2nd Birthday and PAUSE

Slingshot Hip Hop screening in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas (Mexico, Earth)

The zapagringo blog's 2nd birthday finds us back in zapatista territory. It's been 2.5 years since I was last in Mexico, covering the Other Campaign in Oaxaca for The Narco News Bulletin. Today I am back with my partner who works with the Palestine Education Project and we are screening Slingshot Hip Hop here in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas. This is one small step in a longer process of finding effective vehicles for networking struggles in the Levant with struggles here on Turtle Island (remember that we need our own Calendars and Geographies)...

Here in San Cris, it's exciting to see how some of the zapatista, Other Campaign, and Zezta Internazional infrastructure has grown and developed since the release of the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle a little over 3 years ago...

CIDECI (Centro Indígena de Capacitación Integral) has become an impressive zapatista-inspired university that is free for indigenous peoples.

Just a few blocks off of the zocalo (city center) is TierrAdentro - a large and beautiful café where the zapatista cooperatives sell their goods, all kinds of literature can be found, and La Vía Campesina and CAPISE have offices in their as well. As Carwil James points out in our interview with him in September of last year, creating venues for the zapatistas to sell their products with dignity is essential solidarity work. The National and International Caravan of Observation and Solidarity with the Zapatista Communities of Chiapas, which CAPISE helped to inspire and organize, is getting ready to begin on July 28th with around 300 registered participants.

Here at zapagringo I'll be taking a pause in terms of blogging to put more energy into my work with Regeneración Childcare NYC as we continue organizing, amongst other things, the Children's Program for the Critical Resistance 10 conference coming up at the end of September. I'm also deepening my work in the Men's Collaborative of Generation Five - seeking transformative justice responses to child sexual abuse while specifically challenging male supremacy. I see both of these pieces of work as part of that call to "Be a zapatista wherever you are." The Another Politics is Possible study group and participation on the board of directors of the Brecht Forum will support the networking across struggles necessary to sustain and build our movements.

I'm also just looking at ways to be "sustainable" in this work... realizing that I'm down to my last few hundred dollars -period- and that I want to start taking better care of my health. Looking for more secure paid work and possibly even going back to school - who knows? I know there must be ways to do this that move the work forward...

Just like the 1st Birthday, I'll have a summary of this second year of zapagringo up in about a month. And I'll still post from time to time but no longer at the one post a week pace I've been maintaining for the past two years.

It's been such a gift to be able to connect with so many people from so many different places through this space. Please stay in touch or get in touch - and if you would like an update every once in awhile on what zapatista-related stuff has come my way then let me know and I'll send it along as it comes. Much love to all who have committed to transforming the world, our communities and ourselves...

Vivan Los Comunidades Zapatistas en Resistencia!
Viva La Otra Campaña!
Viva La Zezta Internazional!
All Zapagringos in the Struggle!

Read More!

National Solidarity Statement

The zapatistas are not alone!

END THE WAR AGAINST THE ZAPATISTA COMMUNITIES

We, the organizations, collectives, movements, networks, communities, peoples, families and individuals who are adherents or sympathizers of the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandón Jungle, women, men, children and elders of the entire country declare:

1. For almost a year, the harrasment, provocations, repression, militarization and aggressions against the indigenous zapatista communities have been worsening. The military incursion of this past June 4th is only the most visible sign of a strategy that seeks to attack the social base of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and the heart of indigenous autonomy: the land and territory. We condemn and reject these actions and demand that they stop immediately.

2. This new offensive is articulated once again by paramilitary groups and by the State Government of Chiapas, as well as by the Federal Government. It is a political-military strategy that seeks to back zapatismo into a corner. Complicit in this strategy is the silence of the mass media and everyone who remains silent before the repression through which our zapatista sisters and brothers are living. We will not be silent. We demand an immediate halt to this offensive against the zapatista project, which represents an alternative for the peoples of the world.

3. Dignified autonomy is constructed in the councils of good government and the autonomous zapatista municipalities in rebellion, which we recognize as one of the most important alternatives for humanity. We join the process of defense of zapatista autonomy, that exists today under increasing risk with this new violent offensive.

4. We demand that the Federal and State government halt already the violent actions against the zapatista communities. To all the zapatista support bases, autonomous municipalities and councils of good government, as well as the EZLN itself, today we return to say YOU ARE NOT ALONE. We are with those of you who make up the Other Campaign, and from the entire country we send a message of support and solidarity.

5. It is the hour of mobilization and organization in defense and support of the EZLN. Before the drums of war it is necessary to organize now the civil and peaceful response from all the corners of the country.

THE ZAPATISTAS ARE NOT ALONE!
THE FEDERAL ARMY OUT OF CHIAPAS!
LONG LIVE THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN RESISTANCE
LONG LIVE ZAPATISTA AUTONOMY
LONG LIVE THE ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION

210 Collectives, organizations, communities, networks, movements, and 250 families and individuals from 27 states of the country: AGUASCALIENTES, BAJA CALIFORNIA, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, COAHUILA, COLIMA, CHIAPAS, CHIHUAHUA, DISTRITO FEDERAL, DURANGO, ESTADO DE MEXICO, GUANAJUATO, GUERRERO, HIDALGO, JALISCO, MICHOACAN, MORELOS, NUEVO LEON, OAXACA, PUEBLA, QUERETARO, SAN LUIS POTOSI, SINALOA, SONORA, TAMAULIPAS, TLAXCALA, VERACRUZ, YUCATAN, Germany, Argentina, the Spanish State, Basque Country, the United States of America, Sweden and Uruguay.

