AUT: more on Zapatismo

["Geoffrey J McDonald" <geosophia@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Katha --
	By "nest of vipers" I meant the usual internecine biting, sniping, power
playing, etc. that we associate with the left. Maybe its different now, but
in the early stages of enthusiasm for the Zapatistas, when they were an
unknown entity, all kinds of "vanguards" emerged from the woodwork to claim
to be the Zapatistas' True Representatives. I used to be part of a pirate
radio collective and we had about three programs on the air by different
"EZLN" groups who were incensed about the other groups -- a situation which
got really nasty (sorry if I can't be more specific about this). My point
was that for all the newness and excitement that the Zaps generated, in the
US context they fit in quite snugly within the self-marginalized mileur
that passes for the left. I remember being at demonstrations and feeling
deja vu -- all the same faces, groups and banners from the Central American
solidarity movements of the 1980s had been recycled for the cause of the
Zaps. I think, though, that the role of the US left was a lot more clear
cut vis a vis the wars in Central America: US out, etc. Many US solidarity
groups did make the mistake of being silent about the nature of the regimes
or regimes-to-be that they were siding with (which must be embarrassing now
that the FMLN is enforcing IMF austerity on San Salvador and the
Sandinistas are a sect led by an accused child molester), but activists
could adopt a position of nuetrality about the Central American insurgents
and be simply against the abominable terrors that the state was inflicting.
Our relationship to the conflict in Chiapas is more complicated and there's
more going on there than the EZLN. I think that its good that people do
what they can to prevent the US from intervening or arming the Mexican
military, but as for taking direction from them, that's history repeating
itself as farce.

Geoff


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