DOCSLIB.ORG

The Unmasking of Civil Society in Mexico : the EZLN Discourse On

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Unmasking of Civil Society in Mexico : the EZLN Discourse On THE UNMASKING OF CMLSOCIETY IN MEXICO: THE EZLN DISCOURSE ON DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT Joanne Blake B .A.., Carleton University, 1 972 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology o Joanne Blake 1996 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY October 1996 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Joanne Blake Degree: Master of Arts (Anthropology) Title of Thesis: The Unmasking of Civil Society in Mexico: The EZLN Discourse on Democratic Development Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Ellen Gee - Dr. Marilyn Gates Senior Supervisor Associate Professor of Anthropology - - V Dr. Gary Teeple Associate Professor of Sociology Dr. John Brohrnan External Examiner Assistant Professor of Geography Simon Fraser University Date Approved: 10 /3[ /q &- I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of ThesislProjectlExtended Essay The Unmasking of Civil Society in Mexico: The EZLN Discourse on Democratic Development Author: .-. (Signature) (Name) 31 October 1996 (Date) Abstract Millions of Mexicans have mobilized since 1 January 1994 partially in response to an indigenous rebellion in Chiapas and the discourse of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion National-EZLN). They are challenging the ideological underpinnings of neoliberal reform and calling for a revitalized nationalism based on principles of democracy, justice and liberty. Modernization's benefits failed to reach the poor majority while the corporate system of political representation appears incapable of providing the State with the legitimacy necessary to rule. Chiapas is an example of "ungovernability", compelling the government to rule through military and political violence. Human and civil rights demands, broadly conceived in the declarations and discourse of the EZLN, highlight the failure of neoliberal policies in satisfying basic human needs for all. This thesis analyzes current social movements in Chiapas in the context of the prevailing authoritarian and inequitable socio-political and economic structures that impede democratic practice. It also examines how the discourse of the Zapatistas is extending the thrust of organizations of civil society to challenge the entrenched party of the State, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institutional-PRI), at all levels of Mexican society. Theories of liberation theology, development, and social movements are discussed which elucidate the motives and opportunities that propel civil society and the pro-democracy movements in their quest for political transformation. The theoretical focus is based on radical critiques of a globalized development enterprise. Development is represented as socially constructing the Third World. The analysis is based on ten months of participant-obse~ationin Chiapas between 1993 and 1996 as well as document and media research both in Canada and Mexico. The methodology reflects the researcher's involvement in an act of solidarity with a number of informants and social organizations. This work is thus a testimony whose intention is to support and augment the struggle in Mexico for democratization and human rights. Dedication To my Mother and Father Acknowledgments I would like to thank the people of Chiapas who so warmly and openly accepted me into their lives. Without their confidence and trust this thesis could not have been written. I appreciate the guidance and support given to me by my supervisors ,the faculty and staff of the Sociology and Anthropology Department of Simon Fraser University. Finally I am gratefhl for the support &om fiends and family who were there to comfort or assist me with this project when it was needed. Table of Contents .. Approval .............................................................................................................................. n ... Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 111 Dedication ........................................................................................................................ .iv Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................v ... List of Figures ................................................................................................................. vw Acronyms ...........................................................................................................................ix Introduction ................................................................................................................-1 Research Methodology ..........................................................................................3 Unmasking Civil society .......................................................................................5 The Modernization Project and Civil Society ........................................................9 Mexican Political culture and Liberal Ideology ...................................................10 "Hoy Decimos Basta " EUN Discourse on Democratic Development ...................16 Human rights Abuse and Resistance .................................................................... 17 New Zapatismo in Formation .............................................................................. -19 The Birth of the New Zapatistas ......................................................................... 20 Opening a Political space: la coyunfura .............................................................. 23 "ParaNosotros. Nada! Para Todos. Todo!": The Ethical Agenda ................... 26 A Death Sentence to Indigenous Culture: Neoliberal Restructuring .................. 27 Dialogue for Peace: A National Debate? ............................................................28 The Second Declaration of the Lacandon ...........................................................32 The National Democratic Convention: Aguascalientes Reborn ......................... 33 Constructing a Nation Movement: Continuing the dialogue with Civil Society ........................................................36 The Third Declaration: A Government of Transition ......................................... 