Post by Okwes on Oct 30, 2006 11:28:12 GMT -5
Revolutionary visits Sonoran town
By George B. S¨¢nchez
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.23.2006
advertisementMAGDALENA DE KINO, SONORA ¡ªTwelve years after the Zapatista revolution erupted in the southernmost tip of Mexico, its celebrity spokesman brought his message of solidarity for the country's indigenous people north to Sonora.
Subcomandante Marcos' visit to this town about 50 miles south of the U.S. border Saturday night was part of a tour intended to establish the groundwork for a similar revolution throughout all of Mexico, one indigenous community at a time, Marcos has said.
"It's significant that he would come to Sonora," said Oscar Martinez, a regents professor of history at the University of Arizona who has written extensively about Mexico. Though Martinez did not attend the event, he said Marcos ¡ª the figurehead of a poor, marginalized indigenous community with grievances against the Mexican government ¡ª has attracted sympathizers across the globe.
"He's a symbolic figure more than anything else," Martinez said.
With the exception of his visit to the border city of Tijuana last week, Saturday's appearance is the closest Marcos has been to the United States.
Clad in dusty military fatigues and his trademark black ski mask, tattered comandante's cap and smoking pipe, his image hasn't changed since he made his revolutionary arrival on Jan. 1, 1994, the same day the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect.
Marcos ¡ª and all Zapatistas ¡ª wear ski masks, partly to erase personal identity and create a united revolutionary front, and partly as a symbol of self-declared war against the Mexican government in the name of indigenous rights.
Behind the mask that conceals pale skin and hazel eyes that are clearly not those of an indigenous Mexican, Marcos' identity remains a mystery. In the late 1990s, the Mexican government identified him as a Jesuit-educated member of Mexico's middle class who holds a master's degree in philosophy. He denied that, but the uncertainty only added to the mystique that has made him a popular figure among leftists and Latin Americans, Martinez said.
It has had the opposite effect on Mexico's upper class and government officials, who accuse him of cowardice by hiding behind the mask.
Addressing complaints
Still, Marcos' iconic status was obvious Saturday as more than 250 people crowded into a manger to hear him speak at 11 p.m., five hours after the Sonoran meeting began.
The meeting was called as a town hall-style event with the Tohono O'odham nation. However, only a third of the crowd were members of the desert tribe that spans the U.S.-Mexican border.
As in other communities, Marcos listened to representatives of various tribes in Sonora describe problems and concerns within their communities. A common complaint was the loss of community that stems from an international border drawn through the middle of the O'odham nation more than 150 years ago. While residents were once able to cross freely, that has changed in the last decade, especially in light of recent talks to create a permanent barrier.
"Our lives are being encroached upon," said Mike Flores, an O'odham who lives on Tucson's South Side.
The town hall tour, dubbed "The Other Campaign," began in January, around the 12th anniversary of the Zapatista revolution. Since then, Marcos has visited nearly every indigenous community in Mexico, starting from the south.
The plan was for him to meet with all of them before Mexico's presidential election in July. But in May, state and federal police attacked a group of flower vendors outside of Mexico City. Many were from a community that years before chased the government out of their municipality after it proposed to build an international airport in place of their homes.
The attack prompted a larger clash the next day between the citizens of San Salvador Atenco and law enforcement. A government investigation recently found that many police reacted brutally, leaving one 14-year-old dead, more than 25 women raped, and hundreds injured.
The Other Campaign was halted because Marcos' security detail the day of the clash was from San Salvador Atenco, a coincidence that has only strengthened ties between the Zapatistas and the citizens of that community. A resident and survivor of the clash was with Marcos on Saturday night.
Public appearances by Marcos, nicknamed "Delegate Zero" for the indigenous outreach tour, tend to draw crowds in the thousands and feature poetic speeches rife with indigenous lore, verse from Shakespeare, and stinging criticism of the Mexican government. But his appearance Saturday was different.
Breaking a long silence
For nearly four hours, he sat at the head of a table flanked by representatives of the O'odham nation and Mexico's national indigenous congress. He silently took notes on each speech, eyed the crowd and closely watched each speaker. Whenever someone spoke he rose to shake his or her hand, but never spoke publicly until the end.
Though the crowd began to thin after 10 p.m., he remained attentive, smoking a pipe through his mask.
When he finally spoke, his focus was reciprocated by the crowd, which hung on his every word. One woman was brought to tears.
Marcos began by stating that the indigenous often speak symbolically between each tribe and told the audience that all indigenous groups are connected not by color or language but by a "heart of maize," a cornerstone of the indigenous diet.
Though he responded to specific points raised by various indigenous representatives, his summary of the evening was that the heart of the O'odham's concerns ¡ª health, economy, migration and culture ¡ª stems from the issue of land.
"The land is like the human body," Marcos said in Spanish. "You cannot poison one part without affecting the rest. They think by poisoning the Tohono O'odham land that it will not destroy all the land."
He closed by noting the audience he received was not what he expected.
"We were thinking we were only going to speak with the pueblo, with only a few Indians, but how wonderful that so many people have arrived from so many parts, especially people on the other side, in the United States," Marcos said, calling it a sign of support from north of the border.
The Other Campaign is to continue along the Sonoran coast and into Chihuahua next week.
On StarNet: Find a slide show of the Zapatistas at azstarnet.com/slideshow
¡ñ Contact reporter George B. S¨¢nchez at 573-4195 or gsanchez@azstarnet.com.
