
THEM AND US
II. – The Machine in almost two pages.
January 2013.
The salesman speaks:
It’s amazing, very “cool” so you understand me. It’s called “neoliberal globalization version 6.6.6,” but we prefer to call it “the savage” or “the beast.” Yes, an aggressive nickname, one with initiative, very grrr. Yes, I learned that in a self-help course called “How to sell a nightmare”… but let’s get back to the machine. Its operation is very simple. It is self-sufficient (or “sustainable,” as is sometimes said). It produces, yes, exorbitant profits… What? Invest part of those profits to alleviate hunger, unemployment, lack of education? But those shortages are exactly what makes this baby run! What do you think of that? A machine that produces the fuel it needs to run: misery and unemployment.
Of course, it also produces goods, but not just that. Look: let’s say that something completely useless is produced, something that no one needs, something without a market. Well, this gem doesn’t just produce useless stuff, it also creates a market where that useless stuff is turned into a basic necessity.
The crises? Of course. Just press this button right here… no, not that one, that’s the “eject” button… the other one… yes. Ok, push that button and ta-da! There you have the crisis you need, everything is right there, with your millions of unemployed, your water cannons, your financial speculation, your droughts, your famine, your deforestation, your wars, your religious apocalypses, your supreme saviors, your jails and cemeteries (for those who don’t follow the supreme saviors), your tax havens, your aid projects with theme songs and choreography included… of course, a little bit of charity always looks good.
But that’s not all, let me show you this demo. When you put it in “destruction/depopulation-reconstruction/restructuring” mode it performs miracles. Look at this example: do you see those forests? No, don’t worry about those indigenous people…yes, they’re Mapuches, but they could be Yaquis, Mayos, Nahuas, Purépechas, Mayans, Guaranís, Aymarás, Quechúas. Ok, press the “play” button and watch how the forests disappear (and the indigenous people, but no one cares about them), now watch how everything becomes a wasteland, wait… here come the machinery and voila! There you have your golf course that you’ve always dreamed of, with its exclusive parking and the works. Ah, it’s wonderful, don’t you think?
It also comes with the latest software. You can click here where it says “filter” and your TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube will only show psalms and praise for you and yours. Yes, it eliminates any sort of commentary, writing, image, noise, all the bad vibes that every now and then those anonymous, dirty, ugly, bad, rude proles try to slip in.
It has a lever on the floor (even though you can put it on autopilot with just one click); a heliport; no plane ticket, because sometimes there’s no place to run to, but it does include a spot on the next departing space shuttle; it also has a super-hyper-mega exclusive mall; a golf course; a minibar; a yacht club; a framed diploma from Harvard; a summer house; an iceskating rink… yes, I know, what would we do without the modern Left and its quick wit? Ah, and with this gem you can be in “real time” simultaneously in any part of the world, it’s as if you had your own exclusive global ATM.
Hmm… yes, it includes a papal bull to ensure you a V.I.P. spot in heaven. Yes, I know, but we’re already working on immortally. Meanwhile, we can install an accessory (at an additional cost, of course, but I’m sure this isn’t a problem for someone like you): a panic room! Yes, you’ve seen how those vandals think they have the right to demand what’s theirs with that “the land belongs to those who work it.” Oh, but you have nothing to worry about. That’s why we have rulers, political parties, new religions, reality shows. But of course, that’s an assumption*, because if they fail at some point? Of course, when it comes to security, no expense should be spared. Of course, let me write that down: “Include Panic Room.”
It also includes a study for TV, one for radio, and an editor’s desk. No, don’t get me wrong. They’re not for watching TV or listening to the radio or reading newspapers and magazines, that’s for jerks. They’re for producing information and entertainment for the people who run the machine. Isn’t that neat?
What? Oh… ok… yes… I’m afraid that problem hasn’t been solved by our specialists. Yes, if the raw material, I mean, if the plebeian masses revolt nothing can be done. Yes, the “panic room” could be useless in that situation. But we shouldn’t be pessimistic, just keep in mind that that day… or night… is very far off. Yes, I also learned all that “new age” optimism from a self-help course. Huh? What? I’m fired?
(to be continued…)
From any corner of any world.
SupMarcos.
Planet Earth.
January 2013.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
Translated by Kristin Bricker on her webpage
http://mywordismyweapon.blogspot.com/2013/01/them-and-us-part-2-machine-in-almost.html
En español: http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2013/01/22/ellos-y-nosotros-ii-la-maquina-en-casi-2-cuartillas/
Listen and watch the video that accompanies this text:
Fuck Tha Posse — El Fin de los Días [The End of Days] (Dr. Loncho, Oscar A Secas and Hazhe) — 20 Minutos Mixtape Vol. 1
_____________________
Regarding the Mapuche People’s struggle.
*Translator’s Note: Instead of using the Spanish word for “assumption” (supuesto), Marcos (speaking as the salesman) uses supositorio, the Spanish word for “suppository.” He’s making fun of the salesman with a play on words that can be best explained with the classic English saying: “When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.”
ZAPATISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY
MEXICO
January 21, 2013
For: Ali Baba and his 40 thieves (governors, head of government, and boot-lickers)
From: Yo merengues
We couldn’t find words to express our feelings about your National Crusade Against Hunger.[i] So, here it is, without words:
P.S. Very poorly done, boys. Terrible choreography, and badly directed. That applause by the people you hauled out there was totally off queue, even the “preciso” [president] realized it (which is saying a lot). Remember that substance is the form (or was it the reverse?) Hmm… and the stuttering continues, in addition to errors in the use of the plural, the singular, and the masculine and feminine. You should practice more. Hmm…unless this is now the government’s style, because la chayo[ii] used to do the same thing. Anyway, give it more effort. Already no one really believes you and then with this foolishness, even less.
ANOTHER P.S. Honestly I was expecting that we’d hear the musical theme from the telethon, that the respectable folks would take out their lighters, those on stage would stand hand in hand and everyone would sway to the rhythm of “s-o-l-i-d-a-r-i-d-a-d,” followed by, of course, “mexico clap clap clap,” “mexico clap clap clap.”
