome, Sinaloa, residents and activists have mobilized to protest the construction of an ammonia plant. The megaproject threatens to destroy Ohuira Bay and the Mayo-Yoreme indigenous community.
Following the “come rain or shine” approach with which AMLO pushed through the misnamed “Maya Train,” the federal government is imposing the project despite technical studies, protests by the indigenous population and environmental defenders (“Not Here!”), and warnings about environmental impact (that is, against reality). SEMARNAT declares, as the plant is being installed, that it “will continue to provide personal oversight.” It is unclear whether this refers to the ongoing destruction or to the $860 million in foreign capital “investment.” The Germany-based KfW IPEX-Bank is financing Gas y Petroquímica de Occidente (GPO), a subsidiary of the Swiss-German company Proman AG (note by journalist Itzallana López Castillo. Infobae. June 4, 2026). A summary of the situation can be found in the article by journalist Rubi Martínez in Milenio Diario (June 3, 2026)
-*-
A conservative perspective? Do extremes converge?
Ilán Semo (“The Microphysics of the Ominous,” La Jornada, June 4, 2026), reflecting on the compendium (edited by Jairo Antonio López Pacheco and Libertad Argüello Cabrera) Internal Forced Displacement and Violence in Mexico: Causes, Trajectories, and Effects (UNAM, 2026), in which an interdisciplinary group of scholars analyzes three six-year terms (Calderón, Peña Nieto, and AMLO), warns: “the collusion between transnational and national capital, organized crime, law enforcement (the police, the Army, the National Guard…) and countless members and officials of the federal and local governments to turn part of the country into the territory of a necroeconomy—that is, a form of hyper-savage capitalism—which bases the deployment of its mechanisms on dispossession, murder, disappearances, and forced displacements without law, the rule of law, or any authority to contain it.” (…) “… it is nothing more than the eradication not of communities’ resistance to this process, but of the communities themselves.”
The researcher has a name for this: holocaust. The evidence? It’s all over the country.
-*-
Modern War.
Destruction and depopulation: the first step in the new war of conquest. In today’s world at war, what is at stake is not the survival of “civilizations,” but rather models of exploitation, repression, dispossession, and contempt.
War is not merely destruction; it also serves to conceal other wars within the targeted regions. The war in Ukraine hides the resistance and rebellion in that region and in Putin’s neo-tsarist Russia; in Islamic Iran, it crushes the struggle of “as the women that we are.” And in all three cases, it is the most rancid nationalism that is brandished to cover up what is fundamental: the struggles from below.
Capital has now fully entered a phase as brutal as it is foolish, not without a touch of nostalgia for the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. But instead of the Enlightenment, we have Artificial Intelligence. There is no Newton, but a Musk. Instead of the rise of reason, the dominance of the algorithm. Instead of freedom, neoliberalism. Instead of nation-states, financial globalization. Instead of governments, boards of shareholders. And among the self-proclaimed “left,” instead of consistency, cynicism.
The accusation of “terrorism,” which Big Capital uses to justify its wars, is not unique to Trump. His counterparts in the Israeli government are now accusing Spanish humanitarian aid NGOs—without any evidence—of financing Hamas! The organizations named are Peace with Dignity; Rumbo a Gaza—an initiative part of the Global Sumud Flotilla—; the Malaga-based Al Quds Association for Solidarity with the Peoples of the Arab World; and the Spanish branch of the British Islamic NGO Human Appeal (with information from the EFE news agency). For Capital, supporting efforts to improve the living conditions of vulnerable populations—the struggle for life, in other words—is “terrorism.”
-*-
But there is resistance, there is defiance, and resignation will be overcome by organization. Because what is missing is yet to come.
(To be continued…)
From the mountains of southeastern Mexico.
The Captain.
Mexico, June 2026.
Original text published at Enlace Zapatista on June 5th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.
From Invaders to Invaded
In 1971, three academics investigated and analyzed the role of “charitable institutions” in the shantytowns (formed by land occupations) of Lima, publishing a profound and rigorous work entitled “From Invaders to Invaded,” disseminated in Cuadernos de DESCO*.
The work focuses on the effects that the intervention of “benefactors” (today we say NGOs) has on the residents. After documenting the enormous expansion of the shantytowns resulting from the occupations (“invasions,” as the media calls them), in which millions of people are concentrated on the peripheries of the capital, they emphasize that the charitable institutions seek “the political demobilization of the residents.”
These institutions represent imperialism, the “national bourgeoisies,” and businesspeople who, by “helping” the residents, manage to “politically neutralize broad urban sectors that cannot organize themselves anywhere other than within the shantytown.” They add that the “benefactors” also intend to organize the consumption of the residents, and their success is largely due to the desertion of the left, incapable of uniting this broad urban sector. A second issue they address is the attitude of “social scientists,” particularly Americans, who conducted studies in the slums.
They quote the German sociologist Martin Nicolaus: “The professional eyes of the sociologist are fixed on the lower classes, and their palms are extended toward the dominant classes.”
They point out that the fieldwork of these professionals has been “of great use to the Peace Corps, USAID, other benefactors, their academic prestige, the foundations that finance their studies, their doctoral theses, the delight of Americanists, etc., but with few exceptions for the residents of the slums.” The third issue addresses the analysis of the modus operandi of the “benefactors” who, by approaching the most active sectors of the shantytowns, “clientize the leaders of the residents’ associations, who, in order to maintain their leadership, must respond to the demands of the residents.”
Furthermore, they spread the idea that there is no dominant class and that poverty is the fault of the poor and not a structural issue. Finally, although there is much more, the three authors state that they are not interested in presenting an academic study but rather in exposing institutions that “are merely instruments of popular demobilization and transmission of the ideology of dominant national and foreign sectors.”
They want their work to help residents better understand their “benefactors.” Based on this brief glossary of an excellent work, I would like to remind everyone that social programs have existed for more than half a century in our continent, the same amount of time as those who denounce them without getting their investigations taken seriously. There have certainly been changes in the methods and styles of international cooperation for development and promotion, but the essential elements were already in place more than half a century ago. This raises some questions. Why do left-wing organizations and grassroots movements continue to accept these programs that, for half a century, we have known run counter to the interests of the people and the popular sectors? Why do thousands upon thousands of academics and social scientists allow themselves to be used by those in power, when their degrees give them other options and they can work in other fields?
I believe these attitudes cannot be understood without considering that the triumph of capitalism, however temporary, has convinced many people and political parties that confronting the system is dangerous. I’m not referring to their lives being in danger, because they don’t live in Gaza, nor in working-class neighborhoods or indigenous communities.
