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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.

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Solicitud de entrada en territorio francés de una delegación de comunidades de pueblos autóctonos de México, principalmente zapatistas

Paris, 13 de julio de 2021

A la atención de M. Darmanin

Ministro de Interior

Place Beauvau 75008 Paris

M. Le Drian

Ministro de Europa y Asuntos Internacionales

37 Quai d’Orsay, 75007 Paris

Copie a M. Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian

Embajador de Francia en Mexico

El 13 de julio de 2021

Señor,

Una delegación de ciento sesenta nacionales de México, principalmente de comunidades de pueblos indígenas autóctonos zapatistas de Chiapas, se ha estado preparando durante meses para venir a Europa y reunirse con colectivos solidarios, asociaciones culturales, grupos artísticos, sindicatos, ONGs, y entidades de defensa de los Derechos humanos.

Entre julio y septiembre están previstos numerosos eventos en los que su presencia es fundamental para intercambiar sobre temas de salud, educación, ecología, justicia, derechos sociales y derechos humanos.

Más de 800 organizaciones, instituciones y personalidades, han firmado la declaración Esperando al Barco por la Vida (https://viajezapatista.eu/es/esperando-al-barco-por-la-vida/) en la que puede leerse: “Desde nuestras geografías, territorios y espacios, les reiteramos la invitación a llegar a Europa, a visitarnos, a encontrarnos en estas tierras que no son solo las del capital salvaje y transnacional, sino que es el lugar desde donde luchamos para conseguir que la vida, y por lo tanto, el mundo, sea un lugar digno donde vivir”.

Ante la actual situación de shock planetario, las comunidades originarias y en especial el movimiento zapatista, viene a Europa a “Realizar encuentros, diálogos, intercambios de ideas, experiencias, análisis y valoraciones entre quienes nos encontramos empeñados, desde distintas concepciones y en diferentes terrenos, en la lucha por la vida”, como se señala en el texto titulado o Una Declaración por la Vida.

Quienes les hemos invitado a venir para realizar esos encuentros e intercambios, consideramos que la lucha por la vida es un asunto de vital importancia, un asunto imperioso; si no luchamos por la vida, no habrá futuro.

Y como consideramos que para el Gobierno Francés, esta lucha por la vida también debiera ser prioritaria, entendemos que la administración pública francesa debería admitir este motivo como uno de los motivos imperiosos para entrar en el país, porque el viaje es para la reconstrucción de un tejido de esperanza y libertad.

(Continuar leyendo…)

ZAPATISTA SIXTH COMMISSION.
Mexico.

July 2021.

To the adherents of the Declaration for Life:
To the Europe from Below and to the Left:
To the National and International Sixth:
To the National Indigenous Congress-Indigenous Governing Council:
To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion:
To the Collective «Llegó la Hora de los Pueblos«:

From: Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.

Compañeras, compañeroas, compañeros:

Sisters, brothers, and hermanoas:

I greet you in the name of the children, women, them, elders and men of the Zapatista communities, and I communicate to you the following:

First.- We already have a strong Zapatista airborne company of 177 Zapatistas ready. It is made up in its totality by nativeso f Mayan roots, from the Cho’ol, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal and Castilian languages. We were born in the geography called Mexico. Our ancestors were born and died in these lands. As the Mexican State does not recognize our identity and origin, and tells us that we are “extemporaneous” (so says the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, that we are “extemporaneous” Mexicans), we have decided to baptize  this unit of Listening and Word [Escucha y Palabra] as “The Extemporaneous.”

As we saw in the dictionaries, “extemporaneous” means “that it is  inopportune, inconvenient”, or “that it is inappropriate for the time in which it happens.” In other words, that we are inopportune, inconvenient and inappropriate.

Never before have we been so adequately defined. We are happy that at last the Mexican State recognizes that this is how it considers the original peoples of this geography called Mexico. I think that’s how it laments not having annihilated us… yet; and that our existence contradicts the official discourse about the «conquest.» Now it is understood that the demand of the government of Mexico to that of Spain, demanding that it ask forgiveness, is for not having exterminated us.

Of the 177 delegates, 62 of us still do not have a passport. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs is in a bind due to the «inconvenience» that we represent. Despite the fact that we have demonstrated our identity and origin, it continues demanding more and more documents. The only thing left for them to do is to ask the governments of Central America to say that we are not citizens of those countries.

(Continuar leyendo…)

THE AZORES ISLANDS, PORTUGAL, EUROPE

 June 11, 2021.
(Note: Times and dates are in accordance with Mexican geography.)

