Zapatista Encuentro: Documents from the 1996 Encounter for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism

by Zapatistas

"Why is everyone so quiet? Is this the democracy you wanted?" So ask the Zapatistas, the group of indigenous Mexicans who, on January 1, 1994, mounted a rebellion against the implementation of NAFTA, political corruption, and the slow, unreported genocide of indigenous people worldwide. As the group expressed their demands and revealed their tactics, it quickly became obvious that they were less an armed guerilla force seeking to seize state power, and much more a social movement seeking to catalyze civil society's full democratic power. For this reason Mexican political analyst Gustava Esteva has called the Zapatista rebellion "the first revolution of the 21st century." He explains that whereas the revolutions of the 20th century were tests for state power, the Zapatista struggle was for greater local autonomy, economic justice, and political rights within the borders of their own communities.
Zapatista Encuentro contains documents and communiqués from Subcomandante Marcos - the leader of the Zapatistas - from the 1996 Encounter for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism. This remarkable event brought together 5,000 activists from all over the world to discuss how globalization (neoliberalism) affects us politically, culturally, economically, and socially.

Genres: Politics

64 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[Star · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed reviews of this book/pamphlet. At times its words were incredibly poetic and evocative and felt healing to me. At other times, I felt as though I was missing pieces of understanding, such that things were going over my head. For example the recurrent use of "R/reality". I estimate that the original speeches being in Spanish adds to this effect. Additionally, it is interesting in terms of historical record, but it is at the end of the day, only a few speeches, most relevant at the time of them being spoken. I cannot attend the events referred to. I know more about Zapatista movement than I did before, but not a ton more. This isn't the books fault, but if you want a comprehensive or extensive history or analysis of the movements central philosophy, this is not that. It does introduce the reader to some of the core tenets of the movement, though I personally would like to explore those more through further research.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Their call for all free thinkers and rebels on all five continents to push back against the increasing global control of the social, political, and cultural landscape across the globe by big capital is probably more relevant today than when it was issued in the 90's.

What they feared with the passage of NAFTA has come to pass for central and south America, effectively destabilizing the region to a greater extent than it already was. They argue that this next world war is an economic war already being waged.

While the documents are somewhat repetitive in their delivery of the aims and goals of the organization, the ultimate values and tactics of this decentralized, pan-indigenous, transnational coalition shine through. Worth a read if you're interested in how grassroots groups are pushing back against total control of daily life.

[Shira and Ari Evergreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring and beautiful poetry from the guerillas of culture. They ask us, "Why is everyone so quiet? Is this the democracy you wanted?"