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Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt
Mexico Unconquered is an evocative report on the powers of violence and corruption in Mexico and the rebel underdogs who put their lives on the line to build justice from the ground up. Mexico Unconquered probes the overwhelming divisions in contemporary Mexico, home to the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, and to destitute millions. John Gibler weaves narrative journalism with lyrical descriptions, combining the journalist’s trade of walking the streets and the philosopher’s task of drawing out the tremendous implications of the seemingly mundane. John Gibler has reported for In These Times , Common Dreams , YES! Magazine , ColorLines and Democracy Now! .
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
11 people are currently reading
316 people want to read
About the author
John Gibler
16 books43 followersJohn Gibler is a writer based in Mexico and California, the author of Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt (City Lights Books, 2009), and a contributor to País de muertos: Crónicas contra la impunidad (Random House Mondadori, 2011). He is a correspondent for KPFA in San Francisco and has published in magazines in the United States and Mexico, including Left Turn, Z Magazine, Earth Island Journal, ColorLines, Race, Poverty, and the Environment, Fifth Estate, New Politics, In These Times, Yes! Magazine, Contralínea, and Milenio Semanal.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 8, 2024
Es el libro de no ficción que más me ha cambiado la vida
August 12, 2025
Me abrió los ojos y, como un poema, me devolvió la capacidad de imaginar, esta vez de forma política.
La historia está viva, la rebelión está viva, ambas mantenidas mediante la necesidad visceral de imaginar.
ocho
La historia está viva, la rebelión está viva, ambas mantenidas mediante la necesidad visceral de imaginar.
ocho
October 14, 2020
Super-quick summary: Mexico was never completely "conquered," and people there are still fighting in various ways to keep their identities and histories.
Gibler has some remarkable thoughts to explain and summarize the idea of a conquered people vs. his "unconquered" title:
1) "Mexico is a nation divided, not conquered" (5)
2) quoting Bolivar Echeverria: "...the process of the Conquest in an enterprise that has not finished. ... the Conquest of America is still ongoing" (qtd. 5-6)
3) "I learned about the conquest of the indigenous civilizations in Mexico in elementary school. In class we learned the Spanish alphabet, we memorized the names of the colors, and we learned that the Aztecs were gone. ... It gave me nightmares--to think, a people no more, entire worlds gone: the Aztec, the Maya. That is what I was taught, the story of conquest, terrifying for its violence, but even more so for its finality. Worlds gone. Worlds no more. I did not yet know that the story of conquest is its own continuation, that the teaching of lost worlds is part of the sorcery that tries to make these worlds disappear" (11; emphasis mine). I mean... wow. The fact that *teaching* that a civilization was conquered and the people disappeared is part of making that civilization disappear by telling others that they don't exist anymore... wow.
4) "The amazing diversity of indigenous peoples [Gibler lists many different groups] across the territory now known as Mexico at the time of the Spanish incursion is typically reduced to the Aztec and Mayan empires, with brief mention of the disappeared Olmec or architecturally sophisticated societies like the Zapotec. This reduction is part of the conquest itself, of talking about the indigenous subjects of the past, not existing societies--the Mayan Empire collapsed...and the Aztec Empire fell to Hernan Cortes. They are gone. But over twelve million indigenous people remain, many denied both their history and their present" (22; emphasis mine) Again, by teaching over and over that these other peoples don't exist anymore, we're perpetuating the myth that they don't exist anymore. And of course by saying that a group doesn't exist, we delegitimize them, which means that we become blind to their current needs, too. If they don't exist, they don't need healthcare or shelter or income. They weren't conquered, but they're being forgotten and/or ignored by the system.
Gibler later points to "both historical and present human actions that forced (and continue to force) people into miserable situations" (97) and says that "poverty is not a state of nature, not an accident of history, poverty is both callous neglect by a complicit society and an ideological instrument used to decontextualize and naturalize forced destitution and new forms of political domination and social control" (103). As he goes on in the rest of his book, Mexico wasn't conquered, but it's been divided between those of poverty and those who aren't, those who had farmlands that have been taken over and those who did the taking over, those who've been exploited by the government and those who did the exploiting via corrupt business and dishonest politics, and explains those "lesser" people's "insistence on pursuing justice, their will to defend their dignity despite the blunt violence of the state" (185).
Towards the end of the book, he explicitly makes the point that revolting against conquest can be through violent actions (throwing rocks at police or the military [as retaliation for them shooting at you!], shooting guns, Molotov cocktails), nonviolent (peaceful protests, a peaceful alternate government that listens to everyone, taking over a radio station to broadcast your message), or even feeding protestors or naming your child in your native, indigenous language. Revolt against conquest, imperialism, and being disappeared can come in many forms, but the constant is the fight to make yourself heard.
