Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities

Flag
Anthem: Himno Zapatista
Status		De facto autonomous zones
Government		Neozapatista
•	Military leadership	Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee
•	Local leadership	Councils of Good Government
Autonomous region
•	Zapatista uprising	January 1, 1994

Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (in Spanish, known by the acronym "MAREZ") are small territories controlled by the Zapatista support bases in the Mexican state of Chiapas, founded in December 1994.

The sign reads (top): "You are in Zapatista rebel territory. Here the people give the orders and the government obeys." Bottom: "North Zone. Council of Good Government. Trafficking in weapons, planting of drugs, drug use, alcoholic beverages, and illegal sales of wood are strictly prohibited. No to the destruction of nature." Federal Highway 307, Chiapas.

The Zapatista military, or EZLN, says that it does not hold any interest in the "self-governed" spaces, saying that according to its principles it is not to take power, so no commander or member of the "Indigenous Underground Revolutionary Committee" may take positions of authority or government in these spaces.^[1]

These places are found within the official municipalities, and several are even within the same municipality, as in the case of San Andres Larrainzar and Ocosingo. The MAREZ are coordinated by Autonomous Councils and their main objectives have been to promote education and health in their territories. They also fight for land rights, labor and trade, housing, and fuel-supply issues, promoting arts (especially, indigenous language and traditions), and administering justice.^[2]

Background

An armed group, formed by a large majority of Southern Mexican natives in Chiapas, rebelled in 1994, partially in response to the signing of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), claiming their territory in what has been called the "war against the forgotten" by the Zapatista National Liberation Army. They established several locations in the same revolt that apparently operate outside Mexican law.

Distribution

Since 2003 the MAREZ coordinate in very small groups called "caracoles." Before that time the NeoZapastistas used the title of "aguascalientes" after the place where they convened the National Democratic Convention on August 8, 1994, organized by the EZLN; this name gave the allusion to the Emiliano Zapata and Francisco Villa War in 1914 where the alliance was formed.

Functioning

According to the sympathizers with the movement, the laws or regulations in the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities are not against the authorities, but for "Together for Good Government," intending to form a participatory government by the coordination of the community representatives. In various communities, the general assemblies meet for a week to decide on various aspects concerning the community. The assemblies are open to everyone, without a formal bureaucracy. The decisions made by the communities are then passed to elected delegates whose job is to pass the information to a board of delegates. The delegates can be revoked and also serve on a rotation basis. In this way, it is expected that the largest number of people may express their points of view.

Political affiliation

The neo-Zapatistias do not proclaim adherence to a specific political ideology beyond left-wing politics. However, the functioning of the MAREZ distinguished it programmatically from the traditional left, reclaiming Zapatista- and Magonist-inspired "indigenismo" with contributions from self-organized socialism, autonomous Marxism, and anarchism.

See also

• Chiapas conflict
• Councils of Good Government
• Permanent autonomous zones

References