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Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 16:11:30 -0500 (CDT)<br>
From: Irl4now@cs.com<br>
To: chiapas@eco.utexas.edu<br>
Subject: En;EZLN:6th Declaration/Part 2<br><br>
Originally published in Spanish by the EZLN<br>
************************************<br>
Translated by irlandesa<br><br>
<br>
Zapatista Army of National Liberation.<br><br>
Mexico.<br><br>
(Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona)<br><br>
<br>
III - How We See the World<br><br>
Now we are going to explain to you how we, the zapatistas, see what is
going<br>
on in the world. We see that capitalism is the strongest right
now.<br>
Capitalism is a social system, a way in which a society goes about
organizing things<br>
and people, and who has and who has not, and who gives orders and who
obeys.<br>
In capitalism, there are some people who have money, or capital, and
factories<br>
and stores and fields and many things, and there are others who have
nothing<br>
but their strength and knowledge in order to work. In capitalism,
those who<br>
have money and things give the orders, and those who only have their
ability to<br>
work obey.<br><br>
Then capitalism means that there a few who have great wealth, but they
did<br>
not win a prize, or find a treasure, or inherited from a parent.
They obtained<br>
that wealth, rather, by exploiting the work of the many. So
capitalism is<br>
based on the exploitation of the workers, which means they exploit the
workers<br>
and take out all the profits they can. This is done unjustly,
because they do<br>
not pay the worker what his work is worth. Instead they give him a
salary that<br>
barely allows him to eat a little and to rest for a bit, and the next day
he<br>
goes back to work in exploitation, whether in the countryside or in the
city.<br><br>
And capitalism also makes its wealth from plunder, or theft, because
they<br>
take what they want from others, land, for example, and natural
resources. So<br>
capitalism is a system where the robbers are free and they are admired
and used<br>
as examples.<br><br>
And, in addition to exploiting and plundering, capitalism represses
because<br>
it imprisons and kills those who rebel against injustice.<br><br>
Capitalism is most interested in merchandise, because when it is bought
or<br>
sold, profits are made. And then capitalism turns everything into
merchandise,<br>
it makes merchandise of people, of nature, of culture, of history,
of<br>
conscience. According to capitalism, everything must be able to be
bought and sold.<br>
And it hides everything behind the merchandise, so we don't see the<br>
exploitation that exists. And then the merchandise is bought and
sold in a market. And<br>
the market, in addition to being used for buying and selling, is also
used to<br>
hide the exploitation of the workers. In the market, for example,
we see<br>
coffee in its little package or its pretty little jar, but we do not see
the<br>
campesino who suffered in order to harvest the coffee, and we do not see
the<br>
coyote who paid him so cheaply for his work, and we do not see the
workers in the<br>
large company working their hearts out to package the coffee. Or we
see an<br>
appliance for listening to music like cumbias, rancheras or corridos,
or<br>
whatever, and we see that it is very good because it has a good sound,
but we do not<br>
see the worker in the maquiladora who struggled for many hours, putting
the<br>
cables and the parts of the appliance together, and they barely paid her
a<br>
pittance of money, and she lives far away from work and spends a lot on
the trip,<br>
and, in addition, she runs the risk of being kidnapped, raped and killed
as<br>
happens in Ciudad Jua'rez in Mexico.<br><br>
So we see merchandise in the market, but we do not see the exploitation
with<br>
which it was made. And then capitalism needs many markets...or a
very large<br>
market, a world market.<br><br>
And so the capitalism of today is not the same as before, when the rich
were<br>
content with exploiting the workers in their own countries, but now they
are<br>
on a path which is called Neoliberal Globalization. This
globalization means<br>
that they no longer control the workers in one or several countries, but
the<br>
capitalists are trying to dominate everything all over the world.
And the<br>
world, or Planet Earth, is also called the "globe", and that is
why they say<br>
"globalization," or the entire world.<br><br>
And neoliberalism is the idea that capitalism is free to dominate the
entire<br>
world, and so tough, you have to resign yourself and conform and not make
a<br>
fuss, in other words, not rebel. So neoliberalism is like the
theory, the plan,<br>
of capitalist globalization. And neoliberalism has its economic,
political,<br>
military and cultural plans. All of those plans have to do with
dominating<br>
everyone, and they repress or separate anyone who doesn't obey so that
his<br>
rebellious ideas aren't passed on to others.<br><br>
Then, in neoliberal globalization, the great capitalists who live in
the<br>
countries which are powerful, like the United States, want the entire
world to be<br>
made into a big business where merchandise is produced like a great
market. A<br>
world market for buying and selling the entire world and for hiding all
the<br>
exploitation from the world. Then the global capitalists insert
themselves<br>
everywhere, in all the countries, in order to do their big business,
their great<br>
exploitation. Then they respect nothing, and they meddle wherever
they wish.<br>
As if they were conquering other countries. That is why we
zapatistas say<br>
that neoliberal globalization is a war of conquest of the entire world, a
world<br>
war, a war being waged by capitalism for global domination.