With a dusty face, a cleaned and refreshed exterior, and repaired sails, La Montaña departed Cienfuegos, Cuba, on May 16 and headed East. Skirting along the edge of the Las Coloradas beach, with the Sierra Maestra mountains to its left, the ship was accompanied once again by the dolphins convoked by Durito Stahlkäfer, who cursed as the vessel passed the US aberration in Guantánamo. They were greeted by whales near Haiti, and Durito and the Cat-Dog disembarked on Tortuga Island^[i] mumbling something about buried treasure… or treasure to be buried. In support of the support team, Lupita, Ximena and Bernal amicably threw up, though they would have preferred to offer support some other way. In Punta Rucia, Dominican Republic, La Montaña docked and waited cautiously for strong winds to pass. On May 24, at daybreak and propelled by its sails alone (“as not to scare the wind,” Captain Ludwig said), La Montaña set off northwards. This time orcas greeted the ship, waving farewell as it departed Caribbean waters. Between May 25 and 26, the schizophrenic ship [el navío] – who thinks he is a she as well as a mountain – navigated around the Bahamas and on May 27 turned Northeast, now on the open ocean, Duc in Altum^[ii].

On June 4, having exited the so-called Bermuda Triangle, the ship and its esteemed crew reoriented East toward the rising sun. Between June 5-9, they navigated waters where, according to legend, the mythical city of Atlantis lies.

It was 22:10:15hrs on June 10 when, through the haze of the European dawn, from the top of La Montaña’s crow’s nest, the outlines of a sister mountain became discernable: Cabeço Gordo on Faial Island in the Azores Archipelago, autonomous region of the geography of Portugal, in Europe.

It was 02:30:45hrs on June 11 when the coast of the port of Horta came into view, just a stone’s throw away, bringing tears to the eyes of the crew and passengers. It was 7:30am in the Azores mountains. It was 03:45:13hrs when a port authority motorboat approached La Montaña to indicate where to drop anchor. At 04:15:33hrs the shop dropped anchor in front of the other mountains. At 08:23:54hrs the Port Captaincy picked up the crew members of La Montaña and took them to shore for Covid PCR tests, and returned them to the boat to await the results. At all times the “Autoridade Maritima” of the port of Horta was friendly and respectful.

The crew and passengers are in good health, “in good spirits, happy, with no problems, gossip, or fighting. (In the 421^st Squadron) they take care of each other.”

It is now time to tell you who else, besides the crew of the Stahlratte and the Zapatista 421^st Squadron, have made the voyage. Tasked with documenting the maritime journey are María Secco, independent filmmaker and photographer, and Diego Enrique Osorno, independent reporter. In the role of support team for the Zapatista delegation is Javier Elorriaga.

In accordance with the traditional Zapatista ways and customs, and in addition to paying their own expenses, these three people were required to show written authorizations from their families, partners and children. Each letter was presented to Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés. Wives, husbands, mothers, sons and daughters wrote and signed the authorization letters. I got to read them. There was a little bit of everything, from philosophical reflections to children’s illustrations, including a little girl’s respectful request for a whale. Nobody requested beetles or cat-dogs, which is either an affront or a relief, I’m not quite sure. In the children’s writing you could detect pride in the fact that their mother or father had to ask permission from them (as the Zapatista saying goes: “the ducks shoot at the rifles.”^[iii]) I imagine you will have the opportunity to get to know María and Diego’s observations, their anecdotes, their reflections and their assessment of their participation on “the front lines” (both are filmmakers) of this delirium. New gazes are always welcome and are refreshing.

-*-

When this news arrived in the mountains of Southeastern Mexico, the Zapatista communities sent a message to the crew of the Stahlratte via the captain: “Thank you, you all are fucking awesome.” They are still trying to translate it into German.

-*-

Something to reflect on: the motto of the Azores is “Antes morrer livres que em paz sujeitos” (Better to die free than live in peace as slaves).

-*-

In the distance, to the East, the Pillars of Hercules – which in their day were the limits of the known world – gazed in astonishment on a mountain that has made a journey by sea from the West.^[iv]

I testify.

SupGaleano.

June 11, 2021

[i]Small island off the northwest coast of Haiti which was a major center of Caribbean piracy in the 17^th century.

^[ii]“Duc in altum et laxate retia vestra in capturam” – “Cast out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4).

[iii]Phrase used when a subordinate attempts to go over the head of his/her boss.

[iv]The Pillars of Hercules was the name given in ancient times to the rocky mountains at the edge of the Strait of Gibraltar.