ONE MORE P.S. A piece of advice: you should send those handouts somewhere else, there is no Jesús here with the last name Ortega, Martínez or Zambrano.[iii] Or you could give them out in the “Pact for Mexico.” (Ah, my jokes are sublime, are they not?)
______________________________
[i] Enrique Peña Nieto recently announced what he calls his “National Crusade Against Hunger,” and inaugurated this crusade in Las Margaritas, Chiapas, an area of Zapatista influence.
[ii] This refers to Rosario Robles Berlanga, Secretary of Social Development and a speaker at the event.
[iii] Jesús Ortega and Jesús Zambrano are members of the PRD that have agreed to become part of the “Pact for Mexico,” a political agreement regarding national political priorities made between all three principal political parties, the PAN, PRI, and PRD.
Translated by El Kilombo Intergaláctico
(Slightly edited for posting)
The above is an English translation of the Ali Baba and His 40 Thieves Communiqué posted on the Enlace Zapatista webpage. http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2013/01/22/para-ali-baba-y-sus-40-ladrones-gobernadores-jefe-de-gobierno-y-lame-suelas/
THEM AND US
I. – The (lack of) reasons from above.
January 2013
Those from above say:
“We’re the ones who make the rules. We’re more powerful, although there are fewer of us. We don’t care what you say-hear-think-do, as long as you are mute, deaf, immobile.
“We can impose halfway intelligent people in the government (although they’re already getting to be difficult to find within the political class), but we chose one who can’t even pretend to know what he’s talking about. [1]
“Why? Because we can.
“We could use the police and military apparatus to persecute and jail real criminals, but those criminals are a vital part of us. Instead, we choose to persecute you, beat you, detain you, torture you, jail you, kill you.
“Why? Because we can.
“Guilty or innocent? Who cares if you are one or the other? Justice is just another whore in our little black book, and believe us, it’s not the most expensive one.
“And even if you follow the rules that we impose to the letter, even if you don’t do anything, even though you might be innocent, we will squash you.
“And if you insist on asking why we do it, we’ll respond: because we can.
“That is having Power. A lot is said about money, riches, and those things. But believe us when we say that what excites us is that feeling of being able to make decisions about anyone’s life, liberty, and assets. No, power is not money; it’s what you can have with it. Power is not just exercising it with impunity; it is also and above all, to do it irrationally. Because having Power is to do and undo without having any other reason than the possession of Power.
“And it doesn’t matter who stands out in front, hiding us. Right and left are only references so that the chauffeur can park the car. The machinery runs itself. We don’t even have to order them to punish the insolence of defying us. Large, medium, and small governments all over the political spectrum, as well as intellectuals, artists, journalists, politicians, and religious leaders fight over the privilege to please us.
“So fuck you, screw you, rot in hell, die, get discouraged and give up.
“To the rest of the world you don’t exist, you are no one.
“Yes, we’ve sowed hate, cynicism, rancor, desperation, theoretical and practical don’t-give-a-fuck, conformity with the ‘lesser evil,’ fear turned into resignation.
“And, nonetheless, we fear that which has transformed itself into organized rebellious rage, without a price tag.
“Because we control, manage, ration, and feed the chaos that we impose. Our ‘law enforcement’ forces impose our chaos.
“But the kaos [2] that comes from below…
“Ah, that… we don’t even understand what they say, who they are, how much they cost.
“And they’re so rude that they don’t beg, await, request, plead–instead, they exercise their freedom. Have you ever seen such obscenity!
“That is the real danger. People who look on the other side, who leave the mold, or break it, or ignore it.
“You know what’s really worked for us? That myth about unity at all cost. To only understand oneself with a boss, leader, ruler, or whatever they call themselves. Controlling, managing, containing, buying one is much easier than many. Yes, and cheaper. That and individual rebelliousness. It’s so wonderfully useless.
“Rather, what’s really dangerous in a true chaos is when every one becomes a collective, group, crew, raza, organization, and they learn to say ‘no’ and ‘yes,’ and they reach agreements amongst themselves. Because the ‘no’ is directed towards those of us who give the orders. And the ‘yes,’… geez… that really is a disaster. Imagine if everyone built their own destinies, and they decided who to be and what to do. It would be like pointing out that we’re expendable, excessive, that we get in the way, that we’re not necessary, that we should be in jail and that we should disappear.
| Art: Bansky |
“Yes, a nightmare. Yes, of course, for us. Can you imagine how bad that world would be? Full of Indians, blacks, browns, yellows, reds, dreadlocks, tattoos, piercings, studs, punks, goths, cholos, skaters, that ‘A’ flag without a nation to buy it, youth, women, whores, children, the elderly, zoot suiters, drivers, peasants, workers, tacky people, proles, poor people, anonymous people… others. Without a privileged space for us, the ‘beautiful people’ [3]… or, so you understand us, the ‘good people’… because we can tell by the way you talk that you didn’t study at Harvard.
“Yes, that day would be night for us… Yes, everything would be ruined. What would we do?
“Hmm… we hadn’t thought about that. We think, we plan, and we execute what to do so that it doesn’t happen, but… no, that hadn’t occurred to us
“Well, in any case, well….hmm… I don’t know… perhaps we would look for who to blame, and then, well, we’d look for, I don’t know, a Plan B. Of course by then it would be useless. I think that then we would remember what that damn red Jew said…no, not Marx… Einstein, Albert Einstein. I think it was him who said: ‘Theory is when you know everything and nothing works. Practice is when everything works and no one knows why. In this case we have combined theory and practice: nothing works… and no one knows why.’
“No, you’re right, we wouldn’t even be able to smile. A sense of humor has always been a patrimony that cannot be expropriated. Isn’t that a shame?
“Yes, without a doubt, these are times of crisis.
