Following our trip to Cuba as part of the 3rd US/Cuba Youth Exchange, I traveled with my mother to Mexico to relax, explore and see first hand the struggles of the Mexican people. At first our travel agenda had been to travel south a little bit, see some Mayan ruins, and hang out on the beautiful beaches, but I had additional plans.
Because of my intense interest in class and national liberation struggles, I had been reading a great deal about the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), a guerrilla rebel group made of indigenous people operating in the hills and countryside of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.
Known as “Zapatistas,� the EZLN is named in honor of the Mexican revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata. They exploded onto the international scene ten years ago on New Year’s Day 1994 when they took up arms in defiance of the corrupt Mexican government and for increased indigenous rights and democracy for the people. The EZLN took control of government offices in a number of cities across Chiapas to protest the treatment of indigenous people and to oppose the North American Free Trade Agreement (FTAA) that was implemented that same day.
The Mexican government responded with repression and slaughter, yet the Zapatista uprising was not a total failure. The Zapatistas and their charismatic spokesperson Subcomandante Marcos now enjoy widespread support throughout the countryside and even in the cities. The Zapatistas have become international figures of resistance to imperialism and repression. The image of ski-mask wearing militants is recognized around the world.
After working our way down through the ruins and ruthless speed bumps, my mother and I finally entered Chiapas. All throughout the rural areas of Mexico we had seen the military with their machine guns, but it was there in Chiapas that it was clearly the worst. In the city of San Cristobal de las Casas, the regional capital and the center of the ’94 uprising, gun-toting soldiers could be found almost everywhere.
After locating our youth hostel in San Cristobal and settling in, we decided to spend our first night walking around. Although I had expected Chiapas to be a substantially politically conscious place, I was not expecting to witness such a hotbed of activism. In the first night alone I saw numerous graffiti slogans calling for the removal of George Bush, the victory of the Zapatistas, an end to the U.S. war in the Middle East.
A few days later while walking through the town we heard yelling, chanting, and cheering coming from the plaza. Upon arrival at the plaza we saw a mass gathering of young people in black ski masks and red bandannas. There was a stage erected and a backboard built behind it where talented young graffiti artists where painting an intricate revolutionary mural.
There was an excited young activist on stage who was, from what I could tell, speaking of the oppression of his comrades by the government. Then another young man took the microphone and spoke of the martyrs and heroes of various Latin American revolutionary movements. As time went on many activists took the stage, some railing against U.S. imperialism, some against the expropriation of the land and rights of the indigenous population, some against Mexican president Vicente Fox, some against capitalism in general. The crowd grew. More and more angry young people arrived; youthful faces were joyful yet gravely serious.
One young man was handing information pamphlets to tourists, the English translation was poor, but the passion contained in the writing was enough to make it understandable. It explained that the government was framing young revolutionaries for murders and other crimes that the government itself had committed.
By the time the speakers were finished, the crowd had grown immensely and was ready for action! The next thing I new they had taken over the street and I was marching with them! As we went forward through town, people ran out of stores to join us, soon it was not just young people, but parents too. Old indigenous women cheered as we marched by.
Some of the comrades that had organized the event had electronic bullhorns and led us in chants about the courage of Marcos, Zapata, and Che as well as the relentless struggle of the Mexican people.
As the march went on, I struck up a few conversations with some of the local kids—they were excited to hear that a Young Communist League exists in the USA and were ecstatic when I gave them the few copies of Dynamic Magazine that I had with me.
After seeing the commitment of those Mexican young people and how their goals are very much the same as ours here in the United States, I have no doubt that radical global change, with youth as major players in the process, is a real possibility. The Zapatistas together with the youth of Chiapas, although certainly not a traditional socialist movement, are pushing for the progressive changes needed for the creation of a socialist society.
For more information:
Zapatista Front for National Liberation www.fzln.org.mx/
Zapatista Army for National Liberation www.ezln.org
Mexico Solidarity Network www.mexicosolidarity.org
Shane Brinton is a Junior in high school and a YCL member in Arcata, CA.
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