From the Notebook of the Cat-Dog

The Boarding

We boarded La Montaña [The Mountain] on April 30, 2021, at the scheduled time. The boat was docked about 50 breaststrokes away the harbor, “far from the hustle and bustle / of fake society.”[i] Fluttering around the boat were laughing gulls, cormorants, frigate birds, corococo birds, and even a little lost hummingbird making a nest in the pulpit. In the ship’s hull beneath the water, bottlenose dolphins drummed the beat of a cumbia, a whale shark kept the rhythm with its fins, and a manta ray moved its black wings like flying hips.

The buccaneer group, headed up by Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés who, along with a troop made up of an insurgenta[ii] who is part of the Tercios Compas [Zapatista media team], an insurgente who is a driver and a mechanic, a driver who is a Zapatista base of support, 5 more Terci@s Compas, a comandanta and two comandantes[iii] came to send off the maritime delegation—the 421st Squadron—and make sure that the group had everything that they needed for the nautical epic. A support team from the Sixth Commission also attended in order to write the obituaries of those who might die during the mission.

 The ship’s crew didn’t put up any resistance. In fact, the captain had previously ordered that a large banner be raised on the mast of the boat with an image depicting the Zapatista maritime delegation, thereby including La Montaña and the whole crew in the struggle for life. With the masts and spars exposed, the symbol of Zapatista delirium rippled even more brightly in the wind.

We could say that it was a consensual boarding. There wasn’t any aggression on the part of the Zapatista troops nor by the vessel’s crew. You could say that there was a sort of mutual understanding between us and the crew of La Montaña even though in the initial meeting they were as surprised as we were.

We would have stood there looking at each other if it weren’t for an insect looking extraordinarily like a beetle who came out of the stern and screamed, “Boarding! If there’s a lot of them, we’ll run! If there’s only few, we’ll hide! And if there’s nobody, onward! We were born to die!” That was what settled everything. Bewildered, the crew looked first at the bug and then at us. We didn’t know if we should apologize for the interruption or join the pirate attack.

Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés thought it the right moment for introductions, so he said: “Good afternoon. My name is Moisés, Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés, and these are…” Turning around to present the troops, SubMoy realized that no one was there.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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Morelia, 25 de abr. de 2021

Cobertura Colaborativa:

¡Compas arriba!, Radio Zapatista, Radio Pozol, Juana Machetes, Idalia Ríe y Espoir Chiapas

“¡Semillas llevamos, semillas dejamos, semillas germinarán!”

Ante la inminente salida de la delegación zapatista hacia los cinco continentes, este día 25 de abril 2021, en el templete del astillero del Caracol IV “Torbellino de Nuestras Palabras” en Morelia, Chiapas, milicianos zapatistas de los pueblos mayas de la región Zotz Choj colocaron cuatro pequeñas canoas (cayucos), con proas de jaguares, labrados y pintados por manos indígenas y rebeldes.

Además de 24 cuadros de bordados representando navegantes de rostros infantiles cubiertos sobre el oleaje transatlántico, aparecieron obras artísticas representando una balsa así como barcos con su tripulación marítima. En la parte frontal de “Santa María – La Revancha”, la miniatura de una embarcación alusiva a la travesía a las Europas, a realizarse en las próximas semanas, sobresale la mención pintada “Ya no soy Santa pero sí María”. Otra maqueta de la carabela “Niña” indica claramente: “No soy Niña”, rememorando a la inversa el viaje de Colón y, llamando la atención, la ausencia de una tercera carabela que quizás se fue de pinta.

A un costado de la plaza central, surge al horizonte un majestuoso navío recién pintado donde destaca la palabra ¡Despertad!, cuya cúspide exhibe una estrella roja sobre fondo negro y las letras EZLN. Custodiado por milicianas y milicianos sin pasamontaña pero con su cubre-boca y la distancia de rigor en el contexto pandémico, parece que el navío descansa en puerto autónomo rebelde zapatista y está a punto de levantar su ancla con su tripulación enmascarada. Para surcar las aguas libres del océano, después de 500 años de la irrupción de Cortés a las costas de Veracruz, el Escuadrón 421, conformado por 4 delegadas, 2 delegados y 1 delegadoa zapatistas, se preparan a navegar hacia las tierras del viejo mundo para escuchar las voces y los corazones de quienes luchan abajo y a la izquierda.

En el mismo espacio que acogió la celebración de Encuentros de las mujeres que luchan, del Congreso Nacional Indígena – Concejo Indígena de Gobierno con su vocera Marichuy, del tercer CompArte, así como aniversarios del levantamiento armado de 1994, las familias bases de apoyo de estas tierras recuperadas se alistan para una despedida de su primera delegación, con palabras pronunciadas a nombre de las Juntas de Buen Gobierno, seguidas de una bendición por parte de los ancianos y de consignas que empezaron por un ¡Viva la delegación zapatista!, antes del anuncio de un baile popular.