38 The EZLN National Referendum: la Consulta (the consultation) .......................41 The Fourth Declaration: "Mandar Obediciendo " ...............................................42 Mexican Political Culture & Social Movements ...................................... d7 The Perfect Dictatorship ......................................................................................48 Populism .............................................................................................................Sl Corporation and Clientism ................................................................................. 53 Presidentialismo .................................................................................................. 55 Towards a New Theory of Social Movements .....................................................58 . Fact and Value: Radically Restructuring Development and Democracy .................. 68 Development or Domination? ..............................................................................68 Development Discourse: Discord or Harmony? ..................................................70 Development and Liberation ................................................................................73 Political Theology: an Option for the Poor .......................................................... 74 Liberation Theology and Social Action ............................................................... 77 Beyond Instrumentalism: Essentialist Politics .....................................................78 Development as a Woldview: "the Deconstruction of the West'? ......................80 Resistance and Survival in Chiapas: The Maya, Agents of History .........................83 Madre Tierra: Another Vision of Governance and Human Rights .....................84 A Bountikl Land: The Exodus ...........................................................................86 Economic Development in Chiapas: Testimony ..................................................91 The Forgotten and Faceless People: Collective Identity and Insurgent Consciousness ...............................................................................93 Development in the Highlands: Economic Differentiation and Class Consciousness...................................................................................... 97 A History of Exclusionary Politics and Cooptation: Land Reform .....................98 The Context of. Social Organizing in Chiapas: Towards a Pol~tics. of Inclusion ..........................................................................104
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2.4 the Fourth World War: the EZLN Analysis of Neoliberalism
    We Are from Before, Yes, but We Are New: Autonomy, Territory, and the Production of New Subjects of Self-government in Zapatismo by Mara Catherine Kaufman Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Orin Starn, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Charles Piot, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Anne Allison ___________________________ Kathi Weeks ___________________________ Michael Hardt Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2010 ABSTRACT We Are from Before, Yes, but We Are New: Autonomy, Territory, and the Production of New Subjects of Self-government in Zapatismo by Mara Catherine Kaufman Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Orin Starn, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Charles Piot, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Anne Allison ___________________________ Kathi Weeks ___________________________ Michael Hardt An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2010 Copyright by Mara Catherine Kaufman 2010 Abstract The 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, created a rupture with a series of neoliberal policies implemented in Mexico and on a global scale over the last few decades of the 20th century. In a moment when alternatives to neoliberal global capitalism appeared to have disappeared from the world stage, the Zapatista Army for National Liberation (EZLN) initiated a movement and process that would have significance not only in Chiapas and for Mexico, but for many struggles and movements around the world that would come to identify with a kind of “alter-globalization” project.
    [Show full text]
  • LA NUEVA ETAPA DEL NEOZAPATISMO MEXICANO1 the New Era of Mexican Neo-Zapatismo
    LA NUEVA ETAPA DEL NEOZAPATISMO MEXICANO1 The new era of Mexican neo-Zapatismo Carlos Antonio Aguirre Rojas2 [email protected] Recibido: 10 de marzo de 2014 Aprobado: 21 de abril de 2014 Resumen: En este ensayo, y a partir de proponer una periodización general de la historia del Neozapatismo mexicano, se intentan caracterizar y analizar los perfiles principales que definen a su etapa más reciente de vida, la cuarta etapa, iniciada en diciembre de 2012. Se estudian entonces, tanto el espacio de acción que ahora propone este movimiento neozapatista con su iniciativa del movimiento de ‘La Sexta’, como los tiempos previstos para el logro de sus objetivos, pero también sus demandas esenciales, su deslinde radical frente a la clase política, sus nuevas formas de organización, su estrategia global actual y su neta definición de los grupos, clases y sectores sociales a los que va dirigida esta nueva convocatoria suya de acción. Palabras clave: Movimientos antisistémicos, neozapatismo mexicano, luchas y protestas sociales actuales, crisis terminal del capitalismo, rebeliones contemporáneas. Abstract: This essay, on the basis of proposing a general periodization of the history of Mexican ‘neo-Zapatismo’, aims to characterize and analyze the main profiles that define its latest stage, the fourth, which began in December 2012. Consideration is given, therefore, to both the action space now proposed by this ‘neo-Zapatista’ movement with its initiative of ‘The Sixth’ (part of its declaration) and the times scheduled for the achievement of its objectives, but also its essential demands, its radical demarcation in relation to the political class, its new forms of organization, its current global strategy and its clear definition of the groups, classes and social sectors that this new call to action is addressed to.