Adherentes individuales de La Otra Campaña en Ensenada- Baja California,
A la trinchera-DF,
Alianza Zapatista Magonista,
A.N.A.A.T.E- Yucatán,
Asamblea Nacional de Braceros,
Augasquentes de Galicia: centro cultural zapatista,
Biblioteca Popular Viviendo la utopía- Nuevo léon,
Bibaani – Oaxaca,
Bios Iguana-Colima
Brigadas Emiliano Zapata - edomex
Brújula Roja-DF,
Bloque de Fuerzas Proletarias- edomex,
Bloque Popular Revolucionario- Morelos,
Borrokan,
Caracol de Maíz,
Casa del Estudiante Vladimir Ilich Lenin- Michoacán
Casa de la Cultura Independiente Benito Juárez-DF,
Célula metropolitana Julio Chávez López-DF,
Centro de análisis Político e investigaciones sociales y económicas (CAPISE)- Chiapas,
Centro de apoyo comunitario trabajando unidos (CACTUS)-Oaxaca,
Centro de estudios para el desarrollo rural- Puebla,
Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas-Chiapas,
Centro de Reflexión Social y Comunicación Alternativa – Guanajuato
Centro Independiente de Noticias- DF,
CIOAC Roja – Guerrero,
Colectiva Feminista Binacional de Tijuana- Baja California,
Colectivo Acertijo-Tlaxcala,
Colectivo Arje- Querétaro,
Colectivo autónomo Magonista (CAMA)- DF
Colectivo cuadernos de la resistencia- Jalisco,
Colectivo Contra la Represión y la Impunidad del sistema social (CCRISIS)-Guerrero,
Colectivo contra la Tortura y la Impunidad (CCTI)-DF,
Colectivo Cosme Damián- Baja California,
Colectivo Cortamortaja- Jalapa
Colectivo ChicagOtra- Chicago,
Colectivo de abogados zapatistas-DF,
Colectivo de Apoyo a los zapatistas Gotemburgo-Suecia,
Colectivo de Akatingo- Puebla,
Colectivo de Cultura Alternativa "Lo de menos"-Colima,
Colectivo de Estudiantes- Aguascalientes,
Colectivo de Estudios de Derecho Crítico (RADAR),
Colectivo de Exmoradores- Proyecto Lenin- Michocán,
Colectivos de La Otra campaña en Colima,
Colectivo de trabajo sexual del CNUC "mujeres por su dignidad"-Tlaxcala,
Colectivo Dignidad rebelde por Huauchinango- Puebla
Colectivo de la revista el vicionudo comixxx-Puebla,
Colectivo de Solidaridad de Barcelona con la rebelión zapatista,
Colectivo en rebeldía Suljaa'- Guerrero,
Colectivo Espiral 7- Puebla,
Colectivo feminista Cihuatlahtolli- Veracruz,
Colectivo Guiee Tiqui- Oaxaca,
Colectivo Hagamos el Cambio-Colima,
Colectivo Héroes de Ocosingo-San Luis Potosí,
Colectivo Kahuin- DF
Colectivo La Semilla –Jalisco,
Colectivo la tripulación del Viejo Antonio- Morelos,
Colectivo Los Angeles,
Colectivo Machetemagazine,
Colectivo mentes autónomas,
Colectivo Mezcala- Jalisco
Colectivo Mujeres por un Mundo Nuevo-Colima
Colectivo Nuevo Huachichil- San Luis Potosí,
Colectivo Nachicocom deSotuta- Yucatán
Colectivo Nixticul - Jalisco
Colectivo Ollín Mexica- DF,
Colectivo Poder Autónomo-Argentina,
Colectivo Radio Digna- Baja California,
Colectivo Radio Totopo-Juchitá n-Oaxaca,
Colectivo 'Red Latina sin fronteras'-Suecia
Colectivo Resistencia Autónoma -Baja California,
Colectivo Rincón Rupestre- Yucatán,
Colectivo Roberto Iriarte,
Colectivo Sacco y Vanzetti - Jalisco
Colectivo Salamandra- Puebla,
Colectivo Sexto Sol-Oaxaca,
Colectivos Unidos de Zumpango-edomex. ,
Colectivo Tlacuaches mojaos- Veracruz
Colectivo Tod@s somos pres@s- Oaxaca
Colectivo Un granito de café-DF;
Colectivo Votán Zapata Coyoacán-DF;
Colectivo Ya basta- Baja California
Colectivo Zapatista de Oaxaca;
Colectivo Zapatista Neza- Edomex,
Colectivo Zapateando- Guanajuato
Colectivo Zihuatlán-Guerrero,
Comisión de Apoyo a la unidad y reconciliació n comunitaria (CORECO)- Chiapas,
Comisión de Derechos Humanos y laborales del Valle de Tehuacan-Puebla,
Comité Cabañas-DF,
Comité de base Ricardo Flores Magón-DF,
Comité de Familiares y Amigos de Secuestrados, desaparecidos y asesinados en Guerrero,
Comité Estudiantil Metropolitano- DF,
Comité Eureka – Guerrero,
Comité Verdad, Justicia y Libertad Jacobo y Gloria-DF,
Comité por la defensa de los derechos indígenas (CODEDI)-Oaxaca,
Comité Promotor de la Otra Campaña Mazatl- Sinaloa;
Comunidad de San Pedro Yosotatu-Oaxaca,
Consejo autónomo regional de la Zona Costa de Chiapas,
Consejo Ciudadano Unihidalguense (Unión Hidalgo)-Oaxaca,
Consejo de ancianas y ancianos de Ranchu Gubiña-Oaxaca,
Consejo de Ejidos y Comunidades opositoras a la presa La Parota (CECOP)-Guerrero,
Consejo de Lucha Pame de Rayón, Tamasopo y Alaquines- San Luis Potosí;
Consejo Indígena Popular de Oaxaca-Ricardo Flores Magón (CIPO-RFM),
Consejo Nacional Urbano y Campesino (CNUC)-Tlaxcala,
Consejo Regional de pueblos indígenas nahuas y nuntaj+yi del Sur de Veracruz,
Cooperativa de Medios Libertas Anticorp,
Cooperativa de TrabajoAutogestivo"Regeneración"-DF,
