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Originally published in Spanish by the EZLN<br>
*************************************<br>
Translated by irlandesa<br><br>
Zapatista Army of National Liberation<br>
Mexico<br><br>
August 8, 2005<br><br>
To: Don Fermi'n Herna'ndez<br>
From: SupMarcos<br><br>
Don Fermi'n:<br><br>
Greetings from all of us. We have read with interest and respect
your letter<br>
which, along with others, El Correo Ilustrado of La Jornada published
today.<br>
We would ask for your patience and nobility in reading these lines
we're<br>
writing you, and, hopefully, which La Jornada, generous as always, will
publish so<br>
that you and others, who, like you, are feeling disconcerted by what
we're<br>
saying and doing, might be able to learn more about why we're doing what
we're<br>
doing. Please note that I'm not trying to convince you to support
us or to<br>
abandon your convictions (which I sense are deep and consistent), we are
only<br>
asking you, you and others, to try to understand, to understand
us.<br><br>
There are, in effect, many compas who, like you, have supported the
zapatista<br>
struggle for indigenous rights and culture. Without being on the
stage or<br>
having their pictures on the front pages, people like you made possible,
first,<br>
for the war to be stopped; later, that we were listened to;
later on you<br>
helped us in all the peaceful initiatives which we undertook over these
last<br>
almost 12 years with the goal of recovering for the indigenous their
place in this<br>
Nation. Not all, but many of those persons, like you, are in the
PRD or<br>
sympathize with that political organization. In addition, they are
now hopeful<br>
and determined that Lo'pez Obrador and the PRD will win the Presidency of
the<br>
Republic, and, with that, things will change in our country with a
government of<br>
the left. There are some people like you (believe me, because of
what I'm<br>
going to say further along, there are very few) who feel identified with
the<br>
acronym of the PRD and, at the same time, with the EZLN's struggle, and
they feel<br>
that both struggles should walk together or, at least, to agree on the
basics.<br>
And they feel not only that it's not contradictory to be PRD and to
support<br>
zapatismo, but it's also logical. And not just to support
zapatismo, but to<br>
support any of those struggles, large or small, which are raised in our
country<br>
for democracy, liberty and justice. Then they become angry,
irritated or, in<br>
the best of cases (which I believe is your case, Don Fermi'n), they
become<br>
disconcerted, and they ask what is going on. Well, Don Fermi'n,
what happened,<br>
happened. Let me tell you:<br><br>
In 1994 some leaders of the PRD, invited by us, came here. Don
Pablo Go'mez,<br>
for example, came. Today, Se~or Go'mez is coordinator of the
federal PRD<br>
Deputies, and he has stated that the PRD could not have betrayed the EZLN
because<br>
"we've never signed anything with Marcos, because he's never wanted
any<br>
agreement" (similarly, AMLO's replacement in DF, Alejandro Encinas -
while nervously<br>
awaiting the showing of the video in which he has the starring role - has
said<br>
that there's no betrayal because we've never been allied - the PRD and
the<br>
EZLN).<br><br>
Well, Don Pablo Go'mez came then, and he spoke with us. He told us
he<br>
supported the struggle of the zapatistas, clarifying pointedly that he
did not agree<br>
with the armed struggle. That our cause was just, and he would do
whatever<br>
possible to see that our demands found a just and peaceful
solution. Given what<br>
Se~or Go'mez is now saying, instead of believing in his word, we should
have<br>
asked him to sign a paper with that commitment, because then he could
argue, in<br>
effect, that he never committed himself to the fight for indigenous
rights<br>
and culture (note: with that struggle, and not with the armed struggle),
and,<br>
given that he never signed any document, you can't talk about
betrayal.<br><br>
And it was not only Don Pablo Go'mez. Other individuals also came
here. For<br>
example, Se~or Cuauhte'moc Ca'rdenas Solo'rzano (at that time PRD
candidate for<br>
the Presidency of Mexico, and, for a long time, the natural and
unquestioned<br>
leader of the PRD, in addition to being, then, a referent for the
peaceful<br>
