From the Cat-Dog’s Notebook:
Preparations for the Puy Ta Cuxlejaltic Film Festival, a CompArte Focused on Dance, and the Second International Gathering for Women in Struggle

Twenty-six years ago, in 1993, the Zapatista women wrote the “Women’s Revolutionary Law.” In one of the articles of the law, they declared they had a right to study… “and even to be drivers,” as noted by SupMarcos in a public letter commemorating the anniversary of the law and the role of the late Comandanta Ramona and Comandanta Susana in the creation of the women’s law. Maybe someday we’ll learn why the indigenous Zapatista Women aspired to be drivers. But for now, the EZLN’s Sixth Commission presents an exclusive preview of the documentaries to be premiered by the Terci@s Compas [Zapatista media] on a still to-be-determined date. Here goes:

Title: “…And Even to be Drivers”

A documentary filmed entirely in the mountains of Southeastern Mexico in 2019. Written, directed, and produced by Zapatista women, this documentary compiles scenes of Zapatista compañeras learning to drive. Duration: undetermined. Format: unknown. Rating: Z (as it should be). It won’t come out on Netflix, nor on Amazon Prime, nor on Apple TV, nor on HBO, nor Fox, nor…what are the other options? Well, not on any of those either. Nor will it be shown in theaters. It will be shown exclusively in the Zapatista Caracoles… Oh, also at the Second International Gathering for Women in Struggle? Should I include that? Got it. But without any date or location? Okay. But people are going to complain that I’m leaving them hanging. Couldn’t we at least give them a hint, like a road sign? No, not for the actual road, I mean like an idea of potentially when and where… in December? Of this year? Hello? Helloooooo? Feeling low? Huh, well it looks like they left, but I can tell you they don’t look low at all… in fact they had a glint in their eye, in their gaze, like a goal, or a challenge—a rebellion, really. A Zapatista glint, that is.

Disclaimer: no men were hurt in the production of this documentary. Well actually there were, but only in the form of a few blows to the ego. Oh, and also a few who fell as they were running away from a compañera who got pissed because they were yelling stuff at the women learning to drive… no, it wasn’t me, I was watching from a ways away, I wasn’t going to find myself in the vicinity of that piece of lead pipe she was carrying… yee-haw…

Apocalyptic Synopsis: A virus produced in the laboratories of the Illuminati is released in the mountains of Southeastern Mexico. For some strange reason, it only affects those law-breakers who call themselves Zapatista women. The virus causes them to do strange and illogical things—they rebel, they resist, and they take over jobs and responsibilities that should be the exclusive domain of men. This documentary compiles evidence of this insubordination, and you can see exactly how the Zapatista women consider themselves not only to be free but also—you’re not going to believe this—even to be drivers. Didn’t I tell you? Nobody has any values anymore. (Continuar leyendo…)

Images from the Breaking of the Siege II (and last)
From August 17, 2019.

Note from SupGaleano: Here there should be a photo slide show from the new CRAREZ [Centers of Autonomous Zapatista Resistance and Rebellion] which were announced as part of the breaking of the siege on August 17, 2019. This video will likely be removed by Mr. YouTube since it is set to a song by Ana Tijoux (Chilean-French) and Shadia Mansour (Palestinian) entitled “Somos Sur,” [We are the South] and supposedly we either have to pay royalties or accept advertising. We are not of course going to accept advertising, and if there’s no money for water tanks for the new caracol Tulan Kaw, then there’s certainly no money to pay royalties. In any case, the Sixth Commission does not “monetize” our videos (plus, the traffic on our channel is like the traffic during semana santa (Easter) in Mexico City), so I doubt Mr. YouTube is going to end up any less rich because of our refusal to accept advertisement, nor are Ana Tijoux and Shadia Mansour going to lose artistic quality or followers because we have accompanied their rebellion with ours.

Maybe instead of taking down the videos that people set to music—as Zapata didn’t say, “music belongs to those who sing/dance/hum/bounce/whisper/shout and spread it (and like Shadia Mansour says, rapping in Arabic: “music is the mother tongue of the world”)—Mr. YouTube should work on his damned algorithm (“Oh, the twisted lines of YouTube”i). You know how it goes, you start out looking for videos of the guys from Botellita de Jerez to pay homage to the memory of Armando Vega Gil, or you search for ska from Los de Abajo, or Salón Victoria, or some tracks from Jijos del Mais, or Van T, or Mexican Sound, or LenguaAlerta, or Lirica, or Ely Guerra, or Keny Arkana, or the Batallones Femeninos, or from those masters Oscar Chávez and Guillermo Velázquez and Los Leones de la Sierra de Xichú, and all of a sudden you’re getting bombarded with videos of rodeos, cockfights, Maluma giving classes on how to respect women, or makeup videos (“now we’re going to learn how to do makeup for a ‘no makeup’ selfie”).