Sometimes that<br>
conquest is by armies who invade a country and conquer it by force.
But<br>
sometimes it is with the economy, in other words, the big capitalists put
their money<br>
into another country or they lend it money, but on the condition that
they<br>
obey what they tell them to do. And they also insert their ideas,
with the<br>
capitalist culture which is the culture of merchandise, of profits, of
the market.<br><br>
Then the one which wages the conquest, capitalism, does as it wants,
it<br>
destroys and changes what it does not like and eliminates what gets in
its way.<br>
For example, those who do not produce nor buy nor sell modern merchandise
get in<br>
their way, or those who rebel against that order. And they despise
those who<br>
are of no use to them. That is why the indigenous get in the way
of<br>
neoliberal capitalism, and that is why they despise them and want to
eliminate them.<br>
And neoliberal capitalism also gets rid of the laws which do not allow
them to<br>
exploit and to have a lot of profit. They demand that everything
can be<br>
bought and sold, and, since capitalism has all the money, it buys
everything.<br>
Capitalism destroys the countries it conquers with neoliberal
globalization, but<br>
it also wants to adapt everything, to make it over again, but in its own
way,<br>
a way which benefits capitalism and which doesn't allow anything to get
in its<br>
way. Then neoliberal globalization, capitalism, destroys what
exists in<br>
these countries, it destroys their culture, their language, their
economic system,<br>
their political system, and it also destroys the ways in which those who
live<br>
in that country relate to each other. So everything that makes a
country a<br>
country is left destroyed.<br><br>
Then neoliberal globalization wants to destroy the nations of the world
so<br>
that only one Nation or country remains, the country of money, of
capital. And<br>
capitalism wants everything to be as it wants, in its own way, and it
doesn't<br>
like what is different, and it persecutes it and attacks it, or puts it
off in<br>
a corner and acts as if it doesn't exist.<br><br>
Then, in short, the capitalism of global neoliberalism is based on<br>
exploitation, plunder, contempt and repression of those who refuse.
The same as before,<br>
but now globalized, worldwide.<br><br>
But it is not so easy for neoliberal globalization, because the exploited
of<br>
each country become discontented, and they will not say well, too bad,
instead<br>
they rebel. And those who remain and who are in the way resist, and
they<br>
don't allow themselves to be eliminated. And that is why we see,
all over the<br>
world, those who are being screwed over making resistances, not putting
up with<br>
it, in other words, they rebel, and not just in one country but wherever
they<br>
abound. And so, as there is a neoliberal globalization, there is
a<br>
globalization of rebellion.<br><br>
And it is not just the workers of the countryside and of the city who
appear<br>
in this globalization of rebellion, but others also appear who are
much<br>
persecuted and despised for the same reason, for not letting themselves
be<br>
dominated, like women, young people, the indigenous, homosexuals,
lesbians, transsexual<br>
persons, migrants and many other groups who exist all over the world but
who<br>
we do not see until they shout ya basta of being despised, and they raise
up,<br>
and then we see them, we hear them, and we learn from them.<br><br>
And then we see that all those groups of people are fighting against<br>
neoliberalism, against the capitalist globalization plan, and they are
struggling for<br>
humanity.<br><br>
And we are astonished when we see the stupidity of the neoliberals who
want<br>
to destroy all humanity with their wars and exploitations, but it also
makes us<br>
quite happy to see resistances and rebellions appearing everywhere, such
as<br>
ours, which is a bit small, but here we are. And we see this all
over the<br>
world, and now our heart learns that we are not alone.<br><br>
<br>
1V - How We See Our Country Which is Mexico<br><br>
Now we will talk to you about how we see what is going on in our
Mexico.<br>
What we see is our country being governed by neoliberals. So, as we
already<br>
explained, our leaders are destroying our nation, our Mexican
Patria. And the<br>
work of these bad leaders is not to look after the well-being of the