“Hey, aren’t you going to take pictures? I mean, so we can fix our hair and put on something a little more presentable. Nah, we already tried that in ‘Hola’ [4]… oh, but what are we saying, it’s obvious that you haven’t gotten past [the comic book] ‘El Libro Vaquero.’
“Oh, we can’t wait to tell our friends that someone so… so… so… other came to interview us. They’re going to love it. And, well, it’s going to make us seem so cosmopolitan…
“No, of course we’re not afraid of you. Regarding that prophecy… bah, it’s superstition… so… so… native… yes, so Region 4 [5]… hahahaha…what a good joke, let’s write that down for when we see the kids…
“What?… It isn’t a prophecy?…
“Oh, it’s a promise…”
(…) (the tee-tu-ta-ta-tatatata sound, from the smartphone)
“Hello, police? Yes, I’d like to report that someone came to see us. Yes, we think he was a journalist or something. He looked so… so… so other, yes. No, no, he didn’t do anything to us. No, he didn’t take anything. It’s just that, as we were leaving to go to the club to see our friends, and we see that someone has painted something on the entrance to the garden. No, the guards didn’t see who it was. Of course not! Ghosts don’t exist. Well, it’s painted with a lot of colors… No, we didn’t see any paintcans nearby… Well, as we were saying, it is painted with a lot of colors, so colorful, very tacky, very other, not anything like the galleries where… what? No, we don’t want you to send a squad car. Yes, we know. But we’re calling to see if you can investigate what the painting means. We don’t know if it’s a code, or one of those strange tongues that the proles speak. Yes, it’s just one word, but we don’t know why it makes us shudder. It says:
“MARICHIWEU!'”[6]
(to be continued…)
From any corner of any world,
SupMarcos, Planet Earth, January 2013
___________________
Listen to and watch the videos that accompany this text:
a.- Pachuco
“Pachuco,” by La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del 5to Patio. Video is from the perspective of “from below,” that is, in the middle of the mosh pit. The moral of the story: don’t record while you’re on the trampoline. And what the heck, Maldita? Don’t be so idem and get it together. Or what, you’re just going to leave la raza to the mercy of the Justin Beibers of the world? Fine, greetings from Solin, because you guys really did understand that the communities are pure Kalimán. [7]
_____________________
b. -“More for your money.”
“More for your money.” Written and directed by Yordi Capó. Guadalajara, Mexico, August 2003.
_______________________
c. – “Of rats and cats.”
Cartoons based on the words of Thomas C. Douglas (1904-1986).
Translator’s notes:
1. Referring to President Enrique Peña Nieto, who is turning out to be at least as inarticulate and factually challenged as George W. Bush.
2. Marcos wrote “chaos” with the letter “k” in Spanish: “kaos.” Like Anglophone anarcho-punks and other rebellious youth, Mexico’s young rebels often replace the “c”s in certain works with “k”s in the written language.
3. “The beautiful people” is written in English in the original. Bourgeois Mexicans like to sprinkle English words and phrases into their vocabulary.
4. Hola! is a Mexican magazine for women. It featured exclusive photos and interviews regarding current president Enrique Peña Nieto’s fairytale wedding to soap opera star Angelica Rivera.
5. Region 4 is the DVD region code for Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and much of Oceania. Mexico also uses Region 1, the region code for the US and Canada.
6. A Mapuche phrase that means “we will win one hundred times over.”
Translation from the original Spanish: Kristin Bricker
PUTTING OUT THE FIRE WITH GASOLINE
(Post-script to the cartoon)
January 11, 2013
P.S. For you most enlightened ones—So you don’t know to whom I was referring [in the cartoon] because you don’t watch television? All right, you are all so very erudite, and you will have nothing to do with lowly popular culture, although… you don’t know who Umberto Eco is either?
P.S. ON GENERAL SPORTS CULTURE IN GENERAL—Lionel Messi, Argentinean; plays soccer for the Spanish team Barcelona. When he’s not making commercials for name brand bread, he’s suspected of having, just like the much-missed Memín Pingüín, gum on his shoe, because the ball sticks to his foot and only comes off when either they take him down (Messi that is) or when the ball is deep in the net.” Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese, plays soccer for the Spanish team Real Madrid; also known as CR7; when he’s not making commercials for deodorant, he makes good goals. For more information about soccer as a business and as pleasure (for example: Pelé versus Garrincha), see Eduardo Galeano… hmm… you do know who Eduardo Galeano is, right? And for me, neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid, I’m for the Jaguars of Chiapas, [i] in Mexico, and for the Internazionale of Milán in Italy (I just read that they’ve been routed, it has to be because of the visitors’ jersey they’ve been wearing). But the Zapatistas remain firm, we’re like the real fans of the Pumas [ii] (greetings to the Rebel), who are with their team win or lose, even though among the ownership of that team are people like Joaquín López Dóriga and Carlos Slim; or like the fans of América [iii] (greetings to La Polvorilla) that, when they are told that they are hated they reply, “hate me more”; or like the fans of la maquina azul,[iv] who put bags on their heads when they are ashamed but who never stop supporting their team; or like those who support Atlas[v] (greetings Jis and Trino) and are still behind their team, though it doesn’t even need to be said; etc., etc. Yes, I already know you’re going to say that soccer is the opiate of the masses and why am I promoting such alienation, such lack of culture, blah, blah, blah.
P.S. THAT GIVES GEOGRAPHY LESSONS—Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico. Places where you can find, at a very reasonable price, any television series (including episodes that haven’t come out yet), or movie (in some places you can get Oscar-nominated ones, before the committee of the Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences of Hollywood has even met), without having to betray your principles of not watching television: Eje Central “Lázaro Cárdenas” (formerly known as “San Juan de Letrán”); Pericoapa; Tepito, Calzada de Tlalpan; any entrance or exit to the metro; the hallways of any department at the UNAM; any corner of any neighborhood; if you want the originals, then you can go to the Ghandi (greetings to the family of Don Mauricio), El Sótano, or El Parnaso bookstores… El Parnaso closed? (An embrace to Tony), that’s a shame. Ok, ok, ok, I know, but the world has more corners than your favorite Mixup. [vi] Note: don’t be surprised if when you go to get these DVDs you see police extorting the vendors or trying to evict them “because they make the city ugly.” Or if you see a confrontation, don’t be alarmed, the wretched tend to resist.
