There are numerous utopian portrayals of Zapatista communities. They took up in arms in 1994 but realized that a peaceful path was better. They build utopian communities in the mountains without machismo, suffering, or problems.
But such portrayals are imaginary, and distract us from what zapatismo has to teach us.
Yes, the Zapatistas put down their arms in 1994, even though the government hasn’t fulfilled their end of the peace accords. But they still have all of their guns, and their choice to pursue peaceful means doesn’t mean that nonviolence is always superior.
And Zapatista communities, like all communities, have issues with machismo and numerous other problems.
Zapatismo shows us the difference between self-liberation and the liberation of a people, the liberation of a nation, of all nations. EZLN, Zapatista Army of National Liberation. They work to make things better in their communities, but they seek the liberation of all the indigenous communities in Chiapas, of everyone in Mexico and the world. Para todos todo, nada para nosotros. For everyone everything, nothing for ourselves.
Self-liberation is important, and that’s why the Zapatistas invest a good deal of money in education. Self-liberation is important, but as popular-educator Paolo Freire says, the oppressor (I would add people like myself to this definition, who only stand to benefit from oppressive systems) can only be liberated by the oppressed.
In western thinking, the idea of creating a utopian community runs strong, from the hippies of the 60s to the students of today who dream of starting organic farms*. But utopian projects always fail or produce nothing useful in the long-term. I don´t want to begin something from ideals, nor is that something that should be done. We must begin from oppressed communities, like the EZLN in Mexico, the Mexico Solidarity Network in Chicago, and popular social movements throughout Latin America and the world.
*This is not to categorically dismiss the idea, but to criticize versions of it that fall into utopian idealism.
