From August 3 to 17, the Zapatista Semillero Comandanta Ramona (Seedbed Comandanta Ramona) in Morelia, Altamirano, hosted the event “Gathering of Resistances and Rebellions: Some Parts of the Whole.”
The Zapatistas had issued a worldwide call for two weeks of exchange and discussion. Around 2,000 Zapatistas and about 800 people from 37 countries attended. In Germany, preparations had begun months in advance, encouraged by the Network of Rebellion, and eventually a 30-person delegation from various groups and initiatives traveled to Chiapas.
A large part of the gathering consisted of presentations and reports on the work and realities of the participating collectives and organizations, as well as exchanges with the Zapatista support bases. One Zapatista explained:
“Many of us cannot read or write and do not study political theory books. But we are able to see and feel injustice. This empathy turns into dignified rage, which we carry forward from generation to generation. We have now also heard your pain and will pass it on among ourselves.”
The opening on August 3 featured a march by the EZLN, each carrying a Palestinian flag on their back. As a sign of solidarity, Subcomandante Moisés, spokesperson of the EZLN, declared:
“Today, the capitalist system is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in one part of this earth. We cannot forget this, we cannot set it aside. We are all Palestinian children. Today it is the people in Gaza, tomorrow it will be us.”
Solidarity with the people of Gaza remained a recurring theme throughout the event.
The Zapatistas presented their contributions in the form of multi-day theater performances, rehearsed over months by hundreds of young participants.
They also engaged in self-criticism, highlighting shortcomings within their civilian structures: over the past decades, pyramids of oppression and inequality typical of the capitalist system had, in part, been reproduced in their own autonomous governments. Examples included corruption, breaches of their own rules, theft, abuse of power, and dependency of the grassroots on small council groups.
At the same time, another theater piece recalled the positive aspects of the Good Government Councils and autonomous communities. They had not only faced problems, but had also served as schools of autonomy:
“We have learned a great deal – to govern ourselves, and we have made significant progress in education, health, and justice. We put the Revolutionary Women’s Laws of 1993 into practice. We have learned to work collectively.”
In yet another play, “the living of the future” – portrayed as eggs and sperm – described strategies to resist the pyramid. Much emphasis was placed on reviving ancestral practices and passing on traditional knowledge. The future was invited to continue the rebellion and to respect and protect Mother Earth.
Remarkable in this process of self-criticism was both the transparency and the determination to act upon it: the Zapatistas announced a complete organizational restructuring of their civilian structures to ensure that decisions originate from the grassroots, are articulated horizontally, and prevent the concentration of power. In one performance, a wooden pyramid was set on fire and toppled – a symbolic representation of dismantling hierarchies and mechanisms of domination.
They call their new phase El Común – “the Communal,” the essence of life – explicitly referring to the ways of their ancestors. “Only if we are organized do we stand a chance when the storm comes.” They added: “We share with you our proposal, what we have discovered and found useful. Whether it works for you, you must try in your own geographies. We have no recipe. With time, we will see.”
Education emerged as a central theme: the grassroots must be able to analyze their own problems and find solutions. In the future, all decisions are to be made within the base communities themselves. Another key step in this new phase is the opening to non-Zapatistas. Joint projects are planned above all in the areas of health, education, and collective agriculture. Already now, “brothers and sisters” (those living in the region but not part of the Zapatista movement) are allowed to cultivate Zapatista land free of charge in order to provide for themselves.
A concrete example of such joint collective work is the construction of a hospital in Caracol Dolores Hidalgo, where Zapatistas and non-Zapatistas are working side by side.
In his closing speech, Subcomandante Moisés emphasized that we must all recognize and topple the “pyramids of oppression and capitalism” within our own contexts and geographies. “We must understand that within this pyramid no real change is possible.”
The gathering was also a call to take action and to learn through mistakes. Or, as one elder Comandanta put it:
“We are lighting a small revolutionary flame. If everyone everywhere in the world lights small flames, something greater can grow out of it.”
“Solidarity greetings from the Lacandon Jungle from the Encuentro rebeldias y Resostencias.” –
Internationalists from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Australia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Denmark jointly demand freedom for Abdullah Öcalan.
Photo Credits: Netz der Rebellion & Gemeinsam Kämpfen [Network of Rebellion & Fighting Together]