Chiapas Support Committee
Home of the Compañero Manuel blog on zapatistas & mexico
Chiapas Cancels Carbon Deal with California
Chiapas cancels carbon deal with California
[This is REAL GOOD NEWS! What this article omits is the strong and unified opposition of both Zapatista and non-Zapatista campesinos to this attempted control over land rights in the Lacandón Jungle of Chiapas. Thanks to all the organizations that worked against it!]
The state government of Chiapas, Mexico, has cancelled a controversial forest protection plan that critics said failed to address the root causes of deforestation and could endanger the lives and livelihoods of indigenous peoples. The program is linked to California’s cap-and-trade program through a complex “carbon offset” scheme that has yet to see the light of day. Carlos Morales Vázquez, the state’s environment secretary, on July 8 told the Chiapas daily El Heraldo that the UN initiative that provided the model for the pact, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), “was an utter failure, and the program is cancelled.”
The program, instituted in 2011 after Chiapas signed an agreement with California as part of the US state’s Global Warming Solutions Act or AB32, has been widely criticized by civil society groups for its lack of clear objectives, and failure to engage indigenous people’s organizations or take into account historic tension over land rights in the region.
Europe’s emissions trading system, the largest carbon market in the world, does not accept REDD credits. The EU maintains that reductions in carbon emissions from forest preservation are impossible to verify accurately, that preserving one forest in one place may only drive deforestation to another area, and that industrial pollution remains in the atmosphere for centuries while forests are more vulnerable to short-term changes.
“The idea that California could reduce its climate emissions by asking the state of Chiapas to preserve its forests was absurd from the beginning,” said Jeff Conant, international forests campaigner with Friends of the Earth-US. “The suspension of the program can only be seen as recognition that there are better ways to meet our goals of preserving ecosystems, supporting indigenous peoples’ rights, and defusing the climate crisis.”
Friends of the Earth-Mexico, also known as Otros Mundos, called the REDD+ program in Chiapas “a chronicle of a disaster foreseen.”
“The failure of the REDD+ program shows why projects that attempt to commercialize nature can’t work in Chiapas,” said Claudia Ramos-Guillén of Otros Mundos. “This project has had tremendous costs for the indigenous and peasant communities of the state. Programs by which the tropical nations of the global South are paid to absorb the climate pollution of the industrial North are destined to fail as long as real solutions to the climate crisis are not put into practice.”
Morales, the Chiapas environment secretary, told El Heraldo that the program “didn’t have the results that were announced. I believe that environmental problems need to be addressed with real strategies, not just as casual occurrences.”
This spring, draft recommendations for moving the agreement between California, Chiapas and the Brazilian state of Acre generated a storm of criticism. Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace International, Global Justice Ecology Project, the Indigenous Environmental Network and dozens of other groups sent a letter to California’s Governor Jerry Brown asking him to reject the plan, saying: “[The] proposal is not only unlikely to deliver real, additional and permanent emission reductions, but it would also prevent Californians from getting the benefits of AB 32 at home.” Groups in Chiapas and Brazil also sent letters to California authorities denouncing the effort.
Despite the news that the REDD program in Chiapas is suspended, the Action Program on Climate Change in Chiapas continues to refer to REDD as a keystone of the state’s climate change strategy, indicating that the project could be moved to other areas. (Friends of the Earth, July 18).
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Originally Published by: WW4 Report on Fri, 07/19/2013 – 06:18
http://ww4report.com/node/12447
EZLN: New Dates for Little Schools & Other Details
New Little School Dates, Information about the Videoconferences and a few other things.
July 2013.
For: The compañeras and compañeros of the Sixth and the Zapatista Little School students.
From: Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Compañeras and compañeros.
Here I am sending you some information about the Zapatista Little School.
First: We want to communicate with those compañer@s—men, women, children, and elders—who did not get a spot in this first round of the Zapatista Little School.
The Zapatista peoples did what they could to make more spots available, and opened space for 1700 students; these spots once again filled up quickly. In other words, they created 200 more spots, and those next in line on the waiting list have already been informed they can come. Nevertheless there are many more people who want to come. We are writing to tell them not to be sad anymore, or mad, or pissed off because there wasn’t any more space.
The compañeras and compañeros who are the Little School teachers have decided that there will be another class at the end of the year, in December of 2013, and also one in January of 2014. More specifically:
The dates for the second round of the Little School will be:
Registration: December 23-24, 2013.
Classes: December 25-29, 2013.
Return: December 30, 2013.
They also decided to remember and celebrate the January 1, 1994 Zapatista uprising, so for those who want to stay for the 20th anniversary festivities, there will be a party December 31 and January 1.
After that, there still won’t be rest, because it has also been decided that after the festivities, the work—that is, the Little School—will continue:
Dates for the third round of the Little School:
Anniversary party: December 31, 2013 – January 1, 2014.
Registration: January 1-2, 2014.
Classes: January 3-7, 2014.
Return: January 8, 2014, everyone back to their corner of the earth.
PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THIS POINT: In order to request an invitation and registration code for the second and third rounds of the Little School, even if you have already asked for one via the webpage or by email, you must send your request to the following email (you can send it as of today):
escuelitazapDicEne13_14@ezln.org.mx
We are doing it this way so that we can organize things adequately and so that you receive a timely response.
Second: Remember that the parties for the 10-year anniversary of the caracoles and the Good Government Councils are open to all. These parties will begin August 8 and continue the 9th and 10th. On the 9th and 10th there will be a concert and presentations by artistic groups from various parts of Mexico and the world. There will also be a concert in CIDECI on August 11 on registration day. We will send out the program soon.
