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