It’s not that we’re being fussy—after all, like Inodoro Pereyra said (or was it Mendieta?), “Broad and Alien is the World”ii—but rather that here, bandwidth is about as broad as Trump’s IQ: paltry, in other words.

Given all of the above, if YouTube removes the video because of its soundtrack (like it already did with Princess Mononoke, apparently because Studio Ghibli decided to side with the system instead of with natureiii), we’ll repost the same photo slideshow here but without music, and you can add the music yourselves. In fact, I’ll include the translation from Arabic to Spanish of Shadia Mansour’s rap (based on the contribution from the user qmqz posted on the official music video) [TN: translated here in English]:

“Give me the mic:

Music is the mother tongue of the world
It supports our existence and protects our roots, tying us to greater Syria, Africa, and Latin America
Here I stand with Anita Tijoux
Here I stand with those who suffer, not with those who sold us out
Here I stand with culture, resistance
From the beginning and forever, hasta la victoria siempre!
I am with those who are against, with those who have cooperated, with those not on our side
Way back I did the math and I decided to invest in Banksy after Ban-Ki went bankrupt (Note from SupGaleano: possibly a reference to Ban-Ki Moon, who was Secretary General of the United Nations when this song was recorded, and went “bankrupt” when he refused to condemn the Israeli government’s terrorist actions against the Palestinian people).
As the saying goes, “it’s not that the situation needs a ‘proportionate response’, the situation needs to be stopped”
For every freed political prisoner an Israeli settlement grows
For every civil greeting a thousand homes are destroyed
They use the press to their benefit
But while my sorrow is vetoed, reality insists”

You know what? With or without YouTube, with or without advertising, the Palestinian people and the Mapuche people will achieve freedom. Ten, one hundred, a thousand times they will reach victory.

And if Mr. YouTube takes the whole thing down as part of the “fuck the Zapatistas now” campaign, oh well, we’ll just go back to the good old days of the Zapatista Intergalactic Television System, “the only television channel that you read” (Permit 69, currently being processed by the Good Government Councils, submitted as of 1996 but caracoles move slooooooooowly….).

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.
Los Tercios Compas
EZLN Sixth Commission
September 2019

i “Los renglones torcidos de Dios” (The Twisted Lines of God) is a novel by Torcuato Luca de Tena.

ii “El mundo es ancho y ajeno,” a 1941 novel by Ciro Alegría narrating indigenous struggle in the Peruvian highlands against land-hungry interests. Inodoro Pereyra is an Argentinian cartoon created by Roberto Fontanarrosa that parodies folklorism through the story of a lonely Argentinean gaucho and his co-protagonist, a talking dog, Mendieta.

iii Princess Mononoke is a Japanese animated period drama written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli which narrates an epic and fantastical struggle between the supernatural guardians or gods of a forest and the humans who consume its resources.

Images from the breaking of the siege I
August 2019.

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.

Los Tercios Compas.

Sixth Commission of the EZLN.

August 2019.

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l CCRI-CG EZLN
Al Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional
A la Comisión Sexta del EZLN
Al Congreso Nacional Indígena
Al Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y su vocera, María de Jesús Patricio Martínez
A la Sexta Nacional e Internacional
A las Redes de Apoyo al CIG
A las Redes de Resistencia y Rebeldía
A quienes se asumen antipatriarcales y anticapitalistas
A los medios de comunicación, independientes, alternativos
Al pueblo de México

“Sabemos también que la rebeldía está prohibida, como están prohibidas la dignidad y la rabia. Pero en todo el mundo, en sus rincones más olvidados y despreciados, hay seres humanos que se resisten a ser devorados por la máquina y no se rinden, no se venden y no claudican. Muchos colores tienen, muchas son sus banderas, muchas las lenguas que les visten, y gigantescas son su resistencia y su rebeldía.”
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés. México, Agosto 2019

 En seguimiento a las discusiones emanadas de distintos encuentros y reuniones nacionales e internacionales, y tomando en cuenta que los próximos 6, 7 y 8 de septiembre, en Juchitán, Oaxaca, se llevará a cabo la Asamblea “El Istmo es Nuestro”; invitamos a los pueblos, redes, organizaciones, adherentes a la sexta, individuos y a tod@s aquellos que luchan y se organizan contra el patriarcado y el capitalismo en la CDMX y el área Metropolitana, a encontrarnos el próximo sábado 31 de agosto a partir de las 10:00 hrs. en el auditorio Francisco Breña Alvirez del Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas, ubicado en Calle Maestro Antonio Caso #45, Col. Tabacalera, 06030, Ciudad de México.

Este encuentro tiene por objetivo sentar las bases para, respetando los modos y tiempos de cada quién, crear espacios de diálogo y reconocimiento que nos permitan reflexionar y accionar de manera coordinada para acompañar los firmes pasos del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, del Congreso Nacional Indígena – Concejo Indígena de Gobierno, y tender lazos de solidaridad que fortalezcan todas las luchas de l@s que de abajo y a la izquierda somos.

