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INFORME DEL CONGRESO NACIONAL INDÍGENA Y EL EJÉRCITO ZAPATISTA DE LIBERACIÓN NACIONAL SOBRE LO RECAUDADO PARA LAS COMUNIDADES DE GUERRERO AFECTADAS POR EL HURACÁN OTIS

NOVIEMBRE DE 2023

A LOS PUEBLOS Y GOBIERNOS DE MÉXICO Y DEL MUNDO
A LA SEXTA NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL
A LOS MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN

A partir del llamado de solidaridad por el Huracán Otis realizado en el mes de octubre, hemos contactado a nuestras hermanas y hermanos que sufrieron los estragos de dicha catástrofe, para hacer llegar la ayuda que con la solidaridad de muchas compañeras y compañeros de México y el mundo se ha generado.

A esta fecha hemos recibido, en la Casa de los Pueblos “Samir Flores Soberanes”, un aproximado de tonelada y media de víveres, ropa, agua y medicamento que se entregó a la Organización Campesina de la Sierra del Sur-Tepetixtla (OCSS) con presencia en la Costa Grande del estado de Guerrero.

También en la cuenta bancaria hemos recibido al corte de la tercera semana de noviembre la cantidad total de 332,597.99 pesos a través de 196 depósitos y transferencias bancarias.

Todos estos donativos se recibieron no sólo de personas de nuestro país, sino de varios países del mundo, lo que nos habla de una solidaridad internacionalista y nacional, entre los de abajo y a la izquierda. Distintas cantidades, distintos esfuerzos individuales y colectivos que no alcanzan a reflejarse cabalmente en solo unos números y cantidades recibidas. Pero nosotros lo sabemos hermanas y hermanos, nos tendieron la mano en estos duros momentos, de eso no hay duda.

Estas donaciones se han destinado del siguiente modo:

-$200,000.00 (doscientos mil pesos) entregados a la OCSS-Tepetixtla que se destinaron a la adquisisción de 7 toneladas de semillas, así como abarrotes y enseres para el apoyo a 13 comedores comunitarios del municipio de Coyuca de Benítez, distribuidos en 5 colonias de la cabecera municipal, en 2 albergues y en 6 comunidades del municipio.

-$32,000.00 (treinta y dos mil pesos) entregados al Consejo Indígena y Popular de Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata (CIPOG-EZ) destinados a la adquisición de láminas y madera para la reparación de techos en 50 viviendas de las comunidades de Pie de Tierra, Barrios de Guadalupe y Tierra Blanca en la región de la Montaña Alta, estado de Guerrero.

Actualmente existe un remanente de estos donativos que se usará para seguir apoyando a estas organizaciones y comunidades del estado de Guerrero y pertenecientes al Congreso Nacional Indígena, razón por la que llamamos a los hombres y mujeres de buen corazón, a los colectivos de la Sexta Nacional e Internacional y a los pueblos de México y del mundo, a continuar la solidaridad en apoyo a los pueblos originarios del estado de Guerrero afectados, pudiendo entregar donativos en especie en el domicilio de la Casa de los Pueblos “Samir Flores Soberanes”, ubicado en Av. México-Coyoacán 343, colonia Xoco, Alcaldía Benito Juárez, Ciudad de México, CP03330; y depósitos y transferencias bancarias en apoyo a estos pueblos y comunidades en la cuenta número 0113643034, CLABE 012540001136430347, código SWIFT BCMRMXMMPYM, del banco BBVA México, sucursal 1769. A nombre de: Ciencia Social al Servicio de los Pueblos Originarios. Teléfono: 5526907936.

MÉXICO, A 30 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2023

ATENTAMENTE

POR LA RECONSTITUCIÓN INTEGRAL DE NUESTROS PUEBLOS

NUNCA MAS UN MÉXICO SIN NOSOTROS

CONGRESO NACIONAL INDÍGENA
EJÉRCITO ZAPATISTA DE LIBERACIÓN NACIONAL

Fourteenth Part and Second Approach Alert:
The (other) Rule of the Excluded Third

November 2023

The meeting was a year ago. One early morning in November. It was cold. Subcommander Insurgent Moisés arrived at the Captaincy chamber (yes, you are not wrong, by that time SupGaleano had already died, only his death had not been made public). The meeting with the bosses had ended late, and the SubMoy took time to stop by and ask me about what I had progressed in the analysis that had to be presented the next day at the assembly. The moon was moving lazily towards its first quarter and the world population reached 8 billion. Three notes appeared in my notebook:

The richest man in Mexico, Carlos Slim, to a group of students: “now, what I see for all of you is a buoyant Mexico with sustained growth, with many opportunities for job creation and economic activities” (November 10, 2022). (Note: perhaps he refers to Organized Crime as an economic activity that generates employment. And with export goods).

“(…) the number of people who are currently reported missing in Mexico, since 1964, now amounts to 107,201; that is, 7 thousand more than last May, when the 100 thousand threshold was exceeded. (November 7, 2022). (Note: Seek for the seekers).

In Israel, the UN set the number of Palestinian prisoners at around 5,000, including 160 children, according to the report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. Netanyahu takes over as head of the government for the third time. (November 2022). (Note: he who sows winds will reap storms).

-*-

A crack as a project.

It was not the first time we had discussed the topic. What’s more, during the last few moons it had been the constant: the diagnosis that would help the assembly make a decision about “what’s next.” They had also been discussing this for months, but the idea-proposal of Subcommander Insurgent Moisés had not landed jet, or materialized. It was still a kind of intuition.

«It’s not that all the doors are closed,» I began. – There are no doors. All those that appear as “true” do not lead anywhere other than to the starting point. Any attempted route is just a trip through a labyrinth that, at best, takes you back to the beginning. At worst, to disappearance.

So? SubMoy asked, lighting the umpteenth cigarette.

-Well, I think you’re right, all that remains is to open a crack. It’s not good to look elsewhere. You have to make a door. It’s going to take time, yes. And it’s going to cost a lot. But yes, it is possible. Although not just anyone. What you are thinking, no one, ever. I myself didn’t think I would get even to hear it – I pointed out.

SubMoy remained thoughtful for a while, looking at the floor of the champa, full of cigarette butts, tobacco residue from the pipe, a burnt match, wet mud, some broken twigs.

Then he got up and, heading to the door, he only said: «Well, there’s no way, we need to see… what’s missing is yet to come.»

-*-

Failure as a goal.

To understand what that brief dialogue meant, I must explain a part of my job as captain. In this case, a work that I inherited from the late SupGaleano, who in turn received it from the late SupMarcos.

A thankless, dark and painful task: foreseeing the Zapatista failure.

If you are considering an initiative, I look for everything that could make it fail, or, at least, reduce its impact. Look for the contradictory opposite. Let’s say something like “Marcos Contreras”. I am, therefore, the maximum and only representative of the “pessimistic wing” of Zapatismo.

The objective is to attack the initiatives with all types of objections from the moment they begin to be born. We suppose that this causes this proposal to be refined and consolidated, whether it be an internal organizational, or an external initiative, be it a combination of these two.

To put it clearly: Zapatismo prepares itself to fail. That is, it imagines the worst-case scenario. With that horizon in perspective, plans are drawn up and proposals detailed.

To conceive these “future failures”, the sciences that we have at our disposal are used. You have to look everywhere (and when I say “everywhere” I mean everywhere, including social networks and their bot farms, fake news and the tricks that are carried out to get “followers”), obtain the greatest amount of data and information, cross it and thus obtain the diagnosis of what the perfect storm would be and its result.

You must try to understand that it is not about building a certainty, but rather a terrible hypothesis. In terms of the deceased: “suppose everything goes to shit.” Contrary to what one may believe, this catastrophe does not include our disappearance, but something worse: the extinction of the human species. Well, at least as we conceive it today.

This catastrophe is imagined and we begin to look for data that confirms it. Real data, not the prophecies of Nostradamus or the biblical Apocalypse or equivalent. That is, scientific data. Scientific publications, financial data, trends, records of facts, and many publications are then used.

From this hypothetical future, the clock is set in reverse.

-*-

The rule of the excluded third.

Already in possession of the drawing of the collapse and its inevitability, the rule of the excluded third begins to work.

No, it is not the known one. This is an invention of the late SupMarcos. In his time as a lieutenant, he said that, in the event of a failure, a solution was first attempted; second, a correction; and third, since there was no third, it remained as “there is no remedy.” Later, he refined that rule until he reached the one that I now explain to you: if a hypothesis is supported by true data and scientific analysis, it is necessary to look for two elements that contradict the aforementioned hypothesis in its essence. If these two elements are found, the third is no longer sought, then the hypothesis must be reconsidered or confronted with the most severe judge: reality.

