Morning Comrades.
Admittedly, this dispatch was initially spurred on by the Midterm Elections over in the U.S. but rather than wasting anyones time with that I wanted to share and illustrate what democracies can be, how they are achieved, how they structured and have that information serve as inspiration.
To be absolutely clear and as previously discussed, the democratic idea and system in theory is still worth anyone’s time but as we are experiencing it in our lifetime it deserves nothing but our utter disdain and rejection. In regards to the above elections, I will leave all the prose and panic to those talking heads that actually have something to gain / lose in them, as far as we are concerned, what does it matter what boot is standing on our necks, releasing their thugs to kill us at home and millions of working class comrades across the globe. They’re all criminals of the highest order and are guilty of crimes against humanity.
Importantly though, there are examples of radical democratic revolutions in our lifetime that have achieved incredible victories against the morally unjust boot of capitalism in the guise of modern democracies. One such an example exists in Chiapas, Mexico. I am certain that most of you have seen and heard of them, their imagery and more, yet, little is known of how they operate and have structured their land and communities. This is hopefully going to serve as an introduction to their work and will illustrate what it takes to create and protect a modern, non-capitalist democratic society. As a disclaimer, I have had the utmost honour to be there and work with some of these structures and people but wouldn’t consider myself an authority on their work and vision, but here are some resources for anyone wanting to dig deep.
To cut an incredibly rich and long history, the region known today as Chiapas is home to some of the oldest known societies dating back as far as 1500BCE. In post Spanish colonial times, similar to most areas of Central and South America, despite its vast wealth of natural resources & culture the majority of the people lived in most brutal poverty, having been colonized and exploited for centuries by a number of people. All that changed throughout the 1900s with a number of worker & indigenous revolutions that were crushed by the Mexican state until 1994. The EZLN, an abbreviation for Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional ( Zapatista Army of National Liberation ) declared war against the Mexican State, with the date being an important one and a clue as to their intentions: on January 1, 1994, releasing their declaration on the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect. On that day, they issued their First Declaration and Revolutionary Laws from the Lacandon Jungle. The declaration amounted to a declaration of war on the Mexican government, which they considered illegitimate. The EZLN stressed that it opted for armed struggle due to the lack of results that had been achieved through peaceful means of protest (such as sit-ins and marches. Much of what follows is well documented in various history book and the link above should provide ample resources for anyone interested.
To be clear, after almost a century of rebellion against a colonizing, repressive government in Mexico City, an armed rebellion led by the EZLN, who over decades of work fully integrated their vision and work into the Indigenous structures, customs, needs wishes ( and make no mistake this to this day remains the utmost key to their success ), trained in both armed resistance and community building essentially liberated the area known as Chiapas, which is vast, and to this work hard to not only maintain this liberation but make life better for everyone.
The ideology of the Zapatista movement, Neozapatismo, synthesizes Mayan tradition with elements of socialism, anarchism, and Marxism. The historical influence of Mexican anarchists and various Latin American socialists is apparent in Neozapatismo. The positions of Subcomandante Marcos add a Marxist element to the movement. A Zapatista slogan is in harmony with the concept of mutual aid:
Para todos todo, para nosotros nada.
For everyone, everything. For us, nothing.
Another key element of the Zapatistas' ideology is their aspiration to do politics in a new, participatory way, from the "bottom up" instead of "top down". The Zapatistas consider the contemporary political system of Mexico inherently flawed due to what they consider its purely representative nature and its disconnection from the people and their needs. In contrast, the EZLN aims to reinforce the idea of participatory democracy or radical democracy by limiting public servants' terms to only two weeks, not using visible organization leaders, and constantly referring to the people they are governing for major decisions, strategies, and conceptual visions. Marcos has reiterated, "my real commander is the people". In accordance with this principle, the Zapatistas are not a political party: they do not seek office throughout the state, because that would perpetuate the political system by attempting to gain power within its ranks.
Another key principle underlying the Zapatista project, which ensures that autonomous institutions serve the people, is mandar obedeciendo, which means to lead by obeying. It implies that political leaders do not make decisions on behalf of their community as its representatives, but rather act as the community's delegates, implementing decisions made in local assemblies—a traditional decision-making mechanism. These exist on a village level and, in contrast to traditional assemblies of Mexico, include women, whose empowerment has been at the center of the Zapatista revolution. Assemblies elect delegates to a municipal council—the next level in the Zapatista administrative structure. Next, on the regional level, several autonomous municipalities are represented through delegates in Juntas of Buen Gobierno (JBG), or Councils of Good Government—called so in contrast to the “bad” Mexican government. JBG members serve for 3 years on a rotating basis in shifts as short as a few weeks. Such frequent rotation is intended to prevent the emergence of clientelistic networks.
Any ideas proposed at a higher administrative level go through the consultation process with each community, after which delegates carry their communities’ opinion back to a municipal meeting. There is a strong emphasis on consensus decision making, although that oftentimes means sitting through day-long meetings where everyone has to be heard, and decision is not taken until a compromise is reached. Leaders are chosen based on the indigenous tradition of cargo—an obligation to serve one’s community—and commit to unremunerated posts of responsibility. Communities have the right to revoke the mandate of those officials who do not fulfill their duty of serving the people.
The military-political formation EZLN, which had organized clandestinely since 1983 culminating in the 1994 uprising and land occupations, exists parallel to the three levels of autonomous administration and gives political direction to the movement. While it is hierarchically organized, its highest body is made up of civilians elected by community assemblies. Moreover, its presence in communal affairs has been limited in order to ensure a genuine democratic self-governance of Zapatista communities.
This structuring of society works deep into the important aspects of life, healthcare, schooling, an alternative justice system- that in itself works in total opposition to what we do and has warranted several brilliant books - and importantly, economics, that is again, ultimately based on: Para Todos Todo, Para Nosotros Nada.
The functioning of the autonomous government, schools and clinics, as well as other collective projects, is financed by earnings from cooperatives and land collectives. These are at the center of Zapatistas’ aspiration to reach economic self-sufficiency from the state and to build an economy based on equitable distribution of resources. While cooperatives and collectives coexist with family land and individual entrepreneurship, participation in collective work on a rotating basis is obligatory. There are also popular banks in the form of revolving funds that make low-interest loans to members of the support base communities. These banks generate funds that get invested in new collective projects. Some collectives are women-only and intend to provide an opportunity for women to gain confidence and participate in the social life of their communities.
Again, this can and does only serve as an introduction to the realities of the EZLN and Chiapas. Of course, it is nigh on impossible to copy their trajectory and apply it to your reality. However, the core principles are, and incredible to witness.
Another world is possible and it is nigh on time that we reject, utterly, our oppressive realities for the sake of profits for the ruling class.
Yours, with memories of undisclosed locations and many an inspiring evening,
V.