Third: We want to remind those who are coming to the first round of the Little School in August of this year that:
-Registration, to which you should bring your ID and registration code, will be August 10 and 11, 2013 in CIDECI, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
-You should bring $100.00 (one hundred Mexican pesos), which covers the cost of the study packet. It consists of 4 textbooks and 2 DVDs (20 pesos per book and 10 pesos per DVD).
-When you register, you will receive your nametag and student study packet, and you will be told which caracol you are going to. If you have a vehicle you will given directions to your caracol and informed when a caravan with a guide vehicle will be leaving. If you don’t have a vehicle, you will be told which bus or truck you can ride in as part of the caravan. If you are taking your own vehicle, you can leave it in the caracol during your class and we will take care of it.
-The departure to the caracoles is the 11th. If it gets late on the 11th and the buses are still filling up, there will be an early departure on the 12th.
-Classes start August 12 and finish the 16th; August 17 will be the return trip, and the buses will leave you in CIDECI, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. There you can stay for the Seminar “Tata Juan Chávez Alonso” given by various originary peoples from our country.
-Travel times:
The farthest caracoles are La Realidad and Roberto Barrios. Traveling in caravan and without stopping, getting lost, or breaking down, the trip will take 8-9 hours.
The next farthest is La Garrucha. Traveling in caravan and without stopping, the trip will take 5-6 hours.
Then follows: The caracol of Morelia, traveling in caravan and without stopping, the trip will take 4-5 hours.
And lastly: The caracol of Oventik, traveling in caravan the trip will take one and a half to two hours.
All caravans will leave from CIDECI, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.
Another day I will send you the hourly schedules for the classes, but before that SupMarcos has to tell you how all of this is going to work.
Fourth: We also want to tell our compañer@s of the Sixth that if they can’t be at the Little School this August, there is still a way to participate, because we are going to transmit special classes by videoconference, with a special team of Zapatista compas who are going to explain everything and respond to your questions via “chat.”
In this process we will have the support of the compas from Koman Ilel and other independent media.
We will tell you more about this in a specific letter. But I will let you know now that the videoconference days will be August 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. There will be at least two different schedules, one so that people in the Americas can participate in the evening, and another some hours later so that people from other continents can also participate in the evening. We did it this way thinking that in the evening you will arrive home from work and can take the class, or you can take it during the day if you work at night.
In order to take the class via videoconference, you will need to have a code or password. This password is only given to those who are invited and have asked to take the class via videoconference. If you want to take the class by videoconference and you don’t have an invitation, please ask for one at the following email address:
You will then be sent the password to enter the internet conference. Also, for any compas who are organizing videoconference sessions where they are, they should send us the names of those who they will be inviting. This is so that we have an idea of who is taking the course via videoconference.
That is what we wanted to tell you, compañer@s of the Sixth.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Mexico, July of 2013.
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Watch and listen to the videos that accompany this text:
The track “Soy el Sol en Movimiento” (I am the Sun in Movement), from the group “El Problema del Barrio” (the Problem of the Hood). Lyrics by Orlando Rodríguez, music by Miguel Ogando. Drawings by Juan Kalvellido. Video production: Orlando Fonseca.
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¡Rock! The Spanish group “Ilegales” (The Illegals) with the track “Tiempos Nuevos, Tiempos Salvajes” (New Times, Crazy Times). Video Production: Zenodro1000
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Reggae, from the Ivory Coast, Africa, with Tiken Jah Fakoli and this track called “Plus Rien Ne M’étonne” (“At this point nothing surprises me”). Video production: Ben Magec.
******************************** Traducción del Kilombo Intergaláctico. *********************************
Zapatista Summer Film: The Sixth Sun
Zapatista Summer
This summer, the Chiapas Support Committee is working with other collectives and organizations to promote the 10th Anniversary of the Zapatista Good Government Councils (Juntas), the “Little Zapatista Schools” (Escuelitas) the 20th Anniversary of the January 1, 1994 Zapatista Uprising and to build community here in the Bay. Zapatista Summer began with a beautiful Concert at Rincon in San Francisco with performances by Francisco Herrera, local musicians and Spoken Word by Arnoldo Garcia. The funds raised will be donated to the Zapatistas to help offset their expenses for the Anniversary of the Juntas and the “escuelitas” (Little Schools that teach Freedom According to the Zapatistas).
We will continue sponsoring events throughout the summer as the Zapatistas prepare to celebrate their 20th Anniversary on January 1, 2014! Please join us at these events to celebrate the EZLN’s resurgence and to learn how you can participate. Our next event is a film screening of the Sixth Sun, co-sponsored with the Eastside Arts Alliance. For more Info: cezmat@igc.org or (510) 654-9587
Raúl Zibechi: Return of the Social Movement
Return of the Social Movement
By: Raúl Zibechi
The June mobilizations in Brazil can constitute a sharp turn of long duration. They are the first large demonstrations in 20 years, since 1992 against then President Fernando Collor de Melo, who was forced to resign. Things are different now: the movement is much broader, encompassing hundreds of cities, the most organized sectors propose goals of greater reach with an anti-capitalist orientation and we are not facing a punctual explosion but rather the coming together en masse of an extensive discontent.
The above permits venturing that we are probably facing the beginning of a new cycle of struggles impelled by organizations different from those of the previous period. But, what were the prior movements?
In the 1970s, a real social earthquake was produced in Brazil, seen from below, in the middle of the military regime. The factory commissions embodied a new unionism of rejecting the vertical structure of official unionism. The strikes in São Bernardo do Campo and other cities of the São Paulo manufacturing belt broke the regime’s control, a movement that took shape in the creation of the Workers’ Only Central (Central Única de los Trabajadores, CUT) in 1983. In 1979, landless campesinos again took up occupations as tools of struggle, with the occupation of the Macali y Brilhante haciendas (plantations) that are considered the origin of the MST (Movimiento Sin Tierra). In 1980, the Workers Party (Partido de los Trabajadores, PT) was created.