Cooperativa Huachichil de Coahuila,
Cooperativa Materu k´urhinta-Michoacá n,
Cooperativa de trabajo hormiga/666ismocrit ico-DF,
Coordinadora anticapitalista Ché Guevara- DF,
Coordinadora de la sociedad civil de la región de Orizaba- Veracruz,
Coordinadora Estatal de Trabajadores de la Educación en Guerrero (CETEG),
Coordinadora del Movimiento Amplio Popular-San Luis Potosí,
Coordinadora Maxei- Querétaro,
Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades comunitarias (CRAC)-Guerrero (Comité Ejecutivo de la Policía comunitaria, casas de justicia y seguridad comunitaria de San Luis Acatlán, Espino Blanco, Zitlaltepec, Comité Ejecutivo de la figura jurídica).
Coordinadora valle de Chalco-Edomex,
Cuna del Viento- La venta-Oaxaca,
Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos Emiliano Zapata-Tamaulipas,
Despertar Proletario,
Diáspora Vasca,
Editorial Lucia Zenteno- Oaxaca
Escuela de Cultura Popular Mártires del 68-DF,
Espacio social y cultural La Karakola-DF,
Fanzine Asfixia,
Fanzine Germinal,
Fanzine prisión demolición,
Fanzine por los de adentro,
Föreningen 'Cruz del Sur'-Suecia,
Föreningen 'Resistencia Vencerá'- Suecia,
Föreningen Syd i fokus- Suecia,
Frente Cívico Tonalteco- Chiapas
Frente del Pueblo,
Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra- San Salvador Atenco,
Frente Popular Francisco Villa Independiente- UNOPII- DF,
Frente Único Estatal de Representantes Sindicales Autónomos (FUERZA)-Guerrero,
Galería Autónoma CU,
Gruppe B.A.S.T.A- Alemania,
Grupo colectivo independiente Binni Cubi-Unión Hidalgo-Oaxaca,
Grupo de madres de desaparecidos políticos de Chihuahua,
Grupo ETC México,
Grupo Salud y Conciencia-DF,
Grupo Solidario La venta-Oaxaca,
Gubiña XXI AC- Oaxaca,
jóvenes en resistencia alternativa- DF
Jóvenes Lagartos-Coahuila,
Jóvenes por el socialismo- Nuevo León,
Juventud Comunista de México,
Juventudes revolucionarias Libertarias- Tlaxcala,
Juventud zapatista con la comandanta Ramona-Guanajuato
Kolectivo El rebelde- Yucatán
komal Collective (esténcil)- Estado de México
Laboratorio de Fotografía-DF,
La furia de las calles-DF,
La neta amorfa- San Luis Potosí
La otra en Coyoacán- DF
La otra juventud Turula- Chiapas
La otra León- Guanajuato
La otra sur-poniente- DF,
La Rabiosa Radio-Puebla
La sexta Querétaro,
'Latina' Latinoamerikanska Kooperationsfö reningen- Suecia
La Voladora Radio (Amecameca),
Maderas del Pueblo del Sureste- Chiapas,
Movimiento de Artesanos Indígenas Zapatistas (MAIZ)
Movimiento de Cultura Popular- Yucatán,
Movimiento de Lucha Popular (MLP),
Movimiento de Unificación y Lucha Triqui (MULT)- Oaxaca,
Mujeres de Rincón de Chautla, Mpio. de Chilapa-Guerrero,
Mujeres y la Sexta DF-edomex,
Municipio Autónomo de San Juan Copala-Oaxaca,
Noticias de la rebelión-DF,
Okupa TV-DF,
Organización Campesina Emiliano Zapata- OCEZ-UNOPI-I- Chiapas,
Organizaciones Indias Por los Derechos Humanos de Oaxaca-OIDHO,
Organización Zapatista "Educación para la liberación de nuestros pueblos"-DF,
Pallasos en Rebeldía de Galicia y Catalunya,
Partido de los Pobres,
Radio Ñomndaa la palabra del agua-Guerrero
Radio Okupa-DF,
Radio Zapatista-Californi a,
Raza Press and Media Association- California,
Red caracol,
Red de colectivos de la otra campaña en el Istmo de Tehuantepec- Oaxaca,
Red de radios y TV comunitarias indígenas del sureste mexicano,
Red de Salud para las comunidades indígenas en resistencia en Chiapas-DF,
Red de solidaridad con Chiapas de Vicente López-Argentina,
Red de solidaridad con Chiapas- Mendoza-Argentina,
Red Mexicana de Acción Frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC),
Red Nacional contra la represión y por la solidaridad,
Red Unidos Por los Derechos Humanos – Veracruz,
Resistencias Enlazando Dignidad Movimiento y Corazón Zapatista (REDMYC)-DF
Regeneración Radio-DF,
Revista Ce-acatl- DF,
Revista Palabras Pendientes DF,
Rojos y Anarquistas Skinheads RASH- Guadalajara,
Sublevarte Colectivo-DF,
Taller autónomo Guadalupe Posada-DF,
Taller de Desarrollo Comunitario (TADECO)- Guerrero
Taller Integral Arquitect@z- DF
Taller Ricardo Flores Magón- DF
Unión Campesina Obrera y Popular de Izquierda Independiente (UCOPI-UNOPI- I)-Guanajuato,
Unión de Comuneros Náhuatl de Atzacoaloya y sus 15 anexos
Unión de Defensa de la raza maya- Yucatán
Unión de Vecinos y Damnificados 19 de septiembre (Uvyd-19)- DF,
Unión Popular Apìzaquense Democrática e Independiente- Tlaxcala,
Unidad Obrera y Socialista (UNIOS)-DF,
Universidad de la Tierra en Oaxaca,
Vänskapföreningen Sverige-Uruguay- Suecia
video Club Utopía- DF
Voces oaxaqueñas construyendo autonomía y libertad (V.O.C.A.L.)