Tendremos como invitados para hablar del contexto internacional al Dr. Gilberto López y Rivas, para hablar del contexto nacional y el despojo de los pueblos a Carlos González García, integrante del CNI-CIG, y para hablar de la militarización de la 4T y la guerra contrainsurgente contra los pueblos indígenas, al periodista Zósimo Camacho.

(Continuar leyendo…)

Communique from the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee—General Command of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation
Mexico

August 17, 2019

To the People of Mexico:
To the Peoples of the World:
To the National Indigenous Congress—Indigenous Governing Council:
To the National and International Sixth:
To the Networks of Support and Resistance and Rebellion:

Hermanos, Hermanas, Hermanoas:

Compañeras, Compañeros, Compañeroas:

We bring you our word. The same word as yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It is the word of resistance and rebellion.

In October of 2016, almost three years ago, during the 20^th anniversary of the National Indigenous Congress [CNI], the sister organizations of the National Indigenous Congress and the EZLN made a commitment to go on the offensive in our defense of our Territory and Mother Earth. Persecuted by the bad government, by caciques, by foreign corporations, by criminals, and by the law, and as we accumulated insults, derision, and dead, we the originary peoples (the guardians of the earth), decided to go on the offensive and circulate the words and actions of resistance and rebellion.

With the founding of the Indigenous Governing Council [CIG] and the selection of its spokesperson, Marichuy, the National Indigenous Congress gave itself the job of taking words of warning and organization to the brothers and sisters of the city and countryside. Meanwhile, the EZLN also went on the offensive in its struggle with its words, ideas, and organization.

The time has come to hold ourselves accountable to the CNI-CIG and its spokesperson so that their peoples can decide if we have lived up to what we promised. But it is not only the CNI-CIG that we are accountable to; we also have a pending debt with the organizations, groups, collectives, and individuals (especially those in the Sixth and the Networks [of Rebellion and Resistance], but not only them) that throughout Mexico and the world concern themselves with our Zapatista peoples. These are people who, whatever their calendars, geographies, and habits may be, disregard the walls, borders, and sieges that are erected to divide us so that their hearts can continue to beat close to our own.

(Continuar leyendo…)

Adagio-Allegro Molto in E minor: A Possible Reality
(from the Notebook of the Cat-Dog)

“As you know, madness is like gravity…all it takes is a little push.”
The Joker in the role of Heath Ledger (or was it the reverse?)

Nobody knows for sure how it all started. Not even the Tercios Compas [Zapatista media], who took up the task of reconstructing the sequence of events, could pinpoint the exact moment and event in which the story I’m about to tell you began.

According to one version, SubGaleano is responsible for everything. Others say SubGaleano only started it and it was Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés who took it to completion.

See, what happened was that in one of his texts, SubGaleano mentioned a February 2011 program in which the journalist Carmen Aristegui asked if then-president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa was an alcoholic, and added that the nation should be informed about the health of the president. She was fired in retaliation. Up to that point in the story there is no disagreement—and you can confirm that’s what happened by referring to news articles from that time.

The problem really begins when SubGaleano added something like, “Madness, as pointed out by a misunderstood sage of the human soul, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push. To hold Power unlawfully is just that irresistible push that all those above long for, and it begins with three simple words, “I rule here.” If you think anyone in the media is going to question whether the current president is lacking in any of his mental faculties (let’s be clear, he didn’t say “crazy”), don’t hold your breath, because nobody will dare to do so.”

(Continuar leyendo…)

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PLANET EARTH, June 24, 2019

To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
To the National Indigenous Congress
To the Indigenous Governing Council
To the Women of the CNI-CIG
To the Women who Struggle
To the CIG Support Networks
To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion
To the National and International Sixth
To the Media

We who subscribe this letter – workers in the social sciences, the arts and the humanities, activists and feminists – we come together to express our genuine concern for what is happening in Mexico and specifically for what is happening in Chiapas and in the indigenous regions where the Zapatistas, members of the original people, tribes and nations that are part of the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) live.

The incarnate struggle of resistance against capitalism, machismo and patriarchy of the Zapatistas and the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) have inspired and continues to inspire us. Their struggle is like a mirror where we can reflect, that encourages us to walk in an incarnated way, in our own places, times and ways, in our own struggles for autonomy and against all those dominations, violences, dispossessions, discriminations and exploitations that manifest in a thousand forms in indigenous and not indigenous territories.

We are actively awaiting and walking in many places and sharing what we have (un)learned looking at your 25 and 500 years of collective resistances.