The big creations of the Brazilian popular movement started through small resistance movements and struggles, and by actors, let’s say, marginal from those point of view of big politics. The PT’s creation is the junction of three currents: the defeated from the armed struggle of the 60s and 70s, the faith-based communities –that never separated ethics from politics– and the new unionism, within the context of a broad popular movement for freedom. As Chico de Oliveira, the great Brazil sociologist, points out, those junctures are very rare in history, and are not repeatable.
Two decades later, things have changed radically. The higher stratum of unionism has become, through pension funds, an ally of financial capital and the Brazilian multi-nationals. The PT is one more traditional party, which in no way differs from the parties of the right, or with any of those that co-govern. The politics of the possible led the party of Lula to dirty itself in notorious corruption cases like the monthly allowance (mensalão), which was paid to parliamentarians to vote with the government. Only the MST refused, even paying the price of greater isolation.
The same year that Lula arrived in the government more than 40,000 youths won the streets of Salvador (Bahia), against the increase of the urban transportation fares in a 10-day movement known as the Buzu Revolt (in reference to the buses). The following year, in 2004, another massive mobilization in Florianopolis struggled against high transportation costs, the Turnstile Revolt. The student apparatuses negotiated with the municipal power passing over the movement, generating a profound rejection.
In 2005, at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, the Free Pass Movement (MPL, its initials in Portuguese) was created, with groups in all the big cities. We’re talking about small nuclei that functioned based on the principles of horizontality, autonomy, federalism, and not supporting a political party, but not anti-political party. In that way, they rejected hierarchical and centralized organizations, dependent on the State and the government, which hegemonized the popular field. The MPL wasn’t the only movement of this kind. The Central of Independent Media (CMI, or Indymedia Brazil), the Without Roof Movement (MTST, its initials in Spanish), the unemployed (MTD), the picketers and autonomous and libertarian student groups in the universities and some high schools, formed a vast rainbow.
The MPL stood out for mobilizing tens of thousands of people in the streets, because of the poor quality of urban transportation, in general private, and for its abusive prices. Towards 2008, the Popular Committees of the Cup emerge, which analyzed the consequences that the public works for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games have for the population. Just like the others, they are small groups of heterogeneous composition that started to work with the communities on the urban peripheries and residents of the favelas threatened by the mega-works.
What’s most important is that in those groups a new political and protest culture was being born. Some call it direct action. Anyway it is inspired in the four axes mentioned; it grew and expanded outside of the institutions and has no calling to become an organizational apparatus separated from the people that struggle and mobilize or from participating in elections. In a long decade of consumerist consensus, lubricated by social policies that froze inequality, that new culture was settling into the margins of social action and it began to expand from there.
In the half-year prior to June’s large mobilizations, those modes of acting won victories in a dozen cities, in the resistance to the public works for the World Cup and in the reduction of the cost of transportation. That culture went from calling on hundreds to mobilizing tens of thousands. As is known, police repression and the FIFA’s dominance did the rest. When the people started to spill over into the big avenues, all of Brazil knew that the works for the World Cup form part of a segregationist urban reform concocted by speculative capital. They struggle for the right to the city that capital denies to them.
Now we know that towards 2003, in Bahia, the slow forging of a new band of movements began. But we must not forget that it all began because of small groups of youths, at the margins of the political system and against the grain of the institutions.
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Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada
Friday, July 12, 2013
Translation: Chiapas Support Committee
En español: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2013/07/12/opinion/020a2pol
Resumen de noticias sobre los zapatistas – Junio de 2013
JUNIO DE 2013 RESUMEN DE NOTICIAS SOBRE LOS ZAPATISTAS
En Chiapas
1. Moisés: Cupo lleno en Las Escuelitas – El 13 de junio, el Subcomandante Moisés publicó un comunicado informando que las escuelitas donde l@s estudiantes aprenderán “la libertad según los zapatistas” ya se llenaron. Ya no hay cupo. Parece que había espacio para 1500 personas pero más querían participar. Sin embargo, el Sup Moisés dice que habrá otra sesión de las escuelitas probablemente en diciembre ó enero.
2. Marcos publica comunicados sobre las escuelitas – En una serie de comunicados titulados “L@s Condiscipul@s,” el Subcomandante Marcos ha publicado 5 informes (hasta ahora) sobre quiénes sí y quiénes no asistirán a las escuelitas. L@s que no estarán presentes incluyen los desaparecidos y los presos políticos; entre ellos, Alberto Patishtán, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning y miembros de Pussy Riot. Edward Poindexter y Mondo we Langa también fueron incluidos. Forman parte del Black Panther Party (Partido de los Panteras Negras o BPP), objetivo del programa COINTELPRO del gobierno de los Estados Unidos que espió y luego infiltró al BPP. Otro grupo que no estará presente incluye a los que no fueron invitados; por ejemplo los ex-miembros y miembros actuales de la Cocopa, el Departamento de Estado de los EEUU, la CIA, el FBI, etcétera. En el cuarto comunicado, Marcos explica que los pueblos originarios de las Américas no estarán presentes porque los zapatistas no tienen nada que enseñarles. Mas bien, los zapatistas han aprendido de ellos y tendrán su celebración del 17 al 18 de agosto en el seminario Tata Juan Chavez Alonso. El comunicado mas reciente describe a quienes serán l@s estudiantes de la escuelita, de dónde son y cuántos serán.