Familia Morales Alcocer; Familia Ortega Elorza; Familia Pérez Bustillo; Familia Sánchez Piña (Ricardo Antonio Sánchez Piña, Héctor Ricardo Sánchez, Ma. Esther Piña Soria); La Rueka (Felipe I. Echenique, Carmen García Bermejo; León Felipe Echenique Romero); Abel Miranda, Adriana del Moral Espinosa, África Hernández, Agustina Soto Luna, Aidé Arévalo Picazo, Alejandrino González, Alejandro de la Torre, Alejandro Eguia-lis, Alejandro Reyes, Alfonso Vargas Muñoz, Alfredo Duarte Corte, Alma Idalia Kullick Lackner, Alma Eréndira Sandoval Carrillo, Alfonso Reyes, Alfredo Sabido, Amaranta Ramírez Terrazo, Ambrosio Coctecon, Ana Paola Mendoza García, Ana Patricia Peña Valenzuela, Andrea Patricia Gallegos Alanís, Andrea Sánchez Martínez, Andrés Nájera Hdez., Angel de Jesús Lopez, Angel Fermín García Lara, Angélica Trujillo Hernández, Anselmo A., Antonio Pastro García, Arafat Angulo Perkings, Ari David Salinas Castro, Arelhy Valenzuela Rascón Carlos Cervantes, Arturo Cuevas Manzanares, Arturo Landeros, Aurelio Banda, Azalia Hernández Rodríguez, B lanca Gpe. Durán Fernández, Braulio Candia Perez, Brisceida Aguayo Rivera, Brunilda Pinto, Bruno Firpo, Carla Zamora, Carlos Alegre, Carlos Cacay, Carlos Miguel Luna Zavala, Carlos Omar Hernández Pérez, Carolina Levario Gim, César Silva Montes, Claudio Tejada,Corina Caraza Machorro, Cristina del Carmen Hernández, Daniel Campos Chávez, Daniel Gonzalo Morales Ramírez, David Barrios Rodríguez; David Hernández, David Madrid, David Pérez, David Telic Mtz, Demetrio Romero Juárez, Deyanira Cortés Martínez, Diana Fimbres Delgado, Diana María Rodríguez Vértiz, Diego Canales, Dolores Marisa Martínez Moscoso, Doroteo Arellano Palacios, Dulce María Trejo, Egardo Josefat Badial Velásquez, Edna Estevez Zamudio, Efraín Flores Iglesias, Elia Alicia Crotte Franco; Elizabeth Manjares Cunas, Enrique Espinosa Mancilla, Enrique Vargas, Esmeralda Ochoa Vega, Esther Gallardo, Ezequiel Esteves, F abian Ofendis Aloy, Facundo Raúl Quinteros, Faustino Mendez, Felipe de Jesús Toussaint Loera, Felipe Martínez López, Felipe Reyes Guadalupe, Fernando Escobar Tabera, Fernando Hernández, Fernando Medina "Ictus", Francisco Tomás Reséndiz, G abriel García Martínez, Gaudencio Mejia, Genaro Vázquez, Gerardo León, Germán Cabañas, Geovanni Duran Can, Gustavo Esteva, Guillermo Cassani, Guillermo Villaseñor García, Gustavo García Rojas, Hermelando Salazar, Hilaria Viveros, Hugo Daniel Padilla, Ignacio Salgado, Iker Sagastibeltza Galárraga, Irantzu Sagarminaga, Irma Melchor, Isauro Canxoc, Ismael Bandolero Durán, Ismael Castio, Ismael Ortega, Ismene Figueroa López, Israel Espinosa, Itzel rivera Melgarejo, Ivan R. Leon, Iván Prado, Ivonne del Valle W, Jacinto Robles Pérez, Jagoba Epalza Uriarte, Javier Alejandro Castro, Javier Andrade, Javier Gallardo, Javier Hernández Alpizar, Javier Miranda, Jessica Rivera, Jesús Banda, Jesús Saavedra, Joel Tejeda, Jordi Anguera Aguas, Jorge Alastra, Jorge Arriaga, Jorge García Hernández, Jorge Juárez, Jorge Medina, Jorge Melo Bahena, Jorge Vargas, José Alberto Benítez Oliva, José Armando Sánchez, José Antonio Wong Soto, Josefat Badial Velásquez, José Castañeda, José Luis Ávila, José Luis C H., José Rafael Murúa Manríquez, José Raúl Linares Pérez; José Santos Cervantes, José Teodoro Hernández, Joshua Arale Gómez Jacinto, Josué Vergara; Juan Anzaldo Meneses, Juan Carlos Dávalos Alcántar, Juan Carlos Masón, Juan Javier Reta Némiga, Juan Luis Segura Cortés, Juan Manuel Guti Jime, Juan Manuel Pascual Alarcón Sánchez, Juan M. Moreno, Juan Pablo Narváez del Toro, Juan Pablo Nava Gómez, Juan Sera Real, Julio César Tejeda, Justino Galeana Portillo, Karla Barrios Rodríguez, Kátsica Betsabé Mayoral Landa, Laura Mateo González, Leo Osorio Marza, León Chávez Texeiro; Lilia Erika Lemus Flores, Liliana Galaviz López, Liliana García Sánchez, Luis Blanco Téllez, Luis Carlos Velásquez, Luis Muñoz Vásquez, Luz del Carmen Flores Villalva, Manuel Martínez Morales, Marcelino Guzmán Bomel, Marcelo Santos, Margarita Rosas, Margarita Villanueva, Maria Antonia Mora Brito, Ma. De Jesús Cisneros, María del Carmen Banda, María de la Cruz Jaimes García, Maria del Rocío Juárez Nogueira, Marco Antonio Salazar, María Maraña, Marlen Castro Pérez Maria, Noaly Kullick, María Valdés Valdés, Mario Sánchez, Marifé García López, Marisol Valenzuela Lara, Marlene Hernández López, Marta Piña, Martín González, Mauricio Ocampo Campos, Mayra Ledesma Arronte, Michel Inzunza Beltrán, Miguel Angel Wong Soto, Miguel Jiménez Soto, Miriam Lunar, Mirna Valdés Viveros, MoJairo Guarneros Sosa, Mónica Hernández, Monika Mena, Montserrat Balcorta Sobrino, Monsserrat Sánchez Moreno, Nada Jabalí, Nicolás López Cruz, Nicte-Há Dzib Soto, Oliverio Castillo Canche, Omar Juárez Vazquez, Oralba Castillo Nájera, Pablo Maldonado, Pablo Medrano, Palemon Suastegui, Patricia Parga, Patricia de Oteyza, Paulina Fernández, Petra Toscazo, Piere López, Porfirio Lapa Muñoz, Prisicila Valenzuela Moreno, Quirino Santiago, Rafael Chávez Rivera; Rafael Encarnación Faustino, Rafael Rubén Borbon Sequeiros, Rafael Sevilla Zapata, Ramón Vera Herrera, Raúl Zibechi, Raymundo Flores Delgadillo, René Torres Bejarano; Ricardo Avila Anzures, Ricardo Netzahuatl, Ricardo Ramírez, Rita Schwarzbeck Morales, Roberto Mellado, Rocío Landi, Rocío Vivar Soriano, Rodolfo Chan, Rogelio Hernández, Rogelio Hernández Sánchez, Rogelio Marcial Vázquez, Romeo López Camacho, Rosa María Moreno Ramírez, Rosalba Campos Chávez, Rosalía López Paniagua, Rubén Darío Silva Morales, Saltiel Rodríguez, Samantha Barrón González, Sandra Sánchez Palacios, Santiago Bernabé Socorro, Sara Trejo Ocaña, Sebastián Gómez Pétersen, Sylvia Zamudio Vega, Sonia Vázquez, Susana Etchegoyen, Susana Esmeralda Cervantes Reyes, Tadeo Leyva López, Tito Fernando Piñeda Verdugo, Tonatiuh Ramírez Rocha, Uriel Alonso Santos, Verónica Munier, Vicente Torres Lucena, Víctor Ariel Bárcenas Delgado, Víctor García Olmedo, Víctor Hernández Zamudio, Victor Manuel González, Wendy Pantoja, Xarlo Etxezaharreta, Xavier Pin Vázquez, Ximena Alvarez Heduán.