I clarify that, when the Zapatistas say “reality,” they include their actions in that reality. What you call “practice”.

I then apply that same rule. If I find at least 2 elements that contradict my hypothesis, then I abandon the search, discard that hypothesis and look for another one.

The complex hypothesis.

My hypothesis is: there is no solution.

Notes:

Balanced coexistence between humans and nature is now impossible. In the confrontation, the one who has the most time will win: nature. Capital has turned the relationship with nature into a confrontation, a war of plunder and destruction. The objective of this war is the annihilation of the opponent, nature in this case (humanity included). With the criterion of “planned obsolescence” (or “expected expiration”), the commodity “human beings” expires in each war.

The logic of capital is that of greater profit at maximum speed. This causes the system to become a gigantic waste machine, including human beings. In the storm, social relations are disrupted and unproductive capital throws millions into unemployment and, from there, into “alternative employment” in crime, and into migration. The destruction of territories includes depopulation. The “phenomenon” of migration is not the prelude to the catastrophe, it is its confirmation. Migration produces the effect of “nations within nations”, large migratory caravans colliding with walls made of concrete, of police, military walls; criminal walls, bureaucratic walls, racial and economic walls.

When we talk about migration, we forget the other migration that precedes it on the calendar. That of original populations in their own territories, now converted into merchandises. Have the Palestinian people not become migrants who must be expelled from their own land? Doesn’t the same thing happen with the indigenous peoples around the world?

In Mexico, for example, the native communities are the “strange enemy” that dares to “desecrate” the soil of the system’s farm, located between the Bravo and the Suchiate. To combat this “enemy” there are thousands of soldiers and police, megaprojects, buying of consciences, repression, disappearances, murders and a veritable factory of guilty people (cf. https://frayba.org.mx/). The murders of brother Samir Flores Soberanes and dozens of nature guardians define the current governmental project.

The “fear of the other” reaches levels of frank paranoia. Scarcity, poverty, misfortunes and crime are responsible for a system, but now the blame is transferred to the migrant who must be fought until annihilated.

In “politics” alternatives and offers are offered, each one falser than the next. New cults, nationalisms – new, old or recycled -, the new religion of social networks and its neo prophets: the “influencers”. And war, always war.

The crisis of politics is the crisis of alternatives to chaos. The frenetic succession in governments of right wing, extreme right wing, the non-existent center, and what is presumptuously called «left», is only a reflection of a changing market: if there are new models of cell phones, why not «new” political options?

Nation-States become customs agents of capital. There are no governments, there is only one Border Patrol with different colors and different flags. The dispute between the “Fat State” and the “Starving State” is just a failed concealment of its original nature: repression.

Capital begins to replace neoliberalism as a theoretical-ideological alibi, with its logical consequence: neo-Malthusianism. That is, the war of annihilation of large populations to achieve the well-being of modern society. War is not an irregularity of the machine, it is the “regular maintenance” that will ensure its operation and duration. The radical reduction in demand to compensate for supply limitations.

It would not be about social neo-Darwinism (the strong and rich become stronger and richer, and the weak and poor become weaker and poorer), or Eugenics, which was one of the ideological alibis for the Nazi war of extermination of the Jewish people. Or not only. It would be a global campaign to annihilate the majority population of the world: the dispossessed. Dispossess them of life too. If the planet’s resources are not sufficient and there is no spare planet (or it has not been found yet, although they are working on it), then it is necessary to drastically reduce the population. Shrink the planet through depopulation and reorganization, not only of certain territories, but of the entire world. A Nakba for the entire planet.

If the house can no longer be expanded nor is it feasible to add more floors; if the inhabitants of the basement want to go up to the ground floor, raid the cupboard, and, horror!, they do not stop reproducing; if “ecological paradises” or “self-sustaining” (in reality they are just “panic rooms” of capital) are not enough; if those on the first floor want the rooms on the second and so on; in short, if “modern civilization” and its core (private ownership of the means of production, circulation and consumption), is in danger; well, then you have to expel tenants – starting with those in the basement – until “balance” is achieved.

If the planet is depleted of resources and territories, a kind of «diet» follows to reduce the obesity of the planet. Searching for another planet is having unforeseen difficulties. A space race is foreseeable, but its success is still a very big unknown. Wars, on the other hand, have demonstrated their “effectiveness.”

The conquest of territories brought the exponential growth of the «surplus», «excluded», or «expendable». The wars over distribution continue. Wars have a double advantage: they revive war production and its subsidiaries, and eliminate those surpluses in an expeditious and irremediable manner.

Nationalisms will not only re-emerge or have new breath (hence the coming and going of far-right political offers), they are the necessary spiritual basis for wars. “The person responsible for your shortcomings is whoever is next to you. That’s why your team loses.» The logic of the “cliques”, “gangs” and “hooligans” -national, racial, religious, political, ideological, gender-, encouraging medium, large and small wars in size, but with the same objective of purification.

Ergo: capitalism does not expire, it only transforms.

The Nation-State long ago stopped fulfilling its function as a territory-government-population with common characteristics (language, currency, legal system, culture, etc.). National States are now the military positions of a single army, that of the capital cartel. In the current global crime system, governments are the “Jefes de plaza” that maintain control of a territory. The political fight, electoral or not, is to see who is promoted to head of the plaza. The “cobro de piso” is through taxes and budgets for campaigns and the electoral process. Disorganized crime thus finances its reproduction, although its inability to offer its subjects security and justice is increasingly evident. In modern politics, the heads of national cartels are decided by elections.

A new society does not emerge from this bundle of contradictions. The catastrophe is not followed by the end of the capitalist system, but by a different form of its predatory character. The future of capital is the same as its patriarchal past and presents: exploitation, repression, dispossession and contempt. For every crisis, the system always has a war at hand to solve that crisis. Therefore: it is not possible to outline or build an alternative to collapse beyond our own survival as indigenous communities.

The majority of the population does not see or does not believe the catastrophe is possible. Capital has managed to instill immediatism and denialism in the basic cultural code of those below.

Beyond some native communities, peoples in resistance and some groups and collectives, it is not possible to build an alternative that goes beyond the local minimum.

The prevalence of the notion of the Nation-State in the imaginary below is an obstacle. It keeps struggles separate, isolated, fragmented. The borders that separate them are not only geographical.

-*-

The Contradictions.

Notes:

First series of contradictions:

The struggle of the brothers from the Cholulteca region against the Bonafont company, in Puebla, Mexico (2021-2022). Seeing that their springs were drying up, the residents turned to look at the person responsible: the Bonafont company, from Danone. They organized and took over the bottling plant. The springs were recovered and water and life returned to their lands. Nature thus responded to the action of its defenders and confirmed what the peasants said: the company deprecated water. The repressive force that evicted them, after a time, could not hide the reality: the people defended life, and the company and the government defended death. Mother Earth responded to the question like this: there is a remedy, I correspond with life to those who defend my existence; we can coexist if we respect and care for each other.

The pandemic (2020). The animals recovered their position in some abandoned urban territories, although it was momentary. The water, the air, the flora and fauna had a break and remade themselves, although they were once again overwhelmed in a short time. They thus indicated who the invader was.

The Journey for Life (2021). In the East, that is, in Europe, there are examples of resistance to destruction and, above all, of building another relationship with Mother Earth. The reports, stories and anecdotes are too many for these notes, but they confirm that the reality there is not only that of xenophobia and the idiocy and petulance of their governments. We hope to find similar efforts in other geographies.

Therefore: balanced coexistence with nature is possible. There must be more examples of this. Note: look for more data, review the Extemporánea reports again upon returning from the Journey for Life – Europe Chapter, what did they see at and what did they learn, follow the actions of the CNI and other organizations and movements of sister indigenous peoples in the World. Pay attention to alternatives in urban areas.

Partial conclusion: the contradictions detected put one of the premises of the complex hypothesis in crisis, but not yet the essence. The so-called “green capitalism” could well absorb or supplant these resistances.

Second series of contradictions:

The existence and persistence of the Sixth and the people, groups, collectives, teams, organizations, movements united in the Declaration for Life. And many more people in many places. There are those who resist and rebel, and try to find themselves. But it is necessary to search. And that is what the Seekers teach us: seeking is a necessary, urgent, vital struggle. With everything against them, they cling to the remotest hope.

Partial conclusion: the mere possibility, minimal, tiny, improbable up to a ridiculous percentage, that resistance and rebellion coincide, makes the machine stumble. It is not its destruction, it is true. Not yet. The scarlet witches will be decisive.

The percentage probability of the triumph of life over death is ridiculous, yes. Then there are options: resignation, cynicism, the cult of the immediate (“carpe diem” as vital support).

And yet, there are those who defy walls, borders, rules… and the law of probabilities.

