marcos

[aminkibata]

someone told me that marcos are one of the revolutionary soldier.
can somebody tell me what is the objectives that marcos was fight for?

[Edgar]

Are you talking about Subcomandante Marcos? He's the spokeman for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, which gets its support mainly from the rural and indigenous poor of Mexico. Though not really a revolutionary socialist (and certainly not a Marxist), he is an opponent of neo-liberalism and imperialism. Read some of his stuff and draw your own conclusions.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Marcos and his organization seemed to be pretty quiet during the recent uprising in Oaxaca. Read into that what you will.

[Janus]

can somebody tell me what is the objectives that marcos was fight for?
Autonomy for indigenous peoples from the state and from the neoliberal economy.


Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Marcos and his organization seemed to be pretty quiet during the recent uprising in Oaxaca.
They issued a statement but there wasn't much that they could do in Chiapas.
Marcos on Oaxaca (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=59273&hl=Marcos)
Zapatista statement on APPO (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=58003&hl=Zapatista*)

[Leo]

can somebody tell me what is the objectives that marcos was fight for?

I would suggest those articles:

http://en.internationalism.org/inter/127_zapatistas.htm

http://en.internationalism.org/icconline/2005_ezln.html

[yns_mr]

Sixth Declaration (http://www.ezln.org/documentos/2005/sexta1.en.htm)

Fifth Declaration (http://www.ezln.org/documentos/1998/19980700.en.htm)

Fourth Declaration (http://www.ezln.org/documentos/1996/19960101.en.htm)

Third Declaration (http://www.ezln.org/documentos/1995/199501xx.en.htm)

Second Declaration (http://www.ezln.org/documentos/1994/19940610.en.htm)

First Declaration (http://www.ezln.org/documentos/1994/199312xx.en.htm)


Theese will ease your curiosity i think...

[rebelworker]

Marcos was part of a small band of gueverist/Maoist guerillas that went up into the hills from Mexico city as part of a strategy to build a revolutionary army. I think that was about the late 70's early 80's.

After a short while up there they almost died and were saved by the local population. After a few years marcos came to realise that they had more to learn from the natives than the other way around(his words).

He began to work on the EZLN, an armed body that would be directly responsble to the local communites, not a central committee.

10 years later after gaining the support and respect of many local villages and building up the size of the organisation it was decided to launch an offensive (on new years day 1994) to protest the implementation of NAFTA and a death sentence to many indeigenous subsistance farmers.

The offensive was short, they breifly took a small city before being forced back by the overwealming force of the Mexican army.

Since that time the Zapatista Army (EZLN) has basically maintained a defensive role trying to protect zapatista communities from both the army and paramilitaries.

More recently the Zapatista communites have taken up much stronger anti capitalist rhetoric and made large attempts to build an alliance "from the bottom" across Mexico.

The Zapatistas were active during the Oaxaca crisis, but in Chiapas, where they are based, they set up road blocks and called upon supoorters of "The Other Campaign" to take action locally aswell.

I think the Zapatistas righfully realise that alone they are no match for the Mexican Army, so they try to educate themselves and build alliances untill the day the whole of the Mexican population rises up.

I have heard that one of the reasons for the increased political radicalisation of the Zapatistas in recent years is due to the increased political savy and organisational skills of the children who have grown up in Zapatista communities. As oposed to their parents who were illeterate, first time political activists, many of the now young adults are litterate, politically experienced and trained gureilla fighters.

Only the future will tell what role the Zapatista communities(and the EZLN under their controll) will play in the future. The International Gathering in Chiapas this summer will be quite interesting, Ill post a report when the NEFAC delegation gets back.

In Solidarity,

reb.