Gibler has some remarkable thoughts to explain and summarize the idea of a conquered people vs. his "unconquered" title:
1) "Mexico is a nation divided, not conquered" (5)
2) quoting Bolivar Echeverria: "...the process of the Conquest in an enterprise that has not finished. ... the Conquest of America is still ongoing" (qtd. 5-6)
3) "I learned about the conquest of the indigenous civilizations in Mexico in elementary school. In class we learned the Spanish alphabet, we memorized the names of the colors, and we learned that the Aztecs were gone. ... It gave me nightmares--to think, a people no more, entire worlds gone: the Aztec, the Maya. That is what I was taught, the story of conquest, terrifying for its violence, but even more so for its finality. Worlds gone. Worlds no more. I did not yet know that the story of conquest is its own continuation, that the teaching of lost worlds is part of the sorcery that tries to make these worlds disappear" (11; emphasis mine). I mean... wow. The fact that *teaching* that a civilization was conquered and the people disappeared is part of making that civilization disappear by telling others that they don't exist anymore... wow.
4) "The amazing diversity of indigenous peoples [Gibler lists many different groups] across the territory now known as Mexico at the time of the Spanish incursion is typically reduced to the Aztec and Mayan empires, with brief mention of the disappeared Olmec or architecturally sophisticated societies like the Zapotec. This reduction is part of the conquest itself, of talking about the indigenous subjects of the past, not existing societies--the Mayan Empire collapsed...and the Aztec Empire fell to Hernan Cortes. They are gone. But over twelve million indigenous people remain, many denied both their history and their present" (22; emphasis mine) Again, by teaching over and over that these other peoples don't exist anymore, we're perpetuating the myth that they don't exist anymore. And of course by saying that a group doesn't exist, we delegitimize them, which means that we become blind to their current needs, too. If they don't exist, they don't need healthcare or shelter or income. They weren't conquered, but they're being forgotten and/or ignored by the system.
Gibler later points to "both historical and present human actions that forced (and continue to force) people into miserable situations" (97) and says that "poverty is not a state of nature, not an accident of history, poverty is both callous neglect by a complicit society and an ideological instrument used to decontextualize and naturalize forced destitution and new forms of political domination and social control" (103). As he goes on in the rest of his book, Mexico wasn't conquered, but it's been divided between those of poverty and those who aren't, those who had farmlands that have been taken over and those who did the taking over, those who've been exploited by the government and those who did the exploiting via corrupt business and dishonest politics, and explains those "lesser" people's "insistence on pursuing justice, their will to defend their dignity despite the blunt violence of the state" (185).
Towards the end of the book, he explicitly makes the point that revolting against conquest can be through violent actions (throwing rocks at police or the military [as retaliation for them shooting at you!], shooting guns, Molotov cocktails), nonviolent (peaceful protests, a peaceful alternate government that listens to everyone, taking over a radio station to broadcast your message), or even feeding protestors or naming your child in your native, indigenous language. Revolt against conquest, imperialism, and being disappeared can come in many forms, but the constant is the fight to make yourself heard.
May 16, 2021
Una serie de crónicas de movimientos rebeldes en México, específicamente entre los noventas y la primera década de los dosmiles.
Es fácil de leer y emocionante sobre las historias. El autor es muy claro sobre la devoción o respeto que tiene sobre ciertos movimientos o incluso políticos que ha veces uno duda de si son tan buenos como los plática.
Es fácil de leer y emocionante sobre las historias. El autor es muy claro sobre la devoción o respeto que tiene sobre ciertos movimientos o incluso políticos que ha veces uno duda de si son tan buenos como los plática.
August 27, 2013
Sin lugar a dudas, México Rebelde se ha convertido en uno de mis libros favoritos. El autor no sólo hace una crónica de los movimientos sociales armados en México sino que hace un análisis de sus razones y su origen. A base de entrevistas, nos muestra la otra cara de la moneda, es decir, hace un estudio desde la perspectiva de los olvidados y excluidos. Los que nunca han sido escuchados tienen la oportunidad de contar sus historias. Además, el autor cuenta lo que vivió durante varios años observando a los distintos movimientos sociales en acción. Gibler, desmitifica la idea de que los rebeldes son los malos del cuento, que sólo se dedican a vandalizar y a cometer actos violentos. En realidad, los movimientos descritos son un grito de desesperación ante las malas políticas y acciones del Estado, que en lugar de ayudar y de respetar las autonomías de los pueblos indígenas, se ha dedicado a saquear los territorios y ha obligado que los campesinos e indígenas a dejar sus hogares para formar parte de la fuerza laboral obrera, mal pagada y explotada. El autor hace una tremenda crítica al capitalismo y asegura que existen nuevas vías de subsistencia, que sí se puede crear otro mundo posible. En lo personal, éste libro me llena de esperanza y me da ánimos para pensar en que podemos hacer la diferencia.