3. BUENAS NOTICIAS! Tribunal Chiapaneco Libera a Miguel Vázquez Deara – El 26 de junio, un tribunal chiapaneco liberó a Miguel Vázquez Deara de la cárcel. Vázquez Deara viene de San Sebastián Bachajón, y es adherente a la Sexta Declaración del EZLN, y un participante activo en la defensa del territorio y contra los intereses del turismo lujoso. Le detuvieron en septiembre del 2011 con los cargos de haber robado con arma y asociación delictuosa, esto basado en pruebas fabricadas por militantes a favor del gobierno y quienes tienen interés por controlar las cascadas de Agua Azul. Vázquez Deara confesó haber cometido los crímenes bajo condiciones de tortura, y entonces empezó su estancia en prisión en noviembre de 2012. El tribunal de apelaciones anuló como prueba la confesión sacada bajo tortura, dado que Vázquez Deara no tuvo ni abogado ni traductor cuando dió su supuesta confesión. Este tipo de abusos del sistema de justicia es un arma más que se utiliza en contra de l@s que defienden su territorio no solo en Chiapas sino en todo México.
4. Campaña Mundial: Juan Vázquez Guzmán Vive! La Lucha de Bachajón Sigue! – Organizaciones expresando su solidaridad con la lucha zapatista llevaron a cabo una semana global de lucha que comenzó el 25 de junio y terminó el 2 de julio, para recordar a Juan Vázquez Guzmán quien fuera asesinado el pasado 24 de abril. Vázquez Guzmán fue líder del movimiento de resistencia contra los intereses turísticos que pretenden privatizar el territorio en Bachajón para construir hoteles “boutique”, con pistas de aterrizaje para helicópteros que en su mayor parte acostumbran trasladar como pasajeros a empresarios y políticos encumbrados. Si desea leer más información sobre la Campaña Global, pulse aqui.
5. Policía reprime con violencia a maestr@s en Chiapas – El sábado 29 de junio, la policía del estado de Chiapas junto con la policía especial antidisturbios, violentamente interrumpieron un Congreso Estatal de maestros sindicalizados que se llevaba a cabo en en Tuxtla Gutiérrez, desalojando a todos los presentes y resultando 28 maestros arrestados y unos 200 heridos. Según varios informes publicados en La Jornada, la Sección Local 7 del SNTE estaban eligiendo representantes y al Secretario General en el Congreso de delegados. Cuando se hizo evidente que el llamado “bloque democrático” de la sección 7 tenía la mayoría, representantes de la Unión Nacional decidieron romper la reunión acusando al Congreso de “secuestro” porque las puertas estaban cerradas para evitar la entrada de extraños a votar ilegalmente. Los representantes nacionales fueron ante el gobierno del estado y acusaron a los maestros locales de secuestro. El gobierno del estado envió su selecto cuerpo de policía. El “bloque democrático” se puede considerar como una voz disidente dentro del Sindicato de maestros. Lo interesante en este caso es la respuesta de la policía de Chiapas. Fotos de los maestros ensangrentados pueden encontrarse en La Jornada.
En los Estados Unidos
1. México, uno de los países que los EEUU espió – WikiLeaks reveló que la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA, por sus siglas en inglés) de los Estados Unidos condujo actividades de espionaje sobre la embajada mexicana, y que México fue solo uno más de los aliados de EEUU sobre los que hubo este tipo de actividades, esto de acuerdo a versiones del periódico Guardián publicadas por La Jornada.
2. El proyecto de ley migratoria de EEUU es preocupante para México – El 24 de Junio una enmienda sobre la seguridad fronteriza, considerada indispensable para la aprobación del proyecto de ley migratoria que es respaldado por el Presidente Barack Obama, sobrepasó un obstáculo de procedimiento en el Senado estadounidense, ayudando a impulsar los cambios más grandes a las leyes migratorias en los EEUU desde 1986. La enmienda duplicaría el número de agentes policiacos en la frontera sur hasta 40,000 en los próximos 10 años. Proveería más equipo de vigilancia de alta tecnología para prevenir el cruce de la frontera EEUU-México sin permiso. La enmienda también proveería inversión para concluir la construcción de 700 millas de muro fronterizo. El proyecto de ley también otorgaría condición legal (permisos de trabajo) a millones de trabajadores indocumentados, que serían puestos en una vía hacia la ciudadanía que podría tomar hasta 13 años para lograrla. El gobierno de México está preocupado de que la profundización de la militarización fronteriza conduzca a más violencia.
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Compilación mensual hecha por el Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas.
Nuestras principales fuentes de información son: La Jornada, Enlace Zapatista y el Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas (Frayba).
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Chiapas Support Committee/Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas
P.O. Box 3421, Oakland, CA 94609
Tel: (510) 654-9587
Email: cezmat@igc.org
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chiapas-Support-Committee-Oakland/86234490686
EZLN and CNI In Solidarity with the Yaqui Tribe
Communiqué of the CCRI-CG of the EZLN and the National Indigenous Congress in Solidarity with the Yaqui Tribe
To the Yaqui Tribe,
Rancho Peñasco Silkscreen of Traditional Dance of the Deer
To the People of Mexico,
To the National and International Sexta
To the governments of Mexico and of the World
From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast in rebel Zapatista territory we send out our joint word as Peoples, Nations and Indigenous Tribes that make up the National Indigenous Congress, through which we send a fraternal greeting of strength and solidarity to the members of the Yaqui Tribe, to their Government and Traditional Guard, hoping to find everyone well.
We greet the Yaqui Tribe’s historic mobilization in defense of their existence and of their territory, a mobilization that in the last 40 days has been demonstrated in the establishment of an encampment in resistance around the International Highway in Vicam, First Seat of the Yaqui Tribe, to the robbery of the water that the bad government seeks to concretize through the Independence Aqueduct, which affects not only the Yaqui but the whole south of Sonora; despite the fact that the Yaqui Tribe has gone through the necessary legal steps, in which it has obtained victories that the same government has not respected. Their struggle, compañeros, is also ours, because, just like you, we maintain the certainty that the land is our mother and the water that runs through our veins is not for sale, because life that is a right and that has not been given by the bad governments or by the promoters that depend on her.