We add our voice to those who affirm that the current Mexican government’s strategy is one strategy of war more than for security and we agree with the criticisms against ongoing Mexican nationalist development projects for the Mayan region and the Tehuantepec Isthmus (Istmo de Tehuantepec). We are outraged by the murder of women, young people; and indigenous and black communities’ leaders in México and all over Abya Yala.

All of this not only worries us, but also encourages us to carry out different actions in different spaces as our incarnate support to the Jornadas por la Vida contra la Guerra (Campaign for Life and against the War).

That is why we shout with a strong collective voice: !The war against the Zapatistas, the CNI members and the indigenous and black peoples of all over Abya Yala, must stop now!

(Continuar leyendo…)

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

CONVOCATORIA A CONTINUAR LAS JORNADAS POR LA VIDA Y CONTRA LA GUERRA

#JornadasPorLaVidaEZLNyCNI
#EmergenciaGuerrero

Reunidos con fecha 5 de junio para hacer un balance del primer conjunto de actividades que se realizaron en distintas ciudades de México y el mundo para visibilizar y denunciar la guerra que se recrudece contra los territorios en resistencia y  lucha por la vida, contra los pueblos originarios organizados en el C N I – C I G así como contra el E Z L N

I N F O R M A M O S:

Que durante todo el mes de mayo se realizaron más de 50 actividades (presentaciones de libros, foros, proyección de películas, concentraciones, mesas informativas, pega de carteles, entrega de documentos y acciones fuera de embajadas y consulados) en más de 35 ciudades en México y el mundo. Aunque estamos conscientes de que todavía hay mucho trabajo por hacer, el balance fue positivo en razón del número de actividades que lograron concretarse, la cobertura en medios que se alcanzó, y porque nos permitió visualizar una forma de trabajo  en conjunto que respete los modos y tiempos de cada colectivx y red de resistencia y rebeldía.

(Continuar leyendo…)

Communique from the CNI-CIG and the EZLN in Response to the Recent Violence Against Originary Peoples

To the peoples of the world:
To the CIG support networks:
To the national and international Sixth:
To the media:

Neoliberal capitalism is marking its steps with the blood of our peoples as war is intensified against us wherever we refuse to cede our land, our culture, our peace and our collective organization, and because we refuse to give up our resistance or resign ourselves to dying off.

We denounce the cowardly attack on May 31 against the indigenous Nahua community of Zacualpan, which is part of the CNI, in the municipality of Comala, Colima, where narco-paramilitaries fired high-caliber weapons at a group of young people, killing one and critically injuring three more.

We hold all three levels of bad government responsible for this event, in particular the head of public security, Javier Montes García, as it is the bad government that allows these narco-paramilitary groups to operate in the region. We demand full respect for the traditions and customs of the Nahua indigenous community of Zacualpan.

We condemn the aggression and destruction carried out in the early morning hours of May 31 against the Rebollero and Río Minas communities, part of the Binizza community of San Pablo Cuatro Venados in the municipality of Zachila, Oaxaca. There, a group armed with high-caliber weapons and heavy equipment came in firing on the community, destroying dozens of homes and forcing the population, including children, to flee. In all, 24 homes were demolished in the attack and the communities’ corn and other food supplies set on fire, including seeds saved for planting. The group also burned the families’ personal items such as clothing and shoes and stole their livestock, power generators, and water pumps.

We condemn the repression and displacement of our compañeros and compañeras of the Otomí indigenous community who have maintained a temporary encampment at #7 Londres Street in the Juárez neighborhood in Mexico City since the September 19, 2017 earthquake. At 11 am on May 30, they were violently evicted by shock troops sent by the bad government and real estate companies, working alongside hundreds of riot police at the service of Néstor Núñez, mayor of the Cuauhtémoc district.
We condemn the narco-paramilitary siege sustained by criminal groups—supported and protected by the bad government and all of the political parties—against the communities of the Emiliano Zapata Popular Indigenous Council of Guerrero (CIPOG-EZ) in the municipalities of Chilapa and José Joaquín de Herrera, who struggle peacefully to build their autonomy.

We call on all the peoples of Mexico and the world to be attentive to and in solidarity with the struggle of the Guerrero communities and to break the violent siege against them which limits their access to food and medicine and is waged in the interests of the capitalist appropriation of indigenous territory. We urge support for the collection of provisions to be sent to the affected communities, including corn, rice, beans, canned chili peppers, sugar, sardines, tuna, toilet paper, diapers, and medicine, to be collected at the UNIOS headquarters in Mexico City, #32 Carmona y Valle Street, Colonia Doctores.

We reiterate that our Mother Earth is not for sale to big capital or to anybody, that our existence is not up for negotiation and thus neither is the resistance of our peoples.

Attentively,
June 2019
For the Full Reconstitution of our Peoples
Never Again a Mexico Without Us
National Indigenous Congress
Indigenous Governing Council
Zapatista Army for National Liberation