Por último, es un libro que debe ser leído por todos los mexicanos, para que abran un poco los ojos y dejen de ser manipulados por los medios de comunicación, los cuales, se encargan de darle mala imagen a esos que luchan. Su misión es siempre tachar como negativos a los movimientos sociales y tratan de devaluar sus razones y acciones.
Debemos aprender que una acción que parezca pequeña puede ser un acto de rebeldía.
Por último, es un libro que debe ser leído por todos los mexicanos, para que abran un poco los ojos y dejen de ser manipulados por los medios de comunicación, los cuales, se encargan de darle mala imagen a esos que luchan. Su misión es siempre tachar como negativos a los movimientos sociales y tratan de devaluar sus razones y acciones.
Debemos aprender que una acción que parezca pequeña puede ser un acto de rebeldía.
March 16, 2009
This is a fantastic analysis of current political trends in Mexico--from the violence of the narcos to the uprisings in Oaxaca and Chiapas. Most definitely a must read for anyone that wants to understand the effects of colonialism in Mexico and the responses against unjust state power.
April 3, 2017
I picked this book up from City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco over a year ago. It was shelved for awhile and then started to read the book this summer. I didn't get too far since I knew about the historical basis that opened the book which didn't interest me. I shelved it for a few months then decided to finish what I started. Well I couldn't put it down. The historical introduction lays out his theory but once past this, the stories he told both mesmerized and horrified me. As a frequent traveller to Mexico, reading the "dirt" was not fun to do but importnat to know about.
Case in point. In December 2008 we got a super cheap deal to spend a week in Huatulco, Oaxaca and had a great time. We rented a car and despite the odd military checkpoint (we have been stopped on other trips), we visited a local town and a nearby coffee farm. Despite the odd travel issues (we almost ran out of gas coming back from the coffee farm) we had a great time and found the people warm and friendly and very poor. After reading Gibler's section on the Oaxacan Uprising, some issues became apparent. The cheap deal was offered to lure the tourists back after the Upraising in 2007. The people remain poor (one of the poorest in Mexico) but the numerous checkpoints were there because of the crackdown on the state to maintain security for the tourists but to keep the people in check. We were oblivious to what brews below the surface and they were always so grateful when we bought something or tipped our guide a 100 pesos (a week's wages). We love Mexico and will return despite the violence.
Gibler spent a few years on the ground seeing and talking with people from many regions. What Gibler spells out magnificently in his section on the Zapatista Revolution, the Mexicans who cross to the United States and the interview with the guerrilla in prison is that Mexico keeps oppressing the poor and the indigenous peoples while capitalism works for the rich and rarely trickles down. The violence inherited from the Mexican Revolution seems entrenched in the army and the politicians. He believes change is needed but it needs to change at the top more than at the bottom - the poor already seem to be involved with this process through the various uprisings. For those who travel frequently to Mexico, this book should be required reading.
Case in point. In December 2008 we got a super cheap deal to spend a week in Huatulco, Oaxaca and had a great time. We rented a car and despite the odd military checkpoint (we have been stopped on other trips), we visited a local town and a nearby coffee farm. Despite the odd travel issues (we almost ran out of gas coming back from the coffee farm) we had a great time and found the people warm and friendly and very poor. After reading Gibler's section on the Oaxacan Uprising, some issues became apparent. The cheap deal was offered to lure the tourists back after the Upraising in 2007. The people remain poor (one of the poorest in Mexico) but the numerous checkpoints were there because of the crackdown on the state to maintain security for the tourists but to keep the people in check. We were oblivious to what brews below the surface and they were always so grateful when we bought something or tipped our guide a 100 pesos (a week's wages). We love Mexico and will return despite the violence.
Gibler spent a few years on the ground seeing and talking with people from many regions. What Gibler spells out magnificently in his section on the Zapatista Revolution, the Mexicans who cross to the United States and the interview with the guerrilla in prison is that Mexico keeps oppressing the poor and the indigenous peoples while capitalism works for the rich and rarely trickles down. The violence inherited from the Mexican Revolution seems entrenched in the army and the politicians. He believes change is needed but it needs to change at the top more than at the bottom - the poor already seem to be involved with this process through the various uprisings. For those who travel frequently to Mexico, this book should be required reading.
August 8, 2016
Mexico Unconquered is an evocative report on the epic powers of violence and corruption in Mexico and the underdogs and rebels who put their lives on the line to build justice from the ground up.
