(English) Homage and Book Collection: The Zapatista Beacon
The Zapatista Beacon (Al Faro Zapatista in Spanish – AFZ) is an initiative of more than fifty people from both the non-submissive Europe and from rebellious Chiapas, Mexico paying homage to Zapatismo on its 28th anniversary. This initiative is at the same time our way of embodying — as workers of the Social Sciences, artivists, activists, feminists — the Zapatistas’ and the National Indigenous Congress’s (CNI) “Journey for Life”. AFZ joins world actions claiming “No to War! Yes, to life!,” a dignified, fair, and full life for all, especially for women, children, youth, elderly, non-binary people (otroas), and men of the Zapatista peoples, of the peoples of Chiapas, of Mexico and the world.
You will find in AFZ website, video-releases, and 28 pocketbooks — which have been co-created practicing autonomy —, tools that can be consulted freely and support all those who are fighting for life on Planet Earth. Our audio-visual and written online materials contribute to an understanding of why, where, and how Zapatismo has been a beacon for anti-systemic, anti-racist, and anti-patriarchal struggles and movements on planet Earth. These materials provide contextual elements to gauge the historical and contemporary depth of the Zapatistas’ Journey for Life in its European Chapter.
AFZ also aims to contribute to ongoing debates about the collapse of our civilization, the in-progress systems of death, and the other possible worlds that already exist. This initiative and book series seek to challenge the invisibility of these other worlds in hegemonic media while weaving us in the current complex, bloody, and difficult “Fight for Life.” We hope that AFZ contributes to sowing, weaving, sharing, cracking, walking in the direction of the Zapatista Beacon, of the National Indigenous Congress (CNI), and of the alter, anti, trans, and plural struggles on planet Earth.
Website The Zapatista Beacon (Al Faro Zapatista-AFZ in Spanish)
http://alfarozapatista.jkopkutik.org/
Pocketbook Collection (in English)
Pocketbook 1
Wars, Zapatismo, Networks
http://alfarozapatista.jkopkutik.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1-060822-English-Leyva.pdf
This book feels-thinks the Zapatista movement and neozapatista networks as fundamental to the emergence and development of counter-hegemonic struggles from below and to the left, which are essential for the globalization of hope and the creation of alternatives in the face of the projects of horror, death, and wars underway. I wonder: Which violences? Which wars? Which bodies? At the same time, from a situated and embodied knowledge, I approach historically the fabric of networks, hopes, and struggles inspired by Zapatismo.
Pocketbook 2
An Overview of Zapatismo
http://alfarozapatista.jkopkutik.org/product/un-somero-acercamiento-al-zapatismo-copia/
Zapatismo, born in Chiapas, has been a complex process with many stages and adjustments. From its public appearance, in the early hours of 1994 until 2021, it has been characterized by its originality and great capacity for continuous innovation. This movement has shaken the traditional certainties around democracy and has given birth to new ways of doing politics for the daily construction of a world where many worlds fit. Attempts have been made to circumscribe it to its regional circumstances. However, with actions and thoughts that have had substantial repercussions at a planetary level, it has broken all the fences that attempt to enclose it. This book makes a synthetic description of Zapatismo’s future and a first reflection to highlight that the defense of life has been fundamental.
Pocketbook 3
Zapatismo: A Civilizing Compass for Slumil K’ajxemk’op
“I am a Zapatista seed sown in Mediterranean soil. I am not unique; on the contrary, I represent one of many hearts that, while originating from this geography known as Europe, have turned into rebellious seeds after being permeated by Zapatismo. We have made an anticolonial journey within our own body. We swam crosscurrent, we went to the South to unlearn the South, to know the men, women, and otroas of maize because their words spoke another world, and this other world allowed us to revisit our own geography, our own history, our own roots, and it has urged us to transform our own reality.” With these words, the author of this book invites us to re-examine the transcendence of Zapatismo for the struggles of Unsubmissive Europe, to the point of considering it a compass for civilization, indispensable to navigate towards a new world.
Pocketbook 4
Towards a New Era
http://alfarozapatista.jkopkutik.org/product/hacia-una-nueva-era/
The Zapatista insurrection occurred at a special moment in history when the counter-hegemonic forces were debilitated and disarticulated. In these circumstances, it served as a wake-up call for antisystemic movements around the world. The 2021 Zapatista Travesía occurs at a similar moment. The pandemic has thrown many people and social and political movements off balance. Numerous approaches and initiatives have become obsolete under the new circumstances. Once again, the Zapatistas have hit the nail on the head and inspired thoughts and behaviors regarding the new reality. In the first section, I examine the crisis of patriarchy, of the nation-state, democracy, and capitalism, as well as the options available from below, to demonstrate the importance of the new Zapatista initiative. In the second section, I reflect on the main theoretical and political contributions of Zapatismo. Finally, I recount activities and initiatives that have been inspired by Zapatismo.
Pocket Book 5
Making other worlds possible: Why the Zapatistas matter to us
A Zapatista delegation is visiting the island of Ireland to meet social movements and communities in struggle “from below and to the left” in October 2021 as part of the wider Gira Zapatista, currently reconquering Europe and then going on to other continents.
Pocket Book 6
Asking questions with the Zapatistas. Reflections from Greece on our Civilizational Impasse
In this collective text, we will reflect on the arrival of the Zapatista delegation from the point of view of the European, and in particular Greek, grassroots movements that are mobilizing to welcome them. We will ponder the historical and current importance of Zapatismo and its influence on the development of political contestation in Europe and in Greece. We will highlight the aspects of Zapatismo that have contributed to movement theory and praxis and have provided inspiration for generations of activists and collectives. And we will enumerate other political projects that resonate and enmesh with Zapatismo to produce novel emancipatory practices.