If you wish to add yourself to this declaration send your name and school, state or country, or the complete name of your organization to lista_jra[at]yahoo.com.mx

NOTE 1: The majority of those who signed this text are adherents to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandón Jungle, nevertheless there are also some collectives, organizations and people here who are not.

NOTE 2: This is only a small part of who makes up the Other Campaign

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Intergalactic Class #4 w/ Liner Notes

The questions we have about elections...

Gustavo Esteva's recent piece (a call to action to defend the zapatistas) in La Jornada has been translated into English... and without further ado, here is info on the concluding Intergalactic class:

CLASS #4 of
ENTER THE INTERGALACTIC:
ZAPATISMO IN THE US & THE WORLD

INTRO: Layout agenda for class and focus on US context

ELECTIONS and ORGANIZING FOR RADICAL CHANGE:
Since elections (especially presidential elections) are what the mainstream media and, relatedly, many of the folks around us are buzzing about these days, it seemed necessary to start here for our discussion of applying what we've learned in the first 3 sessions of the class to our context in the USA. The things we covered leading up to this last class are a) some history of zapatistas and global struggles, b) some world systems analysis of our current conditions, c) the zapatistas' current transnational -other campaign- and global -zezta internazional- activities and the actors involved, and d) some readings from pro-obama movement and anti-obama craze perspectives as well as some ideas for what zapatismo is looking like right now in USA. With that frame, we moved into...

Activity #1: Elections

I put up five signs around the room. Each sign said one of the following:
- "Voting for Obama"
- "Voting for a 3rd Party"
- "Voting and organizing for Obama"
- "Building an alternative that directly responds to the electoral process"
- "Not Voting"

I asked people to go and stand by the sign that most represented what they would actually be doing in the next five months related to the elections. Not what they think should be done but what they are actually going to do. After having a conversation to clarify what each of the positions means to the group -and people agreed that the options provided were sufficient-, people took their places.

Over half the group stood under the "Voting for Obama" sign and the remaining people were scattered on or between the signs for "Not Voting" and "Building an alternative that directly responds to the electoral process."

Standing in our different places, I facilitated a conversation between the participants around why this is what they were actually doing and how that relates to what we've learned in the class.

We then came back together as a whole group and discussed what we think was going to happen if Obama becomes our next president (figuring that we already had an idea of what a John McCain presidency would look like). What will happen on the day he is elected? What will happen on his first day in office? What will happen after he's been in office for 2 years? Amongst other things, this was an opportunity to talk about the different approaches and impacts of recent elections in Latin America.

Activity #2: Organizing for Radical Change

Again, I put up five signs around the room. Each sign said one of the following:
- joining or building a revolutionary organization
- building alternatives to the capitalist system
- not doing sh*t
- defending the gains of past struggles
- pressuring governments or corporations to improve conditions

Similar to the prior activity, I asked people the question, "What political work are you actually going to be doing in the next 5 months not related to the elections?" Again we clarified what each category meant and I encouraged folks to choose the sign that best represented what they will be doing (and letting them know they'll get a chance to clarify in discussion).

There were people grouped under every option. This led to another facilitated discussion around what we are doing and why. Questions such as "What do we think will make the kinds of changes we want to see?," "What are the stories that inform these thoughts?," and "What gives our work coherency and direction?" were put out to guide the conversation.

CLOSURE:

I concluded the session (and the class!) with some thoughts - I can't remember all of them but they were genius(!) and might have included some summary of observations made about:

-THE NATION-STATE: It is a "machine of machines" and we should not imagine that it is either sovereign or just one thing; We can have a nuanced approach to dealing with state power; We should contextualize state power alongside other forms of "power over" such as multinational political-economic organizations and transnational corporations; What are the differences and similarities between a movement having control of the Bolivian government and a movement in control of hundreds of thousands of acres in Chiapas?

-CHARISMATIC LEADERS: Yes, Barack Obama and Subcomandante Marcos are both charismatic leaders... what are the similarities and differences? What are the strengths and weaknesses of charismatic leaders in movements for radical democracy and people power?

-POLITICS: In their pamphlet Feliz Año Cabrones, El Kilombo Intergaláctico make this observation on what the zapatistas have taught us about politics:

Perhaps one of the most important things the Zapatistas have taught us is that holding a position or having an opinion is not doing politics. Part of what has been considered the EZLN’s talent for innovation and infinite ability to surprise us is their drive to constantly abolish themselves and become something else. They never build a fort around what they have won or established, but instead open it up, expose it to the eyes and opinions of the world around them, and allow it to transform once again through that contact and connection to a diverse reality. They never stay the same, never allow their practices to become static, and in that sense, never allow power to accumulate or isolate or sit in one place. That movement, that constant transformation, is a commitment to politics—politics as movement that constantly reopens the decision-making power of the community and the possibility for acting on one’s own collective life. They have taught the left that that dogmatism of idea and practice, the insistence on an ideology or model that transcends history and the decision of those in the present, always accompanied by a refusal to move, re-analyze, change, adapt, transform, is, in fact, a conservatism.