Author John Gibler probes the overwhelming divisions in contemporary Mexico, home to the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, and to destitute millions. The book explores the concept of the Rule of Law in a land known for its implacable corruption and impunity; the political machinations behind Mexico’s devastating economic disparities; the implications and consequences of the annual exodus of half a million Mexicans to the United States; the unprecedented civil disobedience uprising in Oaxaca state; and the continuing Indigenous Present that resists the government’s attempts to confine Mexico’s 10 million indigenous peoples to calm and controlled corners of the past.
"In his first book John Gibler chronicles recent social and political struggles in Mexico based on the historical premise that the conquest of Mexico has never been completed and, consequently, that the conquest, as well as resistance to it, have been a continuous feature of Mexican society. In each chapter Gibler explores the dynamic between repression and resistance through one or several relevant concepts and case studies. . . Mexico Unconquered is an important contribution to the analysis of contemporary social and political conflict in Mexico. Gibler has to be commended for not inscribing the events in Mexico within a north-western discursive and conceptual framework. Instead, he engages in an extremely challenging project of intercul- tural translation, which sheds light from an unconventional angle on struggles that have received little attention so far."
--Bulletin of Hispanic Studies
Author John Gibler probes the overwhelming divisions in contemporary Mexico, home to the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, and to destitute millions. The book explores the concept of the Rule of Law in a land known for its implacable corruption and impunity; the political machinations behind Mexico’s devastating economic disparities; the implications and consequences of the annual exodus of half a million Mexicans to the United States; the unprecedented civil disobedience uprising in Oaxaca state; and the continuing Indigenous Present that resists the government’s attempts to confine Mexico’s 10 million indigenous peoples to calm and controlled corners of the past.
"In his first book John Gibler chronicles recent social and political struggles in Mexico based on the historical premise that the conquest of Mexico has never been completed and, consequently, that the conquest, as well as resistance to it, have been a continuous feature of Mexican society. In each chapter Gibler explores the dynamic between repression and resistance through one or several relevant concepts and case studies. . . Mexico Unconquered is an important contribution to the analysis of contemporary social and political conflict in Mexico. Gibler has to be commended for not inscribing the events in Mexico within a north-western discursive and conceptual framework. Instead, he engages in an extremely challenging project of intercul- tural translation, which sheds light from an unconventional angle on struggles that have received little attention so far."
--Bulletin of Hispanic Studies
September 28, 2011
Deep beneath the rhetoric is some extremely good reportage, but its kind of hidden. Gibler's piece on the Oaxaca teacher strikes is excellent, but on many occasions you read his text with the feeling that you are discovering spin is a politically neutral beast. In many ways in a place like Mexico this rhetoric is entirely unnecessary. If events are allowed to speak for themselves, it is just as obvious that corruption is rampant and NAFTA has been salt in the wound. Investing so much time in politically stilted language doesn't really appeal to anyone except for the hardcore Che shirt people.
I do highly recommend Gibler's other book To Die in Mexico, which is very well done.
I do highly recommend Gibler's other book To Die in Mexico, which is very well done.
May 24, 2015
John Gibler is angry. That anger oozes from every word, every sentence, every page. He is angry at the repression of "el pueblo" by the elites of the state, who need to suppress "la gente" to maintain their own position. His anger cuts at those elites and exposes the machination of the state. But this anger also undercuts his attempts to convey his position. The book transitions and flows from personal narrative, to history, to polemic without segue. Although this makes it more interesting than a dry history textbook, it also makes it difficult to follow. An excellent primer on the history of revolution in Mexico, it tends to be more scattered as Gibler describes more recent events of which he was a part.
March 27, 2009
This was interesting, sad, and appalling. Ever since my college history class on Latin and South America I have not had a good opinion of the Mexican government, though I will admit my knowledge only covered the basics. This book proved to me that my opinions were not that far off and that things in Mexico are far worse than I realized. I appreciated that this author made my question my thoughts on immigration, capitalism, indigenous societies, drugs, and how the US fits into all of it. This book should be a must read for anyone interested in international politics and anyone concerned about human rights.
January 16, 2011
Mexico Unconquered begins with a essay explaining the history of Mexico and delves into the questions around corruption in the Mexican government and much more. Although at times these essays can leave you feeling helpless, they tell of many fearless people and communities who are trying to rise above despite bloody consequences. Everyone should read this...and then we should talk about the laws in Arizona.
March 10, 2009
Great book with details of the terrible current status of Mexico.
December 28, 2009
Best book I've read all year.
May 1, 2009
My first review for The Texas Observer came out today about this book! Here's the link:
http://www.texasobserver.org/article....
http://www.texasobserver.org/article....
May 11, 2012
If you like conscientious gonzo journalism, radical history, social theory, and recent accounts of movements resisting capital's empire in Mexico, this might be THE book for you. Seriously.
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