P.S. THAT GIVES ADVICE TO THOSE GOING TO THE IFE [FEDERAL ELECTORAL INSTITUTE] TO REGISTER[vii]—Maybe it would go better for you in the elections if instead of judging los muertos de hambre[viii] (the most tender term they used during the case of the prepaid cards) that didn’t vote for you, you tried to understand them. But in any case, the millions of Mexicans who did vote for you can tell you who each of the above mentioned characters and television series are.
P.S. THAT EXAMINES THE SUSPICIOUS AFFIRMATIONS REGARDING THE EZLN—A good part of the arguments that they use to criticize us are the same arguments that were used by the big television conglomerates, commercial radio, and the poorly named “bought-off press” from 1994-95 to date.
P.S. THAT SUGGESTS, INSINUATES, OR, AS SOME SAY, PROPOSES A SUPOSITORIO [ix]—Possible route that the “caricatured debate” would have followed (of course, minus the young female assistant that so impressed Mr. Quadri):[x] those alluded to respond with a cartoon where the Sup is taking it easy, scratching those things that have gotten so expensive,[xi] belly out and stuffing himself with junk food, watching television (probably not with the logo Televisa logo, because they’re very careful not to insult TV Azteca—ah, and you didn’t see us accusing them of being paid by Salinas Pliego or Carlos Slim,[xii] or saying that their campaign against the workers at Soriana was paid for by Wal-Mart), with the dialogue bubble saying something like “I’m preparing my next communiqué.” The Sup then counter-attacks with another cartoon titled, “The Recent Past” where he is in a wheelchair and the indigenous person in front of him says, “The compas say they are ready, that it’s up to you now and you know what to do.” And the Sup responds, “Okay, I need to talk to Elías Contreras to have him get me some DVDs.” The press and their friends wouldn’t print the cartoon, but rather would start with reflections like “Is the Sup handicapped and that’s why he doesn’t appear publicly?” followed by some “very serious” investigations on the possible illnesses that might lead to being in a wheelchair.
P.S. THAT GIVES LESSONS ON RACISM IN COMMUNICATION—I read in various places “EZLN yes, Marcos, no” and that they want to hear the indigenous Zapatistas, not the egomaniacal Sup. Okay, here goes: The last time the Sup put out a communiqué in the name of the EZLN: May 2011, on the occasion of the march in support of the just and dignified movement headed by Javier Sicilia. The communiqué from the CCRI-CG of the EZLN sent greetings to the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity and its struggle for the victims of the Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s absurd war. Between May 7, 2011 and December 21, 2012, the Juntas de Buen Gobierno [JBG, the Good Government Councils], that is, the indigenous Zapatistas WITHOUT INTERMEDIARIES that are mestizo, white, or bearded (or other common things critics like to add), put out 27 denunciations, all tweeted and facebooked (or however you say that) on the “Enlace Zapatista” webpage. On average, the 27 denunciations were visited/read 1500 times each, and all of them were on the main page of the EZLN website for various days.
For example, the August 15, 2012 denunciation of the Junta de Buen Gobierno of La Realidad was the principal article on the Zapatista web page for 24 straight days and got 1080 visitors/readers. Number of tweets (or however you say that) that it provoked: zero. Number of journalists that “wrote up” the denunciation: one. Number of comments about it in writings by intellectuals, zero. Number of re-tweets (or however you say that): zero. Number of comments accusing the EZLN of being a creation of Salinas de Gortari: zero. Number of reflections about why the EZLN only appears in electoral seasons: zero. Number of newspapers that published in their print version the denunciation: zero. Of course, the text of the JBG denounced the alliance between state and municipal governments and the PVEM and the PRD to attack Zapatista communities.
Number of visits to the Sup’s cartoon that so offended the enlightened ones: more than five thousand visits in less than 48 hours (in addition to the tweets—or however you say that—the pingbacks—or however you say that—the cut and pastes, etc.).
Now, take a look at the period from August of 2003, the year in which the Juntas de Buen Gobierno were formed and when they become the direct spokespersons of the Zapatista communities, and see how many times they speak, in their own words and without intermediaries. Do the math of how many times you all realized that this word even existed. Okay, now, yes, write about the “suspicious” silence of the Zapatistas and ask yourselves why the Zapatistas and Marcos only “appear” when the PRI, which never left, comes back.
P.S. THAT TWEETS (or however you say that) ABOUT THE EZLN:
Tweet 1: “The Zapatistas are those who, in bullfights, root for the bull.
Reply 1: “Well they’re naïve, in the end, the bull always gets killed.”
Tweet 2: “Not always.”
Reply 2: “The flowers are always for the bullfighter, not for the bull, the Zapatistas are confused.”
Tweet 3: (annulled for exceeding 140 characters): The political parties fight over who will be the bullfighter: some say it is better that the picadors wait longer to come out and thus facilitate the work of the bullfighter; others say that one must be merciful and offer spiritual comfort to the bull before it is sacrificed; others say that what you have to do is lower costs so that the bull-fighting administration isn’t so burdensome; others say “by how much?”
Reply 3: (There isn’t one because tweet 3 didn’t go through).
Tweet 4: “Bull fights are going to disappear. In the meantime, the Zapatistas applaud the bull even more when, despite its wounds, it manages to take down the bullfighter.”
Response 4: (There isn’t one, they all went to bed).
The P.S. continues tweeting (or however you say that). After awhile, someone realizes that they’re still there and replies, “How come you only appear in suspicious situations?”
The end?
P.S. THAT NOW DOES NOT EXCEED 140 CHARACTERS (I think): “Durito: the Zapatistas are like Doctor House: they are almost always correct in their diagnosis and treatment, but the majority don’t like their methods. And we won’t even mention the patient.
