Sorry, this entry is only available in Mexican Spanish. 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 Mexican Spanish. 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.

Fuente: Avispa Midia

Por Sare Frabes

^{Las manifestaciones ininterrumpidas contra la aprobación de la explotación minera más grande de Centroamérica no cesan. Foto: Radio Temblor}

A punto de cumplir un mes, y a pesar de la represión estatal, la sociedad panameña mantiene movilizaciones ininterrumpidas en todo el país, en rechazo a la aprobación de la Ley 406, la cual aprueba el contrato de concesión a la mina Cobre Panamá, la explotación a cielo abierto de cobre y oro más grande de Centroamérica.

Desde el pasado 23 de octubre, organizaciones sociales, sindicatos, profesores y habitantes en general se manifiestan en contra del contrato, ratificado por el presidente Laurentino Cortizo y Minera Panamá, subsidiaria de la empresa canadiense First Quantum Minerals (FQM), el cual le otorga la concesión, por 20 años prorrogables, para explotar casi 13 mil hectáreas en Coclé del Norte, provincia de Colón, donde devastaría bosques tropicales que hacen parte del Corredor Biológico Mesoaméricano.

Medios locales reportan que, hasta el pasado fin de semana, se ha registrado la detención de más de 1,000 personas participantes de las protestas. Entre ellos, destacan, se encuentran 134 menores de edad. Según reportes oficiales, los detenidos son acusados de vandalismo, daños a la propiedad y otras faltas administrativas.

Contrato minero

La concesión minera tiene una historia que data de la década de los 90s del siglo pasado. Para 1991, se registró la concesión para exploración de posibles yacimientos de oro y cobre, y para 1997 se aprobó, por parte de la Asamblea Nacional, el contrato ley para la explotación minera, el cual posee rango constitucional. En el año 2005 el gobierno panameño respaldó la construcción de infraestructura y para 2009 dio luz verde al inicio de la explotación comercial de la mina por parte de la entonces denominada Minera Petaquilla (también de origen canadiense).

El contrato para la explotación establecía la posibilidad de solicitar prórrogas por 20 años, siempre y cuando la solicitud fuese presentada ante el Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias 120 días antes o 120 días después del término de cada periodo. Para el 30 de diciembre de 2016 la minera tramitó dicha prórroga, tras el paso de la fase de exploración y después de cinco años de la construcción de la mina Cobre Panamá.

No obstante, en 2017, la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Panamá (CSJ) declaró inconstitucional el primer contrato de 1997, atendiendo a un reclamo presentado, desde 2009, por el Centro de Incidencia Ambiental de Panamá (CIAM), organización que argumentaba la anulación de la actividad minera para prevenir el daño en los ecosistemas del norte del país centroamericano.

Minera Petaquilla cambió su nombre a Minera Panamá y, en febrero de 2017, obtuvo la prórroga hasta el año 2037. CIAM reclamó que el fallo de la CSJ anulaba dicho contrato; por su parte, la minera señaló que la resolución judicial no afectaría su proyecto de una inversión de más de 10 millones de dólares. Sin embargo, para operar la mina aceptó negociar un nuevo pacto, esta vez con el actual presidente, Laurentino Cortizo, quien con el respaldo del legislativo ratificó en octubre pasado el contrato mediante la Ley 406.

Rechazo
La reacción de distintas organizaciones, como la Central General de Trabajadores de Panamá, la Asociación de Profesores de la República, ambientalistas, pueblos indígenas, campesinos y estudiantes ha sido masiva y la represión estatal, acusan, ha sido desmedida.

Las protestas se mantienen a la expectativa de que la Corte Suprema de Justicia se pronuncie sobre la demanda de inconstitucionalidad de dicha ley. Para noviembre, las movilizaciones han ido en aumento para exigir que el presidente llame a sesiones extraordinarias de la Asamblea de Diputados y presente la derogatoria de la Ley 406.

De acuerdo con medios locales, además de los cierres de vías en la capital panameña, se registran manifestaciones en las provincias de Veraguas, Chiriquí y Colón. En algunos puntos se registran bloqueos que impiden la circulación de mercancías y combustibles, sobre todo en la frontera con Costa Rica.

