Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities
Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities Municipios Autónomos Rebeldes Zapatistas (Spanish) | |
---|---|
Autonomous governmental units of Mexico | |
1994–2023 | |
Himno Zapatista | |
Capital | None (de jure) Oventik (Tiamnal, Larráinzar) (de facto)[1] |
Demonym | Zapatista |
Area | |
• Coordinates | 16°55′33″N 92°45′37″W / 16.92583°N 92.76028°W |
• 2018 | 24,403 km2 (9,422 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 2018 | 300,000[2][3] |
Status | Former Councils of Good Government |
• Type | Municipal council |
• Motto | Aquí manda el Pueblo y el Gobierno Obedece (Spanish) "Here the people rule and the government obeys" |
History | |
1 January 1994 | |
• Caracoles established[4] | 9 August 2003 |
• Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona[5] | 30 June 2005 |
• Dissolved[6] | 5 November 2023 |
• Reorganised as Local Autonomous Governments[7] | 12 November 2023 |
The Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) does not hold formal political power in Zapatista governance. According to its constitution, no commander or member of the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee may take positions of authority or government in these spaces.[10]
The MAREZ were found within the official municipalities, and several were even within the same municipality, as in the case of San Andrés Larráinzar and Ocosingo. The MAREZ were coordinated by autonomous Zapatista Councils of Good Government (Spanish: Juntas de Buen Gobierno) and their main objectives were to promote education and health in their territories. They also fought for land rights, labor and trade, housing, and fuel-supply issues, promoting arts (especially indigenous language and traditions), and administering justice.[11]
On 17 August 2019, the Zapatistas announced a significant increase of autonomous municipalities, and a new term for centers of Zapatista autonomy. In most cases these Centers of Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion (Spanish: Centros de Resistencia Autónoma y Rebeldía Zapatista, CRAREZ) include a Caracol (English: "Snail"), a Council of Good Government, and a Rebel Autonomous Zapatista Municipality (MAREZ). The Zapatistas credited this growth primarily to the efforts of "women, men, children, and elders of the Zapatista bases of support" and secondarily to a backfiring counter-insurgency strategy of the Mexican state, which "generate[s] conflict and demoralization" among non-Zapatistas.[12] Eleven new Centers of Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion (CRAREZ) were declared; specifically, four new autonomous municipalities and seven new Caracoles (each accompanied by a Council of Good Government). This raised the total number of Caracoles from five to twelve, and brought the total number of autonomous Zapatistas centers to 43, including 27 original autonomous Zapatista municipalities, 5 original Caracoles, and the 11 autonomous Zapatista centers newly declared.[12]
In November 2023, after increased cartel violence, the EZLN announced the reorganization of Zapatista autonomy and dissolution of the MAREZ, with only the Caracoles remaining open to locals. Later that month, they announced the reorganisation of the MAREZ into thousands of "Local Autonomous Governments" (GAL) which form area-wide "Zapatista Autonomous Government Collectives" (CGAZ) and zone-wide "Assemblies of Collectives of Zapatista Autonomous Governments" (ACGAZ).[7]
Background
On 1 January 1994, thousands of EZLN members occupied towns and cities in Chiapas, burning down police stations, occupying government buildings, and skirmishing with the Mexican army. The EZLN demanded "work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice, and peace" in their communities.[13] The Zapatistas seized over a million acres from large landowners during their revolution.[14]
Distribution
Since 2003, the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ) coordinated in very small groups called caracoles (English: "snails" or "seashells"). Before that, the Neo-Zapatistas used the title of Aguascalientes after the site of the EZLN-organized National Democratic Convention on 8 August 1994;
MAREZ | Caracol | Former Name (Aguascalientes) | Indigenous Groups | Area and municipalities in which they were found |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mother of the sea snails of our dreams | La Realidad | Selva Fronteriza. "Ocosingo, Marques de Comillas" | |
|
Whirlwind of our words | Morelia | Tojolabales |
Tzots Choj Altamirano, Comitán |
|
Resistance toward a new dawn | La Garrucha | Tzeltales | Selva Tzeltal "Ocosingo, Altamirano" |
|
That speaks for all | Roberto Barrios | Choles, Zoques, and Tzeltales | Zona Norte de Chiapas San Andrés Larrainzar, El Bosque, Simojovel de allende |
|
Resistance and rebellion for humanity | Oventic | Tzotziles, and Tzeltales | Altos de Chiapas, San Andrés Larrainzar, Teopisca. |
Hope of Humanity | Ejido Santa María | Chicomuselo | ||