P.S. THAT CLARIFIES: We have read you closely. We see how, when one of you dissents from another, you accuse each other of “pejezombie” or of “televiso” or derivatives of the same.[xiii] We don’t think that differences necessarily have political affiliation. For example, when someone says “the EZLN is an invention of Salinas de Gortari,” we don’t think that person is necessarily a “troll,” a pejezombie, a televiso, or a tvazteco (or whatever names they throw at each other). It could be, we think, that this is just a case of someone with a low IQ, too lazy to read more than 140 characters, or who might be trying to hook up with someone who has already said the same thing.
P.S. THAT CHALLENGES GEOMETRY: The world is round, it turns, and it changes. But the world imposed by those above, no matter how many times it turns, always leaves us on the bottom. The world that we want is also round, it also turns, and it also changes, but nobody is above at the cost of those below.
P.S. THAT CALLS UP A BIT OF MEMORY: While a part of the enlightened left was still doing juggling acts to try to give theoretical foundation to the unfortunate occurrence of the “loving republic”[xiv] and was living a torrid honeymoon with the mass media (dedicating huge quantities of money to electronic and print media publicity), the students that would become known as “#yosoy132” had already denounced the role of the mass media in Mexican “democracy.” Later what happened happened, and that same enlightened left decided it wanted to become the mentors of these young rebels (or “trouble-makers” as they now call them). But since the young rebels are no longer in style, the enlightened left has forgotten about them, claiming that these young rebels have “missed their chance” or that they “made a lot of noise but didn’t achieve anything,” or that they’re just “Starbucks revolutionaries” (or however you say that), or “that you can’t change the world with a smartphone” (or however you say that). The calendar continues bleeding itself out and suddenly, they [the young people] will come back, stronger, more numerous. And those that now forget about them or criticize them will say, “of course, I knew they hadn’t disappeared,” or, “now I’m going to tell them what they should do.” Although there are others who will say “it’s very suspicious that you all appear when something is happening.”
P.S. THAT SHOWS ITSELF TO BE COMPREHENSIVE: No problem, we understand. We are “that” which, at home and at school, would provoke the following recommendation of parents, friends, and other sensible and decent people: “you shouldn’t hang out with those people, there’s a lot of talk about them.” And well about the Sup what can I tell you, it would be something like, “it’s not a good idea to associate with that man, we don’t even know who he really is.” Or, “it’s one thing is to help the poor little Indians, it’s something else entirely to associate yourself with that rabble who don’t even have cell phones, much less smartphones, not even a hand-me-down.
P.S. THAT WINKS: “Nerd is hot.”
P.S. ABOUT THE MILLIONS AGAINST THE THOUSANDS, OR HUNDREDS, OR DOZENS, OR FEW: The argument of majorities against minorities tires us, it reminds me of an old graffiti (or however you say that) on an old wall that I saw when I was old. With a symphony of colors, it dictated: “Eat shit. Millions of flies can’t be wrong.”
P.S. THAT COUNSELS PATIENCE: Oh, don’t despair. Just a few more words (or drawings, or audios, or videos) and soon only those who we are really interested in as interlocutors will be able to hear and understand us.
Vale. Cheers and, believe us, we understand: there are many reasons and not-reasons to ground cynicisms, apathies, to hell with it all, or whatever other synonyms that occur to you; there are many, too many, they are all there is. Finding reasons in order to change and improve is a job very few are willing to take on.
The Sup trying to get a “Fatality”[xv] package for the final words of the season.
(you’re kidding… now he’s going to come out with videogames).
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Traducción del Kilombo Intergaláctico
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[i] The Jaguars are a first division Mexican league soccer team, based in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas.
[ii] Another Mexican league team, based at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
[iii] América is a Mexican league soccer team based in Mexico City.
[iv] Maquina azul (literally the blue machine) refers to the Mexican league soccer team Cruz Azul, based in Mexico City.
[v] Atlas is another first division Mexican league soccer team from Guadalajara, Mexico.
[vi] Mixup is a chain record store.
[vii] “Those going to the IFE to register” refers to the newly formed party of MORENA [Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional] that seeks official recognition as a party from the Mexican electoral system.
[viii] “Los muertos de hambre” was a pejorative term used by supporters of the institutional left to refer to those who were suspected of voting for the PRI in exchange for prepaid debit cards to use at popular chain stores.
[ix] “Supositorio” could imply presupposition but also means “suppository.”
[x] During a one of the presidential debates that took place in 2012, candidate Gabriel Quadri was captured on camera ogling a young female presenter.
[xii] Two Mexican businessmen who are on the Forbes list of richest people in the world.
[xiii] “Pejezombie” refers to those who are thought to unconditionally support Andrés Manual Lopez Obrador. “Televiso” is the pejorative reference to those who support Enrique Peña Nieto, a creation of the Telvisa media machine.
[xiv] This refers to the “la república amorosa” (Beloved Republic) slogan used by Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador during the presidential campaigns.
[xv] “Fatality” refers to the third installment of the “Mortal Combat” video game.
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Above is the English translation (with minor edits by the Chiapas Support Committee) on the Enlace Zapatista website. The title can also be translated as “Adding Fuel to the Fire” or “Throwing Fuel on the Fire,” a common expression in English.
“If the Sup Doesn’t Speak, the EZLN Doesn’t Exist for the Media or the Politicians”
** In a new communiqué Marcos attempts “to throw fuel on the fire” from his graphic letter
** He also criticizes those who accuse the Zapatistas of being an invention of Carlos Salinas de Gortari
By: Hermann Bellinghausen
In a series of 16 “post-scripts to the graphic letter” published Thursday, Subcomandante Marcos now appears “throwing fuel on the fire.” And he proves, with data, in the new communiqué, that if he doesn’t speak, the EZLN and the rebel communities “don’t exist” to the media, the political class and public opinion (come in a tweet or in whatever). He also continue responding to his critics with soccer information, tips for navigating in the seas of piracy in Mexico City, ironies about television, print media, social networks and the partisan left.