Third series of contradictions: Not necessary. The Excluded Third Rule applies.

General conclusion: therefore, another hypothesis must be raised.

-*-

Ah! Did you think that the initiative or step that the Zapatista people announced was the disappearance of MAREZ and JBG, the inversion of the pyramid and the birth of the GAL?

Well, I’m sorry to ruin your peace of mind. It is not so. Go back to before the so-called “Fist Part” and the discussion about the motives of wolves and shepherds. Already there? Now put this:

Permissu et gratia a praelatis dico vobis visiones mirabiles et terribiles quas oculi mei in his terris viderunt. 30 Anno Resistentise, et prima luce diei viderunt imagines et sonos, quod nunquam antea viderant, et tamen litteras meas semper intuebantur.  Manus scribit et cor dictat.  Erat mane et supra, cicadae et stellae pugnabant pro terra…

With the permission and grace of the superiors I tell you the wonderful and terrible visions which my eyes have seen in these lands. In the year 30 of the resistance, and at the first light of the day they saw images and sounds which they had never seen before, and yet they always looked at my letters. The hand writes and the heart dictates. It was dawn and above, crickets and starlings were fighting for the land…

The Captain.

He did not appear then because you did not know about the death of SupGaleano, nor about the other necessary deaths. But that’s how we Zapatistas are: what we keep silent about is always more than what we say. As if we were determined to design a puzzle that is always unfinished, always with a pending piece, always with that extemporaneous question: what about you?

From the mountains of the Mexican southeast.

The Captain.

40, 30, 20, 10, 2, 1 year later.

P.S.- So what is missing? Well… what’s missing is yet to come.

Thirteenth Part: TWO FOOTBALL GAMES AND THE SAME REBELLION.

“Football is the continuation of politics by other means.”
Don Durito de La Lacandona (“DD”, for legal purposes).

November 2023

I.- Eve of the Journey for Life – Europe chapter.

A football challenge has been received from a European women’s team that resists and fights.

SupGaleano has appointed himself “technical director” of the “Ixchel – Ramona” team, made up of militiawomen. As it should be, the Sup has studied the rival team. He gathers the compañeras who will make the trip. Analyzes in detail the skills and characteristics of each of the players. He goes to Subcommander Moisés and gives his diagnosis: “they are going to tear us into pieces.” SubMoy looks at it with a “so?” face, as if taking it for granted. But the now deceased has not finished: “But I have a secret plan, as Dení says. With that we will revolutionize football and redefine it in its essence: the game.”

Subcommander Insurgent Moisés, coordinator of the tour, is quite busy with the preparation courses, birth certificates, passports and the design of the route to follow, so he leaves SupGaleano to proceed “at his discretion.” The future deceased smiles and says: “Discretion is my second last name” (don’t ask me what his first last name was because it would take several pages to explain it to you).

The deceased in the making begins the preparation of the women’s team. But, for his strategy to be successful, he needs the support of the fearsome, terrible and terrifying “Popcorn Commando”, which, at that moment, is trying to open a hole in the training ship in which the so-called “Squadron 421” was prepared. Disillusioned because, before finishing the work below the waterline, the ship had been transformed into an imposing two-engine plane, they went to consult with SupGaleano what they could do to set the aircraft on fire. The Sup convinced them that it was not advisable to burn it, that it was better to wait until it was in full flight to shoot it down from within. The beloved Amado and Chinto objected: if the plane falls, Commando Palomitas will also fall. The Sup responded that it was not the time to dwell on trifles. Furthermore, the Command was required for a higher task, than sabotaging an air trip that did not even complete the payment for the tickets, not to mention the lack of passports, and that the majority of the so-called “Division Aerotransportada La Extemporánea” was getting dizzy in the truck.

When the Popcorn Commando, the Sup, Tzotz, Tragón and Pelusa met in the ultra-secret bunker that is in the Puy platform of the Tzotz Choj area, they proceeded to refine the details of what, from then on, would be known worldwide as the “Brilliant and Excellent Plan to Defeat a Rival Better Prepared, Trained and Equipped than Us” (BEPDRMPEEN, for its acronym in Spanish), subtitle “And that they have better technique and control of the ball.”

The top secret meeting continued its normal course. That is to say, Chuy took away Lupita’s chamoy lollypop, Verónica gave Chuy a slap and, as if it were the Supreme Government, she kept Chuy’s lollypop, Lupita’s and her own. El Chinto and the beloved Amado insisted that their bicycles had broken down “just like that” and that the Monarch had to fix them. Pelusa, Tragón and Tzotz looked at the table looking for cookies, and Sup gave a master class on “How to win a soccer game with everything against you.”

The apparent chaos subsided when the Sup took out, from who knows where, a box of “Choki The Devil’s Cookie”, and only then – after 5 packages had been dispatched – the missions were distributed, the schedule was made, and they stuffed themselves with the sixth package “in honor of the future fallen men.” “And women,” Chuy felt obliged to add, only to receive from Verónica another zap model “gender equality does not apply in misfortune.” Lupita approved the action with the chamoy lollypop that Sup gave her so she wouldn’t continue crying.

The “three times T” Popcorn Command, the Sup and the canine wing of the command then went to the hotbed and, with the militia members gathered, the new “passive-aggressive” scheme was explained and practiced, which, as it should be, had in a leading role the aforementioned Command.

Following the old and proven Zapatista rule of “Do not play with the enemy’s rules”, the Sup developed a kind of mixture of rugby, with nineteenth-century dramaturgy, with some Anime, with cinema very much like Hollywood corner with Cannes, with Monet’s impressionism, a pinch of Allan Poe crossed with Conan Doyle, something of Cervantes’ epic, the brevity of Joyce, the perspective of Buñuel, a pinch of Brecht mixed with Beckett, the seasoning of some tacos al pastor, a very rebajada cumbia, Anita Tijoux and Shadia Mansour breaking borders -free Palestine-, and, well, I didn’t take note of everything, but the only thing missing was the ball.

The strategy in question had 3 phases:

The first was that Verónica grabbed a Zapatista doll and headed determinedly towards the opposing goal, she stood in front of the enemy goalkeeper and spoke to her in Cho’ol. The goalkeeper, of course, world not understand anything, but there stood Lupita and Esperanza Zapatista who would translate with signs that the girl was giving her the doll. And Esperanza, as her name indicates, offered to take a photo with the girl and the doll. For the photo, they should tell the goaly to put the ball down, because Verónica wanted her to hug her. At the moment this happened, Esperanza kicked the ball “into the back of the net” and the entire team shouted “Goal!” It was practiced countless times with success. The only thing that could not be achieved was for Verónica not to take the doll from the goalkeeper and run away.

The second variant consisted of the Zapatista goalkeeper receiving the ball, placing it under her sports shirt, as if she were pregnant, and beginning to walk as if pregnant. The entire Zapatista team came to help her and take her to medical services. Of course, since they were in foreign territory, the teammates made a mistake and went to face the enemy goal, where, miraculously, the Zapatista goalkeeper dropped the ball that, barely rolling, went beyond the enemy line and gave birth to a Goal that he forgot from Messi and Cristiano. Meanwhile, the TTT Popcorn Commando surrounded the sister responsible for the board and “exhorted” her to accept the goal achieved “with the sacrifice of the Zapatista comrade and her little ball.”

The third variant implied a risk for the protagonist, since she had to fake fainting. It was practiced only once in the seedbed because the terrain there is gravel (stone and sand), and it was expected that there would be grass in the enemy field. The compañera had to faint in the middle of the field. Subcommander Moisés, alarmed, would run to see his companion and, with him, the entire Zapatista bench would run. All the compañeras cried out, in their respective mother tongues, for medical service. As expected, the enemy would have no medical service, so a stretcher would be prepared in advance. The referee would like to call the paramedics, but SubMoisés would allege practices and customs of the native peoples, so the Zapatistas themselves lift the fainted woman and place her on the stretcher. Confused by the pain and sorrow of seeing their sister fall in combat, the militia members would not succeed in heading to the bench carrying the stretcher, so they would end up reaching the enemy goal. At that moment, the first gods, those who made the world, would do their work and the injured compa would wake up without the need for any male toad, commoner or royalty, to kiss her, and she would find the ball at her feet, just on the goal line and with a kick she would seal the fate. It was to be expected that, animated by the joy of seeing their companion safe, the militiawomen would shout “Goal!” By that time, the Popcorn Commando would already be at the foot of the scoreboard to ensure that life was celebrated.

I don’t really remember the fourth – I know I said there were 3, but weren’t the three musketeers actually 4? -, although it was similar in wit, creativity and mischief to the other three.