people,<br>
instead they are only concerned with the well-being of the
capitalists. For<br>
example, they make laws like the Free Trade Agreement, which end up
leaving many<br>
Mexicans destitute, like campesinos and small producers, because they
are<br>
"gobbled up" by the big agro-industrial companies. As
well as workers and small<br>
businesspeople, because they cannot compete with the large transnationals
who<br>
come in without anybody saying anything to them and even thanking them,
and they<br>
set their low salaries and their high prices. So some of the
economic<br>
foundations of our Mexico, which were the countryside and industry and
national<br>
commerce, are being quite destroyed, and just a bit of rubble - which
they are<br>
certainly going to sell off - remains.<br><br>
And these are great disgraces for our Patria. Because food is no
longer<br>
being produced in our countryside, just what the big capitalists sell,
and the<br>
good lands are being stolen through trickery and with the help of
the<br>
politicians. What is happening in the countryside is the same as
Porfirismo, but,<br>
instead of hacendados, now there are a few foreign businesses which have
well and<br>
truly screwed the campesino. And, where before there were credits
and price<br>
protections, now there is just charity...and sometimes not even
that.<br><br>
As for the worker in the city, the factories close, and they are left
without<br>
work, or they open what are called maquiladoras, which are foreign and
which<br>
pay a pittance for many hours of work. And then the price of the
goods the<br>
people need doesn't matter, whether they are expensive or cheap, since
there is<br>
no money. And if someone was working in a small or midsize
business, now they<br>
are not, because it was closed, and it was bought by a big
transnational.<br>
And if someone had a small business, it disappeared as well, or they went
to<br>
work clandestinely for big businesses which exploit them terribly, and
which even<br>
put boys and girls to work. And if the worker belonged to his union
in order<br>
to demand his legal rights, then no, now the same union tells him he
will<br>
have to put up with his salary being lowered or his hours or his benefits
being<br>
taken away, because, if not, the business will close and move to
another<br>
country. And then there is the "microchangarro," which is
the government's economic<br>
program for putting all the city's workers on street corners selling gum
or<br>
telephone cards. In other words, absolute economic destruction in
the cities<br>
as well.<br><br>
And then what happens is that, with the people's economy being
totally<br>
screwed in the countryside as well as in the city, then many Mexican men
and women<br>
have to leave their Patria, Mexican lands, and go to seek work in
another<br>
country, the United States. And they do not treat them well there,
instead they<br>
exploit them, persecute them and treat them with contempt and even kill
them.<br>
Under neoliberalism which is being imposed by the bad governments, the
economy<br>
has not improved. Quite the opposite, the countryside is in great
need, and<br>
there is no work in the cities. What is happening is that Mexico is
being<br>
turned into a place where people are working for the wealth of
foreigners, mostly<br>
rich gringos, a place you are just born into for a little while, and
in<br>
another little while you die. That is why we say that Mexico is
dominated by the<br>
United States.<br><br>
Now, it is not just that. Neoliberalism has also changed the
Mexican<br>
political class, the politicians, because they made them into something
like<br>
employees in a store, who have to do everything possible to sell
everything and to<br>
sell it very cheap. You have already seen that they changed the
laws in order to<br>
remove Article 27 from the Constitution so that ejidal and communal
lands<br>
could be sold. That was Salinas de Gortari, and he and his gangs
said that it<br>
was for the good of the countryside and the campesino, and that was how
they<br>
would prosper and live better. Has it been like that? The
Mexican countryside<br>
is worse than ever and the campesinos more screwed than under Porfirio
Diaz.<br>
And they also say they are going to privatize - sell to foreigners -
the<br>
companies held by the State to help the well-being of the people.