We demand the immediate cancellation of the arrest warrants and the fabrication of crimes against members of the Yaqui Tribe and we condemn the criminalization of their struggle, saying to the bad governments emanating from the political parties that the Yaqui River has historically been the carrier of the ancestral continuity of the culture and territory of the Yaqui Tribe and those that make up the National Indigenous Congress, we reiterate that if you touch one of us you touch us all, therefore we will respond accordingly to any attempt at repressing this dignified struggle or any other struggle.
Finally, we call upon the international community and the brothers and sisters of the Sexta International to stay attentive to events that will be presented in the future in the territory of the Yaqui tribe, adding yourselves to the solidarity with la Tribe and its demands.
Sincerely,
From Zapatista Caracol Number 2 – Resistance and Rebellion for Humanity, of Oventic, Chiapas
Never More a Mexico without us
Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestino Committee–General Command of the EZLN
National Indigenous Congress
July 7, 2013
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Originally Published in Spanish by Enlace Zapatista
Translation: Chiapas Support Committee
July 8, 2013
9 Indigenous Prisoners and Zapatista Supporters Free!
Nine Indigenous Free In Chiapas; Patishtán Will Continue A Prisoner
** The governor, Manuel Velasco Coello, went to the prison
Chiapas Political Prisoners
By: Hermann Bellinghausen, Envoy
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, July 4, 2013
It is the third time that Alberto Patishtán Gómez sees his prison companions leaving, after a long and painful struggle together for recuperating not only their freedom, but also their stolen dignity, the years lost for no reason or crime. It is the third time that he stays inside.
That occurred, because nine prisoners and adherents to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandón Jungle were finally released this afternoon, after three days of waiting for the state government’s decision to be fulfilled. They spent several years constantly in peaceful struggle, a hunger strike, numerous afternoons of loneliness and desperation. They still had to wait for their freedom (rather a correction of the reigning justice system in Chiapas, a warning call). They had one foot in the stirrup since Tuesday, and nothing. Outside, under the rain or the sun, their mothers, wives and/or children waited two days for them, with uncontrollable incredulity.
Governor Manuel Velasco Coello arrived by land from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, at 6:15 PM, at the Los Llanos Prison, in San Cristóbal’s rural zone, to deliver the release papers to the indigenous, after entering a los booths and interviewing each one of them.
Afterwards, Professor Alberto Patishtán Gómez, who will remain in prison together with Alejandro Díaz Sántiz, went out to the prison gates and crossed over them a few meters to ‘‘deliver’’ those released to their families: ‘‘Here I deliver the compañeros; I still remain here, but one must not lose hope,’’ he said smiling and confident, before making a half turn and reentering the prison, accompanied by the governor and a swarm of officials and escorts.
The people that left state prison number five this Thursday are: Rosario Díaz Méndez, Pedro López Jiménez, Juan Collazo Jiménez, Juan Díaz López, Rosa López Díaz, Alfredo López Jiménez, Juan López González and Benjamín López Díaz. Once outside, Pedro López Jiménez said standing at the highway: ‘‘this victory is everyone’s, not just ours and not just yours,’’ directing himself to the indigenous families and solidarity sympathizers from civil society that were waiting for them. Some of them have accompanied the prisoners for many years.
‘‘We will continue struggling. We are not going to stop, much less are we going to abandon Compañero Alberto, who remains inside,’’ Pedro added at the foot of a big rock pie where banners and chants demanded: ‘‘political prisoners, freedom!’’ The people reunited, a few dozen, embraced and greeted with tears the eight men and Rosa, the only woman in the group released, who being pregnant during torture and the unjustified incarceration in 2007, lost a son, among other things.
Rosario Díaz Méndez, of the Voice of El Amate, said: ‘‘we will continue struggling until achieving the freedom of Compañero Alberto and all the compañeros that continue as prisoners.’’ He also leaves declaring his innocence. Eight years after the judicial ‘‘error’’ that sentenced him to 30 years for two grave crimes (that he did not commit), his wife did not stop hugging him; they are the oldest couple, the others are young.
The nine abandon the prison as the product of years of collective effort, in many countries, on many occasions, above all of those inside the prisons, where the Voice of El Amate and those in Solidarity with the Voice of El Amate became defenders of the rights of the prison population. In the case of Los Llanos, they transformed life inside the prison with their peaceful civil valor. If anyone is going to miss them, it’s the remaining prisoners.
A political event has resulted. A victory of the indigenous that, the majority at the mercy of official lawyers (public defenders?), demonstrated being right and displayed it (their release confirms it) to the police that arrested and also tortured them, to the District Attorney’s agents that jailed them knowing that they were innocent, to the judges that sentenced them, to the politicians that administered the sustained protest of these Tzotziles and Tzeltales from different places.
In the evening, the liberated indigenous headed for the San Cristóbal Cathedral, as they had promised, to visit the tomb of Samuel Ruiz García, their Tatic (father).
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Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada
Friday, July 5, 2013
En español: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2013/07/05/politica/009n1pol
English translation by the Chiapas Support Committee for the:
International Zapatista Translation Service, a collaboration of the:
Chiapas Support Committee, California
Wellington Zapatista Support Group
UK Zapatista Solidarity Network
Join Us For A Concert with Francisco Herrera & Friends
ZAPATISTA CONCERT with FRANCISCO HERRERA y AMIGOS
POLITICAL MUSIC, plus FOOD, DRINK & ZAPATISTA CRAFTS for sale
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2013 – 7:00 – 10:00 PM
RINCON, 3265 17th St. 2nd Floor, San Francisco (between Mission and Capp)
Requested Donation $10-$20
(All proceeds are for the Zapatistas and for scholarships for folks who are attending the EZLN’s “Little Schools.”)