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous Autonomy, Mutual Aid, and an (Anti-Capitalist) Moral Economy of the (Rebel) Peasant
    Building ‘A World Where Many Worlds Fit’: Indigenous Autonomy, Mutual Aid, and an (Anti-Capitalist) Moral Economy of the (Rebel) Peasant Levi Gahman, 1Department of Geography, The Institute for Gender and Development Studies, The University of The West Indies Summary This chapter provides an analysis of how the Zapatistas are constructing Un Mundo Donde Quepan Muchos Mundos (A World Where Many Worlds Fit) through autonomy as a response to injustices generated by neoliberalism. The piece is aimed at demonstrating how a moral economy comprised of Indigenous worldviews, decentralized governance, gender equity, anti-capitalist collective work, and place-based education can provide viable alternatives to our rapidly globalizing corporate food regime. I begin with a brief explanation of neoliberalism and continue by illustrating the consequences of its policies and discourse. I then transition into a short synopsis of the Zapatista Uprising by offering an overview of the exploitation, alienation, and dispossession that rural farmers in Mexico were facing because of free market economics, with a focus on NAFTA and Indigenous campesinos. I next describe how the Zapatistas are building an economy of solidarity that incorporates mutual aid, food sovereignty, and Indigenous traditions as a response to the debilitating products of global capitalism, state authority, and hetero-patriarchal repression. I finish by highlighting how both ‘Women’s Revolutionary Law’ and inclusive language have been implemented into Zapatista communities, thereby creating more fair and just social relations. The purpose of this chapter is thus to share, not to impose a model, how the Zapatista resistance is decolonizing a food system governed by the logic of neoliberal capitalism in hopes of possibly sparking ideas for solutions to similar problems, in other places.
    [Show full text]
  • The Guerrilla Movement As a Project an Assessment of Community Involvement in the EZLN by Niels Barmeyer
    LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES 10.1177/0094582X02239201BarmeyerARTICLE / THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT AS A PROJECT The Guerrilla Movement as a Project An Assessment of Community Involvement in the EZLN by Niels Barmeyer There seems to be a tendency among Latin Americanists at a time of highly refined counterinsurgency techniques to see guerrilla movements as generally detrimental to the rural base communities supporting them. I am referring in particular to David Stoll’s book Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans (1999), in which he confirms the statements made in an earlier book on peasants of the Ixil triangle caught in the crossfire of opposing armies (Stoll, 1993). Stoll argues that not only is the Guatemalan Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres (Guerrilla Army of the Poor—EGP) responsible for the enormous loss of life in the rural population but the inter- national solidarity brought about by Menchú’s publication has led to a pro- longation of the war and the murderous violence in Guatemala. It is not my purpose here to contest Stoll’s findings for Guatemala, espe- cially because I lack the necessary knowledge about the area to do so, but I would like to use the recent debate (see especially Latin American Perspec- tives 26 [6]) about his book to show how by getting involved with a guerrilla movement one peasant community has been able put itself in a position that is in many ways better than before. The case that I present in this article, which I believe to be representative of many other communities in the area, is that of the village San Emiliano, a colonist community settled in the 1950s in the remote Las Cañadas/Selva Lacandona region of Chiapas, Mexico.