The danger they perceive relates to their professional careers, individual success, and, above all, economic and job security. If we look closely, left-wing parties and a good part of the leadership of social movements are now made up of people with academic degrees, who hold titles that are passports to social advancement, and who are part of what Emmanuel Todd, not without a certain malice but with great insight, calls the “mass oligarchy.”
This reflects the tremendous mutation of the system, which has integrated the upper echelons of the popular sectors, showing the rest the path to individual success. In particular, it has managed to co-opt leaders (“clientelize,” as the work I’m discussing puts it). These leaders are key figures in stabilizing the system of domination. Therefore, the Zapatistas’ commitment to not giving up, not surrendering, and not selling out remains an essential ethical reference point, especially in these times of systemic turmoil.
*Alfredo Rodríguez, Gustavo Riofrío, and Eileen Welsh were the authors. The work is available online.
Original article by Raúl Zibechi, La Jornada, May 29th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
A Tractor in Common and the Case of the Crazy Parrot -II. They Won’t Be Able To
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés told me this anecdote a few days ago: the children of former ranchers invaded some reclaimed land. Claiming that the land had belonged to their parents in the past, they moved in and began building their houses. A group of compañeros arrived to explain to them that they couldn’t do that, that the land belonged to the commons—meaning it wasn’t anyone’s property, not the state’s, not private property, and not communal land. When they saw the compañeros arrive, the squatters thought they were going to be kicked out, so they started saying that the army, the police, the judges, that they had a lawyer relative, that Trump, that Sheinbaum, that they weren’t going to be removed, that they would only that only over their dead bodies would they leave.
The compañeros smiled, listened patiently, and, once the would-be small farmers had finished with their threats, they said, “Well, brothers, we have heard your side of the story; now listen to what we have to say.” And they began to explain the concept of the commons to them—that they could work the land alongside other brothers from other towns and communities, but that the land belonged to no one. The parents of the would-be landowners understood the language, because they had grown up in that area, so the compañeros explained everything to them in the indigenous language, much to the despair of their children, who were “college graduates” from the city. During the conversation, the parents nodded in agreement with the compañeros’ arguments. When they finished, they told their children: “It’s not like what the Morena party people told us back there; these brothers are right in what they say, and they’re not going to kick us out—they’re going to be our neighbors.” They gave their children the Spanish version (which will always be poorer than the original language). Cornered by reason, the children argued: “But they won’t be able to pull off that ‘Common’ thing. People are selfish; they want to have more and more. People don’t want to share or look out for others. And it’s worse if they’re… they’re… like you guys.” They tried hard not to say “if they’re Indigenous,” perhaps fearing they’d be attacked. The compañeros replied with the blunt, “Well, we’ll see in practice whether it can be done or not.”
Since they had run out of arguments, these people moved on to their main point: “It’s just that you’re Castroists.” “What does ‘Castroists’ mean?” they asked. And they replied: “Castroists are communists, which means women are common property—they belong to everyone.” Our compañeros laughed, and one of us asked, “Then why don’t men belong to everyone?” The would-be beneficiary of the Sembrando Vida program (who actually didn’t want to become a farmer, but rather to divide up the land, request government support, and then sell off the plots) was left pondering, as if weighing the advantages of switching from “common women” to “common men,” but a compañero intervened and asked him, “So your wife is your property? “Have you already told her that you are her lord and master, that you control what she feels, what she thinks, what she wants, what she dreams?” The man hesitated. Perhaps he imagined the row he’d have with his wife if he even hinted at that, and that marriage was nothing more than a contract where he, the husband, took possession of her, the wife, “until death do them part.” A contract, then, of sale and purchase, just as one buys livestock or televisions to watch the World Cup. In other words, human trafficking, but with legal blessing.
The compañeros explained to him that the “commons” referred only to land ownership, not to labor. “So,” said the man, already on the defensive, “what I get from my work is mine?” “That’s right,” they replied. He insisted: “So, if I plant, say, bananas on my land, you’re not going to take them away from me or ask for a cut?”
“There you go again,” they told him, “it’s not YOUR land, it belongs to the Commons. And your labor, the product of your labor, is yours, and no one—at least no one from the Zapatistas—is going to take it from you or ask for a share. Just as your underwear, your car, your clothes, your house, your property, your toothbrush—your things, that is—aren’t communal. But the land is communal, and we work in shifts. You work, you harvest your crop, then others come in to work that land, then others, and so on. Only in this way will humanity be able to survive the storm. Or are things really that peaceful back in the city? Don’t you struggle with food, transportation, water, violence, disappearances, health care, education, clothes, shoes? Isn’t it true that those in power, no matter what party they belong to, are just like criminals?”
“That said, we want to make it clear that drugs cannot be consumed, produced, sold, or trafficked. And activities that harm Mother Earth—such as mining, fracking, deforestation, and water hoarding—are not allowed. Nor are alcoholism, prostitution, human trafficking, violence against women and children, contempt and neglect for the elderly, mockery and aggression against those who are different, and all those things with strange names that only serve to deceive people into thinking that the harm being done is for their own good.”
“But the land is for production,” he argued. One of the compañeros, recalling the long discussions, debates, and arguments in the Zapatista assemblies, spoke up and said: “Yes, but it’s one thing to produce for the market and another to produce for life. The land of the Commons is for life, not for profit.”
“So,” they asked, “if the land belongs to no one, what are you?”
“Guardians,” we replied. Another comrade added, “and Guardianesses.” One more said, “And (non-binary) Guardians.”
They said goodbye. They said they understood, but that they were going to consult their religion’s Bible to see if this idea of the Commons didn’t go against the word of God.
-*-
This argument that “they won’t be able to,” based on the inevitability of individualism, selfishness, and greed, is not just an argument of capitalism. It is also found among those who call themselves leftists and patiently wait for us to fail. Not only because of individualism, nor merely because the idea of the Commons didn’t spring from their great minds with footnotes, but also because they don’t follow the “sacred” precepts of the orthodox left: first publication and propaganda to raise awareness and mobilize, then the party, then the seizure of power, then the State as representative owner and regulator. And then, many centuries later—God forbid they’re still alive—the Commons.
-*-
But since the issue of “Castroism” has come up, and since the Cuban people are suffering under a blockade (no longer euphemistically called an “embargo”) and a new threat of military intervention, now, today, let us say a few words about that people whom we respect and admire.