Concert with Francisco Herrera & Friends
Zapatista News Summary – June 2013
JUNE 2013 ZAPATISTA NEWS SUMMARY
In Chiapas
Comandanta_Ramona
1. Moisés: There’s No More Space in the Little Schools – On June 13, Subcomandante Moisés released a communiqué reporting that the little schools where students will study “freedom according to the Zapatistas” are now full. There are no spaces left. It seems that there were a total of 1500 spaces and more people wanted to go. However, Sup Moisés says there will be another session of the little schools later, probably around December/January.
2. Marcos Issues Communiqués About the Little Schools – In a series of communiqués entitled Classmates, Subcomandante Marcos issued (so far) 5 reports on who will be and who will not be attending the little schools. Those who will not be present include the disappeared and political prisoners; among them, Alberto Patishtán, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and members of Pussy Riot. Edward Poindexter and Mondo we Langa were also included. They are former members of the Black Panther Party (BPP), targeted in the U.S. government’s COINTELPRO program that spied on and infiltrated the BPP. Another group that will not be present includes those not invited; such as, current and former members of the Cocopa, the US State Dept., the CIA, FBI, etcetera. In the fourth comunicado, Marcos explains that the original peoples of the Americas will not be present because the Zapatistas have nothing to teach them. Rather, the Zapatistas have learned from them and they will have their celebration on August 17-18 at the Seminar Tata Juan Chavez Alonso. The most recent communiqué describes who the students are at the little schools, where they are from and how many there are.
3. GREAT NEWS! A Chiapas Court Frees Miguel Vazquez Deara – On June 26, a Chiapas Court released Miguel Vazquez Deara from prison. Vazquez Deara is from San Sebastián Bachajon and is an adherent to the EZLN’s Sixth Declaration, an active participant in defending the loss of their lands to luxury tourism interests. He was arrested in September 2011 and charged with armed robbery and criminal association based on the false accusation of government supporters with an interest in the Agua Azul Cascades. He confessed under torture and was sentenced in November 2012. His illegally obtained confession was the only evidence used to find him guilty. On appeal, the court threw out the confession because Vazquez Deara did not have a lawyer or translator present when he gave his confession. This misuse of the criminal justice system is a weapon used against those who defend their land in Chiapas and throughout Mexico.
4. Worldwide Campaign: Juan Vazquez Guzman Lives! The Bachajon Struggle Continues! – Organizations in Solidarity with the Zapatista struggle launched a worldwide week of struggle –June 25 to July 2– to remember Juan Vazquez Guzman, who was assassinated on April 24. Vazquez Guzman was the leader of the resistance to tourism interests that want to take away land in Bachajon for “boutique” hotels with helipads for politicians and corporate executives. You can read more information about the Worldwide Campaign here.
5. Police Violently Repress Chiapas Teachers – On Saturday, June 29, Chiapas state police and special riot police violently broke into a statewide union congress and evicted all those present, arresting 28 and injuring around 200. Four teachers are hospitalized. According to several reports in La Jornada, Local 7 of the SNTE was electing representatives and a secretary general at the congress of delegates. When it became obvious that Section 7’s “democratic block” had the majority, representatives of the national union decided to break up the meeting by accusing the congress of “kidnapping” because the doors were locked to prevent outsiders from entering and voting illegally. The national reps went to the state government and accused the local teachers of kidnapping. The state government sent its elite police corps. The democratic block is to the Left of the national union’s leadership; in other words, they are a dissident voice within the union. Of concern here is the response of Chiapas police. Photos of the bloodied teachers can be found on the front page of Sunday’s La Jornada.
In the United States
1. Mexico Is One of the Countries the US Spied On – WikiLeaks revealed that the United States National Security Agency spied on the Mexican Embassy and that Mexico was only one of the US allies on which it spied according to the Guardian. Click here to read the full story.
2. US Immigration Bill Worries Mexico – June 24, a border security amendment seen as crucial to the passage of an immigration bill backed by President Barack Obama cleared a key procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate, helping pave the way for the biggest changes to U.S. immigration law since 1986. The amendment would double the number of agents on the southern border to about 40,000 over the next 10 years and provide more high-tech surveillance equipment to stop crossings without inspections at the U.S.-Mexico border. The amendment also calls for finishing construction of 700 miles of border fence. The bill would grant legal status (work permits) to millions of undocumented workers, who would be put on a 13-year path to citizenship. The Mexican government is worried about further militarization of the border and the violence that generates.
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Compiled monthly by the Chiapas Support Committee.The primary sources for our information are: La Jornada, Enlace Zapatista and the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba).
We encourage folks to distribute this information widely, but please include our name and contact information in the distribution. Gracias/Thanks.
Click on the Donate button of www.chiapas-support.org to support indigenous autonomy.
_______________________________________________________
Chiapas Support Committee/Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas
P.O. Box 3421, Oakland, CA 94609
Tel: (510) 654-9587
Email: cezmat@igc.org
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chiapas-Support-Committee-Oakland/86234490686
Marcos: Classmates V – The Students
Classmates V. The Students.
June 2013.
Zapatista Dolls
To the adherents of the Sexta in Mexico and in the world:
To the Little Zapatista School invitees:
Compañeros, compañeroas, compañeras:
Here we are posting some data to give you an idea of the type of plebes…err, that is, people, who will be your classmates, or compañeros in study, at the Little Zapatista School. Here you go:
-Invitations sent: about 3,000.
-Invitations accepted: about 2500.
-Not yet responded: about 500.