According to what the militia women told me upon their return, in the territories they call “Italy” and “Spanish State”, the enemy sisters quickly understood what the matter was about and began to play with the same style. I don’t know whether FIFA could classify it as football but, judging by the photos and videos they showed me, it was a party. Result: there was no winner or loser… and Verónica returned with the doll that, presumably, belonged to the now deceased SupGaleano. No, she didn’t give it back.

“And that was the message for geographies around the world: do not play with your enemy’s rules, create your own rules,” SupGaleano declared to me before his last sigh.

-*-

II.- How many Cyprus can fit in a soccer game?

This was told to me by Subcommander Insurgent Moisés, when he told me details and anecdotes from the so-called “Europe chapter” of the Journey for Life. What I tell below is what I managed to rescue from the narration, full of admiration and respect, of Subcommander Moisés.

“There is a geography called Cyprus. Well, it’s broken, that is, in pieces. There are Cypriots, there are Greek Cypriots and there are Turkish Cypriots and I don’t remember how many more people have the last name Cypriot. The capitalists divided that land, cut it into pieces. And they also cut up their people, their language, their history, their culture. And it turns out that, although it is a small island, all the money wants it and, as they do, they divide it, but each party wants the other’s share. In other words, in the midst of the powerful and their wars, the people remain.

Well, then there is a soccer team in that geography called Cyprus. They have good players and they are professionals. So their job is to play soccer. So they are losing several games and they meet among themselves to analyze and they say that they are losing because the games’ strategy is wrong. They go and tell the owner of the team, that is, the boss, that they are losing because of that, that they already thought of a better strategy and that way they will win more games.

The boss, that is, the owner of the team, looks at them with contempt and tells them: “you win or lose as it suits me. Sometimes it suits me that you lose and that’s how it will continue.»

The players know how to play very well, but they also have a good heart. So, as they say, they rebel. They tell themselves resistance and rebellion, but in their language. And they send the owner of the team, that is, the boss, to hell. Then they make their own soccer team. And they organize themselves and make a stadium. That land is divided, so, in the middle, they say “no man’s land”, they make their stadium there and then they invite anyone who wants to play and practice. The other groups and collectives that fight, support them and are well organized. It doesn’t matter if you are Cypriot, Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot or Cypriot I don’t know what. There is no charge, it is voluntary what each person wants to give. So, as they say, the pay is not what matters. So, from time to time they have their matches and there are no divisions of nationalities, no religions, no flags, there is only football. And it’s like a party.

In other words, as they say, those brothers broke those boundaries that the bosses and owners put in place.

“So they kind of made their Caracol. They have a football Caracol! I told them let’s see when we can have a soccer game there in their land or here in no man’s land,» says Subcommander Insurgent Moisés, spokesperson for the Zapatista communities, chief of the EZLN, and coordinator of the Journey for Life.

-*-

1. Cheers and that the games, like the rides, are not a competition but rather excuses to coexist among different people.

I attest
From the mountains of the Mexican southeast.

The Captain
Mexico, November 2023. 40, 30, 20, 10, 2 years later.

Music: «Somos Sur», for Ana Tijoux and Shadia Mansour
Images of the soccer match between the Ixchel-Ramona team and the enemy Italian sisters taken in the geography they call Rome, Italy, in November 2021. Added to images of mobilization of the Zapatista peoples against the wars in 2022. Tercios Compas . Copyleft November 2023

Twelfth part: Fragments
Fragments of a letter written by Subcommander Insurgent Moises, sent a few months ago, to a geography distant in space but close in thought:

“Sixth Zapatista Commission.
Mexico.

April 2023

(…)

Because then it would be something like, in the face of the terrible storm that is already hitting every corner of the planet, even those who thought themselves safe from all evil, we did not see the storm.

I mean, we don’t just see the storm, and the destruction, death and pain that it brings. We also see what comes next. We want to be the seed of a future root that we will not see, which will then be, in turn, the grass that we will not see either.

The Zapatista vocation, if someone pushes us to a laconic definition, is “to be a good seed.”

We do not intend to leave for inheritance a conception of the world to the next generations. Neither to inherit our miseries, our resentments, our pain, our phobias, or our philias. Nor for them to be a mirror with a more or less approximate image of what we assume is good or bad.

What we want to leave for inheritance is life. What other generations do with it will be their decision and, above all, their responsibility. Just as we inherited life from our ancestors, we took what we considered valuable, and we assigned ourselves a task. And, of course, we take responsibility for the decision we made, for what we do in order to accomplish that task, and for the consequences of our actions and omissions.

When we say that “It is not necessary to conquer the world, it is enough to do it again”, we move away, definitively and irremediably, from the current and previous political conceptions. The world we see is not perfect, not even close. But it is better, without a doubt. A world where everyone is who they are, without shame, without being persecuted, mutilated, imprisoned, murdered, marginalized, oppressed.

What is that world called? What system supports it or is dominant? Well, that will be decided, or not, by those who live there.

A world where the desires to hegemonize and homogenize learn from what they caused in this time and other times, and fail in that world to come.

A world in which humanity is not defined by equality (which only hides the segregation of those who “are not equal”), but by difference.

A world where difference is not persecuted, but celebrated. A world in which the stories told are not those of those who win, because no one wins.

A world where the stories that are told, whether in intimacy, or in the arts, or in culture, are like those that our grandmothers and grandfathers told us, and that teach not who won, because no one won and, therefore, nobody lost.

Those stories that allowed us to imagine terrible and wonderful things and in which, between the rain and the smell of cooking corn, coffee and tobacco, we managed to imagine an incomplete world, yes, clumsy too, but much better than the world that our ancestors and our contemporaries have suffered and are suffering.

We do not intend to leave for inheritance laws, manuals, worldviews, catechisms, rules, routes, destinations, steps, companies, which, if you look closely, is what almost all political proposals aspire to.

Our goal is simpler and terribly more difficult: to leave life for inheritance.

(…)

Because we see that this terrible storm, whose first gales and rains are already hitting the entire planet, is arriving very quickly and very strongly. So, we don’t see the immediate. Or yes, but according to what we see in the long term. Our immediate reality is defined or in accordance with two realities: one of death and destruction that will bring out the worst in human beings, regardless of their social class, their color, their race, their culture, their geography, their language, their size; and another of starting over, from the rubble of a system that did what it does best, that is, to destroy.

Why do we say that the nightmare that already exists, and that will only get worse, will be followed by an awakening? Well, because there are those, like us, who are determined to look at that possibility. Minimal, it’s true. But every day and at all hours, everywhere, we fight so that this minimal possibility grows and, although small and unimportant –just like a tiny seed—, it grows and, one day, it becomes the tree of life that will be of all colors or won’t be at all.

We are not the only ones. In these 30 years we have leaned out into many worlds. Different in ways, times, geographies, own stories, calendars. But equal only in the effort and the absurd gaze placed on an untimely time that will happen, not because of destiny, not because of divine design, not because someone loses so that someone wins. No, it will be because we are working on it, fighting, living and dying for it.

And there will be a meadow, and there will be flowers, and trees, and rivers, and animals of all kinds. And there will be grass because there will be roots. And there will be a girl, a boy, a child who will be alive. And the day will come when she/he will have to take responsibility for the decision she/he makes about what to do with that life.

Isn’t that freedom?

(…)

And we will tell you the story of the indigenous woman of Mayan roots, over 40 years old, who fell dozens of times while learning to ride a 20-wheeled bicycle. But also, got up the same number of times and is now riding a 24 or 26-wheeled bicycle and, with it, she will reach the medicinal plants courses.

Of the health promoter who will arrive on time, to a remote community without a paved road, to administer anti-viper serum to an elderly man attacked by a nauyaca viper.

Of the indigenous, autonomous authority who, with her ‘nagüa’ and her ‘morraleta’, will arrive on time to an assembly of “as women that we are” and will be able to give the talk on feminine hygiene.

And that, when there was no vehicle, gasoline, driver or passable road, to the extent of our development and possibilities, health would reach a champa in a corner of the Lacandon jungle.

A champa where, around a stove, raining and without electricity, the education promoter will arrive, also by bicycle, and, among the smell of cooked corn, coffee and tobacco, she will hear a terrible and wonderful story, told in the voice and tongue of an old woman. And in that story there will be talk about Votán, who was neither man nor woman nor “otroa”. And it was not one, but many. And she will hear her say: “that is what we are, Votán, guardian and heart of the people.”

And that, already at school, that education promoter will tell the Zapatista boys and girls that story. Well, more like the version that she will make of what she remembers having heard, because it couldn’t really be heard, due to the noise of the rain and the muffled voice of the woman who was telling the story.

And about “the cumbia of the bicycle” that some musical youth group will create and that will relieve us all from hearing “the cumbia of the frog” for the umpteenth time.