We believe their resilience and defiance are evident. Not only have they sustained a social project amid every possible threat, in the face of every conceivable and inconceivable aggression, enduring global campaigns of slander and lies; but also the “sensible” reflections of those who are “neither fish nor fowl,” who pretend to be neither here nor there, and whose “kindest” remark is “it was beautiful at first, but over time it turned into a dictatorship.” That is nothing more than another way of saying: “it used to be fashionable to support Cuba; now it’s fashionable to attack it.”
Anyway, this isn’t the first time—nor will it be the last—that the death (at least in the media) of what the people themselves call “the Cuban Revolution” has been declared. In recent decades… okay, well, ever since that January of ’59, it’s been said, repeated, recited, and spouted: “Cuba won’t survive… unless it betrays itself.” Well, not in those exact words.
And it’s not just about forgetting Girón and Fidel Castro waving his hands with his team because they wouldn’t let him go to the front lines (back in those days when commanders marched at the head of their troops). Nor is it about the futile efforts of the ineffable Central Intelligence Agency, the gringo CIA, to take down the leadership. Suffice it to recall the desperation of an American congressman from those days, when he summoned those responsible for “solving the Cuban problem”: the agent explained, in great detail, the plan to poison Fidel Castro… so that his legendary beard would fall out. The congressman, his eyes and voice filled with passion, demanded: “So we’re spending all these millions to take Castro’s beard away, to shave him? Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just shoot him?”
And the downed planes, the terrorist attacks, the acts of sabotage, the “embargo,” the media rants from know-it-alls who know nothing.
And one might ask: if they managed to achieve all they have despite all that working against them, just imagine what they could have accomplished if they’d been left in peace?
Above all, it’s about forgetting the fundamental point: whether or not it’s true that they have made, are making, and will make mistakes, these are THEIR mistakes, THEIR successes, THEIR history, THEIR present, and THEIR future. And that’s hard to grasp from the desks of academia, sterile theory (without practice, then), and banal, useless commentary that doesn’t even get the requisite likes.
But set aside the trends on social media and in the news. Why haven’t they been able to break them? Why would a U.S. military intervention be necessary if, with the kind of support the Cuban opposition has had, they’d already achieved “liberation”? Listen, something about that just doesn’t add up. It’s as if there’s something about that people that can’t be understood and has nothing to do with individualism, selfishness, greed, and the like. Maybe—I don’t know, it could be a wild guess—but it occurs to me that it’s a matter of language: perhaps the Cuban alphabet lacks the letters to spell the word “surrender.”
And Cuba also comes up because, as far as I recall, the July 26 Movement did not follow the manuals of the communist orthodoxy of the time, which had confined the work of the Latin American left to the dictates of the then “socialist camp.” In short: they made their own history. Not for books, analyses, or reflections without consistent practice, but for life.
Cuba, so close to the United States and so far from understanding, will endure. Because there are those who hope the island will become a Mariel (the nearest port and to the United States and designated Special Development Zone, marked by a submarine base, a power station and cement works) from end to end, but there are those who know that it will be a Playa Girón (the site of the thwarted U.S. Bay of Pigs invasion, and an area of pristine natural beauty, wetlands and coral reef) , which was that the sun will behold as it rises… the day after.
-*-
These thoughts have occurred to me now that I have attended some of the “Interzonas” meetings (I put it in quotes because its name will change at any moment), in assemblies of autonomous and responsible authorities, theater artists, art and culture coordinators, members of Como Mujeres que Somos, young women and men, and “sensible” men and women (that is, older folks), where they discuss and debate something new. Yes, new—new.
I think I’ve said before that we Zapatistas don’t seek how to be happy, but how to be unhappy. Since it is our way to impose new challenges on ourselves, work, changes unexpected the day before, ruthless internal criticism, sleepless nights, stomachaches (with or without raw tamales), worries, long discussions, falls, and getting back up. And so I understand that the problem—our problem—is that we try to live out what we dream. And that’s how it goes for us.
-*-
Dreams remain dreams until they are planted in reality. What follows is a long and bumpy road, full of stumbles, setbacks, and more downs than ups. And, of course, the inevitable presence of those who insist that it can’t be done this way, that it’s not time yet, that it won’t work, that it’s impossible. The establishment has always demanded obedience and submission in its daily capitulation.
The late Marcos used to say that everything is impossible the day before. He said it with December 31, 1993, in mind, and he repeated it and repeats it every time a new idea, a new initiative—internal or external—is heard in indigenous languages of Mayan origin and in Spanish… in the mountains of southeastern Mexico.
Because there will always be someone—someone on the margins—who takes that dream into their own hands, prepares the ground and the timing, the schedule and the geography, and, without ritualistic ceremonies, ostentatious declarations, or empty promises, begins to work toward that dream.
Then, and only then, do dreams cease to be just dreams and become… a possibility.
-*-
So, is it that there are more changes coming? Yes, I’m afraid so—and I’m glad there are (sigh).
(To be continued…)
From the mountains of southeastern Mexico.
Original text published at Enlace Zapatista on May 17th, 2026.
Translation published by Schools for Chiapas.
A Tractor in Common and the Case of the Crazy Parrot
I. The Geneaology of the Tamale.
To the Searching Mothers, with admiration and respect.
I should tell you that I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. This combination of knowledge and practices rooted in traditions from many decades ago, with applied science and technology. Yes, in the countryside. Yes, in the struggle for life.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés has explained the process to me:
First, you choose the land. The flatter, the better. Next comes what is called “tumbar y rozar”—that is, using a machete and, sometimes, an axe, you cut down large, medium, and small trees. If it is already land that was once a cornfield, then it is acahual (small trees and plants). If it was pastureland, then there are no trees. You have to wait for it to dry out well, and then comes the “quema,” which consists, as the name implies, of setting the land on fire so that the soil is fertilized with the ash. Next comes clearing, that is, removing stones, logs, branches, and roots. Then comes planting, which is done with a coa (a straight stick, sometimes with an iron tip). The person planting carries the seeds in a small backpack, moving forward little by little, poking the ground with the coa and placing the seed in the soil. Then it’s a matter of waiting for rain. Of course, if the dry season (the hot season), with its strong winds, hasn’t carried the fire beyond the “firebreak,” then we have to organize collectively to go put it out before the fire spreads and reaches the forest… or the villages.
If it rains, that’s good. If it doesn’t rain, that’s bad. And then you have to set off firecrackers in the sky to wake up the clouds and make them pour down onto the earth, where the seed awaits the life that every drop of water carries.