El medio alternativo Radio Temblor señala la participación de los pueblos originarios, quienes mantienen barricadas en la comarca Ngäbe Buglé, “ya que no hay respuesta por el gobierno para derogar dicha ley”. También destaca que, pese a los bloqueos, se permite el tránsito de vehículos con medicamentos, alimentos y ambulancias.

“En la provincia de Coclé las acciones se concentran en la cercanía a la entrada de la minera, así como las acciones de pescadores en el muelle del proyecto minero en Punta Rincón. Así también las protestas no cesan en la provincia de Colón, Darién, Los Santos y Herrera como en áreas indígenas de Guna Yala, Nasos y Emberá”, remarca el medio libre.

Asesinatos

Durante las movilizaciones masivas se registra un saldo de cuatro muertos.

El 26 de octubre, Agustín Rodríguez Morales, de 49 años, falleció tras ser atropellado cuando protestaba en la comunidad de Los Viveros, provincia de Colón. Para el 1 de noviembre, Tomas Milton Cedeño, educador de la comarca Ngäbe Bugle y originario de la provincia de Chiriquí, fue atropellado en las manifestaciones realizadas en Horconcitos.

En la jornada de bloqueos realizada el martes 7 de noviembre, en la provincia de Panamá, Kenneth Darlington, panameño de origen estadounidense, asesinó con arma de fuego a Abdiel Díaz Chávez e Iván Rodriguez Mendoza. El homicida, de 77 años, se mantiene recluido en espera de su proceso judicial.

El 9 de noviembre, las manifestaciones reclamaron justicia por los asesinatos. “Panamá, ahora más que nunca, debes estar más unido porque no podemos permitir más que se esté derramando sangre en este país para defender a una transnacional (…) la culpa no es de los cierres”, declaró Luis Arturo Sánchez, de la Asociación de Educadores Veragüenses.

Derogación

Tras las masivas movilizaciones, el presidente Cortizo presentó la Ley 407 para decretar la prohibición de nuevas concesiones mineras. Sin embargo, las manifestaciones exigen la derogatoria del contrato a Minera Panamá.

Por su parte, desde el pasado 8 de noviembre, el Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias (MICI) anunció que se encuentra en proceso de revisión de todas las solicitudes nuevas, de renovación y de prórroga para exploración y/o extracción de metales para cumplir con la Ley 407.

Sin embargo, expertos señalan que este decreto mantiene vigentes 15 concesiones y deja a la expectativa más de 100 solicitudes existentes. De acuerdo al MICI, todas estas solicitudes deben ser archivadas en un periodo de tres meses desde la promulgación de la ley, acontecida el 3 de noviembre.

El Centro de Incidencia Ambiental detalló que existen 103 solicitudes de exploración que deben ser archivadas, a mas tardar febrero del 2024, para cumplir con la nueva ley.

No obstante, según el CIAM, aún existen 15 concesiones entregadas; de ellas, cuatro están vencidas y siete de ellas están esperando una prórroga, por lo que también quedarían excluidas.

De las cuatro concesiones restantes, dos son propiedad de Veragold, ubicadas en la provincia de Veraguas. En esta región, de acuerdo a la Ley que protege la Cuenca del Río Santa María, se prohíbe la minería, por lo que no se podría iniciar la extracción. También se encuentra la concesión de Minera Petaquilla, respaldad por la Ley 9 de 1997, declarada inconstitucional.

La única concesión que quedaría vigente es la de Minera Panamá, recién legalizada con la ley 406 y que acumula más de 8 demandas de inconstitucionalidad en la Corte Suprema.