One of these PS “gives advice to those who go to the IFE to ask for registry:” “Perhaps it would go better for you in the elections if instead of judging ‘the deaths from hunger’ (it is more tender than what you told them in the case of the pre-paid gift cards) that didn’t vote for you, you try to understand them. But okay, millions of Mexicans who did vote for you, can explain who are each one of the mentioned characters or series” (in the cartoon published by La Jornada, 01/10/13).
Further on, the Subcomandante “does a little bit from memory:” “When a part of the learned left still juggled to try to give a theoretical foundation to the unfortunate occurrence of the ‘beloved republic,’ and a torrid honeymoon was lived with the big communications media (and large quantities of money were dedicated to publicity in electronic and print media), the students of what later would be known as #YoSoy132 were already denouncing the role of the big communications media in Mexican ‘democracy.’ After what happened and that same learned left wanted to establish itself as the tutor of the young rebels (or ‘rioters’, as they say now). As they are no longer in fashion, they forgot about them and tell them ‘you lost your opportunity,’ ‘much noise and you didn’t get anything,’ ‘Starbucks revolutionaries (or however you say it),’ ‘you can’t change the world with a Smartphone (or however you say it).’ The calendar will continue losing blood and, suddenly, they will re-emerge, better, stronger. And those that now forget about them or criticize them will say ‘sure, I knew that they had not disappeared’ or ‘now I am going to say tell them what it is that they must do,’ but others will say ‘there is a lot of suspicion in that you appear every time that something happens.’”
Lesson in racism
In one more PS in his communiqué, the Zapatista spokesperson “gives lessons about racism with the following commentaries: “I read in various directions that ‘EZLN yes, Marcos no’ and that they want to hear the indigenous Zapatistas, not the egomaniacal Sup. Ok, go: The last time that el Sup wrote a communiqué in the name of the EZLN: May 2011, on the occasion of the march in support of the just and dignified movement headed by Javier Sicilia. In the communiqué of the CCRI-CG of the EZLN it greeted the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity and its struggle for the victims of the absurd war of Felipe Calderón.”
And he adds: “Between May 7, 2011 and December 21, 2012 there are 27 denunciations from the Good Government Juntas, in other words, from indigenous Zapatistas WITHOUT INTERMEDIARIES mestizos, white and bearded (and the common places that they like to gather), all tweeted and facebooked (or however you say it) by the enlace Zapatista web page. On an average, the 27 denunciations were visited-read 1500 times each and all of them were several days on the principal heading of that web page.”
Marcos gives an “example,” the denunciation of the La Realidad Junta, August 15, 2012: “For 24 days it was posted as the principal note on the Zapatista web page and it received 1,080 visits-readers. The number of tweets (or however you say it) that it provoked: zero. The number of journalists that ‘made note of’ the denunciation: one. The number of comments from intellectuals in their writings: zero. The number of re-tweets (or however you say it): zero. The number of comments accusing the EZLN of being an invention of Salinas de Gortari: zero. The number of unfounded imaginations about why the EZLN only appears in electoral times: zero. The number of newspapers that published the denunciation in their print edition: zero. For sure, the text of the Junta denounced the alliance between the state and municipal government with the PVEM and the PRD to attack Zapatista communities.”
And next he points out: “The number of visits to the Sup’s cartoon that so offended the cultured people: more than 5 thousand in less than 48 hours (mostly twitters –or however you say it–, more the pingbacks –or however you say it–, the cut and pastes, etcetera). Now, review the period that goes from August 2003, the year in which the Juntas were formed and in which they became the direct spokespersons of the Zapatista peoples, and you will see how many time they made official statements, in their own words and without intermediaries. Count how many times you even knew that that word existed. Ok, now yes, they will write about the ‘suspicious’ silence of the Zapatistas and will question why the Zapatistas and Marcos ‘appear’ only when the PRI, that never went away, returns.”
Upon reviewing “the ‘suspicious’ affirmations about the EZLN,” Marcos indicates: “A good part of the arguments that they use when they criticize us are the same ones that the big television networks, commercial radio and the misnamed ‘sellout press’ used, from 1994-95 to this date.” And next “it suggests, insinuates, proposes” a “suppository:”
“A possible route that the ‘caricaturized debate’ (for sure, without the young female aide that so impressed Señor Quadri) could have followed: those alluded to answer with a caricature wherein the Sup is sprawled out, scratching what are very dear, bulging out and choking on junk food, watching television (probably with the Televisa logo, because best that they are careful not to glue themselves to Tv Azteca –ah, and we don’t accuse them of being paid for by Salinas Pliego or Carlos Slim, or that their campaign against the Soriana workers was paid for by Walmart–), the title or a dialogue globe with something just like ‘I am preparing my next communiqué.’
“El Sup counterattacks with another caricature, titled ‘The Recent Past,’ where he is in his wheelchair and an Indigenous in front says to him: ‘The compas say that they are ready, that it falls to you and that you already know what to do.’ The Sup responds: ‘Ok, I need to speak with Elías Contreras to order some DVDs from him.’ The media and friends that accompany them no longer would reproduce the caricature, but rather would start with unfounded kind of imaginations ‘Is the Sup an invalid and therefore does not appear publically?’ followed by ‘very serious’ investigations about the possible diseases that they could have as a consequence of being in a wheelchair.”
Low intellectual coefficient
Trying to submit oneself to the limits of Twitter, in a sudden appearance Durito suggests: “The Zapatistas are like Doctor House: the diagnosis and treatment almost always hit the mark, but the mode of the majority disgusts him. Of the patient, not speaking.”
Always in reference to reactions and responses that have stirred up his recent communications, the Zapatista military commander “clarifies:” “We have read them attentively. We see how, when one dissents from another, they are accused as a Pejezombie [1] or as a Televisa fan and their derivatives. We don’t thin that disparities necessarily have a political affiliation. For example, when someone says ‘the EZLN is an invention of Salinas de Gortari’ we don’t think that he is necessarily a troll, a Pejezombie, a Televisa fan or a Tv Azteca fan (or however they mutually say it). It can be, we think, that we’re just dealing with someone with a low intellectual coefficient, too lazy to read more than 140 characters, or that he is trying to link up with someone that already said that.”