And our dead, to whom we owe honor and life, perhaps will say “well, we have finally entered the age of the wheel.” And at night they will look at the starry sky, without clouds to hide it, and they will say “Bicycles! From there, the spaceships follow.” And they will laugh, I know. And someone alive will start a tape recorder and a cumbia will be heard that all of us, the living and the dead, hope is not “la del moño colorado.” 

(…) 

From the mountains of the Mexican southeast.
In the name of the Zapatista boys, girls, men, women and ‘otroas’.
Subcommander Insurgent Moisés.
General Coordinator of the “Tour for Life”.
Mexico, April 2023.”

These fragments are taken from the original, and with the authorizations of the sender and recipient.
I attest.

The Captain.
November 2023

Produced by Los Tercios Compas. Mountains of the Mexican Southeast. Copyleft November 2023.
With a Little Help from My Friends, Lennon y McCartney. Version by Joe Cocker.

Tenth Part: Regarding pyramids and their uses and customary regimes.
Conclusions from the critical analysis of MAREZ and JBG.
(Fragment of the interview with Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés
during the months of August-September 2023,
in the mountains of Southeast Mexico)

November 2023.

Introduction. –

Who built Thebes of the 7 gates? In the books you will read
the names of kings. Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?
And Babylon, many times demolished, who raised it up so many times?
In what houses of gold glittering Lima did its builders live? Where,
the evening that the Great Wall of China was finished, did the masons go? Great Rome
is full of triumphal arches. Who erected them?

Bertold Brecht.

Known is the obsession that dominant systems have, throughout their history, in rescuing the image of the defeated dominant classes or castes. As if in the winner inhabited the worry of neutralizing the image of the defeated: avoiding his fall. In the study of the remains of the defeated civilization or culture, emphasis is usually placed on the great palaces of the rulers, the religious buildings of the high hierarchy, and the statues or monuments that the dominant people of that time made of themselves.

Not always with genuine anthropological or archaeological interest (it is not the same thing), for example, are the pyramids studied. Its architectural-religious sense –sometimes also scientific–, and what tourist brochures (and political programs across the spectrum) call “the splendor of the past.”

It is natural that the different governments take notice and, not without longing sighs, concentrate on kings and queens. The great palaces and pyramids can be pointed out as references of the scientific advance of those times, of the social organization and of the causes «of its development and decline», but no ruler likes to see his future reflected in the past. That is why they twist past history and it is possible to reschedule foundations of cities, empires and “transformations». So, without realizing it, every selfie taken at archaeological sites hides more than what it shows. Up there, the winner of today will be the defeated of tomorrow.

But, if there are no mentions about these constructions having someone who designed them –their architects, engineers and artists–, there will be even lesser references to «the labor force», that is, to the men and women on whose backs (in more than a sense) were built the wonders that amaze tourists from all over the world, while they make time to go to the club, the mall and the beach.

From that point to ignoring that the descendants of that “labor force” remain alive and active, with language and culture, there is only one step. The natives who built, for example, the pyramids of Teotihuacán and the Mayan area in the Mexican southeast, exist (that is, resist) and, sometimes, they add to their resistance that subversive component that is rebellion.

In the case of Mexico, the different governments prefer the natives as living crafts and, sometimes, as choreography ad hoc. The current government does not represent any change in this (well, not only in that, but that is not the point). Native peoples continue to be objects of alms (that aspirin for scoundrels), electoral hauling, artisanal curiosity and a vanishing point for those who administer the ongoing destruction: “I am going to destroy your life, that is, your territory; but don’t worry, I’m going to preserve the pyramids of those who exploited your ancestors and those funny things you say, and dress and do.»

Having said this, this “image” of the pyramid –the narrow upper tip and the wide lower base–, is now used by Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés to explain to us something of what was the analysis (ferocious and implacable, in my opinion) of the work of the MAREZ and Good Government Juntas.

The Captain

Some history, not much, just 30 years

The MAREZ and Good Government Juntas were not all bad. We must remember how we got to them. For the Zapatista towns they were like a school of political literacy. A self-literacy.

Most of us did not know how to read, write, or speak Spanish. Furthermore, we spoke different languages. That was good, because then our idea and our practice did not come from outside, but rather we had to search in our heads, in our history as indigenous people, in our own way.

We had never had the opportunity to govern ourselves. We were always governed. Even before the Spanish, the Aztec empire, which the current government loves very much –I think because they like bossy people— oppressed many languages ​​and cultures. Not only in what is now Mexico, also in what is now Central America.

The situation we were in was one of death and despair. They closed everything to us. There were no doors, no windows, no cracks. As if they wanted us to drown. So, as they say, we had to open a crack in that wall that enclosed us and condemned us. As if everything were darkness and with our blood we lit a little light. That was the Zapatista uprising, a little light in the darkest night.

Then it came that many people asked for a ceasefire, that we had to talk. The citizens already know about that. The same thing had happened to many of them as to us, that bad governments never fulfilled their word. And they do not comply because governments are the main oppressors. So we had to choose if we hope and wait that one day they comply, or if we look for a solution on our own. And we chose to find our way.

And well, you had to organize for that. We had organized and prepared for 10 years to take up arms, to die and kill. And then it turns out that we had to organize ourselves to live. And living is freedom. And justice. And to be able to govern ourselves as people, not as little children which is the way governments see us.

That’s where it got into our heads that we have to make a government that obeys. In other words, that it did not do as it pleased, but rather, did what the people say. In other words, “command by obeying”, which are the words that today’s scoundrels plagiarize (in other words, they do not only plagiarize theses. Editorial note).

So with the autonomous municipalities we learned that we can govern ourselves. And that was possible because many people supported us, without any interests, to find the path of life. In other words, those people did not come to see what they could get –like those that I imagine you are going to tell outsiders when you talk about 30 years—, but rather they really committed themselves to a life project. And there were those who wanted to tell us how we should do it. But we did not take up arms to change the boss. There is no good boss. But there were other people who did respect our thoughts, our way.

The value of the word.

When we obtain that support, it is like a commitment that we make. If we say that we need support to create schools and clinics, to prepare health and education promoters, to give an example, then we have to comply. In other words, we cannot say that it is for one thing and use it for another. We had then and have now to be honest, because these people do not come to exploit us, but to encourage us. That’s how we saw it.

So we have to put up with the attacks and the bullshit from the bad governments, from the landowners, from the big companies, who are trying hard to test us to see if we can endure it or it is easy for us to fall into a provocation so they are able to accuse us of telling lies, that we also want power and pay. And the thing about power is that it is like a disease that kills good ideas and corrupts, that is, it makes people sick. And there you have a person who seems like a good person, well, with power, he goes crazy. Or maybe he was already crazy and power sort of stripped naked his heart.

So we think that we need to organize, for example, our health. Because of course we saw and see that what the government does is a big lie that is only to steal and does not care that people die, especially if they are indigenous.

And it happened that, when we make that crack in the system and look out, we see many things. But also many people see us. And among those people, there are those who looked at us and took the risk of helping and supporting us. Because what if we are liars and don’t do what we say? But hey, they took a risk and they committed us.

Look, out there, in the cities, giving your word is no good. They can say one thing in one moment, and a minute later they say the opposite and is as if nothing had happened, all is calm. There is, for example, what they call “mañanera”, that one day they say one thing and another day the opposite. But, as it pays, they applaud him and are happy because he gives them alms that do not even come from his work, but from what working people give to governments with taxes, which are like the “cobro de piso” of disorganized crime.

So those people support us and we start little by little with preventive medicine. Since we had already recovered the lands, we improved our diet, but more was needed. So, health. We must recover herbal knowledge, but it is not enough, science is also needed. And thanks to doctors, that we call “fraternities” because they are like our brothers, who got on board and guided us. So the first Health trainers were born or formed, that is, those who prepare the promoters.

And also education, especially Castilian. Because for us Spanish is very important because it is like the bridge through which we can communicate and understand each other between different languages. For example, if you speak Tzeltal, you are going to struggle to communicate with the Cho’ol language, or Tzotzil, or Tojolabal, or Zoque, or Mame, or Quiché. So, you have to learn Spanish. And autonomous schools are very important for that. For example, our generation speaks combined tongue and Spanish, that is, not all well, that is, we speak crooked. But there are already generations of young people, who learned in autonomous schools, who know Castilian better than some citizens. The late SupMarcos said that these young people could correct the writings of university students. And you know that, before, to make a complaint, you had to go to the Command to write it. But then not anymore. In each autonomous authority there was one writer, and well, it worked.

Then it is like one advancement kind of pushes another. And soon after, these young people want more, to learn more. So we organize our health in each town, each region and zone. We are advancing in each area of ​​health, midwives, medicinal plants, bones, laboratories, dentists, ultrasound, among other areas, there are clinics. And the same in school, that is, education. We say school, because we adults also lack education, it is very broad for us, education, and not just children and adolescents.