Because the<br>
companies don't work well and they need to be modernized, and it would be
better to<br>
sell them. But, instead of improving, the social rights which were
won in<br>
the revolution of 1910 now make one sad...and courageous. And they
also said<br>
that the borders must be opened so all the foreign capital can enter,
that way<br>
all the Mexican businesses will be fixed, and things will be made
better. But<br>
now we see that there are not any national businesses, the foreigners
gobbled<br>
them all up, and the things that are sold are worse than the those that
were<br>
made in Mexico.<br><br>
And now the Mexican politicians also want to sell PEMEX, the oil
which<br>
belongs to all Mexicans, and the only difference is that some say
everything should<br>
be sold and others that only a part of it should be sold. And they
also want<br>
to privatize social security, and electricity and water and the forests
and<br>
everything, until nothing of Mexico is left, and our country will be a
wasteland<br>
or a place of entertainment for rich people from all over the world, and
we<br>
Mexican men and women will be their servants, dependent on what they
offer, bad<br>
housing, without roots, without culture, without even a Patria.<br><br>
So the neoliberals want to kill Mexico, our Mexican Patria. And
the<br>
political parties not only do not defend it, they are the first to put
themselves at<br>
the service of foreigners, especially those from the United States, and
they<br>
are the ones who are in charge of deceiving us, making us look the other
way<br>
while everything is sold, and they are left with the money. All the
political<br>
parties that exist right now, not just some of them. Think about
whether<br>
anything has been done well, and you will see that no, nothing but theft
and scams.<br>
And look how all the politicians always have their nice houses and their
nice<br>
cars and luxuries. And they still want us to thank them and to vote
for them<br>
again. And it is obvious, as they say, that they are without
shame. And they<br>
are without it because they do not, in fact, have a Patria, they only
have<br>
bank accounts.<br><br>
And we also see that drug trafficking and crime has been increasing a
lot.<br>
And sometimes we think that criminals are like they show them in the
songs or<br>
movies, and maybe some are like that, but not the real chiefs. The
real chiefs<br>
go around very well dressed, they study outside the country, they
are<br>
elegant, they do not go around in hiding, they eat in good restaurants
and they<br>
appear in the papers, very pretty and well dressed at their
parties. They are, as<br>
they say, "good people", and some are even officials, deputies,
senators,<br>
secretaries of state, prosperous businessmen, police chiefs,
generals.<br><br>
Are we saying that politics serves no purpose? No, what we mean is
that THAT<br>
politics serves no purpose. And it is useless because it does
not take the<br>
people into account. It does not listen to them, it does not pay
any<br>
attention to them, it just approaches them when there are
elections. And they do not<br>
even want votes anymore, the polls are enough to say who wins. And
then just<br>
promises about what this one is going to do and what the other one is
going to<br>
do, then it's bye, I'll see you, but you don't see them again, except
when<br>
they appear in the news when they've just stolen a lot of money and
nothing is<br>
going to be done to them because the law - which those same politicians
made -<br>
protects them.<br><br>
Because that's another problem, the Constitution is all warped and
changed<br>
now. It's no longer the one that had the rights and liberties of
working<br>
people. Now there are the rights and liberties of the neoliberals
so they can have<br>
their huge profits. And the judges exist to serve those
neoliberals, because<br>
they always rule in favor of them, and those who are not rich get
injustice,<br>
jails and cemeteries.<br><br>
Well, even with all this mess the neoliberals are making, there are
Mexican<br>
men and women who are organizing and making a resistance
struggle.<br><br>
And so we found out that there are indigenous, that their lands are far
away<br>
from us here in Chiapas, and they are making their autonomy and
defending<br>
their culture and caring for their land, forests and water.<br><br>
And there are workers in the countryside, campesinos, who are organizing
and<br>
holding their marches and mobilizations in order to demand credits and
aid for<br>
the countryside.<br><br>
And there are workers in the city who do not let their rights be taken
away<br>
or their jobs privatized. They protest and demonstrate so the
little they have<br>
isn't taken away from them and so they don't take away from the country
what<br>
is, in fact, its own, like electricity, oil, social security,
education.<br><br>
And there are students who don't let education be privatized and who
are<br>
fighting for it to be free and popular and scientific, so they don't
charge, so<br>
everyone can learn, and so they don't teach stupid things in
schools.<br><br>
And there are women who do not let themselves be treated as an ornament
or be<br>
humiliated and despised just for being women, but who are organizing
and<br>
fighting for the respect they deserve as the women they are.<br><br>
And there are young people who don't accept their stultifying them with
drugs<br>
or persecuting them for their way of being, but who make themselves
aware<br>
with their music and their culture, their rebellion.<br><br>
And there are homosexuals, lesbians, transsexuals and many ways who do
not<br>
put up with being ridiculed, despised, mistreated and even killed for
having<br>
another way which is different, with being treated like they are abnormal
or<br>
criminals, but who make their own organizations in order to defend their