Challenging geometry, he writes: “The world is round, it turns, it changes. But in the world imposed by those above it doesn’t matter how many turns it takes, we are always below. The world that we want is also round, also turns, also changes, but no one is above at the expense of those below.”
Finally, the Zapatista commander gives his opinion “about the millions against the thousands, the hundreds, the dozens or the few,” a theme also present in the latest reactions of his critics: “The argument of the majority against the minority makes us lazy and makes me remember an old graffiti (or how do you say it) on an old wall that I saw when it was old. With a fiesta of colors, it sentenced: Eat shit. Millions of flies cannot be wrong.”
[1] Pejezombie – Peje is the nickname for Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), twice the presidential candidate of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) in Mexico, who has since left the PRD to start a new party whose acronym is Morena. Saying Pejezombie is like saying AMLO zombie.
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Originally Published in Spanish by La Jornada
Sunday, January 13, 2013
En español: http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2013/01/13/politica/005n1pol
DICIEMBRE DE 2012 RESUMEN DE NOTICIAS SOBRE LOS ZAPATISTAS
En Chiapas
1. Mas de 40,000 zapatistas marchan en Chiapas – El 21 de diciembre, al final de la cuenta larga del calendario maya (13 Baktun) y del inicio de un nuevo calendario, más de 40,000 bases de apoyo Zapatista marcharon en silencio en cinco ciudades chiapanecas (Ocosingo, Palenque, San Cristóbal, Las Margaritas y Altamirano). Construyeron plataformas en las plazas principales de cada ciudad y cada uno subió a la plataforma con los puños en alto, luego bajaron y en silencio regresaron a los Caracoles de donde vinieron. Los comandantes zapatistas (el CCRI-CG) publicaron un comunicado firmado por el Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos dirigido a los medios de comunicación. Decía en parte: “ESCUCHARON? Es el sonido de su mundo derrumbándose. Es el del nuestro resurgiendo…” Era un mensaje breve pero directo al nuevo gobierno: Todavía estamos aquí. Hemos resistido la contrainsurgencia y estamos más fuertes por haber aprendido cómo resistir y construir nuestra autonomía. Nuestro mundo está resurgiendo. Esta muestra de fuerza sacudió a los de arriba y provocó olas de esperanza en l@s de abajo. Vea el video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K_z_ceSlwE&feature=youtu.be
2. El EZLN emite 3 comunicados – El 30 de diciembre, el EZLN emitió un nuevo comunicado y dos cartas. El comunicado habla de los próximos pasos del EZLN. Una de las cartas va dirigida a miembros del nuevo gobierno (“los de arriba”) y la otra carta a Luis H. Alvarez, el ex-Comisionado para Pueblos Indígenas que anduvo por Chiapas dando dinero a no-zapatistas y anti-zapatistas para comprar sus conciencias. Pronto publicaremos mas información sobre estos comunicados.
3. Las Abejas conmemoran el 15 aniversario de la Masacre de Acteal – Del 20 al 22 de diciembre, Las Abejas realizaron ceremonias para conmemorar el 15 aniversario de la Masacre de Acteal. Entre los discursos que se dieron, las Abejas criticaron al nuevo gobierno por la violenta represión en la Ciudad de México el 1ro. de diciembre y por incluir en su gabinete a Emilio Chuayffet como Secretario de Educación. Él ocupaba el cargo de Secretario de Gobernación cuando ocurrió la masacre, y Las Abejas lo consideran como uno de los autores intelectuales de la misma que aun no ha sido llevado a la justicia. Las Abejas también señalaron que ahora son más fuertes en su lucha y resistencia. La Comisión Indígena del Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad asistió a las ceremonias en Acteal y, mientras estaban en Chiapas, visitaron a los presos zapatistas y de la Otra Campaña en el penal de San Cristóbal.
4. Nuevo gobernador toma posesión en Chiapas – El día 8 de diciembre de 2012, Manuel Velasco Coello empezó su cargo como nuevo gobernador de Chiapas. Es integrante del Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM). Al inicio de su administración, Velasco Coello saludó al EZLN y a las Juntas de Buen Gobierno, indicando que reconocía sus aportaciones y que él quería tener buenas relaciones con ellos. También enfatizó que quería reducir las tensiones. ¡Ya veremos! El nuevo gobernador puso en libertad a los dos hermanos López Monzon, bases de apoyo zapatistas, y sus dos hermanos no-zapatistas quienes estaban presos en la cárcel de Motozintla, además de retirar las órdenes de aprehensión en contra de Alfonso Cruz Espinoza, un base de apoyo zapatista propietario del terreno pegado al sitio arqueológico de Toniná. Después de que un colectivo del caracol zapatista de Morelia construyera un kiosko zapatista de artesanía, el gobierno anterior libró órdenes de aprehensión en contra de Cruz Espinosa. Al parecer, el gobierno saliente de Sabines esperaba mucho turismo alrededor de la fecha del inicio del Baktún (a fines de diciembre 2012), y quería ocultar la presencia zapatista para l@s extranjer@s.