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Noticias de abajo 15 de noviembre 2023

• PANAMÁ: Panamá en crisis por el extractivismo minero. 4 semanas de paro contra las mineras y las leyes que el mal gobierno ha impuesto para defenderlas. Represión y muerte ha sido la respuesta a las demandas populares. ¿Qué es el discurso del odio? Con información de Radio Temblor.
  https://www.radiotemblor.org/que-es-el-discurso-de-odio/
  https://www.radiotemblor.org/panama-en-crisis-por-el-extractivismo-minero/
• BOLIVIA: En la línea de FUEGO. Voces de San Buenaventura Y Rurenabaque.
  El portal de fuga radial desde Bolivia nos comparte un audio reportaje muy impactante de la situación desesperante que viven con los incendios en la Amazonia boliviana y la nula respuesta del Estado y autoridades. https://fugaradial.org/
• PALESTINA: Informe de la situación en Gaza en reporte del embajador de Palestina en Argentina.
  https://palestina.int.ar/.
• GUERRERO: Entrevistas a damnificados del Huracán Otis en la costa de Guerrero. Por Mar.
• CDMX: Comunidad de San Gregorio Atlapulco exige que la Biblioteca Comunitaria sea entregada al Pueblo.
• CHIAPAS: Libertad para Manuel Gómez, preso por ser zapatista
  Episodio de #Notifrayba sobre la detención de nuestro amigo Manuel Gómez Vázquez, rehén del gobierno de Chiapas, recluido injustamente por ser zapatista, desde hace dos años y once meses.
  https://archive.org/details/notifrayba_manuel_alta

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!

Sorry, this entry is only available in Mexican Spanish. 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.

Fuente: Avispa Midia

Por Sare Frabes

^{Defensores y Protectores del Futuro de IXIL}

La comunidad maya de Ixil, en el estado de Yucatán, obtuvo en la justicia la suspensión provisional, dictada por el Juzgado Primero de Distrito de Yucatán, que deja sin efecto una orden de la Fiscalía General del Estado, implementada el 17 de agosto mediante un violento operativo de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, que resultó en el cierre de cientos de hectáreas de tierras comunitarias que cultivan familias indígenas y campesinas.

Te puede interesar – Yucatán: Tras represión, indígenas de Ixil se mantienen en resistencia

De acuerdo a un comunicado de prensa de la comunidad, miembros de las familias Abimerhi y Millet, con vínculos políticos y personales con el gobernador Mauricio Vila Dosal y con el titular de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, Luis Felipe Saidén Ojeda, han intentado apropiarse de estas tierras comunitarias desde agosto de 2022.

La orden de la Fiscalía, emitida en el marco de una “supuesta investigación de la cual la comunidad no tiene conocimiento, está siendo utilizada para despojar a la comunidad”, sostienen. Las familias “están marcando lotes en las tierras comunitarias para avanzar en la planeación de un megaproyecto inmobiliario”.

Te puede interesar – Indígenas mayas de Ixil encaran al sector inmobiliario en Yucatán

La orden emitida por la Fiscalía impidió la ampliación de un sistema colectivo de riego fotovoltaico planeado en el marco de un proyecto de investigación financiado por el Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencias y Tecnologías (CONAHCYT), dado que su implementación estaba planeada para los meses de septiembre y octubre, informan.

En el ámbito del proyecto ya existen tres sistemas de riego colectivo fotovoltaico instalados, además de otras acciones implementadas con grupos de productores de hortalizas y de mujeres y jóvenes que comparten el uso de un vivero tecnificado. “Todas estas instalaciones se encuentran en las tierras aseguradas por la Fiscalía, de las que pretenden apropiarse las familias Abimerhi y Millet”, señalan.

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Mexican Spanish. 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.

Fuente: Avispa Midia

Por Aldo Santiago

^{En portada: El ejido Paraíso Nuevo está dividido por el paso de vías férreas. Con las obras del tren maya, la separación de la comunidad se acentúa. Foto: Santiago Navarro F.}

Perla Rubí Garduza Pablo, ama de casa del ejido Paraíso Nuevo, Campeche, suspira tras la pregunta: ¿Qué opina de la declaración del presidente sobre que no se iba a tirar un solo árbol? El cielo nublado sobre nosotros, ruge, anticipando la lluvia y su respuesta: “¡Es mentira! A nosotros nos han dañado la flora, fauna y nuestra vida”, exclama molesta por el paso del tren maya por su comunidad.

La devastación que atestiguan en el ejido Paraíso Nuevo se repite a lo largo de otros territorios. De acuerdo a un análisis de imágenes satelitales realizado por CartoCrítica, para junio de 2023 se han deforestado 6,659 hectáreas en la península de Yucatán por la construcción del tren maya. CartoCrítica enfatizó que, de esta área, 5,769 hectáreas fueron desmontadas ignorando la legislación ambiental pues no se promovieron ni autorizaron cambios de uso de suelo a través de la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat).