right to<br>
be different.<br><br>
And there are priests and nuns and those they call laypeople who are not
with<br>
the rich and who are not resigned, but who are organizing to accompany
the<br>
struggles of the people.<br><br>
And there are those who are called social activists, who are men and
women<br>
who have been fighting all their lives for exploited people, and they are
the<br>
same ones who participated in the great strikes and workers' actions, in
the<br>
great citizens' mobilizations, in the great campesino movements, and who
suffer<br>
great repression, and who, even though some are old now, continue on
without<br>
surrendering, and they go everywhere, looking for the struggle, seeking
justice,<br>
and making leftist organizations, non-governmental organizations,
human<br>
rights organizations, organizations in defense of political prisoners and
for the<br>
disappeared, leftist publications, organizations of teachers or
students,<br>
social struggle, and even political-military organizations, and they are
just not<br>
quiet and they know a lot because they have seen a lot and lived and
struggled.<br><br>
And so we see in general that in our country, which is called Mexico,
there<br>
are many people who do not put up with things, who do not surrender, who
do not<br>
sell out. Who are dignified. And that makes us very pleased
and happy,<br>
because with all those people it's not going to be so easy for the
neoliberals to<br>
win, and perhaps it will be possible to save our Patria from the great
thefts<br>
and destruction they are doing. And we think that perhaps our
"we" will<br>
include all those rebellions...<br><br>
(To be continued...)<br><br>
<br>
>From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.<br><br>
Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee - General Command of
the<br>
Zapatista Army of National Liberation<br><br>
Mexico, in the sixth month of the year 2005.<br><br>
--part1_111.4d504e4a.2ff70b58_boundary<br>
Content-Type: text/html; charset"ISO-8859-1"<br>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable<br><br>
Originally published in Spanish by the EZLN<br>
************************************<br>
Translated by irlandesa<br><br>
<br>
Zapatista Army of National Liberation.<br><br>
Mexico.<br><br>
(Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona)<br><br>
<br>
III - How We See the World<br><br>
Now we are going to explain to you how we, the zapatistas, see what
is going on in the world. We see that capitalism is the strongest
right now. Capitalism is a social system, a way in which a society
goes about organizing things and people, and who has and who has not, and
who gives orders and who obeys. In capitalism, there are some
people who have money, or capital, and factories and stores and fields
and many things, and there are others who have nothing but their strength
and knowledge in order to work. In capitalism, those who have money
and things give the orders, and those who only have their ability to work
obey.<br><br>
Then capitalism means that there a few who have great wealth, but
they did not win a prize, or find a treasure, or inherited from a
parent. They obtained that wealth, rather, by exploiting the work
of the many. So capitalism is based on the exploitation of the
workers, which means they exploit the workers and take out all the
profits they can. This is done unjustly, because they do not pay
the worker what his work is worth. Instead they give him a salary
that barely allows him to eat a little and to rest for a bit, and the
next day he goes back to work in exploitation, whether in the countryside
or in the city.<br><br>
And capitalism also makes its wealth from plunder, or theft,
because they take what they want from others, land, for example, and
natural resources. So capitalism is a system where the robbers are
free and they are admired and used as examples.<br><br>
And, in addition to exploiting and plundering, capitalism represses
because it imprisons and kills those who rebel against
injustice.<br><br>
Capitalism is most interested in merchandise, because when it is
bought or sold, profits are made. And then capitalism turns
everything into merchandise, it makes merchandise of people, of nature,
of culture, of history, of conscience. According to capitalism,
everything must be able to be bought and sold. And it hides
everything behind the merchandise, so we don't see the exploitation that
exists. And then the merchandise is bought and sold in a
market. And the market, in addition to being used for buying and
selling, is also used to hide the exploitation of the workers. In
the market, for example, we see coffee in its little package or its
pretty little jar, but we do not see the campesino who suffered in order
to harvest the coffee, and we do not see the coyote who paid him so
cheaply for his work, and we do not see the workers in the large company
working their hearts out to package the coffee. Or we see an
appliance for listening to music like cumbias, rancheras!<br>
or corridos, or whatever, and we see that it is very good because
it has a good sound, but we do not see the worker in the maquiladora who
struggled for many hours, putting the cables and the parts of the
appliance together, and they barely paid her a pittance of money, and she
lives far away from work and spends a lot on the trip, and, in addition,
she runs the risk of being kidnapped, raped and killed as happens in
Ciudad Jua'rez in Mexico.<br><br>
So we see merchandise in the market, but we do not see the
exploitation with which it was made. And then capitalism needs many
markets...or a very large market, a world market.<br><br>
And so the capitalism of today is not the same as before, when the
rich were content with exploiting the workers in their own countries, but
now they are on a path which is called Neoliberal Globalization.