Furthermore, we organized productive work because we already had land, which was previously in the hands of landowners. And so we work as a family and as a collective in the cornfield, the bean fields, the coffee fields, vegetables, and farms. And some livestock, which is used more for economic emergencies and for holidays. The collective work allowed the economic independence of women comrades and that brought many more things. But they have already talked about that.

A school.

In other words, we learned to govern ourselves and thus we were able to put aside bad governments and organizations that say they are leftist, progressive and I don’t know what else. 30 years learning what it means to be autonomous, that is, we direct ourselves, we govern ourselves. And it has not been easy, because all the governments that have passed from PRI, PAN, PRD, PT, VERDE and MORENA, their desire to destroy us does not end. For this reason, just as in past governments, in this one they say that we have already disappeared, or that we have already fled, or that we are already very defeated, or that there is no longer any Zapatista, that we went to the United States or Guatemala. But you see, well here we are. In resistance and rebellion.

And the most important thing we learned in the MAREZ is that autonomy is not about theory, about writing books and making speeches. It is something that needs to be done. And we have to do it as towns, and not wait for someone to come and do it for us.

All of this is, let’s say, the good thing about MAREZ: a school of practical autonomy.

And the Good Government Juntas were also very important because with them we learned to exchange ideas about struggles with other brothers from Mexico and the world, where we saw it right we took it and where we saw it was not, we discarded it. Some tell us that we have to obey just as they say. Where is that going to happen? If we put our lives at stake. In other words, that is what we are worth: our blood and that of generations that came before and those to come. We are not here for anyone to come and tell us what we are going to do, even if they say that they are very knowledgeable. With the JBG we learned to meet and organize, to think, to give an opinion, to propose, to discuss, to study, to analyze and to decide for ourselves.

So, as a summary, I tell you that the MAREZ and JBG helped us learn that theory without practice is pure words. And practice without theory, well it is as if you walked like a blind man. And since there is no theory of what we started to do, that is, there is no manual or book, then we have also had to make our own theory. We stumbled through theory and practice. I think that’s why the theorists and the revolutionary vanguards don’t like us very much, because we didn’t just take away their jobs. We also showed them that talking is one thing and reality is another. And here we are, the ignorant and backwards, as they call us, the ones who cannot find the way because we are peasants. But here we are and even if they deny us, we exist. Too bad.

The Pyramid.

Well, now it’s time for the bad things. Or rather not bad, but it proved that it will no longer be useful for what is to come. In addition to the inherent flaws. As you tell me, we will talk later about how all of this started, about how it got into our heads, we’ll see it later.

The main problem is the damn pyramid. The pyramid separated the authorities from the towns, they distanced themselves between towns and authorities. The proposals from authorities did not go down as they were to the people, nor do the opinions of the people reach the authorities.

Because of the pyramid, a lot of information is cut, the guidelines, suggestions, support of ideas that the CCRI comrades explain. The Good Government Junta does not fully transmit and the same thing happens when things are explained to the Authorities of the Zapatista Rebel Autonomous Municipalities, the same again is repeated when the MAREZ inform the assemblies of authorities of towns, and finally this is what happens with the authorities of the towns when they explain to each town. Many cuts of information or interpretations, or additions that were not there originally.

And many efforts were also made in the training of authorities and every 3 years new ones leave and enter. And the main base of village authorities is not being prepared. In other words, no relays were formed. “Government collective” we said and it was not fully fulfilled, the work was rarely done this way and the greater part what not fulfilled, both in MAREZ and in the JBG.

It was already falling into wanting to decide themselves, the authorities, the tasks and the decisions, as in MAREZ and JBG. They wanted to leave aside the 7 principles of commanding by obeying.

There were also NGOs, who forcefully want the projects that they had in the JBG and the MAREZ to be accepted and they are not what the people needed. And people who visited remain friends of a family or a town and they only sent some help to them. And some visitors outright wanted to direct us and treat us like their waiters. And so with great kindness we had to remind them that we are Zapatistas.

And there was also, in some MAREZ and JBG, poor administration of people’s resources, and, of course, they were sanctioned.

In other words, in summary, it was seen that the structure of how we were governed, as a pyramid, was not the way. It’s not from below, it’s from above.

If Zapatismo were only the EZLN, it is easy to give orders. But the government must be civil, not military. Then the people have to find their way, their way and their time. Where and when to do what. The military should be only for defense. Pyramid may be useful for military purposes, but not for civilian purposes. That’s what we see.

On another occasion we will tell what the situation is here in Chiapas. But now we just say that it is like anywhere else. It is worse than last years. Now they kill them in their homes, in their streets, in their towns. And there is no government that sees and listens to the demands of the people. And they don’t do anything because they themselves are the criminals.

Not only that. We have already said that we see many misfortunes that are going to arrive or that are already here. If you see that it is going to rain or that the first drops are already falling and the sky is black as a politician’s soul, then you take out your nylon and look for where you are going to go. The problem is that there is nowhere to protect yourself. You have to build your own shelter.

The thing is that we saw that with MAREZ and JBG we will not be able to face the storm. We need the Deni to grow and live and for all the other seven generations to be born and live.

-For all this and the rest, we entered into a great series of reflections and came to the conclusion that we only have left a great discussion of all the towns and analysis, of how to face the new and bad situation and at the same time how we are going to continue to govern us. Meetings and assemblies were held, area by area, until an agreement was reached that there would no longer be Good Government Juntas or Zapatista Rebel Autonomous Municipalities. And that we need a new structure, that is, to accommodate ourselves in another way.

Of course, this proposal is not just about reorganizing. It is also a new initiative. A new challenge. But I think that’s what we’ll say later.

So in general, without much fuss, then, the MAREZ and JBG were very useful at that stage. But another step follows and those clothes are already too short for us, and they break and even though you mend them, it’s for nothing. Because there will come a time when you’re left with pure rags.

So what we did is cut the pyramid. So we cut it from the tip. Or rather, we turned it upside down.

Do we celebrate the past or the future?

We have to keep walking and in the middle of the storm. But we as towns are already used to walking with everything against us.

This coming December and January, we do not celebrate the 30 years of the uprising. For us every day is a celebration, because we are alive and fighting.

We will celebrate that we began a path that will take us at least 120 years, maybe more. We’ve been rolling for more than 500 years, so it won’t be long, just over a century. And that is no longer so far away. It is, as José Alfredo Jiménez says, “just there behind the mound.”

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.
Subcommander Insurgent Moisés.

(Fragment of the interview conducted by Captain Marcos, for the Tercios Compas. Copyleft Mexico, November 2023. Authorization of the JBG… ah wow, if there are no more Juntas… well, of the MAREZ… well, neither… Well, the thing is that it is authorized. The interview was conducted the old-fashioned way, that is, like reporters used to do, with a notebook and pen. Now they don’t even go to the place to look for the note, they take it from social networks. Yes, a shame, my man).

I attest.

The Captain, practicing the cumbia “Sopa de caracol”. Dance! No matter there’s mud!

Ninth Part: The new structure of Zapastista Autonomy

November 2023

Brothers, sisters, comrades:

I am going to try to explain to you how we reorganized the autonomy, that is, the new structure of the Zapatista autonomy. I will explain more to you later in more detail. Or maybe I won’t explain more, because practice is what matters. Of course you can also come to the anniversary and watch the plays, songs, poems and the art and culture of this new stage of our struggle. If not, Tercios Compas will send you photos and videos. At another time I will tell you what we saw good and bad in the critical evaluation of MAREZ and JBG. Now I’ll just tell you how it looks. Here it goes:

First: The main base, which is not only where autonomy is sustained, also without which the other structures cannot function, is the Local Autonomous Government, LAG [GAL for its acronym in Spanish]. There is a GAL in each community where Zapatista support bases live. The Zapatista GALs are the core of all autonomy. They are coordinated by autonomous agents and commissioners and are subject to the assembly of the town, ranchería, community, area, neighborhood, ejido, colony, or however each population calls itself. Each GAL controls its autonomous organizational resources (such as schools and clinics) and the relationship with neighboring non-Zapatista brother towns. And controls the proper use of the pay. It also detects and reports mismanagement, corruption and errors that may exist. And is attentive to those who want to pass themselves off as Zapatista authorities to ask for support or aid that they use for their own benefit.

So, if before there were a few dozen MAREZ, that is, Zapatista Rebel Autonomous Municipalities, now there are thousands of Zapatista GALs.