Rubí reclama por el incumplimiento de las promesas hechas por funcionarios de otorgar beneficios a la población para que aceptara el tren. Sostiene que los estragos por las obras del megaproyecto son palpables en la cotidianidad de esta población, al sur de Campeche.

Un equipo de Avispa Mídia visitó el ejido Paraíso Nuevo, correspondiente al tramo 1 del tren. Los pobladores refieren que las consecuencias negativas del megaproyecto no son cosa del futuro, sino algo que han vivido desde hace tres años, cuando en plena pandemia de la Covid-19, inició la construcción.

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𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙢𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙞́𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙤 𝙮 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙖: 𝙃𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙖 𝙡𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙤́𝙣 𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙨 𝙮 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞́𝙖𝙨

A unos días de cumplirse 40 años de la fundación del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, estrenamos este trabajo colectivo que pretende reflexionar desde el caminar colectivo, algunos de los aprendizajes que nos han brindado los pueblos en su afán tenaz de transformar el mundo injusto en que vivimos. Desde las perspectivas internacionalistas que abarcan geografías amplias, se reflexiona sobre la Travesía por la Vida impulsada por las comunidades autónomas y al Congreso Nacional Indígena junto con muchas otras experiencias de lucha.

Francisco De Parres Gómez (Coordinador). Autores: Gilberto López y Rivas / Alicia Castellanos Guerrero / Luis Hernández Navarro / Inés Durán Matute / Hernán Ouviña / Carlos Alonso Reynoso / Jorge Alonso / Márgara Millán / Carolina Díaz Iñigo / Lola Cubells / María Ignacia Ibarra / Bruno Baronnet / Francesca Cozzolino / Argelia Guerrero / Xochitl Leyva Solano / Raúl Zibechi / Azize Aslan / Raúl Romero

Libro coeditado desde la Cátedra Jorge Alonso, el CIESAS Occidente, la Universidad de Guadalajara , el Cucsh Udg, Clacso – Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales , el Grupo de Trabajo: Cuerpos, Territorios, Resistencias, el Instituto de Investigaciones en Educación UV de la Universidad Veracruzana, Retos Nodo Chiapas Cooperativa Editorial Retos, la Cátedra Carlos Montemayor, la RERI. Red de Estudios sobre las Resistencias Indígenas y el Cotric – Colectivo Transdisciplinario de Investigaciones Críticas.

Lee y/o descarga en nuestra sección de libros para descargar.

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.

Listen to the interview:
(Descarga aquí)  

For over a month now, Israel has been bombing Gaza through air, sea, and land, in retaliation for the attack by Hamas on October 7, aimed at lifting the deadly blockade imposed on Gaza for 17 years, which has led to thousands of deaths, most of whom are children. Around 1,400 people died in that attack, although recent reports from Israel indicate that there is a strong possibility that many, if not most of the dead were killed by indiscriminate Israeli fire that day.

Israel’s offensive against Gaza has killed close to 11,000 people so far, at least 4,500 of whom are children. In violation of international law and all human rights conventions, Israel continues to massacre the civilian population indiscriminately, attacking hospitals, schools, ambulances, shelters, mosques, homes, buildings, and refugee camps, as well as infrastructure. Since October 7, Israel has hit at least 12,000 targets with 25,000 tons of explosives, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor—the equivalent to two nuclear bombs. Massive demonstrations all around the world have condemned what is evidently Israel’s ethnic cleansing and genocidal project, not only committed through direct massacres, but also employing hunger and deprivation, cutting off access to food and clean water for a population of 2.5 million Palestinians.

From the West Bank, we spoke with Fuad Abu Saif, General Director of the Union of Agricultural Work Communities (UAWC), who explained the situation.

Foto: El Mundo

Thank you for being with us, Fuad. We would like to know what the situation is like in Gaza right now, but before we do that, we would like to know what life was like in Gaza for the last 16 or 17 years, since the borders were closed by Israel in 2006.

