Archive of photos of zapatistas
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The
revolutionary loves the life without being afraid of death,
And
fights for life to be worthy for all, and if, because of this, he/ she
has to pay
With
his/ her life, he/ she will do it without dramas.
For
everyone all, for us nothing.
A
world where lots of worlds live.
In the long and full of sorrow birth of the history something and everything we put: life body and soul. Love and sorrow, that are not only words that rhyme, but they come together and together they go....To be seen, we hid our face; to be named, we dennied our name; we play with the present.
To
have a future... to live...we die...
To
die doesn’t hurt, oblivion hurts.
PRECEDENTS:
More than 500 years from resistence against racism, margination, oblivion, humillations, jail and death. In Chiapas the Agrary Reforms didn’t run. The owners of power and land are the same from Porfirio Díaz times.
EZLN is born on november 17th 1983 as an organization for autodefense against police, army, and "white guards". The answer of the demands to indigenists were (and still are) the joke, the kidding, or jail and death. From a traditional guerrilla, EZLN becomes a popular army. Comunities do their job and protect it; political leaders from tojolabales, tzotziles , tzeltales, choles, zoques and mam towns from los Altos, Selva y Norte take their direction: CCRI-CG. Decitions are taken on assemblies applying the rule of: "to command obeying". Appears in public , not being called EZLN yet, on October 12th , 1992, in repudiation acts to the sarcasticly called "Two Worlds Encounter" in San Cristobal de las Casas. In April of the same year the now zapatista bases participate in the Xi’Nich march from Palenque to Mexico City.
In May of 1993, federal army discovers an EZLN campament in Corralchen, provocating the first battle. Government silences the case because they need to sign quickly the NAFTA . Government planned to make a militar offensive of aniquilation on January 1994.Reform to 27th constitutional article ( that transforms ejidal land into private earth) and the signature of NAFTA are the defuntion act to indigenist towns. Zapatista bases decide, in comunitary assemblies, the uprising in the morning of:
1994
January 1st : San Cristobal de las Casas, Ocosingo, Altamirano, las Margaritas, Guadalupe Tepeyac, Huixtlan, Oxchuc, Abasolo towns are taken. The First Declaration from Lacandon Jungle is given to know . War is declarated to government , and its demands are : roof, land, job, education, alimentation, health, culture, justice., independecy, democracy, freedom, and peace.
January 2nd to 10th : Cruel battles in Ocosingo, and Rancho Nuevo. Government bombs, civil populations, executes war prisioners, does the chaos. EZLN moves into the mountains and the jungle.
January 12th: Civil society moves to stop the war. Government orders to stop the fire. EZLN accepts to dialog.
February 20th to March 2nd : Dialog in San Cristobal de las Casa Cathedral. Government offers clinics, schools, but about land, indigenous rights, autonomy, democracy, freedom and justice doesn’t say a word.
March 2nd to June 10th : Government’s propose is given to discuss in assembly comunities. It’s denied, but truce is decided to continue. Is given to know the Second Declaration from Lacandon Jungle that convocates to make the National Democratic Convention to dialog with civil society.
August 6th to 9th : National Democratic Convention is done with the participation of more than six thousand delegates in all the country. It’s decided to look for a way for the pacific transition to democracy and to fight for a new constitution to recover the 1917 spirit and warantee everyone’s rights, including indigenous towns , respecting their autonomy.
August 21st: Cibernetic cheat, "scaring vote", vote buying, PRI imposes with 17 millions. In Chiapas, Amado Avendaño, oposition candidate, calls to civil resistence and declarates government in rebel.
December 19th: EZLN breaks with militar enclosure peacefully: takes 38 municipalities, priist caciques are removed, and, democraticly, authorities that command obeying are elected. In base of 39th constitutional article, are declarated autonomous muinicipalities.
1995
January 1st : Is given to know the Third Declaration from Lacandon Jungle, that invites to create the National Liberation Movement and an United Opositor Front, but sectarinisms and protagonisms obstruct this unitary iniciative.
January 15th: Federal Government interlocutors talk with delegates from EZLN to restart the dialog; EZLN accepts if army creases.
February 9th: Zedillo betrays EZLN voluntee for dialoging and orders a militar offensive to execute apprehension orders for zapatist dirigents. Federal Army takes Guadalupe Tepeyac and disolves Aguascalientes CND see. EZLN creases to avoid battles with the army.
February- March : Civil society moves to stop the war. Union Congress approves a Law for the Dialog, Conciliation and Worthy Peace in Chiapas, that is followed by the beggining of the COCOPA (Comision for Concordy and Pacification), integrated by all the political parties legislators , as coadyuvant instance, and recognices the Intermediation National Comition, whose president is the priest Samuel Ruiz, like mediator instances.
