Political Proposals to the Mexican National Liberation Movement Español

Subcomandante Insurgente Ángeles, Branch of Liaison, Communications, and Investigations, Clandestine Command "Division of the North" (Villista National Liberation Front)

Comrades:

As we approach the millenium, it becomes more apparent that the Supreme Government is intent upon the path of war against the movement for liberty, justice, and democracy in Mexico: therefore, we must make all requisite preparations for such an all-out struggle.

One such preparation is to forward proposals to the Constitutional Convention demanded by so many of us.

Here, then, is one such set of proposals based upon a comparative study of political constitutions, especially those of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, both of which influence so much of our political thinking, as well as the extant United Nations and Organisation of American States Declarations, Covenants, and Conventions.

1.DOGMATIC PART: CHARTER OF RIGHTS.

1.1. Our Charter of Rights must be brought into conformity with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and American Conventions on Human Rights: only then will we have gained the right to say that Mexico is a "world class" nation!

1.2.

ARTICLE 27, THE MOST BASIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION, MUST BE RESTORED! JUST SAY NO TO NEOLIBERALISM!

1.3. The widest possible freedom of expression must be given, not only to Mexicans, but to foreigners as well: their freedom to speak is our freedom to hear.

2. ORGANIC PART: FORM OF GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES.

2.1. Decentralised government: federal government, different branches, etc.: These Constitutional provisions were wisely copied from the Constitution of the United States of America in order to counter the extreme centralism of the Spanish rule: to this we added the provision of "no reelection." Nevertheless, presidentialism continues to undermine this decentralised Constitutional regime, and can only be countered by continued strenghening of the other branches of the Federal government, as well as the strengthening of the sub-Federal governments.

2.2. Government reflecting Mexican society, rather than the political class: we have seen this distortion at work, not only in our own society, but in the United States of America as well: we must look elsewhere for its solution. Fortunately, we have developed an organ which reflects the Civil Society in general- the CND- and one which represents the Indigenous communities- the CNI.

If we look at Soviet history, we see that the original Constitution of 1918, meant to reflect the society as a whole, was modified when a multinational Soviet Union was formed in 1924: specifically, the Congress of Soviets was split into a Soviet of the Union and a Soviet of Nationalities. It is these which validate convening the CND as our Chamber of Deputies, and the CNI as our Senate, embodying the dialogue between Civil Society in general, and our Indigenous "nations within a nation," in specific.

In order to democratise the CND and CNI in order to prepare them for their future Constitutional role, we can continue to utilies the Constitutional innovation which we borrowed neither from the United States or from the Soviet Union, but which is in accord with the world's most democratic constitutions: proportional representation. This solves the problem of the relative size of the delegations to the CNI, as well as establishing the basis of representation within each delegation. What about the CND?

If we look again at Soviet history, we have two schemes of representation: the original grouping, based upon occupational affiliation, and the subsequent territorial grouping (Roi Medvedev, "On Socialist Democracy.") One of the Constitutional experiments of Mikhail Gorbachev was to convene a three-chambered "Congress of Peoples' Deputies," one of which restored the occupational affiliation principle, which governs syndicates: this proposal was repeated recently by Spanish author Gabriel Molina Eguialis who suggested construction of a third chamber alongside the CND and CNI.

A three-chambered legislature is one option (indeed, if we restore the Senate alongside the CNI, we have four chambers!) I believe, however, if we consistently apply the principle of proportional representation, combining it with a fixed number of constituents per deputy, we can so structure the CND that it can more accurately reflect the national civil society than does the present Chamber of Deputies: the retention of the CNI as an equal house represents our commitment to empowering the founding Indigenous nations of Mexico.

3. CHANGES TO THE TERRITORY OF MEXICO; LEGAL STATUS OF OUR BORDERS.

Our borders were not determined by us: they were imposed by two conquering nations, Spain and the United States. These are not "natural" borders: the Rio Bravo, Rio Usumacinta, and Rio Hondo were "mother rivers" of our two great civilisations, Maya and Aztec, which were conquered from abroad.

Our Constitutional system needs to be alive to the opportunities for growth of the Mexican nation: specifically, we need a Constitutional clause that charges the Mexican nation with the safeguarding of the rights of Mexicans anywhere, as well as one outlining procedures facilitating admission of new States to the Mexican Union.

Both the state in question and the Mexican Union would have to consent to such a marriage, of course: the most obvious practical limitation would be that the state would have to border the presently constituted territory of Mexico.

It may also be possible, as a transitional solution, to accept a dual free association of a territory with a neighbouring nation, much as is now being proposed for the North of Ireland.

It is my sincere hope that the above proposals will stimulate discussion in the upcoming Constitutional Convention.

In Solidarity and Struggle, Insurgent Subcomander "Angeles," Branch of Liaison, Communications, and Investigations, Clandestine Command "Division of the North" (FVLN).

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