The story of Gaza, the West Bank and all of Palestine started not just on October 7 or even 16 or 17 years ago; it started 75 years ago when Israel occupied Palestine in 1948. In 2006, there was a national election in Palestine and Hamas won. Immediately, Israel imposed a siege in all of Gaza, which has made the life of people there very difficult. Gaza is a very small area: 665 km² surrounded on all sides by Israel and the sea on the other side, and about 2.5 million people living there, all of them under siege. That means that there is no way to go in or out without passing through the Israeli border. They forbid about 100 different materials from entering Gaza, which means that all the fundamental and basic needs for life are prohibited from entering Gaza. And of course, there is no airport or other connection with the outside world, except through Egypt, which is also in agreement with Israel and also blocked that border.

We work closely with Gaza because our office is responsible for being in daily touch with people there. Thousands of people have died because there is not enough care in the hospitals, no materials, no fuel, no electricity. Even before October 7, electricity was only available for four hours a day. The water is contaminated, there is no clean water in Gaza, and no one can go in or out of Gaza for 16 or 17 years. So life was impossible…

Some people have described Gaza as the largest open-air prison in the world…

It’s not just an open-air prison. Israel waged five wars before this one during these 16 years, killed thousands of Palestinians and arrested many others. Thousands of Palestinians were killed because they entered their land in the area near the border between Israel and Gaza… everyone entering after 6 pm, they shoot them. Hundreds of farmers lost their life because they were late in their farm and the Israelis attacked them. Protesters who tried to protest and condemn this situation in the area were killed or injured because they organized a kind of march near the Israeli border—this has happened since 2014. The wars mean that military operations can happen at any moment, and it has happened five times without any reason to justify it. In the past 16 years, Israel initiated these military operations without having any attacks from Gaza.

What is it like now on the ground after October 7?

Since October 7, Israel started this genocide war in Gaza. The number of victims is increasing in a crazy way, until last night it was almost 11,000 Palestinians killed in one month, more than 55,000 injured by the Israeli air strikes against civilians, homes, and infrastructure in Gaza. The problem is that more than 69% are children and women. The way they are killing cannot be described. They bomb houses full of civilians and children. As you may know, the majority of people in Gaza are young and children, more than 60%. So all houses are full of children, and without alerting anyone, they bomb them, the houses, the buildings and everywhere in Gaza. Like I said, it is a very small area. Life cannot be described. There’s no safe place in all of Gaza, and in addition Israel, beside the siege imposed for 17 years, they imposed a different kind of siege—they totally cut off electricity on October 10. They cut off food and are using starvation in this war against civilian Palestinians. They cut roads, cut water, there is no food, no water, no safe place…

Foto: Mahmud Hams, AFP

How are people surviving with this lack of food, water, and mobility?

As a humanitarian organization, we launched from the beginning of this war a program to support people to have access to food. No food is available from the outside, we’re relying on the limited food inside Gaza. Gaza is an agricultural area. There are two different places: the buffer zone, which is a huge land area next to the Israeli border, where Israel isolated that area from the people and farmers, so no one can have access to that area. There is another small area, which is the land inside Gaza itself, where there is what we call the home gardens, where people plant around their homes. This is the only source of food they have. Plus there are some big suppliers in Gaza who had already stored food and materials before the war. We are in contact with them and they have almost run out in the last three or four days. They are managing with the very little food, and are scheduling between the families: this for tomorrow, this for after tomorrow. And as one of them told me: “Look, for us, we have no problem, but it’s difficult for me to describe that to my children, that we don’t have food and we have only one meal, which might sometimes be only bread or rice, and we explain this to the children and they start crying, they don’t understand what that means, but this is the only way that we are managing this starvation.” Water is the same… as an example, in Rafah, which is in the south of Gaza, where almost 900,000 Palestinians were forced to move from the north, plus the close to 1 million already living in that area. They have one well working manually because there is no electricity, and sometimes you have to wait four or five hours to fill your container with 30 to 40 liters, and if you are lucky you have water; if not, you come back the next day. They try not to use the bathroom, for example, this is an agreement, only one time per day. The stories coming from them are very hard, especially for children. Of course, there is no milk, and the bread sometimes is so dry that they have to mix it with water so children can eat it.