    [Show full text]
  • Zapatistas: the Shifting Rhetoric of a Modern Revolution
    California State University, San Bernardino CSUSB ScholarWorks Theses Digitization Project John M. Pfau Library 2004 Zapatistas: The shifting rhetoric of a modern revolution Ofelia Morales Bejar Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project Part of the Rhetoric Commons, and the Social Influence and oliticalP Communication Commons Recommended Citation Bejar, Ofelia Morales, "Zapatistas: The shifting rhetoric of a modern revolution" (2004). Theses Digitization Project. 2610. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/2610 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses Digitization Project by an authorized administrator of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ZAPATISTAS: THE SHIFTING RHETORIC OF A MODERN REVOLUTION A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Communication Studies by Ofelia Morales Bejar December 2004 ZAPATISTAS: THE SHIFTING RHETORIC OF A MODERN REVOLUTION A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, San Bernardino by Ofelia Morales Bejar December 2004 Approved by: Stacey Sbwards, Chair, Date Communication Studies ______ Richard Pineda —--- — Copyright 2004 Ofelia Morales Bejar ABSTRACT The Zapatista Revolution that begun in January 1, 1994, led by the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Naci.onal, is the most recent resurgence of an age-old conflict in Mexico: indigenous and poor people's struggle against Mexico's powerful elite. The Zapatista rebels have been notable for their excellent media management skills and their use of new technology to disseminate their message.
    [Show full text]
  • Turtle Shells in Traditional Latin American Music.Cdr
    Edgardo Civallero Turtle shells in traditional Latin American music wayrachaki editora Edgardo Civallero Turtle shells in traditional Latin American music 2° ed. rev. Wayrachaki editora Bogota - 2021 Civallero, Edgardo Turtle shells in traditional Latin American music / Edgardo Civallero. – 2° ed. rev. – Bogota : Wayrachaki editora, 2021, c2017. 30 p. : ill.. 1. Music. 2. Idiophones. 3. Shells. 4. Turtle. 5. Ayotl. 6. Aak. I. Civallero, Edgardo. II. Title. © 1° ed. Edgardo Civallero, Madrid, 2017 © of this digital edition, Edgardo Civallero, Bogota, 2021 Design of cover and inner pages: Edgardo Civallero This book is distributed under a Creative Commons license Attribution- NonCommercial-NonDerivatives 4.0 International. To see a copy of this license, please visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Cover image: Turtle shell idiophone from the Parapetí River (Bolivia). www.kringla.nu/. Introduction Turtle shells have long been used all around the world for building different types of musical instruments: from the gbóló gbóló of the Vai people in Liberia to the kanhi of the Châm people in Indochina, the rattles of the Hopi people in the USA and the drums of the Dan people in Ivory Coast. South and Central America have not been an exception: used especially as idiophones ―but also as components of certain membranophones and aero- phones―, the shells, obtained from different species of turtles and tortoises, have been part of the indigenous music since ancient times; in fact, archaeological evi- dence indicate their use among the Mexica, the different Maya-speaking societies and other peoples of Classical Mesoamerica. After the European invasion and con- quest of America and the introduction of new cultural patterns, shells were also used as the sound box of some Izikowitz (1934) theorized that Latin American string instruments.