Then after? Wait, and keep an eye on the weather. If all goes well, in about three months there will be corn on the cob, and then dried corn. Then comes the harvest: gathering the ears and piling them in a small shed they call a “troje.” From there, whenever needed, a few ears are brought home, and the whole family (grandparents, parents, and the kids) sits down to shell them. Next comes cooking the corn, with some lime extracted from stones. The lime comes from a special white stone. In some places they call it Poj’ton. It’s heated with firewood and then ground until it becomes a fine powder. If you can’t find it, you can make it from the shell of a river snail. And if you don’t have Poj’ton or a snail, well tough luck, you just have to earn the money to buy the lime.
A compañera explains to me: “Not just anyone can mix the lime with the corn. You need, as they say, the moms. Your mom tells you how much lime to put in the pot with the corn in water. If it’s not just right, it won’t work. And if you add too much, it stings. So you have to calculate it, just as your mom teaches you. Once you grow up, well, you know how to calculate. But it’s not like you measure with centiliters, milliliters, and all that math stuff. It’s that you measure just as your mom teaches you. And you have to mix it well by hand, so there are no little lumps, but just right.
If you don’t learn to do things right, word gets around town fast and people look down on you. And it’s even worse for the mother—people talk behind her back, saying she doesn’t teach her children about corn, that is, about life. So the children have to learn well. As they say, moms need their kids. I think that’s why they scold us so much when we’re little, so we’ll learn. And that’s why moms are always thinking about their kids, and if they’re not around, they look for them. If we didn’t have moms, I think we’d all die on the spot.
-*-
Next, once the corn is cooked, keep grinding it by hand using an old mechanical grinder. If you don’t have one, use a metate and a grinding stone. Then you’ll have the dough ready for tortillas… or tamales. If it’s a celebration, then maybe with cuche (pork), chicken, or turkey. And the recado, of course, which is like the seasoning you put on the meat. If there’s no meat, then beans… or vegetables (yucky). You can also make it with green or red chili peppers, and with sugar. After all that, and if you’re lucky enough that the cook doesn’t leave the tamale undercooked, then you’ll be able to eat tamales. And if it’s undercooked, well, too bad—you still have to eat it because that’s all there is. Of course, you’d better make sure there’s a outhouse nearby.
If it’s a party, there’s dancing. Yes, cumbias. Although later there’s also rock, ska, banda, and that kind of music that makes the young men and women jump around as if they were on top of an anthill. But love—and, of course, heartbreak—tend to blossom and bear fruit with the cumbias. There, the hips promise fevers… and sleepless nights… and rains… and hardships.
-*-
And then? Well, back to where we started. And so on and on, forever and ever. Humanity exists because the earth exists. In other words, you might say that the earth is the mother of humanity. Just imagine if there were no earth—where would you get all the junk food you eat? Without the earth, there is no food, no animals, no air, no rain. There is nothing. That is why we say that land is life.
The peoples and communities of the National Indigenous Congress taught us to say “territory.” In other words, it’s not just the earth itself, but also the water, the forests, the wild animals, the rain, the wind, the sun. Everything. When we say “land,” we mean all of that; but in the cities, they understand land as a piece of land and not as a whole. That’s why the CNI taught us to say “territory.”
-*-
Today’s wars, by the way, are fought to conquer territory. That is why it doesn’t matter how many people are killed or how many buildings, hospitals, schools (with girls inside), and entire neighborhoods are destroyed. Because that is what capitalist war is all about: destroying in order to rebuild later; and depopulating in order to later reorganize the conquered territory. And that is why there are, within humanity, what are called “Guardians” of the earth, that is, of the territory. In other words, they are the offspring of Mother Earth, the Resistance, and Rebellion. And that is why they murder, disappear, and imprison the defenders of the forests. And that is why the problem is not Netanyahu or Trump. Or at least, not only them.
Because with or without them, the Boss Man—the capitalist system, that is—wants to murder people and destroy entire populations. Because it is in those populations and in the hearts of those people, that life lives.
That is how the system was born: by killing and destroying. That is how it grew. And that is how it sustains itself, even as its methods and justifications change. The capitalist system is death. Not just for humanity. But for the entire planet as well. That is why we say that the struggle against capitalism is the struggle for life. And vice versa.
Who understands this best and most deeply? Well, those who live in a territory—that is, on the land. But they do not fight for ownership of the territory; rather, they fight to defend it. And that is why capitalism attacks them, because they stand in the way of its plan.
-*-
I asked SubMoy, “So there’s no more burning?”
“No, we’re showing them—teaching our compañeros and the partisan brothers—that by using this technique, burning is no longer necessary, so the fire doesn’t spread and endanger animals, trees, and people. Plus, there’s no more smoke. And you don’t have to wait for rain or waste fireworks. So, without stopping work on the land, you can take care of it and improve it.”
“And where did the tractor come from?”
“Ah, they’d had it sitting in a shed for years, but they weren’t using it and it was just sitting there falling apart. Then the Commons came to the rescue. The drivers went, fixed it up, washed it, made it look sharp, and moved it to this land that belongs to the Common—which belongs to everyone and to no one.”
“But maybe the day after, there won’t be any fuel for the tractor… or even a tractor.”
“Oh, sure. But we’re learning from our great-great-grandparents and grandparents, who made do with what they had and used their wits. The point is always to take care of Mother Earth.”
A compañero is someone who teaches and has students, mainly Tzotzil and Cho’ol. That compañero is from Puy de Roberto Barrios, and he comes with his group to put what they learn into practice. Because if you don’t apply what you know, it’s all for nothing. In other words, he wants practice. The place where he teaches could well be called “Center for Zapatista Rebel Research, Analysis, and Teaching on Rural Work and the Defense and Care of Mother Earth, Combining the Knowledge of Our Ancestors with Knowledge of the Sciences, Techniques, Arts, and Whatever Comes to Mind and We Invent Based on What We See in Practice” (CIAERZTCDCMTCCNACCTALVAOISVP, for its Spanish acronym).
Nah, it’s not really called that. But they’re going to give it some name. Maybe just as long or even longer—I don’t know.
The thing is, just like with cumbias, what really counts is putting that knowledge into practice. Because you could certainly write books on cumbia theory, explaining hip rotation and the rhythm of the feet and hands using ellipses and parables, differential equations, and asymptotes. But, man, if you don’t practice it, it’ll look like your pants are made of cardboard or that you’ve got a cramp.
-*-
When I saw that the sprinklers were already running and they were planting, I thought, “Now I can die in peace.” I think I said it out loud, because Verónica, who was butting in as usual, said, “Again?!” And, looking at me disapprovingly, she added, “People are getting sick of you dying all the time. Even the women in the villages have already complained to SubMoy that they’re praying for nothing every time they go by.”
