"so Mexico will never be lost again"
a letter to the heartland, from Oaxaca

Subject: Some news from Oaxaca
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 16:13:27 -0600
From: george.salzman@umb.edu
To: All my friends <"All my friends"@home>

Mar 19. Events woosh by so rapidly I can hardly catch my breath. Mexico is in the throes of a remarkable transformation, a kind of revolution without, so far as I know, any historical precedent. The people of Mexico are seeking to change their collective lives, and to do it without resorting to yet another violent, bloody, and ultimately unsuccessful revolution. The government and its corporate allies are, of course, trying to prevent the people from understanding what's going on. So a mighty propaganda war rages. I don't use the term "propaganda" in a derogatory sense, but as my two Italian heroes, Nicola Sacco and Bartelomeo Vanzetti meant it, to get the word out. Nicola, we gotta makke de propaganda. Simply, there are the "good guys" and the "bad guys", and each group tries to persuade people with its propaganda.

Despite the government's relentless efforts to deligitimate, marginalize, and scoff at the Zapatistas' struggle, Zapatismo is, I think, catching the popular imagination. Yes, there's plenty of racism, zenophobic nationalism, sexism here, (for the complete list, see any issue of Z-Magazine), more than enough to go around. Mexico is not a paradise, not yet. On the night of March16 on one of the corporate TV channels I caught the phrase pinche indios, fucking Indians, on a broadcast concerning the stay of the 23 commanders and Marcos at the National School of Anthropology and History in Mexico City. Many people are surely pissed. But still, I doubt there's a Mexican now who would say aloud, flat out, (unless drunk in a bar) No human rights for indigenous people! And that's a sea change from what attitudes were acceptable, only, say 15 or 20 years ago. Then a proud, disdainful colon, a European descendent born in Mexico, walking on the high narrow sidewalks of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, expected indigenous people, as a matter of course, to step down into the street to allow el blanco uninterrupted passage. And the indigenous, like we used to hear in the "good ol' U.S. of A", knew their place, and deferred. No longer!

Yes, the times they are a-changin'. The idea that indigenous people are also seres humanos, human beings, is, I would say, now accepted here. Clearly, living in Oaxaca is a high for me. I went, with many other members of civil society, both Mexican and foreign, on the historic caravan of the masked but unarmed Zapatista commanders from San Cristóbal to Mexico City. During those gruelling two weeks + two days they wound their circuitous route, addressing many, many thousands of their compatriots in the cause of indigenous people's human rights.

To catch you up a little on what I've experienced most recently, here's a letter I sent off to a friend who lives in the heartland of the U.S., in Harry Truman's town. He had written me the day before, on March 15th. (His comments are in italic type.)
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Friday, March 16, 2001
Hi James,

Hi George,

I'm glad you got home safely. I've seen the pictures of the Zócalo Plaza, on Sunday, March 11, with its 'congregation' of 150,000 (according to Naomi Klein). I guess you were there. What a fantastic sight! Is it true that 1,000 tractors and horse riders joined the caravan for the final march to the Plaza?

You're watching things very closely, seem to know more from following a few good websites than I gained from my participation. The grassroots information infrastructure is really amazing! But I wouldn't trade actually being there for anything. I believe Naomi Klein's estimate of 150,000 on the Zócalo is probably fair, maybe even on the conservative side. Yes, Nancy and I were there, in the midst of it all. I first read about El Barzón joining the caravan in Querétaro "with 1,000 horses and tractors" in the NarcoNews [See note at end of letter.] update of Jan 27th. It was Al Giordano's translation of the official schedule announced by the EZLN [The acronym, in Spanish, for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation]. But it was not to be, alas. We also were told, the night before, that the Comandancia (the 23 commanders + the "sup" [subcommander Marcos]) would come on horseback into the Zócalo. What a vision, what a theatrical performance that would have been, a symbol to awaken Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata from the dead! God damn, we have more horses in Boston. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a single living horse in Mexico City proper (or a piece of horseshit, though there are countless heroic statues with horses of stone and bronze).

What a disappointment. Instead, from the corner of 20 de Noviembre and José María Izazaga, where we had positioned ourselves, what appeared was a slowly moving, huge tractor (the kind we see everywhere in the States pulling 16-wheel trailers), but with no visible trailer in tow. Amid all the sirens, motorcycles and the human security chain around the almost-sacred vehicle, the great tractor crawled towards us from the East along Izazaga. The day was a scorcher, relentless tropical sun beating down. The crowd thickened, necks straining, everyone equipped with a disposable plastic bottle of drinking water, and I glad to be under my new sombrero, bought for 40 Pesos (about $4.40) on the Zócalo a few hours earlier. Eventually the entourage drew closer and we could see, behind the tractor, a large flat-bed trailer on which the Comandancia was standing and exchanging greetings with the surrounding throngs, Marcos as usual issuing, in endless spirals of smoke, his uninterrupted challenge to cancer of the throat or larynx to eventually do him in. Glad at least it's not cigaretts.