-Invitations rejected: 1.
-Of those who have already completed the registration form, a bit more than half are men and a bit fewer than half are women (that is to say, we men are winning – note from SupMarcos contributing “a gender perspective” as they say), in addition to an indefinite number who identify themselves as others [otr@s].
-There are 1500 students who will attend the little school in the communities during the scheduled dates in August 2013. More than half are men (ahem, ahem), less than half are women, and nine identify as “others” [otr@s].
Of these 1,500 students, more than 60 are children younger than 12 years of age. Of these 60 plus children, 19 are younger than four years old. Note the following statistic: for every one girl that is coming, there are two boys coming. That is to say, among the minors we are also winning – another commentary from “a gender perspective” by Supmarcos.
Of the more than 1400 adults that are coming to the communities, more than 200 are over 50 years old.
-Around 200 people will attend the course at CIDECI in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas in August 2013.
-More than 200 people will take the [little school] course via videoconference.
-More than 130 people have asked for the materials because they cannot attend the course in the communities.
-More than 500 people have asked to register for the course for next December-January. Note: if you did not receive an invitation it was because of the lack of available space, but you will be invited. Simply send an email to the webpage, and if we missed you this time around, we will put you on the list for the next course.
-There will be students from 5 continents. Some of the countries of origin of the students in the course, Freedom according to the Zapatistas, include: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, the United States of America, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, the Spanish State, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, the Basque Country, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, South Korea, India, Iran, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Canary Islands.
The furthest point of origin of students is Sri Lanka, which is more than 17 thousand kilometers from Zapatista territory. Then follows India (more than 15 thousand kilometers away), Australia (more than 13 thousand kilometers away), and New Zealand (more than 11 thousand kilometers away).
-The oldest students are more than 90 years old.
– The youngest students will be 11 months old in August 2013. And they are, of course [original in English], male. Their names are Brian and Eduardo.
-Among the little school students, at least 34 have PhDs in diverse areas including: Philosophy, Sociology, History, Anthropology, Literature, Political Science, Physics, Mathematics, Psychology, Economy, Urban Studies, and Theology.
-More than 50 students are professors and researchers in universities.
-Several students have won Mortal Kombat video game tournaments. We aren’t including their names or nicknames in order to protect the innocent (that is to say, the men, as here we are also the majority. Amen).
-The following are some of the institutions of higher learning where some of the compas who are now students in the Zapatista little school study or previously studied, work or previously worked as researchers and professors:
Escuela Normal Superior.
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.
Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, México.
Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México.
Universidad Nicolaíta de Michoacán, México.
Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México.
Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, México.
Centro de Estudios de México y Centroamérica, México.
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México.
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México.
Universidad Iberoamericana, México.
Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, México.
Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEC-Monterrey), México.
Universidad Autónoma de Sonora, México.
Universidad de Chapingo, México.
Universidad de la Tierra Chiapas, México.
Universidad de la Tierra Oaxaca, México.
Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM), México.
Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (UAZ), México.
Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (UAA), México.
Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), México.
Escuela Superior de Guerra, México.
Instituto Maurer, México.
University of Cambridge, England.
University of Oxford, England.
École Nationale de Sciencie Politique, París, France.
Universidad de las Naciones Unidas, de la UNESCO.
University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Stanford University, California, USA.
University of Chicago, USA.
University of Maryland, USA.
Columbia University, New York, USA.
Yale University, USA.
National Humanity Center, North Carolina, USA.
Université de Toulouse, France.
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos de Lima, Peru.
State University of New York at Binghamton: Fernand Braudel Centre, USA.
Centro ‘Juan Marinello’ de La Habana, Cuba.
Columbia’s Institute for Scholars at Reid Hal, París. France.
Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia.
Claremont Graduate University, California, USA.
City University of New York, USA.
Smith University, USA.
Mount Holyoke College, USA.
University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.
New Hampshire University, USA.
Humanities Research Institute of the University of California, USA.
Drew University, USA.
Harvard University, USA.
Univerza V Ljubljana, Eslovenia.
University of California Riverside, USA.
University of Utah, USA.
Universidad de La Habana, Cuba.
CIMI, Brasilia, Brazil.
University of Edimburgo, Great Britain.
McGill University, Canada.
Duke University, USA.
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, París, France.
University of New Mexico, USA.
Universidade Federal do Río de Janeiro, Brazil.
Université Paris- Sorbonne, France.
Universidad del País Vasco, Basque Country.
Universidad de la Laguna, Canarias.
– Some of those who are now students in the Zapatista little school have their writings translated into: German, Catalan, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, Galician, Greek, English, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, and Turkish.
-The following are some of the video game consuls where some of our invincible compas have confirmed their supremacy with the combo “mega-super-duper-hyper fatality-machoman” (Yeah! None of this angry birds and other girl stuff): the video games from the neighborhood store, Atari, Sega, Xbox, GameCube, Gameboy, Xbox360, PSP, PS1, PS3, PS4, PS5…huh?…there is no PS5?…ok, ok, ok, typo. I’ll continue: PSVita, Nintendo 64, Wii, WiiU, Nintendo 3DS.
-More than 100 students are actors, actresses, directors, musicians, painters, cartoonists, photographers, cultural promoters, writers, editors, politicians, lawyers, union and community organizers.
In general, after analyzing the data with the most pre-modern intelligence equipment, we can say that an undetermined number of people that will attend the little school – we’ll need to see them to count them – are dirty, ugly, and bad.
Without regard for their age, creed, color, weight, brains, or sex, they have conducted themselves, throughout the entirety of their lives, with absolute irresponsibility in the face of Power in all of its forms. They have been repudiated in their respective social circles for their stubborn non-conformity; they have scandalized decent folk and behavioral norms; they have reiterated their rebellion and their passion for freedom despite rumors to the contrary; and they have fought according to their conscience rather than according to the latest fashion. In sum, they have not sold out, they have not given up, they have not surrendered.