Por otras partes de México
1. Heridos y detenciones en las protestas del 1 de diciembre – Como reportamos el mes pasado, Enrique Peña Nieto pronunció su juramento como presidente de México el 1 diciembre, en medio de protestas que se se volvieron violentas y en las cuáles hubo muchos heridos, aparentemente por balas de goma disparadas por la policía o por gas lacrimógeno. Varias personas sufrieron heridas graves. Un joven miembro de #YoSoy132 perdió un ojo. Otro hombre, adherente de La Otra campaña del EZLN, sufrió heridas severas en el cerebro y permanece en estado de coma inducido. Algunos de los manifestantes fueron arbitrariamente detenidos, muchos de ellos jóvenes y del movimiento #YoSoy132. La policía puso en prisión a 70. La mayor parte de ellos fueron liberados poco después. Sin embargo, 14 permanecieron encarcelados enfrentando cargos y sin derecho a la libertad bajo fianza. Existen vídeos que prueban la arbitrariedad policiaca en varias de las detenciones y que demuestran la falsedad de las acusaciones. Hubo también varias manifestaciones exigiendo la libertad de los 14. Las últimas noticias sobre este tema fueron que la Asamblea Legislativa de la Ciudad de México aprobó modificaciones a la ley, que disminuyen la severidad del castigo en el delito de “ataques a la paz pública” para que los 14 pudieran alcanzar la libertad bajo fianza. Y, el 27 de diciembre, inmediatamente después de que fue oficialmente publicada la nueva legislación, todos los 14 fueron puestos en libertad. Todavía tendrán que continuar con los procesos judiciales en las cortes, pero continúan también los actos de protesta exigiendo que todos los cargos les sean disueltos. A pesar de la legislación de la Ciudad de México, la represión violenta y las detenciones han solidificado la oposición al nuevo gobierno PRIista de Enrique Peña Nieto.
2. Cifra de muertos debido a la guerra contra las drogas alcanza 116,100! -Una organización civil Italiana, Libera, informó que calcula en aproximadamente 136,000 las muertes malintencionadas entre 2006 y Diciembre de 2012. De estas, 116,000 son atribuibles a la “guerra contra las drogas”. Libera es una agrupación de más de mil organizaciones de derechos humanos y activistas de Europa y América. Sus cifras fueron recopiladas del Inegi (Agencia de estadísticas del Gobierno de México) y de defensores de derechos humanos. Antes de este informe, el Comité de Apoyo a Chiapas había confirmado un número similar con algunos fuentes en Chiapas.
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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
https://compamanuel.wordpress.com
México D.F. on January 3, 2013.
Our struggle is for life, and the evil government offers death as the future.
Our struggle is for justice, and the evil government is filled with criminals and assassins.
Our struggle is for peace, and the evil government announces war and destruction.
CCRI-CG of the EZLN
To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Brothers and sisters
First, we send you a fraternal embrace for your 29 years as EZLN and for the 19 years since you appeared publically. We congratulate you because we, in our short existence as a movement, know full well how difficult it is to build and sustain an organization. And above all, for your steadfastness, for showing us that morals, ethics and truth are the most powerful tools to build a world with peace, justice, dignity and democracy.
We also use this letter to thank you for the many lessons you have given to Mexican society and the solidarity you gave to the victims of May 7, 2011, when, making our cry yours, We’ve Had It Up to Here! [¡Estamos hasta la madre!], you came out to march in silence to demand an end to the war and justice for the victims. We will never forget that great mobilization and message as well as the fraternal reception that the Good Government of Oventic gave to the Caravan to the South.
Since then, the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity diagnosed the national emergency that you had already foreseen. With our walk in sorrow, we confirmed that this world is indeed crumbling and, facing this, we recuperated the fundamental elements of our humanness and life to begin building another world.
Just like you, we have taken on the struggle in the terrain of the symbolic to show the breadth of the transcendence of our causes. That’s why we have put the testimony of the victims before the discourse of politics. However, the deafening system – in which the political class and organized crime have satiated their ambition for power and wealth, imposing a criminal economy where life and death are interchangeable products – has blocked all understanding of the gravity of the situation in which we are submerged: 80,000 dead, 20,000 disappeared, hundreds of thousands displaced and families and bodies destroyed. This new face of war is nothing more than the extension of the long night of the 500 years, which the dictatorship of the State party has taken charge of redressing in paramilitarism and repression against the people and social movements.
In spite of the foregoing, we walked to raise up the voice and testimony of the victims throughout the width and breadth of the country, as well as across the United States of North America, publically calling for accountability from those above, all political parties and all the powers that be, exposing the ethical and moral degradation of the political class, the criminals and the institutions. In our walk we have also seen dignified peoples and persons who are confronting this reality, breaking with the dynamics of the system and putting down the bases for the construction of other worlds, almost always with youth, victims and indigenous peoples as the main social subjects. We also identify as the indigenous peoples those who can be found heading up the construction of alternatives: Cherán, Santa María Ostula and Tiripetío in Michoacán; the peoples of the mountain and coast of Guerrero who bringing to life the Community Police; the defense of the sacred lands of the Wirrárikas and hundreds of communities that resist the megaprojects, the extraction economy and the accumulation of wealth by plunder.
Since May 8, 2011, before thousands of people in main plaza of Mexico City, we proposed the necessity of setting the minimum bases needed to begin the reconstruction of the country. In that sense, we believe that one of the first necessary minimum measures is the signing and fulfillment of the San Andrés Larráinzar Accords, a project that would be the first step, not only to begin to pay off the historic debt that the Mexican nation has with her first peoples but so that the State keeps its word and, above all, to begin the construction of a model of democracy and justice through which true peace with dignity can be consolidated. That’s why, and responding to your most recent communiqués, we want to let you know that we are ready to begin walking at your side and at the side of all Mexicans who are committed to this demand. That we believe that a Mexico with Peace, Justice and Dignity is only possible with Democracy and Liberty. That Mexico cannot be a complete nation with her peoples.
Dear Zapatista sisters and brothers,
We say from our hearts, which have been hurt by war and that struggle so that other families don’t have to live the sorrow of losing or having a family member disappeared: we embrace your struggle the way you have embraced ours. We will struggle for a Mexico for all, a country that truly includes and recognizes her indigenous peoples, for a country where there are no dead or disappeared due to the ambition and opulence of a few and one in which, as your communities have already begun doing so, life that has been violently taken away can begin to flower again.
In the construction of a Mexico with Peace, Justice, Democracy and Dignity. All together!
Yours,
Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad
(Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity)
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http://movimientoporlapaz.mx/es/2013/01/03/carta-al-ejercito-zapatista-de-liberacion-nacional/