struggle for democracy, liberty and justice for all Mexicans). We
spoke with Se~or<br>
Ca'rdenas, and he committed himself the same as Se~or Go'mez had
done. We did<br>
not, of course, sign any paper with that commitment.<br><br>
Many more came, almost the entire top brass of the PRD (the majority
without<br>
having been invited, but as "gatecrashers" when Ca'rdenas
Solo'rzano, whom we<br>
did invite, came), and they always said, stressing that they weren't
in<br>
agreement with the armed struggle, that they would support the struggle
of the<br>
zapatista indigenous. In 1996, I don't remember what we were doing
in San Cristo'bal<br>
de Las Casas, but we were meeting then with Jesu's Ortega and a few
others who<br>
were accompanying him. They told us the same thing. No, they
didn't sign<br>
anything either. Around that time we also met with Lo'pez Obrador,
who was then<br>
the president of the PRD, who told us the same thing and who didn't sign
any<br>
paper.<br><br>
Then, in this regard, it could be said that all those who are now saying
that<br>
the EZLN cannot talk about betrayal by the PRD because nothing was
ever<br>
signed, are right. In any event, the error is ours, because we
should not have<br>
believed in their spoken word. You see that one always
learns. Now we have<br>
learned this: nothing matters to the PRD that hasn't been
filmed...excuse me,<br>
signed.<br><br>
Fine, but it so happened, as you will remember, there was a dialogue with
the<br>
federal government, and accords were reached, the San Andre's
Accords. At<br>
that time, those political parties with deputies and senators formed a
commission<br>
that was called the "Commission of Concordance and Peace," the
Cocopa. Fine,<br>
then, the Accords were signed, but they were not carried out. The
Cocopa's<br>
work was to help secure an agreement between the EZLN and the
federal<br>
government, and so it offered to prepare a legislative proposal that
would fulfill<br>
those accords regarding constitutional reforms. In the Cocopa at
the time were,<br>
among others, the current distributor in Chiapas for the laminate
factory<br>
"Zintro Alum," Luis H. A'lvarez and the current Secretary of
Tourism, Rodolfo<br>
Elizondo, both from PAN. There were also, from the PRI, Jaime
Marti'nez Veloz and<br>
Pablo Salazar Mendiguchi'a. For the PRD, there were the now
deceased Don Heberto<br>
Castillo and Juan N. Guerra, along with other PRD members. For the
PT there<br>
was Jose' Narro.<br><br>
I mention them in particular because they were the legislators with whom
we<br>
had the most direct contacts and because, except in the case of Don
Heberto<br>
Castillo, they can refute or confirm what I'm now going to tell
you.<br><br>
Well, the Cocopa members met, and then they did indeed hit a wall,
because<br>
Zedillo didn't want to fulfill the accords, and the EZLN didn't want to
return<br>
to negotiate what had already been agreed. They then thought a new
proposal<br>
had to be made, one that was neither Zedillo's, nor the EZLN's.
They met with<br>
us and presented us what would then become known as the "Cocopa
Indigenous Law<br>
Proposal." They told us it was all they could do, and that if
the EZLN and<br>
Zedillo didn't accept it, they just wouldn't be coming back anymore
and,<br>
consequently, they would resign from the Cocopa. We accepted.
Zedillo first said<br>
yes, and then no. What happened afterwards is already known, and
I'm not going<br>
to repeat it, but it so happens that I found the original of that
proposal<br>
here, and that document does indeed have the signatures of the PRD
legislators.<br>
Perhaps Don Pablo Go'mez, Alejandro Encinas and the bunch of yobs from
the PRD<br>
hierarchy (at the time I'm sending this, I'm reading the statements from
the<br>
pathetic Cota), who have been making statements left and right now
disclaiming<br>
those signatures.<br><br>
Look, Don Fermi'n, the PAN then backed out, and their legislators
voted<br>
against the proposal - which they had already approved, you
understand. After<br>
everything, that Right has increasingly betrayed the democratic
principles which<br>
brought them into being as an electoral force. Their contempt for
the<br>
indigenous (and all humble people in general) is so deep-rooted that it
could be in<br>
their declaration of principles without contradicting any of them.