Second. – According to their needs, problems and advances, various GALs are convened into Collectives of Zapatista Autonomous Government, ZAG [CGAZ for its acronym in Spanish], and here discussions are held and agreements are made on matters that interest the convening GALs. When they so determine, the Collective of Autonomous Governments calls an assembly of the authorities of each community. Here the plans and needs of Health, Education, Agroecology, Justice, Commerce, and those that are needed are proposed, discussed and approved or rejected. The coordinators of each area are at the CGAZ level. They are not authorities. Their job is to ensure that the work requested by the GAL or that are deemed necessary for community life. Such as, for example: preventive medicine and vaccination campaigns, campaigns for endemic diseases, courses and specialized training (such as laboratory technicians, x rays, ultrasound, mammograms and those that we learn on the way), literacy and higher levels, sporting and cultural events, traditional festivities, etc. Each region or CGAZ has its directors, who are the ones who summon assemblies if there is an urgent problem or one that affects several communities.

That is to say, where before there were 12 Good Government ‘Juntas’, now there will be hundreds.

Third. – Next, the Assemblies of Collectives of ZAPATISTA Autonomous Governments, ACZAG [ACGAZ for its acronym in Spanish]. Which are what were previously known as zones. But they have no authority, and depend on the CGAZ. And the CGAZ depend on the GAL. The ACGAZ convenes and presides over zone assemblies, when necessary according to the requests of GAL and CGAZ. They are based in the caracoles, but move between regions. In other words, they are mobile, according to the towns demands for attention.

Fourth. – As will be seen in practice, the Command and Coordination of Autonomy has been transferred from the JBG and MAREZ to the towns and communities, to the GAL. The zones (ACGAZ) and the regions (CGAZ) are governed by the towns, they must be accountable to the towns and must find a way to meet their needs in Health, Education, Justice, Food and those that arise due to emergencies caused by natural disasters, pandemics, crimes, invasions, wars, and the other misfortunes that the capitalist system brings.

Fifth. – The structure and disposition of the EZLN has been reorganized in order to increase the defense and security of towns and mother earth in the event of aggressions, attacks, epidemics, invasion of companies that prey on nature, partial or total military occupations, natural catastrophes and nuclear wars. We have prepared so that our towns survive, even isolated from each other.

Sixth. – We understand that you may have problems assimilating this. And that, for a while, you will struggle to understand it. It took us 10 years to think about it, and of those 10 years, 3 to prepare it for its practice.

We also understand that it seems to you that your thinking is scrambled. That is why it is necessary to change your channel of understanding. Only by looking far away, backwards and forwards, can the present step be understood.

We hope you understand that it is a new structure of autonomy, that we are just learning and that it will take a while to get going well.

In reality, this statement has only the intention of telling you that Zapatista autonomy continues and advances, that we think it will be better for the towns, communities, places, neighborhoods, colonies, ejidos and rancherías where they live, that is, the bases of Zapatista support. And that it has been their decision, taking into account their ideas and proposals, their criticisms and self-criticisms.

Also, as will be seen, this new stage of autonomy is made to confront the worst of the Hydra, its most infamous bestiality and its destructive madness. Their wars and business and military invasions.

For us, there are no borders or distant geographies. Everything that happens in any corner of the planet affects us and concerns us, worries us and hurts us. To the extent of our very small strength, we will support human beings in distress regardless of their color, race, nationality, belief, ideology and language. Although we do not know many languages ​​or understand many cultures and ways, we know how to understand the suffering, pain, sorrow, and proud rage that the system provokes.

We know how to read and listen to brother hearts. We will continue trying to learn from them, their stories and their struggles. Not only because we have suffered from this for centuries and we know what it is like. Also, and above all because, as for 30 years, our fight is for life.

Surely we have made many mistakes in all these years. We will surely do more in the next 120 years. But we will NOT give up, we will NOT change path, we will NOT sell out. We will always be reviewing our struggle, its times and ways with a critical eye.

Our eyes, our ears, our heads and our hearts will always be ready to learn from others who, although different in many things, have our same concerns and similar desires for democracy, freedom and justice.

And we will always seek the best for our people and for our sister communities.

We are, therefore, Zapatistas.

As long as there is at least one man, one woman, one ‘otroa’ Zapatista in any corner of the planet, we will resist in rebellion, that is, we will fight.

See it for yourselves, friends and enemies. And those who are neither one thing nor another.

That is it, for now.

From the mountains of the mexican southeast.

Insurgent Subcommander Moisés.

Mexico, November 2023.

More than 500, 40, 30, 20, 10 years later.

P.S.- Here I leave you a drawing to see if you understand it a little.

Eighth Part: P.S. WHAT YOU HAVE TO READ TO KNOW WHAT IT’S ABOUT.

Legend has it that, in the times when time did not matter, rain and night covered the House of Beings. Then the power went out. Everything was darkness. Women, men and ‘otroas’ were stumbling and crashing with each other. For this reason, they argued and fought between brothers and neighbors. They didn’t even recognize each other, even though they were family members and acquaintances, because it was very dark. They scolded each other a lot.

The first gods, those who created the world, were lazy, lying in their hammocks, telling jokes and stories. But all the noise coming from the House of Beings reached them. “Whose noise is this?” asked one. “Who knows,” said another. Ixmucané, who was the mother goddess, said: “Let’s see what the noise is about,” but when she got out of the hammock, she fell and her face landed on the ground and it looked like it was dented, that is, like it had cracks. Ixmucané got up from the ground and did not swear because swear words had not yet been invented. She dusted herself off. She raised her skirt a little and ran towards the House of Beings.

The gods looked at each other and said nothing, but they thought, “Are we going to let a woman beat us?” and they got down from their hammocks, but carefully, and ran to catch up with Ixmucané. But it turns out that, since they had been lazy, they had not made or cleared path and there was a lot of bush. Pure ‘Acahual’, you see. There was an abundance of tzaw ch’ix (thorns), dry branches, sharp grass (which is also called gezau h’ak) and ch’oox tz’an, which is a vine with thorns. But there they went running and jumping as best they could and complaining on the way, those gods, because they were not going to allow a woman to beat them. They later arrived at the House of Beings, all scratched and dented on their faces and hands. But no one looked at them and noticed that they were all beaten up, because there was no light. That is why it is believed that the gods do not have wounds.

The gods didn’t look at anything either. Everything was dark. Just by the sound you knew there were more people. “And now?” the gods asked themselves. Ixmucané did not wonder anything, but remained thinking. The male gods were always very boastful and began to say that you have to go for ocote. Another said that they had to invent the the lamp. Another one said that had to gather a lot of fireflies. And so.

Ixmucané thought: “We have to replace the light. But to replace it, we have to find it. And to find it, we have to know where to look for it. And to know where to look for it, we just have to know what happened.”

Ixmucané gathered the men, women and ‘otroas’ of corn. At that time there were only men, women and ‘otroas’ made out of corn, they came in many colors and everyone had their own way. There were no religions, no nations, no States, no political parties, nor everything that was born later as seeds of war. So, when Ixmucané said “come, little brothers and sisters,” guided by her voice, all the men and women arrived, and ‘othroas’ too – because they did not feel excluded.

So they met in an assembly. They didn’t look at each other because there was no light, but they could talk and listen to each other.

Ixmucané asked them “What are we going to do?” The men, women and ‘otroas’ did not look at each other – because there was no light – but remained silent. Until a voice said “Well, you tell us what we are going to do.” The applause was not seen, but it was clearly heard. Ixmucané laughed heartily and said, “Do you think I know. We don’t know as it is, but maybe gathered together, in an assembly and talking, suddenly some ideas emerge about what we are going to do.» They were all silent, wondering what they were going to do.

The only noise that could be heard was the noise of the male gods who were fighting among themselves, saying where the hell was the ‘ocote’, and whether someone had remembered to create the fireflies, and whether it was not me, and whether that was up to I don’t know who but he always plays dumb or acts like a duck, and someone asked what is a “duck”, because the ducks were not made yet. And so.

In the assembly they were already talking and proposing how to do it. First just a few voices, then more. Then they had to make a list in order to speak in turns and have someone write if there is an agreement. Since there was no light to write or read, there was only the spoken word, so they named Ixmucané, for her to keep in her head everything that is said, and then talks about it.

Many ideas and words were said, and they no longer fit in his Ixmucané head. Then she began to keep them in her hair and her hair became long, that’s why women have long hair. But then it wasn’t enough either, although she adjusted her hair and that’s when the “hair press” was invented, which, as its name indicates, means “grab ideas.” Ixmucané’s hair was already reaching the ground and they continued speaking ideas and words. Then Ixmucané began to keep her ideas in the wounds she had gotten when she fell and with the thorns and vines. She had wounds everywhere: on her face, on her arms, on her hands, on her legs. Her entire body was full of wounds, so she was able to save everything. That’s why they say that old people, that is, sensible people, who have many wrinkles and scars, means that they have many ideas and stories. That is to say they know a lot.