“So they’re praying for me?”
“No way! They’re praying for the poor devil who’s going to suffer when you get to hell and start up your mischief.”
Well, but that’s not the point…
-*-
All over the world, stories of resistance and defiance are blossoming. Yesterday, they were called Venezuela. Today, they are called Iran and Cuba. They are always called Palestine. Because there will always be those who refuse to give up, sell out, or back down.
(To be continued…)
The Captain
April-May 2026
souce: Schools for Chiapas
https://abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=32561 #chiapas #ezln #mexico #northAmerica #zapatista
Peoples Reject Sheinbaum’s Visit to Morelos for the Anniversary of the Zapata’s Death
Indigenous peoples and organizations rejected President Claudia Sheinbaum’s visit to the Hacienda de Chinameca in Morelos on the occasion of the 107th anniversary of Emiliano Zapata’s assassination, asserting that her actions against communities—such as the lack of justice for community defender Samir Flores and the operation of the Huexca thermoelectric plant—contradict the revolutionary’s “ideology and legacy.”
“The celebratory statements regarding historical Zapatismo by the nation’s president and our state’s governor have not been accompanied by decisive actions to shed light on these crimes, nor by policies of listening to the peoples,” they stated in a declaration, in which they expressed their distrust of the leaders’ words.
“We recall that in the first year of López Obrador’s administration, declared nationally as the Year of Zapata, was the year of the murder of our comrade Samir Flores Soberanes,” a Nahua activist who fought against the Morelos Integral Project (PIM) and was murdered on February 20, 2019, the communities noted.
That year, the People’s Front in Defense of Land and Water (FPDTA) of Morelos, Puebla, and Tlaxcala, together with the National Indigenous Congress and the communities of Huexca, Amilcingo, Ayala, and other areas, occupied the Hacienda de Chinameca “in protest against President López Obrador,” who sought to honor Zapata there, “while as president he betrayed his word to cancel the thermoelectric plant and the gas pipeline and also carried out a consultation that was clearly in defense of the thermoelectric plant,” which was not suspended following the death of Flores Soberanes.
More than seven years after the murder, the communities stated, “we have no justice, in the same situation, now with our murdered comrade Sandra Rosa Camacho, a human rights defender and defender of traditional customs in the municipality of Temoac—all because impunity reigns in the country. With this visit, on the one hand, the state seeks to reclaim the figure of Zapata, and on the other, it contradicts his ideology and legacy.”
They also reiterated that the thermoelectric plant of the Morelos Integral Project remains active and pollutes the waters of the Cuautla River, in addition to causing noise and air pollution in the community of Huexca.
The communities and organizations demanded an end to impunity and called for an investigation into the murder of Samir Flores, as well as for former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, former Morelos Governor Cuauhtémoc Blanco, current Congressman Hugo Eric Flores, former Morelos Attorney General Uriel Carmona, Valentín Lavin, and Angelina N, alias La Patrona, to be summoned to testify.
“We demand justice for Samir and the peoples of Morelos, and we celebrate the legacy we make our own—from below, popular, and to the left of Emiliano Zapata—which lives on in the organized autonomous communities that the government refuses to see or hear, and instead attacks,” they concluded.
Below is the full statement:
Let’s Celebrate Emiliano Zapata’s Anniversary with Justice
Justice for the people.
Justice for Samir
Chinameca, a place symbolic of the betrayal and assassination of Emiliano Zapata, will receive Mexico’s president and other officials for the government’s official recognition of Emiliano Zapata’s struggle, ideology, and enduring presence among the people.
We recall that in the first year of López Obrador’s administration—declared nationwide as the Year of Zapata—was the year of the assassination of our comrade Samir Flores Soberanes, 2019, a year in which, together with the National Indigenous Congress and the peoples of Huexca, Amilcingo, Ayala, and other regions, we gathered there to denounce President López Obrador and to honor General Zapata from that very place, while, as president, he betrayed his word to cancel the thermoelectric plant and the gas pipeline and, furthermore, carried out a consultation that was clearly in defense of the thermoelectric plant. This consultation took place following a series of forums organized by the federal government’s “superdelegate” for Morelos, the now-Zionist congressman Hugo Erik Flores, with whom our comrade Samir had engaged in a fierce debate just before he was murdered. His murder did not warrant suspending the referendum, in which—it must be remembered—if only the towns and communities affected by the power plant and the gas pipeline had been counted, the NO vote would have won. Instead, however, the large urban centers were also consulted, tipping the balance in favor of the YES vote.
Seven years later, we still have no justice; we find ourselves in the same situation, now with the murder of our compañera Sandra Rosa Camacho, a human rights defender and advocate for traditional customs in the municipality of Temoac—all because impunity reigns in this country. With this visit, on the one hand, the state seeks to reclaim Zapata’s legacy, while on the other, it contradicts his ideals and legacy.
The Morelos Comprehensive Project, centered around the Huexca thermoelectric plant, remains in place, polluting the waters of the Cuautla River and causing noise and air pollution in the community, since it is located just 300 meters from the community’s preschool, and it continues to poison the political climate—not only regionally but nationally—as the murder of our comrade Samir Flores Soberanes, a representative of the community opposition to the plan’s implementation, remains unpunished.
That is why—because the statements by the President of the nation and the governor of our state celebrating the legacy of Zapatismo have not been accompanied by decisive action to solve these crimes, nor by policies that truly listen to the people—we do not trust their words.
We demand an investigation into the murder of our brother Samir Flores and call on Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Hugo Eric Flores, Uriel Carmona, Valentín Lavin, and Angelina N, alias La Patrona, to testify.
It is wonderful that a museum is being built to house and highlight the participation of Zapatista women in the historic struggle of the Mexican Revolution, but at the same time, as women from Zapata’s homeland, we continue to carry the wound of being recognized in museums but not in everyday politics. The wound caused by the murders of Samir and Sandra is also ours.
That is why today, just as we have every year since 2019, we demand justice for Samir and the peoples of Morelos, and we celebrate the legacy we make our own—from below, popular, and to the left of Emiliano Zapata—which lives on in the organized autonomous communities that the government refuses to see or hear, and instead attacks.