As for the<br>
PAN and for the Right which finds within it a space for striking the
history of<br>
Mexico over an anvil - one can only expect stupidity dressed in
name-brand<br>
suits...and crimes concealed behind them. You'll see when the PAN
candidate<br>
begins his campaign: Fox will look illustrious compared with that
silly, babbling<br>
little man.<br><br>
The fact that the PRI would go back on what it had agreed was nothing but
a<br>
confirmation its history: the prostitution of politics;
having created the<br>
sentence that "politics is crime perpetrated by other methods"
and confirming it<br>
with the blood of their opponents...and their cohorts; Herod's law
as a<br>
statement of principles; racism elevated to a constitutional
level. Whether the<br>
PRI candidate is Monti'el or Madrazo, nothing will change of that party's
"uses<br>
and customs": it will continue to be the political arm of
organized<br>
crime...and those who graduate from the PRI then move on to the
PRD, depending on how<br>
the polls go during the election campaigns and on who wins the
election.<br><br>
But for the PRD to betray its word was something we didn't understand
then.<br>
We could have understood that they would have had no interest in keeping
their<br>
word WHICH THEY SIGNED with the EZLN (they already clarified the fact
that<br>
they didn't fulfill what they said they spoke), after all, we're just
some<br>
"damn" uppity indigenous. But we didn't understand why
they ignored the entire<br>
mobilization which took place concerning the Cocopa proposal, why they
looked<br>
down on the Indian peoples and indigenous organizations (some of them
close to<br>
the PRD) who had embraced the demand for the constitutional recognition
of<br>
indigenous rights and culture.<br><br>
We didn't understand, Don Fermi'n, but we hoped. Perhaps someone
was going to<br>
go to the trouble of explaining to us and giving us some reason, even if
they<br>
were absurd (something like that currently fashionable: "if we
had<br>
recognized indigenous demands, we would have played into the Right and to
Salinas, in<br>
addition to opening the door to the return of Madrazo and the PRI, that's
why<br>
we didn't keep our promise"), but no.<br><br>
Even so, we thought, as they then said that the PRD bases - those who
say<br>
they are also zapatistas - were going to protest and to mobilize and
demand, at<br>
the very least, the removal of those PRD legislators who had committed
that<br>
larceny. But nothing happened, Don Fermi'n. It was said there
was a tactical<br>
error, but the PRD continued legislating against the Cocopa Law.
Still nothing<br>
happened. We thought no way, the "zapatista" PRD bases
certainly have their<br>
reasons for not doing anything.<br><br>
We were left wounded then, with that sensation of having been mocked
once<br>
again (that sensation which is known quite well below), frustrated,
because we<br>
had concentrated all our energy into that effort...and we had asked many
people,<br>
people like you Don Fermi'n, but you're not PRD, to do the same thing
along<br>
with us. Then we thought we had committed an error, and never again
were we<br>
going to count on anything from any State institution or from the
political<br>
parties who fight to run them. As you know, we withdrew in order to
strengthen our<br>
indigenous autonomy, and the Caracoles and Good Government Juntas
were<br>
created.<br><br>
And then what happened, happened: the PRD government of Zinacanta'n
cut off<br>
the water to some support base compa~eros in that municipality. The
compa~eros<br>
went to the Good Government Junta, and the Junta sought agreement
through<br>
dialogue. The PRDs refused, and the Junta found a way to send them
water. Look,<br>
Don Fermi'n: it wasn't decided to send a zapatista military unit to
defend<br>
them from the PRD government, it was decided to send them water.
The PRDs<br>
mocked the compa~eros, telling them they were alone, that no one paid
them any<br>
attention, that for the PRD government what the zapatistas were doing in
making<br>
autonomy meant nothing to them. And so time passed.<br><br>
Then the compa~eros thought they would have a march to carry water and
in<br>
order to demonstrate that the zapatista support bases of Zinacanta'n were
not<br>
alone and that they walked with the support of the entire EZLN.