Ernesto Che Guevara | El Belén | Motozintla | ||
Planting consciousness in order to harvest revolutions for life | Tulan Ka’u | Amatenango del Valle | ||
December 21 | K’anal Hulub | Chilón |
CRAREZ | Caracol | Former Name (Aguascalientes) | Area and municipalities in which they were found |
---|---|---|---|
Steps of History, for the life of Humanity | The heart of rebellious seeds collective, memory of Comrade Galeano | La Unión | San Quintín |
Seed that flourishes with the conscience of those who struggle forever | Dignified spiral weaving the colors of humanity in memory of the fallen ones | ||
New Dawn in resistance and rebellion for life and humanity | Flourishing the rebellious seed | El Poblado Patria Nueva | Ocosingo |
The rebellious thinking of the original peoples | In honor of the memory of Comrade Manuel | Dolores Hidalgo | Ocosingo |
The light that shines on the world | Resistance and rebellion, a new horizon | El Poblado Nuevo Jerusalén | Ocosingo |
Heart of our lives for the new future | Root of the resistances and the rebellions for humanity | Ejido Jolj’a | Tila |
Flower of our word and light of our people that reflects for all | Jacinto Canek | Comunidad del CIDECI-Unitierra | San Cristóbal de las Casas |
Government
Within the MAREZ,
The functions of the new forms of governance since 2023 are unclear as of February 2024[update].
Public services
After the dissolution of the MAREZ, Subcomandante Moises said in an official statement that the Caracoles (Zapatista community centres) would continue providing their services to locals, but would be "closed to outsiders".[6][20][21][22]
Education
The Zapatistas run hundreds of schools with thousands of teachers. They are modeled around the principles of democratic education in which students and communities collectively decide on school curriculum and students aren't graded.[23]
Healthcare
The Zapatistas maintain a universal healthcare service which is provided free of charge. However, patients still have to pay for medications to cover restocking costs.[24] Residents of Zapatista communities believe their health services are better staffed and equipped, and less racist towards indigenous people than most services in Chiapas.[citation needed] The healthcare service of the Zapatistas works with surrounding hospitals and freely takes in patients from other communities who need to use the medical facilities that only the Zapatistas have.[25][non-primary source needed] Since 1994[update], the Zapatistas built two new hospitals and 18 health clinics in the region.[23] One 2014 study indicated the following achievements in Zapatista healthcare:
- In 2005, 84.2% of Zapatista children were fully vaccinated, while that figure stood at 74.8% in pro-government communities.[26]
- In regions where there were previously significantly high rates of death during childbirth, there has now been a period of eight years or more where no maternal deaths have been recorded.
- The manufacture and consumption of alcohol has been banned, which is directly linked to the reduction in many illnesses and infections including ulcers, cirrhosis, malnutrition, and surgical wounds.[27] Banning the consumption of alcohol was a collective decision. Nayely, a Zapatista representative, stated that alcohol is “not good for one’s health, and just wastes money”.[28]
According to one account of Oventic from 2016:
In Oventic, there was a small yet seemingly fully-functional medical clinic, which appeared to offer basic healthcare. A sign on the door said general consultations, gynecology, optometry and laboratory services were all available five days a week. Emergency services were available 24 hours, seven days a week. They appeared to have a shiny new ambulance at their disposal. Other services offered a few days a week included dentistry and ultrasounds.[29]
Water
Many Zapatista communities are in rural areas with little access to running water. Projects were undertaken to supply Zapatista communities with fresh water. In one case, Roberto Arenas, a small Tzeltal community, built its own water service with the help of solidarity activists. Such projects were coordinated democratically. An account by Ramor Ryan noted:[30]: 10
The good government committee of the autonomous municipality refer the case to their elected water commission and the options are weighed. The commission consults various parties including the local EZLN commander and clandestine committee members, and so, in the end, after the issue has been bandied around what seems like half the inhabitants of this particular region of the jungle, the community of Roberto Arenas is notified about the eligibility of their request. It’s a process similar to what happens anywhere in the world at a local council level, except for one significant difference: the state authorities have no involvement whatsoever; this is an autonomous process overseen by the communities’ people. There is no separation between who is governed and who is governing—they are one and the same.