This globalization means that they no longer control the workers in one
or several countries, but the capitalists are trying to dominate
everything all over the world. And the world, or Planet Earth, is
also called the "globe", and that is why they say
"globalization," or the entire world.<br><br>
And neoliberalism is the idea that capitalism is free to dominate
the entire world, and so tough, you have to resign yourself and conform
and not make a fuss, in other words, not rebel. So neoliberalism is
like the theory, the plan, of capitalist globalization. And
neoliberalism has its economic, political, military and cultural
plans. All of those plans have to do with dominating everyone, and
they repress or separate anyone who doesn't obey so that his rebellious
ideas aren't passed on to others.<br><br>
Then, in neoliberal globalization, the great capitalists who live
in the countries which are powerful, like the United States, want the
entire world to be made into a big business where merchandise is produced
like a great market. A world market for buying and selling the
entire world and for hiding all the exploitation from the world.
Then the global capitalists insert themselves everywhere, in all the
countries, in order to do their big business, their great
exploitation. Then they respect nothing, and they meddle wherever
they wish. As if they were conquering other countries. That
is why we zapatistas say that neoliberal globalization is a war of
conquest of the entire world, a world war, a war being waged by
capitalism for global domination. Sometimes that conquest is by
armies who invade a country and conquer it by force. But sometimes
it is with the economy, in other words, the big capitalists put their
money into another country or they lend it money, but on t!<br>
he condition that they obey what they tell them to do. And
they also insert their ideas, with the capitalist culture which is the
culture of merchandise, of profits, of the market.<br><br>
Then the one which wages the conquest, capitalism, does as it
wants, it destroys and changes what it does not like and eliminates what
gets in its way. For example, those who do not produce nor buy nor
sell modern merchandise get in their way, or those who rebel against that
order. And they despise those who are of no use to them. That
is why the indigenous get in the way of neoliberal capitalism, and that
is why they despise them and want to eliminate them. And neoliberal
capitalism also gets rid of the laws which do not allow them to exploit
and to have a lot of profit. They demand that everything can be
bought and sold, and, since capitalism has all the money, it buys
everything. Capitalism destroys the countries it conquers with
neoliberal globalization, but it also wants to adapt everything, to make
it over again, but in its own way, a way which benefits capitalism and
which doesn't allow anything to get in its way. Then neoliberal
globalization, capitalism, des!<br>
troys what exists in these countries, it destroys their culture,
their language, their economic system, their political system, and it
also destroys the ways in which those who live in that country relate to
each other. So everything that makes a country a country is left
destroyed.<br><br>
Then neoliberal globalization wants to destroy the nations of the
world so that only one Nation or country remains, the country of money,
of capital. And capitalism wants everything to be as it wants, in
its own way, and it doesn't like what is different, and it persecutes it
and attacks it, or puts it off in a corner and acts as if it doesn't
exist.<br><br>
Then, in short, the capitalism of global neoliberalism is based on
exploitation, plunder, contempt and repression of those who refuse.
The same as before, but now globalized, worldwide.<br><br>
But it is not so easy for neoliberal globalization, because the
exploited of each country become discontented, and they will not say
well, too bad, instead they rebel. And those who remain and who are
in the way resist, and they don't allow themselves to be
eliminated. And that is why we see, all over the world, those who
are being screwed over making resistances, not putting up with it, in
other words, they rebel, and not just in one country but wherever they
abound. And so, as there is a neoliberal globalization, there is a
globalization of rebellion.<br><br>
And it is not just the workers of the countryside and of the city
who appear in this globalization of rebellion, but others also appear who
are much persecuted and despised for the same reason, for not letting
themselves be dominated, like women, young people, the indigenous,
homosexuals, lesbians, transsexual persons, migrants and many other
groups who exist all over the world but who we do not see until they
shout ya basta of being despised, and they raise up, and then we see
them, we hear them, and we learn from them.<br><br>
And then we see that all those groups of people are fighting
against neoliberalism, against the capitalist globalization plan, and
they are struggling for humanity.<br><br>
And we are astonished when we see the stupidity of the neoliberals
who want to destroy all humanity with their wars and exploitations, but
it also makes us quite happy to see resistances and rebellions appearing
everywhere, such as ours, which is a bit small, but here we are.