They consulted<br>
me, and I recommended strict vigilance so that none of the compas, who
were now,<br>
as we say, "caliente," would get into a fight with the
others. Just carrying<br>
water and saying they weren't alone. The march arrived, they
delivered the<br>
water and made their speech (read about it, Don Fermi'n, you can find it
in La<br>
Jornada on the days following the march, April 10, 2004, and say whether
or not<br>
it was an invitation to reach agreements). As the compa~eros
were<br>
withdrawing, they found the road blocked with logs, and, as they were
taking them away,<br>
the shootout began. The compa~eros' order and discipline permitted
a<br>
withdrawal, and prevented it from turning into a massacre, but several
compa~eros<br>
received gunshot wounds. None of the wounded, Don Fermi'n, were
from Zinacanta'n,<br>
but from other zapatista municipalities, and they were there in order to
carry<br>
water to their brothers in struggle, not to attack PRDs.<br><br>
One of the wounded has a bullet in his head. Yes, he still has it
there.<br>
One millimeter more to one side or the other, and he would have
died. And<br>
that's not all. The doctors left the bullet, because even
attempting to remove it<br>
could cause his death. The compa walks around like that, with a
bullet in his<br>
head. But, do you know what? Don Fermi'n: that bullet
wasn't fired by<br>
paramilitaries from the PRI or by the clandestine commandoes of the
YUNQUE (or<br>
PAN), but by persons from the PRD, from the PRD government. Many
things were said<br>
at that time (the Chiapas government, demonstrating that stupidity isn't
the<br>
prerogative of one political faction, said that the zapatistas had staged
a<br>
provocation), but nothing happened.<br><br>
We waited to see if the zapatista PRD bases were going to go and protest,
but<br>
nothing happened. There was just one letter (it can be found in El
Correo<br>
Ilustrado in La Jornada during those days), Don Fermi'n, from a PRD
brother who<br>
condemned the incident, in addition to a lukewarm statement from the
state PRD,<br>
and that was it. Nothing. The PRDs continued in the
government in<br>
Zinacanta'n, they were candidates for the PRD in the last election, they
continue in<br>
Power and they were the first to form one of the "citizens
nets" in support of<br>
AMLO.<br><br>
And do you know how that whole matter started in Zinacanta'n, why the
PRD<br>
government cut the compa~eros' water off? Well, because the
zapatista support<br>
bases didn't want to take the jobs the PRDs offered them, because, the
compa~eros<br>
said, explaining the rejection, "zapatistas don't fight to become
the<br>
government." It was in order to pressure them to take the jobs
that they cut off the<br>
water. Yes, Don Fermi'n, the PRDs attacked us with gunfire because
we didn't<br>
want government jobs.<br><br>
Fine, but it wasn't just the PRD vote against the recognition of
indigenous<br>
rights and culture, nor just the attack in Zinacanta'n. It so
happened that,<br>
months before, in another region, one we call the "Border
Selva," and where La<br>
Realidad is located, an indigenous, who was not zapatista, presented a
denuncia<br>
for theft against someone else, who was also not zapatista. The
autonomous<br>
authority investigated and determined that the theft had occurred.
The<br>
criminal, who admitted his guilt, was detained, and it was determined
that he would<br>
remain imprisoned until he repaid the victim the amount that had been
stolen.<br>
You can see, Don Fermi'n, in La Jornada of that time period, how it
was:<br>
non-governmental human rights organizations went to La Realidad, and they
confirmed<br>
that the detainee had not been tortured, he was found to be in good
health<br>
and none of his rights had been violated. Well, it so happened that
the PRD<br>
CIOAC of that region decided that what the Junta had done was bad.
No, Don<br>
Fermi'n, they didn't go talk with the Junta. What they did was to
kidnap several<br>
compa~eros (some of whom were not zapatistas but belonged to another<br>
organization), and they held them in a truck that belonged to the
Junta. They tortured<br>
the kidnap victims, and they kept moving one of them, a zapatista
compa~ero,<br>
from one place to another ("so the EZLN wouldn't rescue him"),
under humiliating<br>
conditions. No, it wasn't the police. No, neither was it the
army. Yes,<br>
they were PRDs. They left them all beat up. Then the state
government<br>
intervened and paid the amount that had been stolen. The detainee
was freed, and the<br>
accuser's demand for justice was met. You know what zapatista humor
is like,<br>
and the compa~eros changed the name of the truck (it's a custom to give
names<br>
to vehicles), and now it's called "Kidnapped." What I'm
telling you, Don<br>
Fermi'n, wasn't a matter of hours, but days. I could tell you of
similar attacks<br>
and harassment by the PRD ORCAO in the municipalities of Ocosingo
and<br>
Altamirano. Was there any statement from the PRD? Any protest
by the PRD bases over<br>
what their party compa~eros had done against us? No.<br><br>
Let's add them up, Don Fermi'n. Let's add up and face the
consequences of<br>
everything that happened: the injustices; the silence in the
face of arguments<br>
of "not playing into the Right"; looking the other
way because, at the end<br>
of the day, "they're just damn Indians"; the tactical and
strategic<br>
calculations of "everything goes" in order to reach Power, even
though they do the same<br>
thing they say they're fighting. Ask yourself, Don Fermi'n, ask if
the PRDs<br>
living inside zapatista territories have been attacked with firearms, ask
if they<br>
have been kidnapped and tortured. You will see they have not.