Morelos, April 10, 2026
Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra y el Agua Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala
Red Morelense de apoyo al CIG-CNI Nuestra Alegre Rebeldía
Colectiva Diversa
Empalabrando colectivo
Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Norte del Istmo de Tehuantepec, UCIZONI
Raíces en resistencia Tlatelolco, CDMX
Colectivo Luciérnagas que Siembran, CDMX
RAIS/Red de Apoyo Iztapalapa Sexta
Profes en la Sexta
Colectivo Gavilanas
Colectivo Cuaderno Común
Colectivo Cafetos
Colectivo La Otra Justicia
Colectivo La Grieta
Comunidad Tanezi Calli en Resistencia
Comunidad de XOCHITLANEZI
El Grupo de la Puerta, Puebla/CDMX
Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas
Instituto Cultural Autónomo Rubén Jaramillo Ménez, Morelos
La Oveja Roja
Colectivo Tierra y Libertad Cuautla, Morelos
Sexta por la libre, Yucatán
Morada Tropikal El Teatrito Yucatán
Mínima Galería Íntima/Narraturgias de la Memoria
El bordado de Ramona
Colectivo Mujeres Tierra
Mexicali Resiste
Concejo Autónomo de Santiago Mexquititlán Amealco Querétaro
Espacio de lucha contra el olvidoy la represión . Elcor, Chiapas
Antsetik Ts’unun, mujeres defensoras de Chiapas
Red de Resistencias y Rebeldías AJMAQ, Chiapas
Partido de los Comunistas
Mexicanos Unidos
Brigada Callejera de apoyo a la mujer
Colectivo Criptopozol DDHH
Comité de Enlace Latinoamericano, CELC
Organización Popilar Francisco Villa de Izquierda Independiente
Concejo Indígena y Popular de Guerrero y Emiliano Zapata, CIPOG-EZ
Comunidad Indígena Otomí residente de la CDMX
UPREZ Benito Juárez
Café Zapata Vive
Juventud Comunista de México
Jorge Alonso, Ciesas Occidente
Alicia Castellanos Guerrero, UAM Iztapalapa
Gilberto López y Rivas, profesor investigador INAH Morelos
Efraín Rojas Bruschetta
Alberto Colín, adherente a la sexta
Calixto Trinidad Carbajal Balderas, de La Otra en el Sur de Morelos
Oralba Castillo Nájera de Nuestra Alegre Rebeldía
Márgara Millán, Red de feminismos descoloniales
Servando Gajá, Nuestra Alegre Rebeldía
José Antonio Olvera Llamas, Nuestra Alegre Rebeldía
María de Lourdes Lara López, Nuestra Alegue Rebeldía
Dr. Calixto Trinidad Carbajal Balderas de la Otra en el Sur de Morelos
Original text published by Desinformémonos on April 10th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
The Commons, Structure Designed To Replace Capitalist System Which No Longer Works: Subcomandante Moisés
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. “The pyramid doesn’t exist for us, because we’ve already destroyed it and we’re building what we call the Commons,” stated Subcomandante Moisés.
He said that in the face of “the capitalist storm, we Zapatistas categorically state that whatever the pyramid may be, it is not the solution. Our practice of how we want to build a common government is not just about working the land, but about everything that can be done in the new life, a new world, a new society, but without the pyramid that we see as no longer useful.”
Moisés made these remarks while participating in one of the sessions of the so-called April 2026 Semillero: The Storm Inside and Outside According to the Zapatista Communities and Peoples, which took place in San Cristóbal from April 2nd to 4th, with the participation of 540 people from more than 30 countries.
The Commons project that the Zapatistas have put into practice, he said, “is in thought, in looking, in listening, it is in sensing how we are, how we live and it is in the physical aspect of how we feel, how we are living on this planet Earth.”
He added that “the problem we see is one of inheritance, because we can’t leave behind what we’ve been practicing as Zapatistas for over 30 years. No, we can’t leave it like this to the children of today. And we’re not just thinking about the children of Mexico, but of the world, because the capitalist legacy they’ve left us, which we now say with its pyramid structure, is useless.”
It was then, he explained, that “we began to build it and said it should be a common government, but there was nothing to hold onto to create it. We had to bring men and women together—that is, fathers, mothers, young men and women—and discuss it, but first the representatives of each zone, each region, and each town had to meet to explain it.”
He said that “from observing and combining thoughts” arose the idea of the Commons, so that each community can face the storm, be it war or the reaction of Mother Earth.
He commented that this is also how “the supreme assembly” was born, where representatives, men and women, from each community come together. “And there we clarify how we are going to work with the other communities that are not Zapatistas,” because “we are not going to achieve what is called uniting, but rather uniting a way of thinking about how we are going to solve problems in life, because we need the perspectives of others, not to compete, but to analyze what the best way is” to do things.
That is why, Moisés added, “we use the word sharing. Others say exchange, but it is not to convince us that we are going to have to be one.”
The sub-commander pointed out that in the Zapatista project of the Commons, “we don’t want to unite into a single organization. In some areas, we are already seeing changes. For example, in the thousands of hectares recovered (after the 1994 armed uprising), our brothers and sisters (non-Zapatistas) are already working, whereas before we were closed off. First, we had to open our minds.”
He stated that “we are changing our structure and figuring out the best way to build the Commons. We are analyzing what needs improvement.”
He commented that before, members of the EZLN “could only be support base members or militiamen. Not anymore. They can participate in the health sector, be lab technicians or ultrasound technicians. Before, they were appointed, but over time we discovered that we weren’t getting it right. When they were appointed, they were told they had to go to health, for example, without knowing if that was their natural talent, if they had a liking for it or if they were willing. That’s why they didn’t put in the effort. Sometimes they tried it and then left.”
He added that “during this time we discovered that it’s better to explain the importance of each task, such as laboratory work, ultrasound, studying or learning about medicinal plants.”
Now, he elaborated, “we ask if there are volunteers who want to learn these things, and they go with great enthusiasm because they volunteered to learn these areas.”
He affirmed that the Common project is about “working with our brothers and sisters. In two years of practicing this, we’ve seen that we do understand each other and we have ideas under development for how to improve.”
He emphasized: “We are working together, for example, on the land. We are all integrated, Zapatistas and non-Zapatistas. Understanding each other has helped us; there is a shared understanding. As Indigenous peoples in Mexico, we agree.”
Insisting on how the Zapatistas are managing to do many things together, he said, “I think we’re going to have to change our motto from ‘everything for everyone, nothing for ourselves’ to ‘everything for everyone, in common.’” He also reported that the EZLN will create new Caracoles, in addition to the 12 it already has.
Original article by Elio Henríquez, La Jornada, April 5th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
Zapatista Semillero: The Storm Inside and Outside
On April 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, a unique workshop was held at CIDECI in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, centered on presentations by both Sub-commander Moisés and Captain Marcos. It was attended by approximately 500 people from some 30 countries, including Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the United States, France, England, Iran, Italy, and the Czech Republic, as well as members of national organizations and collectives and EZLN grassroots members. This audience did not participate; this was likely by design, as the aim was to present the Zapatista voice and thereby promote a shared process of reflection within the participants’ own communities. The workshop’s central theme was “The Storm Inside and Outside,” which had been announced a short time ago by the EZLN.
