With just a few days to go before the end of 2024 and in the midst of the climate of violence that Chiapas is going through as a result of the dispute between different cartels, Subcommander Marcos, emblematic leader of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), assured that the Zapatista communities will not give in to the threats of organized crime and other “security” groups.
During the event “Resistance and Rebellion”, held this Saturday in San Cristóbal de las Casas, in commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the armed uprising of January 1, 1994, Marcos recalled that indigenous communities, even in marginalization and oblivion, have resisted a long list of adversities.
“Do you really believe that the Zapatista communities are going to be intimidated by silence, slander, social media, disorganized crime, the National Guard, the federal Army, the Navy, paramilitaries, criminals, pandemics, natural disasters, Trump, Putin, the 4T, oblivion, contempt, lies?” he stressed.
Weeks after Eduardo Ramírez was sworn in as the new governor of Chiapas, Subcomandante Marcos highlighted the strength of the Zapatista peoples in the face of the adversities they have faced throughout their history and recalled that no government has represented true change.
In addition, the Zapatista leader also referred to what he called “the 94 generation,” alluding to those who participated in the armed uprising more than three decades ago. Marcos pointed out that this same generation was the one that, in 2004, warned about the policies that would be consolidated during the 2018-2024 period, under the government of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
According to the subcommander, López Obrador, even from his time as a candidate, represented a continuation of the traditional political system, without addressing the fundamental demands of indigenous peoples.
In his speech, Marcos also recalled the publication of the “Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle” in 2005, a document that marked a turning point in the Zapatista struggle by calling for a broad social mobilization. Since then, the movement has been the target of attacks and slander from progressive sectors.
Organized crime takes over Chiapas
Carlos González, founder of the Network of Indigenous Peoples, denounced the growing control that drug cartels exercise over territories that were previously under the administration of organized communities.
González explained that this situation has generated a climate of violence and tension in states such as Chiapas, Guerrero and Michoacán, where the communal property commissioners are forced to remain in power with the support of criminal groups.
This dynamic, he explained, not only affects local communities, but also intensifies armed clashes between cartels.
The president made it clear that the Zapatista leader is just another adversary, but said he preferred to avoid controversy. Credit: Government of Mexico
González highlighted how, in some regions of the country, the presence of organized crime is more discreet, while in others, such as Chiapas, the complaints of indigenous communities and social organizations have made evident the process of co-optation by these groups.
In addition, he pointed out that the impact of this violence extends to other states such as Colima, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit and Chihuahua, where indigenous communities have suffered forced displacement, murders, kidnappings and robberies.
Subcomandante Marcos emphasized that the resistance of indigenous peoples, such as the Zapatistas, represents a hope in the face of the collapse of the established order and social decomposition.
Source: infobae