Ryan described the process of finishing the water project:[30]: 179
We’re getting lots of little bits and pieces done, fine tuning this and that. Helping people construct their family tap stands, digging here and there, testing the pressure, tightening valves. A group of women come together during the morning to put together a tap stand for the collective clothes washing area. We earmark a bag of cement—the very last one—for the later construction of a large concrete washbasin. The day is punctuated by minor moments of crisis—people coming up and saying that the water isn’t arriving to their house—but it is usually just a blocked pipe or a faulty connection. Really, the system is almost flawless and works perfectly fine; it’s been an exemplary project.
Environmental protection
The Zapatistas take on many projects to protect and restore the damaged ecosystems of the Lacandon Jungle, including the banning of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, as well as resisting the extraction of oil and metal through mining.[31][non-primary source needed] According to one person who stayed in the town of Oventic in 2016:
There was also something else — something which took me a long time to put my finger on. Then it finally hit me: there was no litter; not even a stray chocolate bar wrapper.[29]
The Zapatistas have also embarked on beekeeping and reforestation efforts, including planting over 30,000 trees in order to protect water sources (especially important given the increasing water scarcity in Chiapas),[32][third-party source needed] reverse deforestation in the rainforests and provide sources of food, fuel and construction material.[33][third-party source needed] Beekeepers have aimed to reverse much of the collapse of the bee population and produce honey, for food, ecological regeneration, and candles.[34][third-party source needed] American eco-socialist scholar Joel Kovel praised the efforts of the Zapatistas to construct an ecological society.[35]
2023 Zapatista Autonomy Reform
In early November 2023, a communique signed by Subcomandante Moises announced the dissolution of the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities,[6][20][21][22] along with their Councils of Good Government.[20][21][22] The announcement declared that, effective immediately, all positions and documents related to the MAREZ would be considered invalid.[21] The statement clarified that the Caracoles (Zapatista community centres) would continue providing their services to locals, but would be "closed to outsiders".[6][20][21][22]
Although he did not describe specific reasons for the dissolution, Moises cited rising cartel violence along the
According to the statement, the decision to dissolve the MAREZ had been discussed for months prior to the announcement.[20][21] It has been speculated that the decision had been taken due to the upcoming 2024 Mexican general election. According to Mexican anthropologist Gaspar Morquecho, the Zapatistas had also become "increasingly isolated", cutting ties with other organisations. Morquecho claimed this had caused many in the younger generation to leave the Zapatista municipalities, in order to seek work or education.[6]
Moises promised that future statements would clarify the reasons for the decision, as well as details on the restructuring of "Zapatista autonomy". The statement also stated the Zapatistas' intention to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their uprising, inviting people to come, while also warning that Chiapas was no longer safe.[6][20]
See also
- Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
- Cherán
- Chiapas Media Project
- Chiapas conflict
- FEJUVE
- Libertarian socialism
- List of anarchist communities
- Marinaleda
- Permanent autonomous zones
- Revolutionary Catalonia
- Zaachila
- Zapaturismo
- Zapatista Army of National Liberation
References
- ^ "Caracoles y Juntas de Buen Gobierno". Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ISSN 0703-8968. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ Gonzlez Casanova, Pablo (11 September 2003). "Los caracoles zapatistas: Redes de resistencia y autonoma". La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ "Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona". Enlace Zapatista. 30 June 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Clemente, Édgar H. (6 November 2023). "Mexico's Zapatista rebel movement says it is dissolving its 'autonomous municipalities'". Associated Press. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ a b Insurgent Subcommander Moisés (13 November 2023). "Ninth Part: The new structure of Zapastista Autonomy". Enlace Zapatista. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ Reyes Godelmann, Iker (30 July 2014). "The Zapatista Movement: The Fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico". Australian Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ Gloria Muñóz Ramírez (2003). 20 y 10 el fuego y la palabra. Revista Rebeldía y Demos, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V. La Jornada Ediciones.