They allowed some trucks to enter Gaza, 150 trucks from the beginning. Some of the trucks were only filled to 30-40% of their capacity, and most of the materials and food were expired. Others bring things that the people don’t need, such as clothing.

Foto: Said Khatib, AFP

A few hours ago, the EZLN published a communiqué. Let me read you a part of it:

The murdered Palestinian children are not collateral victims, they are and always have been Netanhayu’s main objective. This war is not about eliminating Hamas. It is about killing the future. Hamas will only be the collateral victim. Israel’s government has lost the media battle because it turns out that genocide, even if disguised as revenge, does not have as many followers as it believed. It is now capable of the most unimaginable cruelty.  The only ones who may perhaps end the massacre are… the people of Israel.

This brings me to a couple of questions. The first one has to do with the true motivations for this barbarism, which is backed by the United States, England, and other European countries. What are the economic and geopolitical interests at play here, and what are Israel’s and its allies’ true intentions?

There are some facts that have become clear for everyone. I don’t know how the world is accepting this, listening and not taking any real action in this genocide against civilians and in particular against children. Israel is not just Netanyahu. All Israeli leaders and even more the “civilians” declared from the beginning that no civilians are to survive in Gaza and that we have to kill them all. A few days ago, 100 doctors signed a petition demanding from the Israeli government to burn Gaza totally, including the children. I think that with this strong support from the United States and other Western governments, it is clear that they want to change the face of the whole region and restructure it so it is more beneficial for Israel. From the first moment, they moved rapidly to visit Israel and express their solidarity, and they agreed with the Israeli project to displace the Palestinians from Gaza and push them to Rafah as the first step, and the next step, from Rafah to Sinai. Until yesterday, Israelis have killed 175 Palestinians in the West Bank, where there is no Hamas, no military operations here. Which means that they are also preparing for another displacement to Jordan, and Israel is now putting that on the table and started speaking of this Israeli project, where Gaza will be pushed to the Sinai and the West Bank to Jordan. It is a horrifying project, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and genocide in Gaza, with the full support of European governments and the US, and of course Palestinians will not allow this to happen. What is happening in Gaza and the way people are resisting is an example, but it’s risky for everyone. There is no room now for international law, and they encourage Israel to be above international law. They are attacking Syria again on a regular basis, Lebanon… they do whatever they want with the support of Europe and the US…

Foto: Mahmud Hams, AFP

And of course, this is happening in the context of a crisis of the United States as a world power, as Russia, China, and BRICS acquires more power and threatens Western hegemony.

The US is dealing with Israel as an important military base here. There is gas in Gaza, huge quantities discovered in 1996 but that became clearer in 2000. So they are not just using Israel as a military base. This explains why the next day Biden visited Israel, with a statement full of lies, and it’s clear that he’s lying, there is no evidence for his statements. They know that the Palestinians don’t have real power, we have no tanks, no weapons… we have natural resources. It is also about having access to the sea through Gaza, we’ve heard of this plan for decades, and the only way to do that is to displace the Gazan people.

In this context, what is the role of the other Arab countries?

Some of them are too weak, and others are supporting Israel. I mean the governments. Between Gaza and Egypt there are no Israelis, but the border is heavily closed. Since 2006, the Egyptian government closed the only gate for Gazans to have access to the world. So yes, they are contributing in a practical way. Egypt is the biggest Arab country and has the power to change everything. But they do the opposite exactly. The other Arab countries, the United States is scaring them, they are bringing all the US power and troops in the sea here, to alert them that if you move or support, there will be a mess in your country. They are very weak, fragmented, and the US has brought them to their side, and they sometimes even condemn Palestine and support Israel.

What do you see as possible outcomes? President Biden has said that there is no way this is going to stop, and Netanyahu denies all possibility of a ceasefire… where is this going?