In another turn I will tell you what they agreed on in that first assembly that took place in the House of Beings, but in this one I will tell you what Ixmucané said: “Well, we already have, as it were, a plan to face this problem that we have. Since the world is just being born and we are giving a name to each thing, so as not to confuse ourselves, we are going to call this thing we did «in common», because we all participated: some giving some ideas, others proposing other ideas, and there are those who speak and there are those who keep notes of what is said.”

There was silence first. Heavy, strong was the silence. Then you could hear someone start to applaud, then another, then everyone applauded and you could hear that they were very happy. And they didn’t dance because you could see nothing at all. But they laughed a lot because they had found a new word called “in common,” which means “to seek the path together.” And it was not that the first gods invented it, those who created the world, but it came to be that it was men, women, and ‘otroas’ made of corn, who, in common, found the word, that is, the way.

-*-

Ixmucané was the most knowledgeable of all the gods and, as she was the first to arrive at the House of Beings, she had more wounds, from the fall and from the race she did in the ‘Acahual’, and thus she was marked with those scars. “Wrinkles” and “scars,” they were called. Since then, wrinkles and scars represent wisdom. More wrinkles and scars, more knowledge. Of course, back then there were no social networks and no one was wearing makeup and modifying their photos with a well-known virtual application. And then it happens that you see the profile photo and then you see reality, and you want to run away. No, the wrinkles and scars were a source of pride and not something anybody could have. Even young men and women painted wrinkles and scars, or simply went into the mountains so that the thorns and vines scratched their faces. Because it didn’t matter who was prettier, but rather who was more knowledgeable. Instead of “followers” ​​and “likes” they looked for who had the most wrinkles and scars.

And that’s it.

-*-

Yes, I would also like to know what happened to the lost light. Maybe later, in another postscript, we will know. For now, we have to learn to walk and live like this in the dark. There is no other way.

From the mountains of the Mexican southeast.

The Captain
November 2023. 40, 30, 20, 10 years after.

Seventh part: A Streaming Beetle

November 2023

Durito forwarded me this that reached one of his millions (so he said) of fans:

And he adds the following:

“Although it is a nice touch that they have changed the black color to blue, which protects my secret identity, the reason might be that they want to avoid paying copyright. Above all, for my discreet participation in the SAG-AFTRA strike, alongside my admired Susan. In any case, I appreciate HBO’s humble tribute to the greatest superhero that planet Earth has ever given birth to: myself.»

Almost at the same time, I received this from the HBO Community Manager:

«In relation to the announcement of the programming of the aforementioned film, HBO clarifies that it does not refer to Don Durito (DD for legal issues) nor is it a reference to the next anniversary of the EZLN. It’s a mere coincidence. HBO reiterates its commitment to the system and is already taking steps to reprimand those responsible for our programming for this regrettable misunderstanding. HBO does not make films, nor does it schedule the exhibition of films, of real superheroes, only fictional ones. And, anticipating demands from the aforementioned DD, we want to warn that all the documentation that protects our innocence is already in our legal department. We will not accept demands greater than 10 million USD, although we would be willing to redirect the compensation to Guerrero, as long as it is a reasonable amount that does not exceed the amount referred to and is discussed by the Union Congress of the cemetery called Mexico. We are at your disposal to reach a reasonable arrangement. Sincerely. The CEO of HBO»

I think this has already gotten out of control.

Now Durito will be unbearable. Well, that was it, but more (or is it Max?).

From the office of the DD Artistic Representative (for legal issues).

The Captain.
November 2023.

SIXTH PART: POSTSCRIPT WHO SEEKS HOPING TO FIND.

November 2023.

P.S. THAT SAYS WHAT IT SAYS. – As one of the late Sups said: “history repeats itself twice: once as a tragedy and the other time as well.” And this axiom of life comes to the point, because I received a package with a small note. No, it is not from SEGALMEX (those export, they do not import). The package has a postmark from “a distant geography”, in distant Europe. The date is blurred, but on the return address appears: “I am not Don Durito de La Lacandona, do not confuse. I’m just an AI entity.” That sentence should have been enough to put me on alert, but anyway I read the note and opened the package. The note is brief and says:

“My dear and never missed Cyrano: I will be brief and precise. I’m going over there to help you. Don’t wait for me because I’m going incognito. I still haven’t decided whether I’m dressing up as a cloud or as Bad Bunny or as Luis Miguel or as Al Pacino. In any case, something that allows me to go unnoticed, if you know what I mean. For now, and since it’s stormy, I’m sending you my latest book. That’s all. From a corner in… Slovenia?… hey, what’s the name of this place? Cyprus? Hey? I think I’m going to put “Eastern Europe”… Huh? It’s not that either? Ok, then to hell with the geography up there: “from Fuck The Cardinal Points” Known Address. Zip Code… Hey, what’s the zip code? Huh? 666? Nah, just kidding, right? Right? Can anyone out there confirm that this is a joke? Hello? Hello? Signature: Durito disguised as an AI.”

Yes I know. But believe me, when it comes to Durito, this is a brief and precise message. The book has on the cover, does anyone doubt it?, a beetle… in a tuxedo?!, and the very reassuring title «Survival Manual in the Case of World Collapse.» And, further down, “Everything you wanted to know to face the end of the world with style and elegance. Design the ideal outfit for the end of time. Be the sensation in the Apocalypse. Yessss!”

The book in question only has a blank page and a postscript lost in a corner: “LOOK FOR THE ONE WHO ALREADY LIVES THE HELL THAT AWAITS YOU ALL. SEEK THOSE WHO ARE SEEKING”.

P.S. FOR THE SEEKERS. – Before them, we only knew, for example, about the FNCR ladies. But later others appeared, it seems to me that since the six-year term of Vicente Fox. First a few and scattered throughout the geography. Then more. Then in groups. Now, in this entire clandestine graveyard called “Mexico,” they go from one place to another, looking for who they need. There is no one to help or support them. They are alone in the sense that they only have themselves. Yes, there are men too, but the majority are women. No, they are not fashionable. The disappeared do not vote, and that is what it is about. The entire electoral political spectrum, all the electoral flags, all the party acronyms, have already passed through the governments, and the profession of “SEEKER” is growing.

Years ago, in the written procedures, there was a line where “occupation” was written. Typically, women wrote “housewife,” “office worker,” “employee,” “professionist,” “student,” and so on.

The monstrosity of a system has created another occupation: that of “seeker.” Perhaps the most terrible, distressing, painful and anachronistic of all occupations.

Few things are a greater sign of the failure of a political proposal in power than the existence and growth of the SEEKER occupation.

Imagine someone interviews you: “Hey, what do you do?” She answers “I seek.” “And how much do you earn for that job?” «Nothing». “And how do you do it?” “I don’t know, but I know I have to do it. And I have to do it because she/he knows that I will not rest until I find him/her.” “Is there anything you want to tell other people?” “Yes, look at me, I am you in the future if we do nothing.” The reporter starts crying. She is still crying. What about them? Well, they keep seeking.

Meanwhile, someone in the mountains of Southeast Mexico writes:

“To the Seekers:

We had thought of organizing a meeting with you that would not be one of pain, but of joy. You know: dances, songs, poems, movies, plays, children’s drawings, things like that. Not something that relieves you or heals that wound that does not close, but just a celebration, which your fight deserves.

But a nefarious being, one of those that is never absent, wanted to turn that meeting into an electoral lever for the ill-called opposition. Calling for a “critical vote” for Bertha and that nonsense that only serves to get an opportunist into office. That’s why we haven’t done it… yet. We were not going to allow your noble efforts to be tarnished.

But we tell you here what we were going to tell you there: Don’t stop seeking. Those absent people are valuable because of the blood they inherited, which is your own. We do not know those whom you are missing, but we know you and the nobility of your struggle. Don’t give up, don’t sell out, don’t claudicate. Although the horror you face is unfashionable, your cause is just and noble. And no politician can say the same thing. Your stubborn dignity teaches and shows the way. We wish more people would look at you the way we Zapatista people see you: with admiration and respect.”

P.S.- In Gaza. – The murdered Palestinian children are not collateral victims, they are Netanyahu’s main objective, they always were. This war is not to eliminate Hamas. It’s to kill the future. Hamas will only be the collateral victim. The government of Israel has already lost the media battle, because it turns out that the genocide, although disguised as revenge, does not have as many followers as they believed. Now it is capable of the most unimaginable cruelty. The one who perhaps could stop the massacre is… the people of Israel.

Cheers and may he who seeks find.

From the mountains of the mexican southeast.

The Captain
November 2023
40, 30, 20, 10 years after.