A brief historical overview was offered: from the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee (CCRI) of 1994 to the EZLN of 2026. Captain Marcos highlighted that in ’94 the press debate revolved around why they rose up and then why they took so long. Later, the so-called civil society emerged, those without party affiliation. And the peak of the EZLN’s fame, from 1996 to 2001, with the San Andrés Accords, marked a turning point where it became clear that “after the fame and infamy, we saw that we were no longer just fighting for rights.”
The changes in the EZLN’s structure were addressed, aiming to abolish the pyramid that had been established. In 2014, Galeano was assassinated, Marcos died, and Galeano was reborn; Moisés assumed leadership. In 2015, the seminar “The Capitalist Hydra” was held, and they said we were exaggerating, even though we had been writing about what is happening now. Afterward, the first declaration for life was released, signed by them and others. The first stage was the tour of Europe led by Sub-commander Moisés. Upon his return, he said, “They’re really screwed. As things stand, we’re not going to make it; with the structure we have, we’re not going to make it.”
Following his anti-capitalist stance, Sub-commander Moisés pointed out, “We fight for the liberation of all living beings. They are destroying not only human life, but everything around us. You talk about climate change, we talk about Mother Earth. We won’t have homes or life if planet Earth is completely destroyed. Our grandparents and great-grandparents have told us how things were before; where it used to rain, now it doesn’t; where it was hot, now it’s cold. They knew when things bloomed. The question is, what to do? We are part of life. Now capital comes along and seeks to multiply its profits, and who buys it? Are we the consumers? Our grandparents from 80 years ago said they never saw water being sold.”
Sub-commander Moisés criticized the operation of government programs, citing impositions and mismanagement. The programs “Sowing Life,” “Youth Building the Future,” and “Our School” are mentioned. Another one they mention is “Servants of the Nation.” These are the ones promoting the vote that this government must continue to receive because otherwise, these programs will be discontinued. Vote-buying is already underway. And the sub-commander emphasized: “We are still facing the storm caused by the pyramid scheme. We have already destroyed it, and now we are building the Commons. It’s not just about the land; it’s about a new world, a new society, but without the pyramid. The problem we see is the capitalist legacy; we cannot abandon it.”
“We said that everyone should get together while we figure out how we are going to deal with the other communities that are not Zapatistas; they face a different situation, other sectors. The Commons is the opposite of ownership. No one should own the wind, the land, life, or human beings, not under a single ideology. In two years, our brothers arrived; now we don’t call them party members.” The assembly will no longer be exclusively for Zapatistas; those who are not will participate equally, as a group.”
Captain Marcos addressed the invisible wars. Deserters, informers, torturers, police, soldiers, they beat a journalist, and the media doesn’t report it. There is no difference between oppressor and oppressed. The women just want to be left alone to live in peace.
Increasingly, the concept of nation is being displaced onto soccer. States have lost their monopoly on violence because of organized crime; its infiltration is real. The market is no longer national, but transnational. There is also the monopoly on fake news, which is no longer controlled by the government; social media controls it. The captain reiterated that “the nation-state has no decision-making power. They can’t say that Mexico is sovereign if it can’t even decide whether to send oil to Cuba.”
He emphasized that the groups fighting for the disappeared are the ones who don’t give up, don’t sell out, don’t surrender. Don Mario and Doña Hilda from Ayotzinapa are here because truth and justice are part of the story of the disappeared. The seedbed and the shared proposals are an effort to promote a shift away from the paradigm imposed by those in power: conform, resign yourself, don’t organize.
Original article by Magdalena Gómez, La Jornada, April 7th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
Disappeared Victims in Mexico ‘’Are Not a Number, But People’’ – Zapatista
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The victims of enforced disappearance in Mexico “are not a number to be manipulated in the media, as is happening these days, but rather people with names, stories, relatives, and friends who are nowhere to be found and who must be located and rescued for life, for memory, and for both,” Captain Marcos of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) said.
He added that the struggle of the hundreds of collectives, groups, and organizations searching for their disappeared relatives “has been used for partisan political agendas.”
He said that “there have been attempts to co-opt them, manipulate them, silence them, make them disappear, but they are still there, and no matter what spectacle they put on from above—be it soccer, music, or useless and sterile debates—they will remain there and will not falter until those who are missing today reappear.”
And yes, he added, “perhaps the Mexican soccer team will finally reach the fifth game and it will all be a party and a celebration, and people will say ‘I always knew it,’ and Vasco is Basque, but long live Mexico, you bastards, you bitches, and cheers! But in the uncertain limbo of what was once the Mexican nation, now united only by pain and terror, those who fight tirelessly for the disappeared will continue, among them, one who was once called homeland and who is lost between the frivolous and superficial because truth and justice are part of the disappeared.”
Marcos expressed the above during the third and final day of activities of the April 2026 Semillero: The Storm Inside and Outside, According to the Zapatista Communities and Peoples, held in San Cristóbal.
Unity and Fragmentation in the Struggle
In the 1 p.m. session, she spoke about “A Peep into the Storm in the World: The Fragmentation of Territories and Resistances and Rebellions,” saying that “only those who are clear about the why, that is, their history; the what for, that is, their objective; and the how, that is, their organizational structure, are the ones who do not falter, do not surrender, do not sell out, and do not give up.”
He added: “Here, for example, are some of the parents of the missing students from Ayotzinapa, who, as on other occasions, are with us: Don Mario and Doña Hilda, who, like the rest of their comrades, continue to persevere in the search for their missing loved ones.”
The hundreds of attendees at the meeting held at the Caracol Jacinto Canek*, located within the Comprehensive Indigenous Training Center (CIDECI) in San Cristóbal, chanted: “September 26th is not forgotten, it is a day of combative struggle.”
The captain had previously referred to “the unity and fragmentation of the struggle” and said that “a few months ago” Sub-commander Moisés briefed the militia on what he had discussed in a session of the General Assembly of Local Autonomous Governments.
“He told us that our duty as present-day Zapatistas is to create the material conditions for the survival of future generations; that is, the conditions for them to have life, but that they were already seeing that this wasn’t enough, that we had to transmit to them resistance and rebellion, that is, not surrendering, not selling out, and not giving up, and that this couldn’t be put on paper or in a community assembly resolution. It’s not even something that could be transmitted verbally.”