And we see this all over the world, and now our heart learns that we are
not alone.<br><br>
<br>
1V - How We See Our Country Which is Mexico<br><br>
Now we will talk to you about how we see what is going on in our
Mexico. What we see is our country being governed by
neoliberals. So, as we already explained, our leaders are
destroying our nation, our Mexican Patria. And the work of these
bad leaders is not to look after the well-being of the people, instead
they are only concerned with the well-being of the capitalists. For
example, they make laws like the Free Trade Agreement, which end up
leaving many Mexicans destitute, like campesinos and small
producers, because they are "gobbled up" by the big
agro-industrial companies. As well as workers and small
businesspeople, because they cannot compete with the large transnationals
who come in without anybody saying anything to them and even thanking
them, and they set their low salaries and their high prices. So
some of the economic foundations of our Mexico, which were the
countryside and industry and national commerce, are being quite
destroyed, and just a bit of ru!<br>
bble - which they are certainly going to sell off -
remains.<br><br>
And these are great disgraces for our Patria. Because food is
no longer being produced in our countryside, just what the big
capitalists sell, and the good lands are being stolen through trickery
and with the help of the politicians. What is happening in the
countryside is the same as Porfirismo, but, instead of hacendados, now
there are a few foreign businesses which have well and truly screwed the
campesino. And, where before there were credits and price
protections, now there is just charity...and sometimes not even
that.<br><br>
As for the worker in the city, the factories close, and they are
left without work, or they open what are called maquiladoras, which are
foreign and which pay a pittance for many hours of work. And then
the price of the goods the people need doesn't matter, whether they are
expensive or cheap, since there is no money. And if someone was
working in a small or midsize business, now they are not, because it was
closed, and it was bought by a big transnational. And if someone
had a small business, it disappeared as well, or they went to work
clandestinely for big businesses which exploit them terribly, and which
even put boys and girls to work. And if the worker belonged to his
union in order to demand his legal rights, then no, now the same union
tells him he will have to put up with his salary being lowered or his
hours or his benefits being taken away, because, if not, the business
will close and move to another country. And then there is the
"microchangarro," which is !<br>
the government's economic program for putting all the city's
workers on street corners selling gum or telephone cards. In other
words, absolute economic destruction in the cities as well.<br><br>
And then what happens is that, with the people's economy being
totally screwed in the countryside as well as in the city, then many
Mexican men and women have to leave their Patria, Mexican lands, and go
to seek work in another country, the United States. And they do not
treat them well there, instead they exploit them, persecute them and
treat them with contempt and even kill them. Under neoliberalism
which is being imposed by the bad governments, the economy has not
improved. Quite the opposite, the countryside is in great need, and
there is no work in the cities. What is happening is that Mexico is
being turned into a place where people are working for the wealth of
foreigners, mostly rich gringos, a place you are just born into for a
little while, and in another little while you die. That is why we
say that Mexico is dominated by the United States.<br><br>
Now, it is not just that. Neoliberalism has also changed the
Mexican political class, the politicians, because they made them into
something like employees in a store, who have to do everything possible
to sell everything and to sell it very cheap. You have already seen
that they changed the laws in order to remove Article 27 from the
Constitution so that ejidal and communal lands could be sold. That
was Salinas de Gortari, and he and his gangs said that it was for the
good of the countryside and the campesino, and that was how they would
prosper and live better. Has it been like that? The Mexican
countryside is worse than ever and the campesinos more screwed than under
Porfirio Diaz. And they also say they are going to privatize - sell
to foreigners - the companies held by the State to help the well-being of
the people. Because the companies don't work well and they need to
be modernized, and it would be better to sell them. But, instead of
improving, the social ri!<br>
ghts which were won in the revolution of 1910 now make one
sad...and courageous. And they also said that the borders must be
opened so all the foreign capital can enter, that way all the Mexican
businesses will be fixed, and things will be made better. But now
we see that there are not any national businesses, the foreigners gobbled
them all up, and the things that are sold are worse than the those that
were made in Mexico.<br><br>
And now the Mexican politicians also want to sell PEMEX, the oil
which belongs to all Mexicans, and the only difference is that some say
everything should be sold and others that only a part of it should be
sold. And they also want to privatize social security, and
electricity and water and the forests and everything, until nothing of
Mexico is left, and our country will be a wasteland or a place of
entertainment for rich people from all over the world, and we Mexican men
and women will be their servants, dependent on what they offer, bad
housing, without roots, without culture, without even a Patria.<br><br>
So the neoliberals want to kill Mexico, our Mexican Patria.