-PRACTICE: The folks from El Kilombo also lay out a four-step process for changing the world today in the Introduction essay to their self-published book "Beyond Resistance: Everything." The steps are:

1. Encounter
2. Assemble
3. Create
4. Rebel
   

Many of us jump to steps 3 and 4 without recognizing the importance of steps 1 and 2. The ENCOUNTER is the practice of opening up oneself, and a groups experience, to come in contact with other people and other collective experiences. It is through this process that we form the social fabric necessary for collective action. To ASSEMBLE is to build those mechanisms through which a group can discuss, make decisions, and take collective action... which leads us to steps 3 and 4!

I concluded by flipping the well known June Jordan quote "We are the ones we have been waiting for" and posing the question to the group, "Are we going to become the ones we've been waiting for?"

HANDOUTS

#1 - Information & Knowledge (this was links to how people could continue getting zap info)

EZLN Intergalactic Commission (Spanish)

EZLN Sixth Commission (Spanish)

The Narco News Bulletin (7 Languages)

EZLN Communiques (English/Spanish)

Chiapas Indymedia (English/Spanish)

De Tod@s Para Tod@s (English/Spanish)

Zapagringo (RJ’s Blog)
zapatista-inspired rebellion on Turtle Island and throughout the galaxy…

Radio Insurgente | la voz de los sin voz, voz del EZLN (Spanish)

Regeneración Radio (Spanish)

Palabra EZLN (Spanish)

Mujeres y La Sexta (Spanish)

La Otra para Nin@s (Spanish)

#2 - List of Adherents (Who is involved in this Zezta Internazional?)

Some Sixth Declaration Adherents in the USA

Coalition of Immokalee Workers
-Immokalee, Florida-

El Kilombo Intergaláctico
-Durham, North Carolina-

La Otra Chicago
-Chicago, Illinois-

L.A. Otra Campaña
-Los Angeles, California-

Movement for Justice in El Barrio
-East Harlem, New York City-
movementforjusticeinelbarrio[at]yahoo.com
movimientoporjusticiadelbarrio[at]yahoo.com

South Central Farmers
-Los Angeles, California-

Some International Adherents and Affiliated Struggles

La Via Campesina (English/Spanish/French)

MST – Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement of Brazil
mstbrazil.org (English)

Indigenous Encuentro of the Americas
encuentroindigena.org (Spanish)
leftturn.org/?q=node/922 (Vicam Declaration in English)

Womyn’s Encuentro
zapagringo.com/2008/02/womyns-encuentro-reportback.html (links to 3 reportbacks in English)

Europa Zapatista (many languages)

International Campaign in Defense of El Barrio
leftturn.org/?q=node/1061 (English)

#3 - Statement in Solidarity with the Zapatistas

#4 - Class evaluation
1. How did you hear about this class?
2. Did the class meet your expectations?
3. If you answered no to question 2, in what ways did it not meet your expectations?
4. What did you learn?
5. How will what you learned in this class help you/us?
6. If you could teach this class in the future, what would you leave the same? What would you change? What would you add or delete?

Mix CD - And here, finally, are the liner notes!

1) Mano Negra/Viva Zapata

Mano Negra is a seminal band that blended a variety of sounds into something they called patchanka. Manu Chao headed up the outfit until they disbanded after a legendary tour hopping trains through Colombia. La Mano Negra was also the name of an alleged anarchist organization said to have been born in the mountains of Southern Spain in late 1800's.

This song "Viva Zapata" opens Mano Negra's final studio album, "Casa Babylon," released in 1994 (the same year as the Zapatista uprising). Manu Chao has been a supporter of the zapatistas ever since... in classic intergalactic fashion, this song features lyrics in french, spanish, and english... and i'm pretty sure the English voice is that of Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys fame!

2) King Mafrundi/Hasta Siempre

Label mates of Mano Negra, King Mafrundi lent this cover of Carlos Puebla's 1965 classic to a fundraiser album for the zapatistas called "Detras de Nosotros, Estamos Ustedes" ("Behind Us, We Are You"). A lot of King Mafrundi's other work is sung in Wolof, a West African language.

Aside from it being on a zapatista benefit album, I also thought it fitting to include here a song dedicated to that figure that inspired so many in the last great wave of uprisings throughout the planet... And just as the zapatistas' Sixth Declaration says that "sometimes the people take up a name in order to say they are taking up a flag", some people simply say "'68" when referring to that great global circulation of struggles that Che helped to ignite. Here are the lyrics, in their original Spanish as well as a score of other languages including English.

3) Manu Chao/Luna Y Sol

The first of two songs here from Manu Chao. Back to back, "Luna Y Sol" and "Por El Suelo" are bridged by the voice of neo-zapatista spokesperson Subcomandante Marcos reading the words of Emiliano Zapata from his "Zapatista Manifesto in Náhuatl." These words also formed the introduction to the neo-zapatistas' Fourth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, which was released in January of 1996. Here is an English translation of that manifesto and declaration.

The zapatistas' Fourth Declaration announced the formation of the Zapatista Front of National Liberation, or FZLN, which was a national, civilian formation which lasted from 1996 until 2005 when it was dissolved to become part of the Other Campaign. It was the FZLN that was at the 1998 founding of the Peoples' Global Action network. With the release of their Sixth Declaration in the summer of 2005, the zapatistas proposed the launch of a new process of global organization and coordination that has since then been dubbed the Zezta Internazional.

Here are the lyrics to "Luna Y Sol" in Spanish and English.

4) Manu Chao/Por el suelo

Here are the lyrics to "Por el suelo" in Spanish and English and it speaks for itself. Although born in France, Manu Chao is of Galician and Basque heritage (regions within the Spanish State). His parents fled to Paris during the fascist regime of Franco. Manu is a friend to people struggling for freedom world-wide and there are many, many stories...

I can remember seeing images of Manu Chao performing in the middle of street-fighting People's Global Action protests in Brazil. I also remember when some friends of mine hung out with him after a concert here in Brooklyn, NY. He and his band mates treated them with respect and humility. Manu Chao has offered his support to Sista II Sista and Movement for Justice in El Barrio, two groups here in New York City.

5) Rage Against the Machine/War Within a Breath

Here in the USA, the biggest music group to carry the zapatista flag has gotta be Rage Against the Machine. Even at their Coachella reunion earlier this year, the black flag with the red star was hanging behind them. This song brings the rage, of course, of the January 1st, 1994 uprising.