- ^ Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos (July 2003). "Chiapas: La treceava estela". Cartas y comunicados del EZLN.
- ^ a b Moisés, Subcomandante Insurgente (17 August 2019). "Communique from the EZLN's CCRI-CG And, We Broke the Siege". Enlace Zapatista. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- LCCN 2007052477.
- LCCN 2015036704.
- ^ "Los Aguascalientes: Centros Culturales en el Corazón de la Selva Lacandona y en las montañas y rincones zapatistas". itzcuintli rebelde. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ a b Hidalgo, Onésimo; Castro Soto, Gustavo (2003). "Cambios en el EZLN". Chiapas al Día. Boletín de CIEPAC. San Cristóbal de las Casas.
- ^ ISSN 2468-1695. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ISSN 1069-1995.
- LCCN 2008045276.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Henríquez, Elio (5 November 2023). "Anuncia EZLN desaparición de sus municipios autónomos". La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Flores, Miguel (7 November 2023). "Así fue como el EZLN perdió el control de municipios autónomos en Chiapas frente al CJNG y el Cártel de Sinaloa". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ferri, Pablo (6 November 2023). "El EZLN anuncia la desaparición de su estructura civil: "Las ciudades de Chiapas están en caos"". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ LCCN 2012937110.
- ^ Cuevas, J.H. (March 2007). "Health and Autonomy: the case of Chiapas" (PDF). World Health Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2021.
- ^ Resistencia Autónoma: Cuaderno de texto de primer grado del curso de "La Libertad según l@s Zapatistas. p. 19.
- ^ Castellanos, Laura (4 January 2014). "El suicidio ronda en San Andrés". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ Warfield, Cian (October 2014). Understanding Zapatista Autonomy: An Analysis of Healthcare and Education.
- ^ Contreras Baspineiro, Alex (8 May 2004). "The Zapatistas Reject the War on Drugs". Narco News. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ a b Mallett-Outtrim, Ryan (13 August 2016). "Two decades on: A glimpse inside the Zapatista's capital, Oventic". Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ LCCN 2011925323.
- ^ Gobierno Autónomo I: Cuaderno de texto de primer grado del curso de "La Libertad según l@s Zapatistas". p. 19.
- ^ ""Development" and Extraction: Water Scarcity in Chiapas". Schools for Chiapas. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Neem: The People's Pharmacy". Schools for Chiapas. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "The Other Bee: Reviving a Mayan Tradition". Schools for Chiapas. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-84277-870-8.
Bibliography
Books
- Barmeyer, Niels (2009). "Who is Running the Show? The Workings of Zapatista Government". Developing Zapatista Autonomy: Conflict and NGO Involvement in Rebel Chiapas. LCCN 2008045276.
- Cerullo, Margaret (2009). "The Zapatistas Other Politics: The Subjects Of Autonomy". In Fasenfest, David (ed.). Engaging Social Justice: Critical Studies of 21st Century Social Transformation. Studies in Critical Social Sciences. Vol. 13. ISBN 978-90-04-17654-6.
- Chabot, Sean; Vinthagen, Stellan (2020). "One no against violence, many yeses beyond violence: Zapatista dignity, autonomy, counter-conduct". In Jackson, Richard; Llewellyn, Joseph; Manawaroa Leonard, Griffin; Gnoth, Aidan; Karena, Tong (eds.). Revolutionary Nonviolence: Concepts, Cases and Controversies. ISBN 978-1-78699-825-5.
- Eldredge Fitzwater, Dylan (2019). Autonomy Is in Our Hearts: Zapatista Autonomous Government through the Lens of the Tsotsil Language. LCCN 2018931534.
- LCCN 2015036704.
- Halkin, Alexandra (2008). "Outside the Indigenous Lens: Zapatistas and Autonomous Videomaking". In Wilson, Pamela; Stewart, Michelle (eds.). Global Indigenous Media: Cultures, Poetics, and Politics. ISBN 9780822388692.
- ISBN 978-1-84277-870-8.
- Muñóz Ramírez, Gloria (2008). The Fire and the Word: A History of the Zapatista Movement. Translated by Carlsen, Laura; Reyes Arias, Alejandro. LCCN 2007052477.
