Sub-Comandante Marcos in Playa

[absoluteAL]

I understand that Sub-Comandante Marcos will be speaking in Cancun and in Playa (Playa on Friday). Does anyone know anything about where/when he is supposed to speak? [And don't tell at the old Panchos/Friedas!!] I am serious as this info came from a very reliable source. He is supposed to be speaking against the upcoming presidential election as Fox has served out his 6 year term and can not run again.

[Daddy B]

Originally Posted by absoluteal

I understand that Sub-Comandante Marcos will be speaking in Cancun and in Playa (Playa on Friday). Does anyone know anything about where/when he is supposed to speak? [And don't tell at the old Panchos/Friedas!!] I am serious as this info came from a very reliable source. He is supposed to be speaking against the upcoming presidential election as Fox has served out his 6 year term and can not run again.

Will you be going to the rally if you find out where it is?

[roni]

The Zapatistas did start a national tour a week or two ago - would like to unite leftists in Mexico, from what I read. Here is aBBC article about the tour with President Fox's comment on it.

[ryberg]

I believe the Playa vist is scheduled for Monday, or perhaps Tuesday, actually, but yes it's supposed to happen and has been reported in the press. Can't remember the location, sorry (my brain is too addled after so much correspondence or something, I guess!), but I'll post it if I find out.

Steve

[beer_dude]

I read that he is really Ward Churchill Coloradoans will know who I am talking about.

[absoluteAL]

Originally Posted by ryberg

I believe the Playa vist is scheduled for Monday, or perhaps Tuesday, actually, but yes it's supposed to happen and has been reported in the press. Can't remember the location, sorry (my brain is too addled after so much correspondence or something, I guess!), but I'll post it if I find out.

Steve

Just as I was leaving Playa, I saw a posted flyer for the Sub-Comandante's appearance. It was last Saturday (1/22) at the coliseum (?). I am sorry that I missed the "masked man". The nespaper stories showed him with his TM mask but no pipe, what gives with that?

[Playa Junkie]

Originally Posted by beer_dude

I read that he is really Ward Churchill Coloradoans will know who I am talking about.

I wondered where he'd run off to! Look out, good people of Mexico!

[palmtreegirl]

This is probably a stupid question but are there any bad things that could come out of the upcoming elections in Mexico? Is there a possiblity of some kind of upset that would put the place in turmoil? I know this sounds stupid but we are travelling there in a few weeks and didn't know if the elections could effect our travels.

[Daddy B]

Originally Posted by palmtreegirl

This is probably a stupid question but are there any bad things that could come out of the upcoming elections in Mexico? Is there a possiblity of some kind of upset that would put the place in turmoil? I know this sounds stupid but we are travelling there in a few weeks and didn't know if the elections could effect our travels.

A quick perusal of this easy to read web page should give you all the information you need...

[Joana]

Okay- here is some background on this "roundtrip" and on what is going on with the EZLN and related groups.....found on a German news-website. Link will be below for those who can read German. I had been wondering for a while what was going on esp. after "Code rojo" was announced late last year by the EZLN.

I'll translate this as best as I can. Forgive flaws.

EZLN wants to turn Mexican elections campaigns upside down

Last weekend saw the first plenary meeting of all organizations and groups of the Mexican left who want to take part in the new political initiative by the zapatistic guerilla EZLN in Chiapas. The over 2000 attendees voted for a actionplan which has the goal of slowly setting Mexico on fire politically in the coming two years.

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</TPXBUT><TPXB><TABLE class=img cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TPXBXIMG></TPXBXIMG></TD></TR><TR><TD class=ul><TPXBXTEXT>Zapatistische Kommandantinnen und Kommandanten während der Vollversammlung



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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TPXB>Subcommandante Marcos passed on the "Sixth declaration from the Lacandonian rainforest" ,a text published by the EZLN last June which is supposed to be ground for the new actions plan, to members of the Mexican left not organized in parties, during an opening cereomony in the Caracol La Garrucha, one of the five Zapatist regional governments, on the 16th of September.

