Continuing to build new forms of organization, increasing women’s participation, strengthening dialogue between communities, and continuing the fight against the onslaught of capitalism, including the threat of organized crime, were some of the main conclusions of the meeting “Resistances and Rebellions, Some Parts of the Whole,” held by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), attended by representatives from 37 countries.
During the two-week roundtable discussion and exchange of ideas at the Comandanta Ramona Seedbed, located in the Caracol of Morelia, in the official municipality of Altamirano, in the Selva region of Chiapas, the Zapatistas condemned the genocide of the capitalist system against Palestine and expressed their solidarity with that people.
The Zapatistas acknowledged having made mistakes within their governing structures, which they have been correcting, and they continue to improve through multiple and ongoing spaces for dialogue between the communities.
Insurgent Sub-commander Moisés explained that non-Zapatista communities participated in the meeting to create a broad front against the divisions caused by political parties and capital through projects.
“This openness allows people to recognize each other’s shared problems and examine how to face the future together beyond capitalism,” noted those attending the meeting.
They also discussed how, within Zapatismo, hierarchical forms of government reproduced pyramids of power similar to those of capitalism and affected the development of the struggle, but self-criticism allowed for the necessary corrections.
They recounted how the EZLN thus transitioned from good government committees and autonomous municipalities to local autonomy groups and inter-zone meetings, in which the inhabitants themselves rule. These alternatives have allowed for greater closeness between authorities and communities, greater participation by youth and women, and constant experience with the idea of the commons.
“These new structures seek to ensure that decisions come from below and are articulated horizontally, avoiding the accumulation of power,” they noted.
“The people are the ones who must learn to govern, the true power of the people,” Moisés emphasized, noting that this reorganization will always be supported by the general command and the clandestine committee of the EZLN. He added that in the localities there is pain, anger, discrimination, and exploitation, and the idea is “how are we going to unite our thinking” in the resistance.
Call for the recovery of ancestral knowledge
Regarding confronting capitalism, the participants in Resistances and Rebellions, Some Parts of the Whole, called for the recovery of ancestral knowledge such as traditional medicine, ecological agricultural practices, collective housing, among others. To avoid fueling organized crime, they suggested preventing substance use and not participating in any way in activities such as growing or selling drugs.
They noted that over the more than three decades since the emergence of the Zapatista movement, militarization in Latin America has intensified, extractive projects and land dispossession have intensified, state repression has grown, racism has been fostered, migration has been forced, and border surveillance has tightened.
Faced with these scenarios, they proposed consolidating community defense through autonomous organization, transactional solidarity networks against extractive companies, and the consolidation of indigenous economies to reduce dependency.
In the face of pollution and deforestation of territories, which has a significant impact on Indigenous areas, they proposed reaffirming community life, developing agroecological projects, defending native seeds, and sharing ancestral knowledge among peasants.
The Zapatistas, for their part, acknowledged that there have been changes in inclusion and participation in government bodies; however, a machista culture prevails that needs to change so that girls and adolescents can have a better future, and therefore they outlined transversal and international feminist networks.
“The defense of life, collective care, and the construction of autonomy are the only path to resistance,” they reiterated in the multiple forums.
The topic of the conflict in Palestine was a recurring theme during the workshops, leading Sub-commander Moisés to propose moving from discourse of solidarity to action with protests and brigades.
The EZLN demonstrated its relevance as an articulator of global struggles and recommended creating an international network of battles for life, with periodic virtual meetings, coordinated global actions on specific dates, the formation of youth brigades that travel to support communities in resistance, as well as the joint production of materials such as documentaries and others to break the media siege.
Over the 14 days, the meeting offered collective exhibitions, discussions, open exchanges, and cultural activities such as music, theater, murals, and more.
Representatives from organizations and communities from 37 countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, as well as dozens of states across Mexico, participated.
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