As the "magic moment" approached our corner, well-disciplined cordons of people, with arms locked, pushed the assembled crowds towards the sidewalks to make an entryway for the tractor-trailer. No panic but much pressure of bodies against bodies, somewhat resisting the driving force but yielding and struggling to not be thrown down. My concern that no one be trampled was, happily, no more than that. I held on securely to Nancy, she submerged below the level of the crowd, to offer what security I could. Slowly the huge tractor-trailer made a broad right turn around the corner, and continued its crawl, going north on 20 de Noviembre, now only a few blocks from the Zócalo, aimed directly at the gigantic cathedral, the northern border of the Zócalo. The pressure eased and we, along with thousands of others, walked behind to the great plaza.

I also read Marcos' speech delivered that day. I have to say it's one of the strangest things I've ever read. It becomes somewhat more comprehensible to me in light of the speeches he made along the way, which I went back and read where available.

I think Marcos is brilliant. Unfortunately he also has the advantage (over the comandantes) of being highly literate in several major modern languages. And he's enormously imaginative. He so outshines (by western standards) anyone else in the Zapatista leadership that he has become, to many, an idol, like a pop star. I think the comandantes ought to reassess his role, and revise their mode of communicating so as to prevent what Marcos frequently asserts is not the case, i.e. that he not only is not, but he should not be perceived as the new caudillo. Emiliano Zapata was el caudillo del sur, the leader from the south. Many posters and banners portray Zapata and Marcos together. I think it's an unhealthy tendency, one to which not only the corporate media contributes, with vicious intent, of course, but also the left media (in particular La Jornada) which publishes more pictures of Marcos than of anyone else in the Zapatista leadership. He's as much a sex idol as Fox, maybe even more so. I don't care that this plays into the hands of ruling class media, with which Fox has been very successful in his efforts to deligitimize the Zapatistas in the eyes of many Mexicans (actually I do care, but it's not the focus of my concern at this moment). The real threat is that, possibly despite his best intentions, Marcos will accumulate more and more power within the leadership and become, in fact, el nuevo caudillo supremo, the new uncontested leader.

There's more to say on this score, related to the accident en route, in which the bus I was in ran somewhat amok and killed a federal motorcycle police officer, information I got from a well-known human rights lawyer, ------ ------ (formerly working with the Fray Bartolomé Human Rights Center in San Cristóbal, Chiapas), whom I met through a good friend, ------ ------ . [I'm omitting their names until I get their OK's to include them.] They are colleagues in the Mexico City University being established by the PRD, which controls the city government. The information is anecdotal, but interesting in that it suggests the possible consolidation of power in Marcos' hands, and because it came from people within the Zapatista Information Center. I'll write about it another time.

I've followed the caravan as best I could on Znet, Common Dreams, Jay's site, Narco, Indymedia, etc. I haven't exactly liked the strong focus on 'indigenous people' and 'people of color'. I don't see how 'autonomy' is possible within a Mexican State. On the other hand, perhaps this is the way to go for now. If these 'ethnic groups' could win autonomy, that would open up things for everyone else.

It seems to me you're too much of a purist about words. Fact is, the "people of the color of the earth", as Marcos never tires of calling them, do consider themselves to be 'indigenous people.' The label may not be theoretically justified, I agree about that, but it makes both practical and theoretical sense to call them what they themselves call themselves. Eventually, when they have acquired the kind of theoretical understanding about 'race' and 'ethnicity' that you have, the label may no longer be useful to designate that particular group, but right now it's the best choice. And whether it's to your liking or not is entirely irrelevant to the immediate struggle.

On 'autonomy' you are of course completely correct. Full autonomy, which is what 'autonomy' really means, or should mean, will never be theirs as long as the nation-state remains in control. I think it is likely they will win some degree of control in regard to their local affairs, and legal recognition regarding some 'cultural' autonomy, formal recognition of their right to govern themselves according to their usos y costumbres, uses and customs. But the real crunch will be control of the land, and the exploitable wealth that lies below it, and the forests and water above. Fox knows he is the first really-elected president in 70 years, and for sure he wants to be remembered as a 'great' president. His PAN [National Action Party] 'coreligionistas' (What a great word! Political parties are somewhat like religions.) are more focussed than he, if that's possible, on the single goal of neoliberalism, and are balking at the idea of making the COCOPA proposals for accepting the San Andrés Accords into new federal law. But the popular pressure on him is great, and at the moment I think he'll probably support their passage. Soon we'll see.

The struggle for such autonomy, even if just for the 10 million indigenous, will of course bust up the whole system, because obviously autonomy can't be granted, so it sets up this fight to take it, and to destroy those forces which are blocking it. If they could get the San Adréas Accords signed, plus the other two demands, then they could take it from there. It's clear that they are also against neoliberalism in general, so it's obviously a tactical move to focus on these three demands for now: seven bases closed, the accords signed, and 53 prisoners released. Fox is in a Fix.