The speaker for the rebels made clear in this way that this new political initiative is not coming from the EZLN as such. Rather the outerparliament Left shall work togehter in a basicdemocratic network across the country and present an actionplan for the next years as well as a new constitution.

The Zapatists are simply offering their morale authority won over the last eleven years to keep the network together and to structure it, they do not want to rule over contents- except for the following basic points: the "other election campaign", so the name of the planned campaign, shall be peacful, anticapitalisitc and leftwinged as well as practise new forms of politics. Meaning emphasis on listening and the realization that own actions are always limited and that it is therefor usefull to merge the different fields of action.

Plan is for Subcommandante Marcos to start a six month roundtrip though the entire country in Janary, state per state, leading up to an invitation for another full plenum of the "other election campaign" in Mexico City just one week prior to presidential elections in June 2006. The roundtrip, so EZLN Major Moises in an announcement, is meant as a vanguard. Explicitly not a vanguard in the sense of political avantgarde, but a vanguard in a military sense.
Marcos is supposed to check out the terrain that will be travelled by a commisson called "Sexta" starting in September 2006. The Sexta consists of Commandantes both male and female of the EZLN as well as representatives of the organizations who are taking part in the "other election campaign". This second roundtrip is supposed to last until 2007 and have the aim to build a network in each state, which can be base for coordinated combined actions as well as for working on a new Mexican constitution. <TPXB><TABLE class=img cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TPXBXIMG></TPXBXIMG></TD></TR><TR><TD class=ul><TPXBXTEXT></TPXBXTEXT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TPXB>
Taking part in the meeting in the Caracol La Garrucha, apart from left uions, were anarchistic and citygroups, feministic collectives, culture initiatives and about 30 indigenous organizations from Mexicao- also migrant organizations from the US.
In total several hundred organizations were present. All Collectives and Grounps that have signed the "Sixth proclamation from the Lacandonian rainforest" shall make descisions via email in the future and communicate about plans for nationwide strikes and protest actions. Link for all will be the website of the newspaper "Rebelida" which is close to the EZLN.
As not all who signed were present no descisions were made during the full plenum. The "other election campaign" wants to step on new ground considering democratic ways of finding agreements to show that politics away from the harshly critzised and discredited representative structures is possible.

.........<TPXB><TABLE class=img cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TPXBXIMG></TPXBXIMG></TD></TR><TR><TD class=ul><TPXBXTEXT></TPXBXTEXT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TPXB>
Only Mexican groups and single persons had a right to speak on the recent meeting but the EZLN is planning a "intergalactic meeting" for the end of 2005 during which international aspects and strategies concerning the new offensive will be dealt with. October and November were schelduled to plan this meeting.

Marcos emphazised in his closing speech that all involved will be subject to a sharp climate of threat from now and that it is needed for all signees of the Sixth proclamations to stand up for each other if one of them is attacked openly of hidden by the any sort of opressive apparatus. In the meantime the minister for internal affairs- Caros Abascal- announced that the Subcommanante will have free guarding during his roundtrip as "Each citizen has the same right to protection by the law". He expressed his liking for the move of the Zapatists towards civil politics.

Differing from recent reports there is no talking of the EZLN handing in their weapons however. The Zapatist army will remain in Chiapas to protect the indigenas and is still in alarm, while their commander and speaker Marcos will indeed be unarmed while looking for new partners in his work.
Due to this background it was emphasized that the EZLN is prepared and that its commanding structure has people to replace Marcos in the worst case who have been trained and prepared for the job in recent years.<TPXB><TABLE class=img cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TPXBXIMG></TPXBXIMG></TD></TR><TR><TD class=ul><TPXBXTEXT>Schlafender Junge in La Garrucha



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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TPXB>
Watchers voiced their concern about these plans in a country where political assasinations are not unknown. In 1994 even the presidential candidate of the PRI, Luis Donaldo, was killed during campaigning by his own people as he wasn't wanting to stick to certain politc agreements.

......"

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/20/20983/1.html

[ReadyTRock]

Originally Posted by beer_dude

I read that he is really Ward Churchill Coloradoans will know who I am talking about.

Be afraid..be very afraid.