On 28 December, mere days before the anniversary of the insurrection undertaken by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), Subcomandante Marcos released a new communique entitled “When the dead cry aloud (Rebobinar 1).” In this essay, he notes that “rebelliousness is not the exclusive patrimony of the neo-Zapatistas. It belongs to humanity, and so is something to celebrate everywhere, at all times. Rebellion itself is a celebration.”
Marcos challenges the truthfulness of biographies and denounces that, given the Internet and social media, “biographical myths revolve their fallacies around, and voilá, the history of one’s life (or part of it) is reconstructed, having little to nothing to do with actual history. But this does not matter, because the biography is published, printed, circulated, read, re-read… just as lies are.” As illustration of his point, Marcos recalled the things which could be read about ex-presidents Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Ernesto Zedillo, Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderón, and current president Enrique Peña Nieto. He stressed that the “criminals of the Mexican political class who have so badly governed these lands will continue to be criminals who enjoy impunity for those who have suffered their outrages.” He concluded by saying that “with all this and what is coming, am I saying that one should not write or read biographies? No, because that which drives the old wheel of history are collectives, not individuals, whether male or female. Historiography develops through individuals; history learns from the people.”
In a large post-script, Marcos challenged the commercial media and a number of articles which have been published in anticipation of the anniversary of the armed uprising: “if the conditions of the Zapatista indigenous communities are the same as they were 20 years ago and no living conditions have improved, why is the EZLN opening its escuelita so that people from below see it and come to know it directly, without intermediaries? […] You ask what the EZLN has done for indigenous communities. And we are responding with the direct testimony of tens of thousands of our comrades.” It should be recalled that, just earlier, Subcomandante Moisés announced that the press will not be invited to the Zapatista celebrations.
For more information (in Spanish):
Rebobinar 1: Cuando los muertos callan en voz alta (Subcomandante Marcos, 28 de diciembre de 2013)
La rebeldía, patrimonio de la humanidad; hay que celebrarlo siempre: vocero del EZLN (La Jornada, 30 de diciembre de 2013)
Lanza EZLN comunicado “hace frío como hace 20 años” (El Universal, 29 de diciembre de 2013)
“Hace frío como hace 20 años”: ‘Subcomandante Marcos’ (Aristegui Noticias, 29 de diciembre de 2013)
Para más información de SIPAZ:
Chiapas/National: “Rebobinar 2: On Death and other excuses” (1 January 2014)
Chiapas: New communique from Subcomandante Marcos, Rebobine 3 (7 December 2013)
Chiapas: EZLN criticizes structural reforms (13 November 2013)
Chiapas: EZLN denounces nocturnal military overflights above Zapatista caracoles (21 August 2013)
Chiapas: Celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Zapatista caracoles(21 August 2013)
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