You will see<br>
that we did not respond to those attacks with violence. We
responded with<br>
patience. We waited.<br><br>
You see now, Don Fermi'n, that to us you are not "a poor
idiot," but a<br>
sincere, noble and constant person, who feels that there's something bad
in all this<br>
that's going on. And, yes, something is bad, but it's not what's
happening<br>
now. Perhaps now you'll see why we're mad, indignant,
furious.<br><br>
As for the rest, Don Fermi'n, you shall see that, if we're wrong, we
shall<br>
apologize to you and to everyone we'll need to apologize to. You,
and everyone,<br>
know that that is how we are, that when we're wrong, we say so quite
clearly.<br>
Because perhaps we are wrong, and we should indeed be betting everything
on<br>
one person, and even on a political party that has done everything to us
that<br>
it has done to us. Perhaps we should keep waiting for what we now
think we<br>
have to build from below to come from above. Perhaps we were wrong
to denounce<br>
that we have been deceived, attacked, mocked. If all this happens,
you will<br>
see us state publicly that we committed an error, and we will apologize
to all<br>
those we hurt with our word (and never with bullets, kidnappings and
torture).<br>
But, meanwhile, we shall continue expressing the feelings of our peoples,
the<br>
rage and indignation in the face of the PRD's cynicism and lack of
memory.<br>
And so, excuse us, Don Fermi'n, we're going to continue being a
nuisance.<br><br>
Another thing, Don Fermi'n. We understand that some media, whenever
we say<br>
anything, place more emphasis on what we say against the PRD and
AMLO. And you<br>
know what? They want to rein in Lo'pez Obrador. They don't
like that he goes<br>
about so freely, rocking in his hammock while his accomplices cover for
him.<br>
And, on the other side of the coin, ALMO wants to rein in the media, make
them<br>
over in his own fashion. They both use what they have at
hand: the media<br>
looking for the PRD's weak points (which, incidentally, are many), and
Lo'pez<br>
Obrador finding all criticisms to be a plot by Salinas de Gortari, the
PRI and<br>
the Right. That's how it is. But you'll see that they'll end
up getting it<br>
sorted, they always end up getting it sorted. Then you'll see that
everything<br>
about the "other campaign" is no longer important news.
It will end up on the<br>
"inside" pages, it will turn into a "little lost
note" there, and then it will<br>
disappear completely, far from what someone called the
"public." Then the<br>
"other campaign," and with it the Sexta, will continue in its
determination to<br>
construct another way of doing politics, to build a national program
of<br>
anti-capitalist struggle and to fight for a new constitution.<br><br>
Anyway, that's what we're going to be up to, Don Fermi'n. The
election<br>
campaigns are going to take place, and that's where we'll be.