April: Beggins the dialog between EZLN and federal government in San Andrés de los Pobres Sakamch’en (Larrainzar) . Dialog agend consist in four tables: Indigenous Culture and Rights; Democracy and Justice; Development and Weal; Women’s Rights. At the end of this, executing the agreements, peace would be signed.
August 27th: National Consult for the Peace and Democracy is made . Participated more than 1,300,000 mexicans, and more than 80,000 people in 47 countries. The consult recognices the zapatista demands and judges that EZLN must change into a politcal organization, independient and new, after signed the peace.
December: Zapatista bases build new Aguascalientes in La Realidad, Oventic, Roberto Barrios , La Garrucha and Ejido Morelia, as encounter places for civil society and peace symbols.
1996
January 1st: Is given to know the Fourth Declaration from Lacandon Jungle,. In answer to the august 27th consult, convocates to create a civil organization , peaceful, national, independient, antipartidist, with no power interests, for asumiig all the zapatista cause: FZLN. EZLN will change into FZLN when peace is signed. It would be the transition from an armed organization to a civil one. Participated representers from most of indigenous towns. Their words could be heard within EZLN. In the Indigenous Rights and Culture Table in San Andrés dialog . Also participated academics, intelectuals and social activists.
February 16th: EZLN and government sign the first agreements of Indigenous Culture and Rights.
April: In the zapatista Aguascalientes the Continental Encounter for the Humanity, and Against Neoliberalism it’s proposed to create an Intercontinental Encounter.
July-August. It’s done ithe Special Forum for the Reform of the State in san Cristóbal de las Casas (ends of june to begginings of july) to formulate proposes for the Democracy and Justice Tables. It’s also proposed that that the Reform of the State must not have a limit to electoral topic, even more, not to be restricted in the political part, but must be for all aspects of national life, and it includes all society. From ends of july to august begginings is done the First Intercontinental Encounter in the zapatista Aguascalientes. Delegators from the five continents assist. It’s decided to create an Intercontinental Red of Resistence against the destruction that globalization imposes.
August. September : Government goes without proposals to the Table About Democracy and Justice. Also, disobey the agreements signed from Indigenous Culture and Rights. Militarization grows up. Paramilitar groups are weaponed and trained from the Federal Army, and protected from statal and federal government. Are dedicated to provocate zapatista bases. It’s, so, a low intensity war this government strategy. EZLN breaks with the dialog. To return gives like conditions: no militarization, obeying of the signed agreements, a serious government comission, a three part comission (EZLN, government, and civil society.) , to verificate the obeying of agreements, freedom to prisioners, and dismantling of paramilitary groups.
October 9th to 12th: it’s done the Indigenist National Congress. EZLN names its most powerful and biggest weapon: comandanta Ramona.
1997
January: EZLN denies the observations from government.
February: Zedillo sends to the Union Congress his propose of "Indigenous Rights and Culture", that minimizes the rights signed in San Andrés Agreements. P.R.I., P.A.N., and P.V.E.M. ask the Executive for obeying the agreements.
June: In Spain is done the Second International Encounter. A pair of tojolabales assist representing E.Z.L.N.
September :March of 1,111 zapatists to Mexico City: The consign "Obey or speak clearly" is said to government. Assist to the second Assembley for the Indigenous National Congress, the founder of FZLN and some encounters with civil society.
December 22nd: In Acteal, San Pedro Chenalho’ municipality, paramilitars kill forty-five people, women and children in the most , members of the civil society "las Abejas". Warned of the inminent attack, they refused to resist, believing that the agression woudn’t be against them, because they weren’t zapatistas. They stayed praying for the peace in the church of their community, where they were killed. The action was plaused by the army, the police, the federal and local government. At that time, CONAI and human rights organizations had documented accusations of the growth of paramilitar groups, priists recluted, weaponed and trained by federal army, protected and helped with federal and statal reserves, used for provocating and attacking zapatist comunities, unpunishly they steal, hit, violate.
If you want more info from other pages, click here to go to the cyberzapatista guide from the Universitiy of Texas.
Glossary:
CCRI-
CG: Clandestin Indigenist Revolutionary Comitee- General Comandancy.
paranilitary:
armed groups protected, financed and weaponed by the federal army, to make
"dirty" jobs, such as intimidating, killing, injurying people and EZLN
supporters.
PRI
; Revolutionary Institutional Party: this party governed for 7 decades
in Mexico, leaving the country as it is today.
COCOPA:
Comission for Concordy and Pacification.