Resign Yourself or Organize
He pointed out that after several assemblies, they concluded that “one of the proposals was that the legacy should be the example, that resistance and rebellion, not selling out, not surrendering, and not giving up were just empty words if they weren’t accompanied by action; that if we wanted to inherit the Commons, we had to practice it—those of us who are authorities, leaders, organizers, area and inter-zone leaders, officers and militia, and all the titles and roles that arise in our organizational structure.”
This idea of legacy, Marcos explained, “is relevant, because every movement, organization, group, collective, individual who resists and rebels has consciously or unconsciously made a decision in the face of the dilemma posed by this year’s call: to resign yourself or to organize.”
He continued: “Our Zapatista belief is that behind every call for unconditional unity lies an attempt at absorption, hegemony, and homogenization. Every call for unity masks the main issue: who will be in charge and how we will operate. In other words, the implementation of a pyramid structure. We see that fragmentation is not actually division, but rather the recognition of differences. They make us believe that we are stronger if we unite and present a common front, but they don’t clarify that within that union, there are those who command and those who obey.”
He clarified that the Commons proposed by the Zapatistas “doesn’t refer to individual organization but to the objective: confronting the enemy. Many struggles, many battles, and one fight against the system. We don’t know if this vision we have will work, and certainly it can be debated, discussed, and rejected that the fragmentation of organizations leads to a good outcome. What is certain is that there are many examples of unity, with a capital U, ending in failure. We believe that unity should not be confused with the objectives of an organizational community.”
*The Caracol Jacinto Canek is no longer located in CIDECI (translator’s note).
Original article by Elio Henríquez, La Jornada, April 4th, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
EZLN Says Nation-state No Longer Has Decision-making Power
San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The main victim of the current stage of capitalism is the nation-state, which now has no decision-making capacity, Captain Marcos of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) stated.
He added that “in our opinion, and we may be wrong, the reconstruction of the nation-state is not possible because it no longer has fundamental bases.”
Marcos expressed this during the second day of activities of the April 2026 Seedbed: The Storm Inside and Outside, according to the Zapatista communities and peoples, which is being held in San Cristóbal with the participation of 418 people from some thirty countries, including Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the United States, France, England, Iran, and Italy, in addition to members of the EZLN.
Speaking this Friday on “A Peep into the Storm in the World: Nation-States Under Attack,” he said that “the nation-state is born for capitalism; that is, the bourgeoisie needs a state, a territory, a currency, laws, a geographical boundary, a coat of arms, a flag. And so, nation-states are born.”
In fact, he added, “in Europe, where feudalism was displaced and revolutions began to form the nation-state, that is where capitalism found fertile ground and began to develop. It developed to such an extent that the nation-state becomes an obstacle, and capitalism, the system, requires that goods circulate, are sold quickly, and generate the greatest profit as quickly as possible.”
He pointed out that “national currencies, the national legal structure, the governance they call it—that is, the form of government and the entire legal system—are obstacles to them. Then, free trade agreements come along, and borders open up for investments and goods but close down for human beings.”
The captain reiterated that “the nation-state has no decision-making capacity. Sovereignty is a bad joke. They can’t say that Mexico is sovereign, even if they say so at the morning press conference, if it can’t even decide whether to send oil to Cuba. It is not possible. In a developed nation-state, that decision rests with the government, to say who to give or sell to, or who not to. That is no longer possible.”
He stated that “the entire offensive under the names of (Donald) Trump and (Benjamin) Netanyahu is related to this. Israel thinks it is defending the nation-state, and that’s not true. As long as the people of Israel don’t understand that Palestine is the home of the Palestinians, that they will always want to return, and that they carry the key to their land wherever they go, until they die, are killed, or disappear, this will not stop.” In reality, he elaborated, “Netanyahu isn’t defending the State of Israel, that’s a lie. He’s conquering territory, but the Palestinians aren’t going to surrender. I don’t know how many years it will take; they’re not going to surrender. There’s something deep within them that I can’t explain, I don’t know if anyone can: Why, with everything against them, do the Palestinian people continue to resist? Why are the Cuban people preparing for an invasion? If they’re supposedly under a dictatorship, why don’t they take to the streets and say: Yes, invade us and liberate us?”
He added: “Why did the U.S. military enter Venezuela to kidnap Nicolás Maduro and Cilia—it was funny how the media didn’t want to say ‘to kidnap’ and intstead said they went ‘to detain’ them—and if they won the elections, why didn’t anyone take to the streets to welcome them? They had to make a one-way trip. It’s not that they had almost no casualties; they didn’t have any because the U.S. military uses mercenaries for that. These people don’t exist; they’re paid, and if they’re killed, they just die, they have no names’. So, the U.S. military casualties during the kidnapping in Venezuela don’t appear on the lists, and the major left-wing analysts, including those from Cuba, take it for granted that what Trump says about them having no casualties is true. They did have casualties. The thing is, they used mercenaries. Just as Putin had to use them in Ukraine. Not even a country’s national army can sustain a war on its own anymore. They have to rely on other means.”
Marcos asserted that in the US and Israel’s war against Iran, the big oil companies are the ones who win because the price of oil has risen. “That’s what needs to be discussed: who is winning with these wars?”
He said that “we should also delve deeper and specify who wins with Netanyahu’s war against Palestine. Who won with the US attack on Venezuela, and who will win if they attempt to invade Cuba, which won’t be the same, you know? The Cuban people were born in resistance. They’ve been resisting for over 60 years. It won’t be as easy as they think.”
Sub-commander Moisés, who spoke at “A Window into Zapatismo: A Window into Government Counterinsurgency Programs in the Territories of Zapatista Indigenous Peoples I,” stated that the migration of Indigenous people and farmers to the United States has resulted in lenders seizing their lands because they are unable to repay the loans they took out to emigrate.
“Because of poverty and migration, some people mortgaged their land in exchange for loans. They left, some died, others returned, but they have no way to pay, and the lender keeps the land,” he said.
He added that the fact that “the five, ten, or twenty people who mortgaged or sold their two and a half hectares has led to the emergence of small landowners. Within the ejido, a small or medium-sized landowner has emerged who owns 100, 200, or 300 hectares. Before, it was communal land, plots of 20 hectares, and now two, three, or four people own 300 or 400 hectares. What was once a community has been erased. Now it’s just an empty shell.”
Original article by Elio Henríquez, La Jornada, April 3rd, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.
J'suis tombé par hasard sur une vidéo d'enfants qui expliquent le mouvement zapatiste avec des peluches 😻
(elle a 4 vues 😆 )