It is difficult to talk about the future among those criminals and this kind of way of thinking from Biden and others. I am shocked that everyone is seeing people being killed in this way after almost 35, 40 days from the war, and they are justifying it saying that they keep attacking because they  won’t give any chance to Hamas to rebuild; but that is not true at all. They don’t want a ceasefire because they want to keep the pressure on the people to keep pushing them to the south. They are surrounding Gaza City right now and they keep pushing and killing and attacking the people, and the people are starting to move to the south again. This is what they did in 1948, when Israel attacked more than 500 Palestinian villages and kept attacking them until they evacuated and displaced these villages to Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, etc., after which they became refugees. They are doing the same now again. It is a genocidal thinking clearly, everyone is watching as if it was a movie. This should be stopped; not just stopped, they should be held accountable for their crime. I’m a bit scared that, with this green light from the US, they will continue killing, and things will be increasingly difficult in Gaza… and everything is possible, frankly speaking. They don’t care about the number of victims. I’m not optimistic, I’m scared, we are all scared that this will continue and will become a normal part of the agenda, and after a few weeks no one will be talking about this.

Yet there is an unprecedented outrage and support around the world, with very large demonstrations, including by Jewish communities in many countries who are saying no, not in our name, we will not accept this genocide. Do you see any hope in this world movement in defense of the Palestinian cause?

As Palestinians, we see two sources of hope among all this darkness. One of them is the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza. In the West Bank, it is also very hard, they imposed closure, siege, killing, shooting… The steadfastness of the Palestinian people is one hope and it’s a strong one.

The other hope is, yes, this kind of huge demonstrations all around the world. If it continues or grows, it might… for example, in France, and even in the US, we start hearing a very small change in words, not in a real change in their position, where they are talking about a ceasefire, because there was no talk of a ceasefire at all one or two weeks ago. In France, what Macron said in Jerusalem is that there should be an alliance against Hamas. And after these huge demonstrations, they started demanding a ceasefire in a very open and public way. That’s the only hope we have, no other hopes. There are no other options to see an end.

Foto: Hollie Adams, Reuters

Since you are in the West Bank, can you tell us what the situation is like there?

It is very difficult and risky. We cannot move from our cities or villages, they cut everything. They put gates in all the Palestinian cities and villages. You cannot go out or in without passing through the gates and checkpoints. If you get closer they might shoot you, and many Palestinians have been killed that way. According to the Oslo agreements, they divided the West Bank in three areas. Area C, is composed of 63% of the West Bank, the majority of land and resources are there. From October 7, they have displaced people from that area, which is huge and where there is hope to build the Palestinian state in the future. Settlers have raided Palestinian communities in Area C on a daily basis; they attack houses, burn houses, burn farms, steal Palestinian assets, uproot trees. We’re in the middle of the olive season, which is like carnival for the Palestinian people, and no one can harvest their olives because the settlers either steal the olives or uproot the trees or they shoot at Palestinian farmers who try to have access to their land. Last week for example, near Nablus, they killed some Palestinians picking their olives.

This month they killed 175 Palestinians; yesterday alone they killed 16 Palestinians in the Jenin camp. We have in 5,500 Palestinians in prison, arrested in the last 20 years; but in this month, 2,500 Palestinians have been arrested.

All checkpoints are closed. Even the food here, we have more spaces and food suppliers, but if it continues like this, there will be a shortage of food. They might turn off water and electricity at any moment if they decide so.

Is there anything else you would like to tell our audience?

I think the only message that all Palestinians have is that we need to get our freedom. We are tired of being under occupation for 75 years. We need our children to have hope and a future similar to all the children around the world. We need to be safe in our land, in our homes, in our camps. We don’t want to see more Palestinian refugee camps, we need Palestinian refugees to come back, we need to have an independent country and a future, we need sovereignty over our resources, similar to the Israelis, similar to everyone. We are no different from Israelis, we are as human as others. We don’t want to have people killed. We need to put an end to this situation, to this cycle of war, because this is the sixth time in the last 15 years in Gaza. So we need to stop this forever. We hate seeing Western countries’ hypocrisy and the US supporting and participating in killing Palestinians directly. This should end. We all have to respect human issues and international law, it cannot be applied to the Palestinians, the victims, while allowing Israel to do whatever they want. We are fighters for dignity, we are fighters for freedom. We are not fighting to kill or to hate. So this is what I would like the whole world to be aware of, and to stand with the Palestinians to achieve that. These are human values, not just for the Palestinians. Fighting occupation here or elsewhere is a fundamental human value all around the world. History is full of stories like this but they all finished, and we need it also to finish here and give Palestinians their freedom.

Foto: El Mundo