Words of the National Indigenous Congress compañero Armando García Salazar, of the hñahñu´ people of San Francisco Xochicuautla, in homage to the deceased compañero DAVID RUIZ GARCÍA during the Exchange between Indigenous Peoples and Zapatista Peoples, August 4, 2014.

AND

TWO SHORT CHRONICLES OF THE HOMAGE.

I. Words of compañero Armando García Salazar on behalf of the family and compañeros of the deceased compañero David Ruiz García.

Good morning everyone.

Good morning brothers, sisters, grandparents, children, and all of the compas who represent this movement.

Two months ago a nephew, a son, came to these lands in support of our brother Galeano. Unfortunately he suffered an accident upon his return.

Out of eagerness to defend justice and indigenous rights, he had been part of this movement for eight years. He very much wanted to come meet the Zapatista brothers, and to be frank, shake the hand of Subcomandante Marcos. It was his greatest desire. And he fulfilled it. He came to La Realidad.

Unfortunately, destiny is like this. Today, despite this, we, his brothers and his relatives, are here again. We will not retreat; David would have wanted us to go forward.

(Continuar leyendo…)

The words of Comandante Tacho, on behalf of the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee – General Command of the EZLN, at the Inauguration of the First Exchange of Indigenous Peoples of Mexico with Zapatista Peoples.

August 3, 2014.

COMPAÑERAS AND COMPAÑEROS OF THE NATIONAL INDIGENOUS CONGRESS:

COMPAÑEROS AND COMPAÑERAS OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES WHO ARE VISITING US:

We greet you hoping that everyone has arrived safely to these Zapatista lands.

You have made a long journey from distant lands to meet us here in this corner of rebellious Zapatista lands of the Mexican Southeast.

(Continuar leyendo…)

Zapatista Army for National Liberation
Mexico

August 3, 2014

To the Sixth in Mexico and in the world:
To the free, autonomous, alternative, or however-you-call-it media:

Compas:

Zapatista greetings.

FIRST. I am writing to let you know that the participants of the National Indigenous Congress have arrived safely to this First Exchange of the Zapatista Peoples and the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico “Compañero David Ruiz García.” The compañeras and compañeros bases of support who will be sharing their history of struggle have also arrived.

Here I want to share some information with you:

1. From the National Indigenous Congress as well as other indigenous social groups, peoples, tribes, and nations of Mexico, 312 participants have arrived from the following groups:

NAHUA
PURÉPECHA
MAYA PENINSULAR
MAZAHUA
ZOQUE
WIXARIKA
MIGRANTE
TEPEHUANO
COCA
HÑAHÑU
PAME
TRIQUI
MIXTECO
BINNI ZAA
CHINANTECO
IKOOT
AFROMEXICANO
POPOLUCA
TZOTZIL
CHOL
TOJOLABAL
TZELTAL
TOTONACO
KUMIAI
AMUZGO
MESTIZO
HUARIJÍO
MIXE
ÑHATO
CHONTAL

2. On behalf of the Zapatista communities, we have the participation of:

-50 presenters (male and female)
-50 scribes (male and female)
-1200 listeners from the Zapatista communities

In total: 1300 Zapatista bases of support.

All have arrived safely. I am letting you know so that you can inform others where you live and that way the families of those who have come from far away do not worry.

SECOND. As proposed by the compañeras and compañeros of the National Indigenous Congress, the closing event of this first exchange, on Saturday August 9, 2014, will be open to the press in general.

THIRD. The compañeras and compañeros of the National and International Sixth are special invitees to the closing event.

FOURTH. The compañeras and compañeros of the free, autonomous, alternative, or however-you-call-it media are special invitees to the closing event.

FIFTH. The compañeras and compañeros of the National and International Sixth are welcome to arrive as of Friday August 8, 2014, and their departure is at their own convenience.

We ask the free, autonomous, alternative, or however-you-call-it media to see about staying one extra day after the closing event so that we can hold that cursed press conference that we’ve been promising you, and which we couldn’t hold last time because we saw that you needed to leave quickly because the paid media were stealing the material you produced at the Homage for our deceased compañero Galeano. Indeed that is how capitalism works, stealing what others produce. So let’s see if you can organize things so that you can report on the closing event and then later we will do the press conference.

And SupGaleano tells me to inform the free, autonomous, alternative, or however-you-call-it media to come prepared because we are going to interview you. He says we are going to include a section in our magazine REBELDÍA ZAPATISTA called “The ducks shoot at the rifles,” where we will print the interviews we do with you. SupGaleano says that you will understand why the section has that title.

Finally, the last thing for today, I am sending you some photos that SupGaleano took of the set-up that has been prepared here. We’ll see if they send because the internet here is really slow, it’s like a snail with a limp. He says the title of the photos is “The Zapatista Alternative to the International Monetary Fund and the Usurious Banks: The Zapatista Mobile Bank.”[i] If the photos don’t go through, you can see the Zapatista Mobile Bank when you come.

You will also be able to see how the reconstruction is coming along for the clinic and the school that were destroyed by the CIOAC-Histórica paramilitaries.

It would be good for you to take photos, video, or whatever of the construction so that the good people who supported this just cause can see in the free, autonomous, alternative, or however-you-call-it media that we are honoring our word, not like the bad governments who keep everything for themselves while they say they are making social improvements. Pure thievery is what they do.

Well that’s all for now, compañeras and compañeros of the National and International Sixth. Tomorrow, Monday, after the inauguration, the work of the exchange will begin. We will send you the inaugural speech that compañero Comandante Tacho will give in the name of all of the Zapatistas.