6) Flor del Fango/Himno Zapatista

This is the official anthem of the zapatistas, performed by a band based -surprisingly- in Switzerland. Here are the lyrics in Spanish and English.

7) Lila Downs/Smog

While reporting on the Other Campaign from Oaxaca City in the first days of 2006, I couldn't help but notice the public buses with huge advertisements for an upcoming Lila Downs concert. She is another artist that has consistently supported struggles in Oaxaca, Chiapas and elsewhere. I have been told that this song is a response to the 1997 massacre of 45 members (mostly women and children) of the indigenous Catholic pacifist organization "Las Abejas" at Acteal. Referred to as the Acteal Massacre, they were murdered by paramilitaries who targeted them because of their support for the zapatistas. The massacre became a rallying point in mobilizations to defend the zapatistas.

8) Quetzal/Todos Somos Ramona

This song flips the 1995 rallying cry of "Todos Somos Marcos" ("We Are All Marcos"), which was used during the mobilizations to stop the Mexican governments invasion of zapatista territories after simulating an "unmasking" of Subcomandante Marcos on national television. Here we get a song lifting up the name of Comandanta Ramona, one of the most well know zapatistas who led the struggle for the Zapatista Revolutionary Law for Women (which was passed in 1993) as well as the charge on San Cristobal de Las Casas on January 1st, 1994. She was also the first zapatista leader to appear publicly outside of Chiapas, traveling to the founding meeting of the National Indigenous Congress in Mexico City in October of 1996 (check out this video to see the reception she got as well as footage of her from many other occasions). After a decade-long struggle against kidney cancer, she passed away on January 6, 2006.

Quetzal is a prominent chicano band from East L.A. that actively engages in struggles for social justice. "Todos Somos Ramona" was released on their first album from 1998.

9) Olmeca/Labios Del 6xto Sol

Following in the footsteps of Rage Against the Machine and Quetzal, Olmeca is yet another artist from the Los Angeles music scene to carry the zapatista flag. Although not as well known as the album single "Batalla" (peep the video here to see the fantastic music video), "Labios Del 6xto Sol" starts off Olmeca's first solo album with zapatista music and voice...

Olmeca also kicks off a line of artists here (Rebel Diaz, Spiritchild, and Ashanti Alston) who are or have been affiliated with Estación Libre, a US-based people of color network in solidarity with the zapatistas.

10) Rebel Diaz/Otr@ Guerriller@

There's a lot to say about Rebel Diaz and I'm not sure where to start. Maybe you can just listen to this song and check out their website. Heroes in Chicago and the Bronx, Rebel Diaz are truly engaged artists. Two members, G1 and Rodstarz, were arrested while doing a little impromptu Copwatch in the Bronx on the day Intergalactic Class #3 was being held... Elliott Liu has written up an analysis of the wave of repression hitting radical activists of color who are directly addressing the police violence in their communities.

11) Spiritchild/track #6 from Zapatistas EP

Spiritchild is another tireless artist and organizer living in the Bronx. Again, I don't even know where to start... check him out!

12) Fermin Muguruza/Brigadistak

Most people in the states don't know who Fermin Muguruza is, but he's huge in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere. I first picked up a tape of his in 2002 in Mexico City at the "Rincon Zapatista", a store ran by supporters of the zapatistas - the office of the FZLN was upstairs. "Brigadistak" was the title track to what a found to be a great album. Performed almost entirely in Euskara, the language of the Basque people, one can still somehow get an idea of what the music is about. The pictures above each track on the cassette tape packaging helped too... this song opens with a zapatista call for internationals to continue coming to stay with them in their communities.

A close friend of Manu Chao, Fermin Muguruza has been persecuted in Spain for his active support of the Basque struggle for independence. There has been massive support for the zapatista struggle from "Euskal Herria" (or "Basque Country")... in late 2002, Subcomandante Marcos engaged in an unfortunate initiative and exchange with the Basque struggle and related actors that I will detail in a later post...

I met Fermin Muguruza earlier this year when I came home to find him sitting in my living room! He had come in to town to visit his friends Mahmoud, Suhell and Tamer of DAM, a featured group in Slingshot Hip Hop - the film about Palestinian Hip Hop that our housemate Jackie Reem Salloum made and that we all worked on (check out the new trailer). Needless to say, we had some good talks about the zaps and the Other Campaign...

13) Ashanti Alston/track #2 from Zapatistas EP

There's not a lot I can say about Ashanti that I haven't already said... check out these two posts 1,2... and listen here to what he has to say! This track comes from the Zapatistas EP, a project of Movement in Motion and Estación Libre that includes the Spiritchild song featured on this mix, as well as music from Rodstarz of Rebel Diaz, an interview with Karl Jagbandhansingh, and a bunch of other folks I can't remember right now...

14) Mayor Anamaria Y P18/La Lucha Sigue

Just as this mix opens with a frenetic track from Mano Negra evoking the spirit of Emiliano Zapata, I figured it would be appropriate to end with this track featuring zapatista Major Ana Maria's opening address to the 1996 Intercontinental Encuentro for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism (the first Intergalactic!). Even more appropriate because the song is arranged by "P18," a collaboration between former members of Mano Negra, a Parisian DJ, and a family of musicians from Cuba...

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Intergalactic Class #3

The Dymaxion Map of the Earth

Below is a description of the class we held two weeks ago - with a focus on the global organizing and theorizing that has come out of the zapatistas' Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle. Keeping this in mind, La Jornada just published a piece by Gustavo Esteva that rings the alarm bell for Mexico to mobilize NOW in defense of the zapatistas or face the devastating nation-wide consequences of an armed conflict in Chiapas... here's the article in Spanish.

CLASS #3 of
ENTER THE INTERGALACTIC:
ZAPATISMO IN THE US & THE WORLD

INTRO: Layout agenda for class and focus on global context of struggle for today

ICEBREAKER: Who said this quote?

The Quote:
"If human beings should be discovered on Mars or Venus, we would then discuss the matter of uniting with them and forming a united front."

Class puts out possible answers or ask questions that might help them figure it out.

Answer: Mao Tse-tung (surprise!) - from his speech at the first session of the preparatory meeting for the Eighth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1956, "Strengthen Party Unity and Carry Forward Party Traditions.