Perhaps Lo'pez Obrador<br>
is going to campaign where you live. If you can, ask him if he's
going to<br>
privatize the electricity industry, oil, water, social security,
education.<br>
Lo'pez Obrador is going to tell you he's not going to privatize. Of
course,<br>
you're going to be happy, and you're going to think "Damn, Comanche,
you're wrong."<br>
But don't stop there, Don Fermi'n, and keep on asking. Ask
him what he's<br>
going to do then, and AMLO is going to respond that he's going to
"promote<br>
investment." You're going to keep thinking, and you're going
to be turning that<br>
little word over. Then you're going to investigate what
"co-investment" means,<br>
and you're going to find out that that's what it's called when the State
puts<br>
one part of the money into an industry, and private capital puts in the
other<br>
part. But keep on, you'll also see that also means that one part of
that<br>
industry is the property of the State, and the other part is private
property.<br>
Then you're going to understand that it's not going to be privatized all
at once,<br>
but piece by piece. In other words, one piece of the Patria is
going to be<br>
sold, then another, and another, and another, until nothing is
left.<br><br>
Listen, Don Fermi'n, if you're able to approach AMLO, also ask him, if he
says<br>
that all criticisms are coming from Salinas de Gortari, the PRI and
the<br>
Right, why, then, is he surrounded by salinistas, ex-PRIs and
Rightists. And ask<br>
the PRD leaders why they've turned the party into a recycling machine for
the<br>
worst of the PRI, one more circus ring for those who jump to the beat of
the<br>
budget. Ask AMLO why, if many people assume his program is leftist,
his<br>
""Alternative Project for the Nation" is not. Ask
him why he supports Marcelo<br>
Ebrard for the DF government if he's not leftist. Ask him why he's
offering the<br>
gringos and the businessmen a centrist government, "facilitating
private<br>
investment" (favoring the rich), and to the rest he's telling them
that he's leftist<br>
(favoring the poor). Ask him, perhaps he might indeed respond to
you - why,<br>
when we pointed all that out (and many other things), he responded that
he was<br>
happy, sleeping in a hammock so he wouldn't be embarrassed.<br><br>
Afterwards, the elections are going to be over, Don Fermi'n, and we'll
be<br>
there. Perhaps the majority of the Mexican people will support
Lo'pez Obrador and<br>
the PRD with their votes. If they don't recognize the victory, you
and many l<br>
ike you will mobilize, and, believe me, we will be by your side, shoulder
to<br>
shoulder, fighting against that injustice and denouncing it, just like we
did<br>
with the desafuero. But perhaps they'll win, and the victory will
be<br>
recognized. Perhaps they'll make it to the Presidency of
Mexico. Perhaps it will<br>
happen that Lo'pez Obrador lied to the gringos and to the businessmen,
and he's not<br>
going to carry out what was promised. Perhaps then a great
transformation of<br>
the country will indeed be initiated, a transformation of the left.
Then<br>
what can I tell you, Don Fermi'n, then there's going to be a lot of
commotion,<br>
joy, fiesta. Perhaps then you might see there, in your town, a
little poster<br>
with an invitation to a meeting for the "other campaign."
And you're going to<br>
hear that there are men and women going about, asking the people what
their<br>
struggle is like, how they organize, what they think of the world, of our
country,<br>
of their place. Perhaps you'll go see what it's about.
Perhaps you'll see<br>
me there and stand in front of me and say to me "Comanche, I am Don
Fermi'n of<br>
that letter." I'm going to look at you, and I'm going to
smile. You're going<br>
to smile as well, and you're going to tell me: "Damn Comanche,
you were<br>
wrong." And I'm going to tell you: "Damn Don
Fermi'n, I was wrong." And neither<br>
you nor I are going to be offended by the "damn" stuff.
And we're going to<br>
give each other a big hug, and we're going to smile, the both of us,
together,<br>
and we're both going to be happy: you, because we were wrong, and
we, also<br>
because we were wrong.<br><br>
But listen, Don Fermi'n, is it true that if we are not wrong, you and
those<br>
who are like you, are not going to remain silent if indigenous rights
aren't<br>
recognized, if they attack us, if they kidnap us, if they torture us, if
the PRD<br>
officials don't fulfill what they promised, if they continue selling
our<br>
Patria, completely, or in pieces, if corruption and betrayals
continue? Is it<br>
true, Don Fermi'n, that you're not going to just do nothing, arguing that
you can't<br>
play into Salinas, the PRI and the Right? Is it true, Don Fermi'n,
that<br>
you're not going to leave us alone again, like you've left us since
2001?<br><br>
Vale. Salud and I'm not sending you an embrace because I know
you're angry,<br>
and so it remains on hold.<br><br>
>From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast<br><br>
Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos<br><br>
Mexico, August of 2005<br>
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