That’s all.

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.

Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Mexico, August 2, 2014. In the twentieth year of the war against oblivion.

[i] The photo shows a large covered area with many rows of small, carved wooden stools referred to in Spanish as “bancos,” which also happens to be the Spanish word for bank. (Continuar leyendo…)

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION
MEXICO.

July 2014.

To the compañer@s of the Sixth in Mexico and in the world:
To all those who supported us in the reconstruction of the school and the clinic that belong to the compañeros of La Realidad:

Compañer@s:

Greetings from the Zapatistas.

We want to inform you of the following:

1. Upon hearing that the National Indigenous Congress still lacks adequate funds to travel to the exchange in the Caracol of La Realidad, the Zapatista compañeros and compañeras from the community of La Realidad have decided to use part of the $958,646.26 Mexican pesos that they received for reconstruction in La Realidad to support this travel.

(Continuar leyendo…)

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION.
MEXICO.

July 2014.

To the compañer@s of the Sixth in Mexico and the world.

Dear compas:

Zapatista greetings to all those who supported our compañero and compañera bases of support. We send an embrace to all those who helped generate funds for the reconstruction of the school and clinic in the Zapatista La Realidad that were destroyed by the bad governments via their paramilitaries from the CIOAC-Histórica.

Today, July 18, 2014, we want to give you an updated report of the funds generated to date. Since the last report we sent, more money has come in which hadn’t arrived before due to lack of adequate means to send it. For example, our compas of the Sixth in Europe had problems getting the money here, but they resolved that issue and those funds have now arrived in full. The same happened to other compas and collectives in Mexico and in the world.

(Continuar leyendo…)

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION.
MEXICO.

July 2014.

To the compas of the Sixth in Mexico and the World:
To all those who have cooperated or contributed to the reconstruction of the clinic and school in La Realidad:

The Zapatistas send you greetings.

We want to let you know how things are going with the collection of funds for rebuilding the school and clinic destroyed by paramilitaries in our Zapatista Reality.

As of today, July 3, nearly a month after we announced the request for support for this construction, we have received:

From collectives: the total generated by various collectives is $344,612.50 [Mexican pesos].
From individuals: the total generated from various individuals is $20,724.00 [Mexican pesos].

(Continuar leyendo…)

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION
MEXICO.

June 2014.

For: The Sixth in Mexico and the world

Compañeras and compañeros of the Sixth in Mexico and the world:
Brothers and sisters of Mexico and the world:

I want to tell you about a meeting that we had in La Realidad a few days ago.

The Zapatista compañeras and compañeros of La Realidad say that the three levels of capitalist governments who destroyed their autonomous school, autonomous clinic, and the hose that brings water to the compañeras and compañeros wanted to destroy the Zapatista struggle then and there.

It should not be forgotten that when the first Aguascalientes was destroyed, the Zapatistas built five more.

(Continuar leyendo…)

EXCHANGE WITH THE CNI

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION
MEXICO

May 29, 2014.

To the National Indigenous Congress and the Indigenous Peoples in Mexico

To the Sixth:

Compañeras and compañeros:

Zapatista greetings to all of you. We want to inform you here of the plans for the exchange between the Zapatista people and the indigenous peoples of the National Indigenous Congress (CNI):
(Continuar leyendo…)

CONDOLENCES

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION
MEXICO

May 2014.

To: The family and compañer@s of our compa David Ruiz García.
From: The Zapatistas of the EZLN

Compas:

From pain to pain. This is what we feel, compañera and compañero of the family of our compañero David Ruíz García.

(Continuar leyendo…)

ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION
MEXICO.

May 27, 2014.

To the compañeras and compañeros of the Sixth Declaration in Mexico and the World:
To our sisters and brothers of the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) and indigenous peoples in our country:

Compas:

This is Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés, greeting you to communicate a few things:

First.- THE LITTLE SCHOOL. Compañer@s of the Sixth Declaration in Mexico and the world. We want to tell you that for now we think that we will continue the work of the little school, both the first grade for those who did not arrive yet and the second grade for those who passed, but there are only a few who passed and can move on, because not everyone complied fully with what they committed to as students. Later we’ll tell you the date for the first grade of the little school. Same thing with the second grade, but not for everyone.

Second.- PEACE CAMP. Compañeras and compañeros of the Sixth Declaration in Mexico and the World. We have received the words and ideas from the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center suggesting that we set up a Civilian Camp for Peace at the community of La Realidad, where the crime against our compañero Galeano took place. We already told Fayba that their thoughts are welcome, so they can be witnesses and observers and listeners, since the situation hasn’t been solved yet. Because the murderers are still free and the strength they have and that drives them to do anything is alcohol, in addition to the fact that some of them have a history of drug use. The compañeros and compañeras zapatista bases of support have to return to their homes, because they can’t stay forever at the caracol, since they have to work in order to provide for their families. So the civilian camp for peace is very important. To that end, we ask you to coordinate yourselves with the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center. They have informed us that the first camp will be set up on Wednesday, June 4, 2014.

Third.- SHARING. We will also resume the sharing with our brothers and sisters from the National Indigenous Congress, but we will communicate on that separately.

Fourth.- REBUILDING. As you know, the paramilitaries at the service of the bad governments destroyed the school and the clinic of the zapatista bases of support. Just like we brought compa Galeano back from the grave, we have to rebuild the school and the clinic. The compañeras and compañeros bases of support from La Realidad already found a new place to build them. So we invite you to see if you can obtain building materials, so we can build the school and the clinic.

(Continuar leyendo…)