I am telling you this so that later you don’t complain that you are criticized for keeping “bad company.”
Oh, and of course, the vast majority of the people who are coming to participate as students are men, women, boys, girls, elderly, and youth who have something extraordinary that we, the Zapatistas appreciate: they are our compas.
And I haven’t included everyone, because there is always some infiltrator who comes to see if we are really giving military training instead of teaching what is in our hearts.
Vale. Cheers and welcome to the generous heart that opens its windows to us.
From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast,
SupMarcos.
Mexico, June 2013
P.S. OF CELEBRATION. – To celebrate that, for the first time in the almost 20 years of Zapatista public life, we men have outdone the women…huh?…ok, we have outdone them only in quantity…for now…what? Of course I didn’t cheat! I’m incapable… and the numbers were calculated by a woman from the support team…huh? No, the support team is not majority women…or is it?… Okay well, that’s not the subject, the point, or the issue here.
Moving on: To celebrate this fact that confirms the superio…uhm?…ok, ok, ok, to celebrate the fact that the gender equality scoreboard is in our favor, we have instituted the prize “THE DUCKS SHOOTING AT THE RIFLES,” which can only be won by boys….uhm?…okay, okay, okay…by boys AND girls who are under a certain chronological age (because I saw the list and there are a number of people who are of infantile mental age). The prize will consist of a voucher that the boys…okay, the girls too…can redeem with one of the male teachers…okay, okay, or female teachers of the little school. With this voucher they can punish their mothers…what? And their fathers too? But it’s always the moms that dole out the punishment! And this is a “get one free” pass for revenge of sorts, a kind of “what comes around goes around”, or “you asked for it…” Okay, the dads too…but only in extenuating circumstances…okay, okay, okay, without extenuating circumstances…And so the male teacher…or the female teacher, will punish the moms of the children who win the prize. Why? For misbehaving. Yes, even though they haven’t misbehaved, because sometimes we get punished even though we haven’t misbehaved…sometimes they even give us injections, even though we are innocent. The boys that is, because the girls are always guilty. Huh? Stop interrupting me, I need to finish this and send it.
To win the prize, the children have to select one of the following responses with regard to the video below called “Little Carlos Lettuce and the Drama of the Little Balloon [globe].” The question is:
Whose fault was it that Little Carlos Lettuce lost his little Balloon?
a) – The little balloon [globe], that is, neoliberal globalization.
b) – Women in general.
c) – Television and the bad governments.
The boy who responds correctly (without copying and without asking for help from anyone) will receive a voucher for “THE DUCKS SHOOTING AT THE RIFLES,” valid only in Zapatista territory and only one time during the period between August 12-17, 2013 (Good Government Council Permit #696969). For the girls, regardless of what answer they give, they will receive a knock on the head…Nah just kidding, nobody’s going to get a knock on the head. But in place of a voucher, they will receive a poster-sized statistical graph, where they can see that that we boys are the majority…yes, to help them in their “gender training,” as they say.
Note: moms, dads, and tutors: no fair whispering the answers (none of this “it’s C honey, choose C”), nor can you exchange that voucher for one that will get you out of eating that pumpkin soup.
And so it’s been said. For gender equality, scoreboard 2-1 in favor of us guys, that is, the real machos.
El SupMarcos.
Aviation Pilot Studies and Correspondence Synchronized Swimming (aha, that’s why there is a Zapatista Air Force) and graduate, with top academic honors, of the Machist Institute of Apology Research (English acronym MIAR), located in the mountains of southeastern Mexico, the last bastion of resistance against women in the worldwide world. The above name (me) currently teaches at that prestigious institute, the seminar, “the problem began when our mother Eve manipulated our father Adam…” Registration open, space unlimited. The MIAR motto is “We will regain control, be it only of the remote control,” or “Really woman you carry a knife.” huh? Our anthem? You would be right to think that it is “What has this woman done for you,” by Gilberto Parra Paz, interpreted by Pedro Infante in the movie of the same name. Ok then! Sing or I’ll blow the house down! Ajúa!
I testify…huh?..but it’s raining!…okay, okay, okay….after I wash my clothes, I testify…hahaha, I didn’t say that I was going to wash them with them still on, if not what good is the rain? hmm…I’ll just bathe in it and that way I’ll save soap…
Huh? As you can imagine, I hide…but they find me. Arrroz con leche. Haiga cosa. Arriba el norti, ji jiñor!
Now for real. I testify.
Yomero [me for real].
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Listen to and watch the videos that accompany this text:
From the best news show that has existed in world TV, “31 Minutes,” the segment “Little Carlos Lettuce and the Drama of the Little Balloon.” Children younger than 12 years old: you must watch this video to compete for the prize: “THE DUCKS SHOOTING AT THE RIFLES.”
Pedro Infante and Luis Aguilar perform Gilberto Parra Paz’s “What has this woman done for you,” MIAR’s anthem, in the movie by the same name, from 1951.
“Mi Cariñito” by Manuel Esperón, with Pedro Infante in the movie “They call me a womanizer” (it’s a lie, those are just rumors, don’t believe it). This song is dedicated to the grandmother of the Zapatistas, Maria Luisa Tomassini (who has already said she is coming), to our much admired Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and to all of the mothers of the disappeared and of the political prisoners. Check out Tucita supporting “the suffering of the damned.” (Didn’t I tell you? The girls are spoiled from the beginning).
Ok, I didn’t get to combo fatality, but here is what I did get as, of course, “Sub-Zero.”
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Traducción del Kilombo Intergaláctico
Chiapas Support Committee 