Forward Union
11th June 2011, 17:53
A very good overview of how, once again, broadly Socialist policies are statistically proven to make everything a bit more awesome for people. I can only add that during my own time in Zapatista territory, I was pretty impressed with the visible confidence of Women in the community (compared to Guatemala or other parts of Mexico) and apparent tolerance of Homosexuals, Transsexuals, and disabled people, when I questioned them on the issues. The families I spoke to certainly seemed to have more kids in education that elsewhere, and, not mentioned in the Al Jazeera article, were being taught the importance of things like protected sex, as well as genuine astronomy, physics etc. Far superior to the Catholic education seen in other rural Mexican communities.
Pablo Gonzalez Casanova, the former rector of Mexico’s National Autonomus University (UNAM), conducted a public health study comparing Zapatista communities in Chiapas to their non-Zapatista counterparts.
Zapatista health providers extended coverage to 63 per cent of all expectant mothers, double the average for non-Zapatista communities in the area. Seventy-four per cent of Zapatista homes have access to toilets, as opposed to 54 per cent in non-Zapatista homes.
Zapatista communities also have significantly better statistics for infant mortality than other rural areas in Chiapas.
"The position of women in the communities has increased greatly," Petrich says. "They used to be kept in the margins, basically treated like domestic animals. Now the role they play is crucial. This is not a minor result," she says, adding that the Zapatistas have also made major strides in education.
As a broader political movement, they managed to light the fire of resentment boiling within Mexico. However, Petrich believes the Zapatistas "did not go as far as they expected".
Even seventeen years to the day after the first shots were fired, the legacy of the movement remains unclear. A popular Zapatista slogan, plastered on posters around their communities, demands "everything for everyone, nothing for ourselves".
Perhaps the Zapatistas gained something in their small corner of the world, even if they didn't get everything for everyone.
Al Jazeera English (http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/20111183946608868.html)
Pablo Gonzalez Casanova, the former rector of Mexico’s National Autonomus University (UNAM), conducted a public health study comparing Zapatista communities in Chiapas to their non-Zapatista counterparts.
Zapatista health providers extended coverage to 63 per cent of all expectant mothers, double the average for non-Zapatista communities in the area. Seventy-four per cent of Zapatista homes have access to toilets, as opposed to 54 per cent in non-Zapatista homes.
Zapatista communities also have significantly better statistics for infant mortality than other rural areas in Chiapas.
"The position of women in the communities has increased greatly," Petrich says. "They used to be kept in the margins, basically treated like domestic animals. Now the role they play is crucial. This is not a minor result," she says, adding that the Zapatistas have also made major strides in education.
As a broader political movement, they managed to light the fire of resentment boiling within Mexico. However, Petrich believes the Zapatistas "did not go as far as they expected".
Even seventeen years to the day after the first shots were fired, the legacy of the movement remains unclear. A popular Zapatista slogan, plastered on posters around their communities, demands "everything for everyone, nothing for ourselves".
Perhaps the Zapatistas gained something in their small corner of the world, even if they didn't get everything for everyone.
Al Jazeera English (http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/20111183946608868.html)