Socialist revolutions around the world did not destroy capitalism or the dominant hierarchies, but rather built new forms of them, warned Uruguayan activist Raúl Zibechi on the final day of the encounter “Pyramids: History, Loves, and, of course, Heartbreaks,” held as part of the 32nd anniversary of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) uprising.
“From the top of the pyramids, new oppressions and new oppressors are born, bosses who become new ruling classes, and the examples of Russia and China are there,” he explained.
Because “those at the top of the power structure use their power to reestablish capitalism—the same capitalism that existed before, or something similar, or a new one with a new name, but capitalism nonetheless,” he reiterated. Accompanied by Captain Marcos and Insurgent Sub-commander Moisés, the writer also elaborated that this phenomenon is repeated even in struggles that did not call themselves socialist, such as those in Haiti, Mexico, and Bolivia, where the people fought to overthrow their enemies, but “from the heart of these struggles, new dominant classes emerge, very similar to those that had apparently been defeated.”
For this reason, he highlighted the inspiration of Zapatismo for the peoples of Latin America in building autonomy and rebellion, which has led more organizations and collectives to join the resistance and the construction of their own wisdom.
“Have no doubt that despite the storm, the people are growing,” because “the people are a light, there are many lights, they shine within the people, in collectives; these lights illuminate us and guide us on our path,” he noted.
The closing event was also scheduled to include the participation of playwright Luis de Tavira, who, due to health reasons, did not attend but sent a letter that Captain Marcos read. Tavira championed the EZLN’s construction of “the commons” as a hope that challenges and inspires the creation of new worlds.
“Having hope is not sitting around waiting for a miracle, it’s about planting seeds, building an operating room in a rock called the commons,” he said in the letter.
He also referred to art and theater as a way to create more humane, communal, and less commercial and violent societies, whose attitudes undermine democracy.
“Commerce doesn’t integrate societies, it dissolves them. For industry, what matters is not what is produced or for whom it is produced, but what the profits are. In the market, there are no things or people, only prices and profits, figures and statistics, and speculation,” Tavira wrote. He added that “the world is distracted and unable to perceive the violent events unfolding right before its eyes. It has become incapable of understanding and recognizing art. The challenge is to react with rebellion against the normalization of social violence. The true work of art is the community.”
Captain Marcos and Insurgent Sub-commander Moisés, leaders of the EZLN, closed the five-day encounter held at CIDECI-Unitierra in San Cristóbal de las Casas.
The activities commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the EZLN uprising—which took place on January 1st, 1994—conclude with a civic-military ceremony and a public dance on December 31st and January 1st at the Caracol of Oventic in the municipality of San Andrés Larrainzar.
Original article by Edgar H. Clemente, La Jornada, December 30th, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.