- Ryan, Ramor (2011). Zapatista Spring: Anatomy of a Rebel Water Project & the Lessons of International Solidarity. LCCN 2011925323.
- Speed, Shannon (2014). "Zapatista Autonomy, Local Governance, and an Organic Theory of Rights". In Warrior, Robert (ed.). The World of Indigenous North America. LCCN 2013039796.
- Stahler-Sholk, Richard (2014). "Mexico: Autonomy, Collective Identity, and the Zapatista Social Movement". In Stahler-Sholk, Richard; Vanden, Harry E.; Becker, Marc (eds.). Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Radical Action from Below. LCCN 2014030142.
- Zibechi, Raúl (2012). Territories in Resistance: A Cartography of Latin American Social Movements. LCCN 2012937110.
Journal articles
- Chatterton, Paul; Ryan, Ramor (2008). "¡Ya Basta! The Zapatista struggle for autonomy revisited". S2CID 145770382.
- Cortez Ruiz, Carlos (2004). "Social Strategies and Public Policies in an Indigenous Zone in Chiapas, Mexico" (PDF). ISSN 0265-5012.
- Dinerstein, Ana Cecilia (2013). "The Speed of the Snail: The Zapatistas' Autonomy De Facto and the Mexican State". S2CID 153929083.
- Earle, Duncan; Simonelli, Jeanne (2004). "The Zapatistas and Global Civil Society: Renegotiating the Relationship". JSTOR 25676076.
- Forbis, Melissa M. (2016). "After autonomy: the zapatistas, insurgent indigeneity, and decolonization". Settler Colonial Studies. 6 (4): 365–384. S2CID 159590375.
- Fox, Jonathan (2007). "Rural democratization and decentralization at the state/society interface: What counts as 'local' government in the mexican countryside?". S2CID 152847463.
- Maldonado-Villalpando, Erandi; Paneque-Gálvez, Jaime; Demaria, Federico; Napoletano, Brian M. (2022). "Grassroots innovation for the pluriverse: evidence from Zapatismo and autonomous Zapatista education". Sustainability Science. 17 (4): 1301–1316. PMID 35818623.
- González Casanova, Pablo (2005). "The Zapatista "caracoles": Networks of resistance and autonomy". S2CID 144853640.
- Guillén, Diana (2017). "Societies in Movement vs. Institutional Continuities? Insights from the Zapatista Experience". Latin American Perspectives. 44 (4): 114–138. S2CID 147296630.
- Harvey, Neil (2005). "Inclusion Through Autonomy: Zapatistas and Dissent". S2CID 152256789.
- Harvey, Neil (2016). "Practicing autonomy: Zapatismo and decolonial liberation". Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies. 11 (1): 1–24. S2CID 146183871.
- Mora, Mariana (2003). "The Imagination to Listen: Reflections on a Decade of Zapatista Struggle". JSTOR 29768206.
- Mora, Mariana (2007). "Zapatista Anticapitalist Politics and the "Other Campaign": Learning from the Struggle for Indigenous Rights and Autonomy". Latin American Perspectives. 34 (2): 64–77. S2CID 145172536.
- Mora, Mariana (2015). "The Politics of Justice: Zapatista Autonomy at the Margins of the Neoliberal Mexican State". Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies. 10 (1): 87–106. S2CID 146985966.
- Reyes, Alvaro; Kaufman, Mara (2011). "Sovereignty, Indigeneity, Territory: Zapatista Autonomy and the New Practices of Decolonization". ISSN 0038-2876.
- Stahler-Sholk, Richard (2007). "Resisting Neoliberal Homogenization: The Zapatista Autonomy Movement". Latin American Perspectives. 34 (2): 48–63. S2CID 143631891.
- Stahler-Sholk, Richard (2010). "The Zapatista Social Movement: Innovation and Sustainability". S2CID 144511806.
- van der Haar, Gemma (2004). "The Zapatista Uprising and the Struggle for Indigenous Autonomy". JSTOR 25676074.
- Zugman, Kara (2005). "Autonomy in a Poetic Voice: Zapatistas and Political Organizing in Los Angeles". Latino Studies. 3 (3): 325–346. S2CID 143742914.