Weekend at Comandante Marcos´ House

I just came back from 4 days in the jungle (la selva) with the Zapatistas attending a very important meeting called "La Sexta reunion de los Zapatistas, La Otra Compaña." Over a thousand people showed up from all over the world to show their support for the Zapatista movement´s brilliant idea to listen to the people before they re-organize and take a 6 month tour of the nation not to preach but to listen. Their campaign has done something unique in history by using the internet and by opening itself up to its the needs of its people. With strong support for both indigenous people and women, the Zapatistas, under Comandante Marcos, held this forum as a summation of 6 others this summer, showing up without weapons of any kind. They are truly a brilliant organization and completely different than the image that anyone reading this from the United States may have of them. Indeed, over the 4 days of music, dancing, and listening, all alcohol and drugs were strictly forbidden.

We camped out among a sea of tents, some bearing communist flags, others no more than tarps. Hammocks and sleeping bags filled the church and barn buildings in their small jungle camp. Local people served food, there were a lot of Che and Marcos (with black mask and his pipe) tee shirts, a lot of folk music, a pretty strong reggae scene, and even a few capoeira dancers. It rained every day, several times per day and the ground quickly became more muddy than the Dartmouth campus in early spring. My formerly white sneakers and my one pair of clean pants have suffered a great loss.

The local indigenous population of Tzetzals was a constant reminder of the importance of the Zapatista voice and struggle. The children all were barefoot, had no idea of their own ages, and had no bathroom to use. They bathe in the river and although there is a school, there is no teacher so none of them learn how to read or write. Pigs roamed freely, as did chickens from their straw huts, and as always down here, clean water and food beyond corn and beans is a continual problem. For sure, we were feasting with our tortillas with salt and rice and occasional chicken.
Chiapas is state rich in natural resources (it produces 60% of the electricity for all of Mexico!), rich in minerals, in oil, and with plenty of water, but it is very poor for lack of all the basic rights and liberties guarunteed to the Mexican people. For this reason, people from all ages and groups came to speak and continue their fight for what ought to be in all of our moral values a basic freedom - health, education, nutrition, and clean water. You have to drive faster than the unpaved roads allow to romantacize the lives of these indigenous Mayan people. That is just to say that when we have a vision of a better world, we cannot stop at the edge of our driveway´s recylcling bin. We can only start there.

I look forward to your comments and again, promise to post pics when I return to Amatan.