By George B. S¨¢nchez
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.23.2006
advertisementMAGDALENA DE KINO, SONORA ¡ªTwelve years after the Zapatista revolution erupted in the southernmost tip of Mexico, its celebrity spokesman brought his message of solidarity for the country's indigenous people north to Sonora.
Subcomandante Marcos' visit to this town about 50 miles south of the U.S. border Saturday night was part of a tour intended to establish the groundwork for a similar revolution throughout all of Mexico, one indigenous community at a time, Marcos has said.
"It's significant that he would come to Sonora," said Oscar Martinez, a regents professor of history at the University of Arizona who has written extensively about Mexico. Though Martinez did not attend the event, he said Marcos ¡ª the figurehead of a poor, marginalized indigenous community with grievances against the Mexican government ¡ª has attracted sympathizers across the globe.
"He's a symbolic figure more than anything else," Martinez said.
With the exception of his visit to the border city of Tijuana last week, Saturday's appearance is the closest Marcos has been to the United States.
Clad in dusty military fatigues and his trademark black ski mask, tattered comandante's cap and smoking pipe, his image hasn't changed since he made his revolutionary arrival on Jan. 1, 1994, the same day the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect.
Marcos ¡ª and all Zapatistas ¡ª wear ski masks, partly to erase personal identity and create a united revolutionary front, and partly as a symbol of self-declared war against the Mexican government in the name of indigenous rights.
Behind the mask that conceals pale skin and hazel eyes that are clearly not those of an indigenous Mexican, Marcos' identity remains a mystery. In the late 1990s, the Mexican government identified him as a Jesuit-educated member of Mexico's middle class who holds a master's degree in philosophy. He denied that, but the uncertainty only added to the mystique that has made him a popular figure among leftists and Latin Americans, Martinez said.
It has had the opposite effect on Mexico's upper class and government officials, who accuse him of cowardice by hiding behind the mask.
Addressing complaints
Still, Marcos' iconic status was obvious Saturday as more than 250 people crowded into a manger to hear him speak at 11 p.m., five hours after the Sonoran meeting began.
The meeting was called as a town hall-style event with the Tohono O'odham nation. However, only a third of the crowd were members of the desert tribe that spans the U.S.-Mexican border.
As in other communities, Marcos listened to representatives of various tribes in Sonora describe problems and concerns within their communities. A common complaint was the loss of community that stems from an international border drawn through the middle of the O'odham nation more than 150 years ago. While residents were once able to cross freely, that has changed in the last decade, especially in light of recent talks to create a permanent barrier.
"Our lives are being encroached upon," said Mike Flores, an O'odham who lives on Tucson's South Side.
The town hall tour, dubbed "The Other Campaign," began in January, around the 12th anniversary of the Zapatista revolution. Since then, Marcos has visited nearly every indigenous community in Mexico, starting from the south.
The plan was for him to meet with all of them before Mexico's presidential election in July. But in May, state and federal police attacked a group of flower vendors outside of Mexico City. Many were from a community that years before chased the government out of their municipality after it proposed to build an international airport in place of their homes.
The attack prompted a larger clash the next day between the citizens of San Salvador Atenco and law enforcement. A government investigation recently found that many police reacted brutally, leaving one 14-year-old dead, more than 25 women raped, and hundreds injured.
The Other Campaign was halted because Marcos' security detail the day of the clash was from San Salvador Atenco, a coincidence that has only strengthened ties between the Zapatistas and the citizens of that community. A resident and survivor of the clash was with Marcos on Saturday night.
Public appearances by Marcos, nicknamed "Delegate Zero" for the indigenous outreach tour, tend to draw crowds in the thousands and feature poetic speeches rife with indigenous lore, verse from Shakespeare, and stinging criticism of the Mexican government. But his appearance Saturday was different.
Breaking a long silence
For nearly four hours, he sat at the head of a table flanked by representatives of the O'odham nation and Mexico's national indigenous congress. He silently took notes on each speech, eyed the crowd and closely watched each speaker. Whenever someone spoke he rose to shake his or her hand, but never spoke publicly until the end.
Though the crowd began to thin after 10 p.m., he remained attentive, smoking a pipe through his mask.
When he finally spoke, his focus was reciprocated by the crowd, which hung on his every word. One woman was brought to tears.
Marcos began by stating that the indigenous often speak symbolically between each tribe and told the audience that all indigenous groups are connected not by color or language but by a "heart of maize," a cornerstone of the indigenous diet.
Though he responded to specific points raised by various indigenous representatives, his summary of the evening was that the heart of the O'odham's concerns ¡ª health, economy, migration and culture ¡ª stems from the issue of land.
"The land is like the human body," Marcos said in Spanish. "You cannot poison one part without affecting the rest. They think by poisoning the Tohono O'odham land that it will not destroy all the land."
He closed by noting the audience he received was not what he expected.
"We were thinking we were only going to speak with the pueblo, with only a few Indians, but how wonderful that so many people have arrived from so many parts, especially people on the other side, in the United States," Marcos said, calling it a sign of support from north of the border.
The Other Campaign is to continue along the Sonoran coast and into Chihuahua next week.
On StarNet: Find a slide show of the Zapatistas at azstarnet.com/slideshow
¡ñ Contact reporter George B. S¨¢nchez at 573-4195 or gsanchez@azstarnet.com.