And the political parties not only do not defend it, they are the first
to put themselves at the service of foreigners, especially those from the
United States, and they are the ones who are in charge of deceiving us,
making us look the other way while everything is sold, and they are left
with the money. All the political parties that exist right now, not
just some of them. Think about whether anything has been done well, and
you will see that no, nothing but theft and scams. And look how all
the politicians always have their nice houses and their nice cars and
luxuries. And they still want us to thank them and to vote for them
again. And it is obvious, as they say, that they are without
shame. And they are without it because they do not, in fact, have a
Patria, they only have bank accounts.<br><br>
And we also see that drug trafficking and crime has been increasing
a lot. And sometimes we think that criminals are like they show
them in the songs or movies, and maybe some are like that, but not the
real chiefs. The real chiefs go around very well dressed, they
study outside the country, they are elegant, they do not go around in
hiding, they eat in good restaurants and they appear in the papers, very
pretty and well dressed at their parties. They are, as they say,
"good people", and some are even officials, deputies, senators,
secretaries of state, prosperous businessmen, police chiefs,
generals.<br><br>
Are we saying that politics serves no purpose? No, what we
mean is that THAT politics serves no purpose. And it is
useless because it does not take the people into account. It
does not listen to them, it does not pay any attention to them, it just
approaches them when there are elections. And they do not even want
votes anymore, the polls are enough to say who wins. And then just
promises about what this one is going to do and what the other one is
going to do, then it's bye, I'll see you, but you don't see them again,
except when they appear in the news when they've just stolen a lot of
money and nothing is going to be done to them because the law - which
those same politicians made - protects them.<br><br>
Because that's another problem, the Constitution is all warped and
changed now. It's no longer the one that had the rights and
liberties of working people. Now there are the rights and liberties
of the neoliberals so they can have their huge profits. And the
judges exist to serve those neoliberals, because they always rule in
favor of them, and those who are not rich get injustice, jails and
cemeteries.<br><br>
Well, even with all this mess the neoliberals are making, there are
Mexican men and women who are organizing and making a resistance
struggle.<br><br>
And so we found out that there are indigenous, that their lands are
far away from us here in Chiapas, and they are making their autonomy and
defending their culture and caring for their land, forests and
water.<br><br>
And there are workers in the countryside, campesinos, who are
organizing and holding their marches and mobilizations in order to demand
credits and aid for the countryside.<br><br>
And there are workers in the city who do not let their rights be
taken away or their jobs privatized. They protest and demonstrate
so the little they have isn't taken away from them and so they don't take
away from the country what is, in fact, its own, like electricity, oil,
social security, education.<br><br>
And there are students who don't let education be privatized and
who are fighting for it to be free and popular and scientific, so they
don't charge, so everyone can learn, and so they don't teach stupid
things in schools.<br><br>
And there are women who do not let themselves be treated as an
ornament or be humiliated and despised just for being women, but who are
organizing and fighting for the respect they deserve as the women they
are.<br><br>
And there are young people who don't accept their stultifying them
with drugs or persecuting them for their way of being, but who make
themselves aware with their music and their culture, their
rebellion.<br><br>
And there are homosexuals, lesbians, transsexuals and many ways who
do not put up with being ridiculed, despised, mistreated and even killed
for having another way which is different, with being treated like they
are abnormal or criminals, but who make their own organizations in order
to defend their right to be different.<br><br>
And there are priests and nuns and those they call laypeople who
are not with the rich and who are not resigned, but who are organizing to
accompany the struggles of the people.<br><br>
And there are those who are called social activists, who are men
and women who have been fighting all their lives for exploited people,
and they are the same ones who participated in the great strikes and
workers' actions, in the great citizens' mobilizations, in the great
campesino movements, and who suffer great repression, and who, even
though some are old now, continue on without surrendering, and they go
everywhere, looking for the struggle, seeking justice, and making leftist
organizations, non-governmental organizations, human rights
organizations, organizations in defense of political prisoners and for
the disappeared, leftist publications, organizations of teachers or
students, social struggle, and even political-military organizations, and
they are just not quiet and they know a lot because they have seen a lot
and lived and struggled.<br><br>
And so we see in general that in our country, which is called
Mexico, there are many people who do not put up with things, who do not
surrender, who do not sell out. Who are dignified. And that
makes us very pleased and happy, because with all those people it's not
going to be so easy for the neoliberals to win, and perhaps it will be
possible to save our Patria from the great thefts and destruction they
are doing. And we think that perhaps our "we" will
include all those rebellions...<br><br>
(To be continued...)<br><br>
<br>
From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.<br><br>
Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee - General Command of
the Zapatista Army of National Liberation<br><br>
Mexico, in the sixth month of the year 2005.<br><br>
<br>
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