Autonomy

Chiapas: New Blood, Old Wars

Carlos Santos Cid provides an analysis of the current context in Chiapas which includes the increasing presence of organized crime, the process of remilitarization, and the links between these and megaprojects, such as the Mayan Train. He examines the historical background since the Zapatista uprising and the counterinsurgency low-scale war using paramilitaries. He pulls these threads together and gives some hope as to a way forward. ”We believe that the strongest option is from below: communities have the possibility through peaceful alternatives to shield themselves, understanding that this war for control is not only an armed one, it is also cultural. We must rebuild and strengthen the social fabric.”

Chiapas in Christiana, Schools for Chiapas in Europe

Earlier this year we at Schools for Chiapas were honored to receive the visit of Ole Lykke, activist, archivist and historian of Freetown Christiana, Denmark, here in Chiapas. Founded in 1971 with the occupation of a military barracks, Christiania is perhaps the oldest and biggest commune in history, covering some 54 acres. In 2008, the first link between Chiapas and Christiania was established when Gustavo Chavez, a Mexican muralist with many years of collaboration with Schools for Chiapas painting in Zapatista communities, painted a mural of Emiliano Zapata in the commune. That mural still exists there today. In January of …

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Data on Violence against Zapatista Communities

Since the uprising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) on January 1, 1994, thousands of hectares of land usurped by landowners were recovered by their legitimate owners: the original peoples. From there, the 1994 War began, and has continued with a counterinsurgency strategy, designed and implemented in an integral manner through different ways in order to wear down and disarticulate the Zapatista families, communities and peoples. The government of AMLO and the “Fourth Transformation” continues the counterinsurgency model; human rights continue to be violated, using a supposed electoral legitimacy to do the same criminal work of the previous governments of the PRI, PAN and PRD, thus dispossessing the land and common goods to convert them into merchandise.

The Impotence of States

Apologists for the State apparatus often point to its achievements while downplaying the collateral damages of dispossession and violence. Raúl Zibechi gives a few examples to make the point that States (in the service of Capital) are incapable of wielding solutions or justice in the face of the crises of our times.

Rebel Health and Anti-Capitalist Movements

Friday marked what would have been the 98th birthday of Malcolm X. As part of the remembrance, Raúl Zibechi honors the significance of the Black Panther Party in service to their communities and in construction of autonomy.

“More than half a century ago the Black Panther party was probably one of the first organizations to launch an alternative health care system to that of the hegemonic system. The pamphlet “Medical Self-Defense. Black Panthers and Zapatistas,”* not only reveals the similarities between the two experiences in health care, but details the achievements of the U.S. Black movement.”

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