The struggle for even this partial autonomy seems to me somewhat akin, on the ideological front, to the strategy you advocate* on the economic front: gradually withdraw ideological legitimacy/economic resources from the now-dominant system until it becomes no longer dominant. Build our own grassroots ideological legitimacy/economic infrastructure within the prevailing structures until they are exhausted and but a shell, ready to collapse under growing popular pressure. It won't happen all at once. So there's a great propaganda battle going on. *See strategic essay http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/Strategy/GettingFree.

We intellectuals need to get off our elevated pedestals and help the many ordinary folks who don't enjoy the luxury of thinking a great deal about problems deeper than how to get through the next days or weeks; we need to help them see through the false propaganda of the government and its allies. In this regard the Zapatistas are way ahead of us. Which is part of the reason, I think, why the response to them is so impressive. I really ought to rewrite my open letter** in short sentences, with simple, direct syntax, and without words like homo sapiens and status quo. Maybe I will. **See letter http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/Mexico/Essays-G/LetterToFox.html, or in Spanish, http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/Mexico/Essays-G/CartaAFox.html.

Marcos keeps coming out with these terrific phrases though, like "so Mexico will never be lost again". A phrase like that simply sweeps aside the ruling class in seven words, even 500 years of ruling classes, and assumes a position of absolute superiority over them. Rebels have always kept reinventing the language of truth and freedom, because the oppressors co-opt our language about as fast as we can think of new ways to put them down. The past couple of years have been spectacular in this regard as the world bankers and their co-conspirators have scrambled wildly to green-wash and democracy-wash their talk. The far right in the past couple of decades has practically taken over our entire vocabulary. You've picked a good struggle to become associated with. I've been wondering how you happened to focus in on it.

I think I was excited about the Zapatista rebellion from the very beginning, i.e. when it burst on the scene. I had been on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the summer of '93, and at the start of '94, when the Zapatistas startled the world by streaming out of the jungle with a declaration of war on the Mexican government, I was making plans to spend an upcoming sabbatical-leave year, 1994-95, at Oglala Lakota College. A year and a half later, by the summer of '95, I felt very disheartened about the state of, and prospects for, the Lakota people. Very conscious of being Indians, they lived in such a tight cultural/intellectual cocoon that many of my students there knew essentially nothing of the outside world. I had to tell them about the Zapatistas, their rebellious brethern. At least the Indians of southern Mexico seemed to offer more hope. I began to study Spanish. There's a short account of why I thought Mexico worth focussing on at: http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/Mexico/Essays-G/WhyMexico.html

Did Nancy then decide after all to join the caravan? Did you see Gustavo [Esteva] there?

The caravan came to Oaxaca City for the second night after leaving San Cristóbal, and Nancy was at the event. She was engulfed providing hospitality to four people - a daughter and her friend, and a granddaughter and her friend. They left a few days later, but Nancy remained in Oaxaca until the Friday just before the big Sunday finale, when she flew up to Mexico City for a few days. In retrospect, she was very sensible not to try caravaning - it would have done her in. I was lucky not to get really sick, as did many of the people in our autobuses. In fact, I ducked out for four or five extra nights in hotels towards the end to give myself chances to recoup.

I've seen nothing of Gustavo, either here in Oaxaca or in Mexico. I'm convinced now that he is entirely irrelevant to the real struggle going on here. Almost every day there are demonstrations going on in the Zócalo here and/or in the large Llano Park in front of the State Chamber of Deputies building, and I have never, not once, seen him observing a demonstration. Nancy knows more about what "the people", as he calls them, want than he does. It's too bad, because he could, if he were not so caught up in himself, be an eloquent voice for the revolution-without-violence that is happening here. But he's just another academic.

The rest of your letter is about your workshops and the education conference. Sounds like you're keeping very busy, all to the good. I don't understand why you're so "down" on Chomsky. You wrote once that his exposés could have been done by a Leninist. So what? The fact is that Chomsky has done an incredibly valuable amount of work that serves to deligitimize the whole capitalist system. If I could have done what he did I would consider my life well used.

What he hasn't done is the kind of synthetic thinking about social problems at which you've been so effective. But it doesn't matter. I only wish more people would engage in the efforts you espouse. Maybe it's actually happening, but not on the geographically limited scale you contemplated. The building of an international grassroots 'community' for open, truly democratic publishing seems to be proceeding pretty well, and I find that very encouraging.

One thing that you and Chomsky share is your deep-seated pessimism. You always felt so negative about what you were accomplishing at The Red Book/Lucy Parsons Center, when in fact you were doing great work. On this score, I came upon an interview with Chomsky that La Jornada published before the last Mexican presidential election. Of course he was very negative. I wanted to reread it and compare his predictions with what I have experienced here, because I think he missed the main point, the dissolution of the PRI's control. He too is locked into his ideological framework. That's it for the moment.

So much to do! It's wonderful. All the best,
George
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Some additional items.
I posted two reports from the caravan, the first February 23rd from San Cristóbal, Chiapas, the second March 4th from Morelia, Michoacán. They're at:
http://chiapas.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=189 and
http://chiapas.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=100696.
Nancy has a fine article from Mexico City that Al Giordano posted March 16th on his site at: http://narconews.com/davies.html.

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