Explanation of Activity: The zapatistas are often held up as a completely new way of doing politics and used as a counter-point to other left traditions. While the zapatistas are, indeed, innovating and building an other way of doing politics, they draw from and honor their past. Although they do not share some of Mao's ideas -such as the notion that "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"- one of the traditions they do come out of is one that draws on the ideas of Che Guevara and Mao Tse-tung. I also chose this quote in particular to demonstrate how even some of the zapatistas seemingly more "far out" ideas are not, in fact, "new." (Thanks to Kolya for finding and sending along this quote!) It's with this in mind that we would go on to explore the homework assignment...

GROUP SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION OF THE READING

The homework for this class was Kolya Abramsky's "The Bamako Appeal and The Zapatista 6th Declaration: Between Creating New Worlds and Reorganizing the Existing One." Because it was a lengthy piece, I figured it would be good for us to summarize and discuss the contents of the reading as a big group.

With the chalkboard divided up into three columns (zapatistas/sixth declaration, world social forum/bamako appeal, other) we attempted to list out as a group some of the main observations made in the reading regarding the proposals for global coordination coming out of the zapatistas' Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle as well as the Bamako Appeal coming from some people involved with the World Social Forum process. The "other" column was left for those observations made that refer to neither or both proposals, such as what may be missing from both or information on what is going on in the world that would impact any such proposal.

This resulted in a pretty lively discussion of, amongst other things, forms of power and how those forms of power are constituted today (such as power over vs power to, or the power of different nation-states today in relation to a century or even 50 years ago).

SMALL GROUP EXPLORATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS: Who is the Intergalactic?

With a smaller group of participants (16) than our first two sessions (30 each), we were able to divide the class into four groups of 4. Each group was given a document from some kind of participant in this global network coming out of the zapatistas' Sixth Declaration (usually referred to as the "Zezta Internazional" -or "Sixth International"- although the "Intergalactic" also still gets thrown around a bit).

The four groups/documents (one for each group) used were:

* La Via Campesina: "What is La Via Campesina" and "Our Members"
- Representing as many as 150 million people worldwide, La Via Campesina (The Peasant Way) is arguably the world's largest independent social movement organization. Since the zapatistas released their Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle in June of 2005, La Via Campesina has been very active in different initiatives and gatherings coming out of its international proposals. In March of 2007, La Via Campesina's Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform enthusiastically joined the World Campaign for the Defense of Autonomous Indigenous and Peasant Land and Territory in Chiapas, Mexico and the World. In July of 2007, La Via Campesina sent an extensive delegation to participate in the zapatistas' 2nd Encounter of the Zapatista Peoples with the Peoples of the World - delegates from Brazil, Korea, India, the USA, Madagascar, Indonesia, Bolivia, Basque Country, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ecuador, Thailand, Canada, Guatemala, and -of course- Mexico were scheduled to attend. Unfortunately, the one delegate from Africa (Tsirisoa Rakotonimaro, Leader of the Peasant Confederation of Madagascar) was turned away by the Mexican authorities and, thus, unable to attend the Encuentro. The 3rd Encounter of the Zapatista Peoples with the Peoples of the World -aka "The Womyn's Encuentro"- held from December 28, 2007 to January 1st, 2008 was also attended by an extensive delegation of women from La Via Campesina groups around the world.

* The Encuentro of the Indigenous Peoples of América: "The Vicam Declaration"
- In October of 2007, approximately 547 First Nations delegates met at the first Encounter of the Indigenous Peoples of América, held in Sonora, Mexico. The encuentro was convoked by Mexico's National Indigenous Congress (CNI), the EZLN, and the Kumiai nation. Indigenous peoples from all over the Americas, including lands occupied by the governments of the USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Caribbean, Ecuador, and Paraguay participated in the Encuentro. The Vicam Declaration is the document that came out of this gathering.

* Mexico's National Forum Against Repression: "Organizational Proposal of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation for the National Instancia Against Repression"
- Recognizing the heightened forms of control being imposed on the poor of Mexico, and the connections between these forms and those being developed in the USA and forced upon the people of Iraq, the National Forum Against Repression was initiated in Mexico in June of 2007. This is just one instance of a network with concrete tasks that has surged from the Other Campaign. A product of necessity, the Forum has already yielded results - some of which have been documented at Kristen Bricker's blog "My Word is My Weapon." Although it is a "national" formation in name, it has connected with and mobilized international individuals, groups, and networks.

* Europa Zapatista: "European Caravan to Chiapas in Solidarity with Zapatista Autonomy and the Other Campaign"
- In what could be seen as the European corollary to Mexico's National Forum Against Repression, people from throughout at least 14 countries in Europe have been organizing themselves since at least February of 2008 to act in defense of the Other Campaign and the zapatistas. The European Caravan to Chiapas is one such action that this network has initiated.

After each of the four groups gets a chance to study their respective document, they put together a presentation for the whole group on what they've just learned. They also take a set of colored stars -a different color for each group- and use them to mark the places on the Dymaxion map where the struggle their presenting is taking place. The groups presenting on La Via Campesina and Europa Zapatista gave more theatrical presentations whereas the groups presenting on the Encuentro of the Indigenous Peoples of América and Mexico's National Forum Against Repression created visual aids on chart paper for their reportbacks.

HOMEWORK: 3 Short Pieces on Obama & "Be a zapatista Wherever You Are"

The first two readings are from Al Giordano's pro-Obama blog "The Field." He was predicting Obama's rise back in September of last year. He is also the founder of "The Narco News Bulletin" - and has been enthusiastically reporting on the zapatistas for years... so here are a couple posts on Obama from a zapatista inspired journalist.

#1 "No More Drama"

#2 "The Narrative is Not a Story of Technology"

The third is a left critique of Obama's voting record from Ralph Nader's
VP candidate, Matt Gonzalez:

#3 "The Obama Craze"

And lastly, something completely different - in classic professor fashion,
I assigned my own writing!

#4 "Be a zapatista Wherever You Are"

BONUS: Zapaturismo

In honor of our global look at zapatismo and for comedy relief, we explored one way that internationals engage with the zapatistas through Lonely Planet's "Zapatista Revolution" travel video...

We closed the night with a visit to the storied Julius' Bar... thanks to Scout for the find and the history lesson!

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