Varias decenas de mujeres y hombres bases de apoyo portaban cartulinas de consignas reivindicativas : “Más de 500 años de humillación y desprecio pero aquí estamos”; “Qué viva nuestro origen de raíz maya”; “¡Vivan l@s compañer@s de la delegación zapatista!”; “¡Viva la buena semilla que se regará en el mundo!”; “¡Viva la semilla de la resistencia y rebeldía por la humanidad!”; “¡Semillas llevamos, semillas dejamos, semillas germinarán!”.

Habría que considerar que al llegar al Caracol de Morelia, después de tres horas de carretera desde San Cristóbal de Las Casas, las y los visitantes reciben un roseado desinfectante, tanto personas como automóviles, para así evitar cualquier tipo de contagio viral. Al salir a cubierta, la tripulación mandó saludos afectuosos con la mano levantada a las personas paradas en el muelle y alzó el puño izquierdo como símbolo unificador de las luchas anticapitalistas.

En su navegar por encontrarse y reconocer las venas abiertas y la insumisión de quienes resisten al neoliberalismo en las viejas tierras de los colonizadores, la tripulación egresada del Semillero Huellas del Caminar de la Comandanta Ramona emprenderá su viaje con osadía y, sin duda, sorprenderá por su capacidad de refrescar y alegrar las nuevas luchas que no se rinden ni claudican ante la barbarie de la hidra capitalista.

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Zapatistas continúan con la preparación de su viaje a Europa. En diferentes caracoles zapatistas se han realizado ceremonias de despedida para l@s delegad@s que formarán parte de la delegación de indígenas chiapanec@s que partirán a Europa y a diferentes continentes.

Bordados, maquetas de barcos y cayucos han sido realizados en alusión al viaje de l@s rebeldes chiapanec@s

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Journey to Europe…
Sixth Commission of the EZLN
Mexico

April 10, 2021

To the people, groups, collectives, organizations, movements, coordinating bodies, and indigenous peoples in Europe that await our visit:
To the Sixth in Mexico and abroad:
To the networks in resistance and rebellion:
To the National Indigenous Congress:
To the peoples of the world:
Brothers, sisters, and compañer@s:

On April 10, 2021, the compañer@s who make up the first delegation of our Journey for Life, European Chapter, gathered together at the “Semillero Comandanta Ramona” to begin their voyage across the ocean.

During a small ceremony held in accord with our customs and practices, the delegation received the mandate of the Zapatista people to carry our thought far and wide, that is, to share what is in our hearts. Our delegates carry with them a big heart, not just to embrace those on the European continent who are in rebellion and resistance, but also to listen and learn from their histories, geographies, calendars, and ways of being.

This first group will remain in quarantine for 15 days, isolated in the Semillero to make sure that no one is infected with COVID-19 and also so that they can prepare themselves for the time that it will take to cross the ocean. During these two weeks, they will be living in a replica of the boat that was built in the Semillero for that purpose.

On April 26, 2021, they will leave for a port in the Mexican Republic, arriving no later than April 30, and board the boat that we have named “The Mountain.” For two or three days and nights, they will remain on board the boat, and on May 3, 2021, the day of Saint Cruz, Chan Santa Cruz, “The Mountain” will set sail with our companer@s toward the coast of Europe on a journey estimated to take 6 to 8 weeks. They are expected to land on the European coast during the second half of June, 2021.

Beginning on April 15, 2021, our companer@s who are bases of support from 12 different Zapatistas municipalities will hold activities to send off the Zapatista delegation that will travel across land and water to that geography called “Europe.”

During this part of what we have called the “Journey for Life, European Chapter,” the Zapatista delegates will meet with those who have invited us to discuss our shared histories, pain, rage, successes, and failures. Up until now, we have received and accepted invitations from the following places:

Germany
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Catalonia
Sardinia
Cyprus
Croatia
Denmark
Slovenia
Spain
France
Greece
Holland
Hungary
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
Basque Country
Poland
Portugal
United Kingdom
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey

-*-

Starting on that day, Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano will be publishing a series of texts in which we will share who makes up the Zapatista maritime delegation, the work that they have done, some of the problems that they have faced, and so on.

In conclusion: we are off on our journey to Europe.

That’s all for now.

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés
Sixth Commission of the EZLN
Mexico, April 2021