    [Show full text]
  • El Significado Del Neozapatismo Mexicano Dentro De Los Movimientos Antisistémicos Actuales
    TEORÍA Y PRAXIS No. 27, Junio-Diciembre 2015 3 El significado del neozapatismo mexicano dentro de los movimientos antisistémicos actuales Carlos Antonio Aguirre Rojas1 Recibido en febrero de 2015, aceptado en marzo de 2015 ¿Qué pasa en las montañas del Sureste mexicano, que encuentra eco y espejo en las calles de Europa, los suburbios de Asia, los campos de América, los pueblos de África y las casas de Oceanía? Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, Un sueño soñado en los cinco continentes, 3 de agosto de 1996. Resumen En este escrito se hace una evaluación a veinte años del nacimiento del movimiento zapatista, partiendo de sus impactos múltiples y profundos, de persistente duración. Se ponen en relieve aquí su rápida difusión, sus propuestas que reúnen y reformulan los reclamos de los movimientos antisistémicos y su redefinición de los actores, las demandas, los objetivos y las estrategias de esos movimientos. Veinte años después, el zapatismo plantea exigencias que la experiencia de esos años ha madurado y moldeado, transformándose en propuestas maduras que pueden llevarse a cabo. Palabras claves Neozapatismo, zapatismo, movimientos populares,movimientos antisistémicos. Abstract In this article, the Zapatista movement is evaluated after 20 years from its beginning, starting from the multiple and deep impacts of persistent existence. Here, the rapid spread is highlighted, the proposals are put together and the demands of the anti-systemic movements and the re- definition of the actors, demands, objectives, and strategies of those movements are reformulated. After 20 years, the Zapatismo holds demands that the experience through those years has matured and molded, transforming them into well-reasoned proposals that can be implemented.
    [Show full text]
  • Childhood and the Construction of Identity in Rosario Castellanos' "Balun-Canan" and Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima"
    Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2004-07-09 Through the Eyes of Shamans: Childhood and the Construction of Identity in Rosario Castellanos' "Balun-Canan" and Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima" Tomas Hidalgo Nava Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Classics Commons, and the Comparative Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Nava, Tomas Hidalgo, "Through the Eyes of Shamans: Childhood and the Construction of Identity in Rosario Castellanos' "Balun-Canan" and Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima"" (2004). Theses and Dissertations. 146. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/146 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. THROUGH THE EYES OF SHAMANS: CHILDHOOD AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN ROSARIO CASTELLANOS’ BALÚN-CANÁN AND RUDOLFO ANAYA’S BLESS ME, ULTIMA by Tomás Hidalgo Nava A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature Brigham Young University August 2004 BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Tomás Hidalgo Nava This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. ___________________________ ____________________________________ Date George B. Handley, Chair ___________________________ ____________________________________ Date Steven P. Sondrup ___________________________ ____________________________________ Date Douglas J.
    [Show full text]
  • Tania Carolina Camacho Villa
    Making milpa, making life in La Mera Selva: A testimony of how Tzeltal peasants perform maize cultivation practices in the Lacandon Jungle, Mexico Tania Carolina Camacho Villa Thesis committee Thesis supervisor Prof. dr. L. E. Visser Professor of Rural Development Sociology Wageningen University Thesis co-supervisors Dr. ir. G. M. Verschoor Assistant professor, Rural Development Sociology Group Wageningen University Dr. ir. C.J.M. Almekinders Assistant professor, Technology and Agrarian Development Group Wageningen University Other members Prof. dr. T.W.M. Kuyper, Wageningen University Prof. dr. R.T.J. Buve, Leiden University Dr. J. A. Cuevas Sánchez, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Mexico Dr. ir. G. van der Haar, Wageningen University This research was conducted under the auspices of the Graduate School of Social Sciences (WASS). Making milpa, making life in La Mera Selva: A testimony of how Tzeltal peasants perform maize cultivation practices in the Lacandon Jungle, Mexico Tania Carolina Camacho Villa Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. dr. M. J. Kropff, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Thursday 15 December 2011 at 11 a.m. in the Aula Tania Carolina Camacho Villa Making milpa, making life in la Mera Selva: A testimony of how Tzeltal peasants perform maize cultivation practices in the Lacandon Jungle, Mexico. Thesis Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL (2011) ISBN: 978-90-8585-977-2 ! As a peasant apprentice I learned how With one hand you cultivate maize And with the other you cultivate life Jokol lagual ! TABLE OF CONTENTS page Chapter 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Awakening: the Zapatista Revolt and Its Implications for Civil-Military Relations in Mexico
    THE AWAKENING: THE ZAPATISTA REVOLT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS AND THE FUTURE OF MEXICO Stephen J. Wager Department of History U.S. Military Academy and Donald E. Schulz Strategic Studies Institute U.S. Army War College December 30, 1994 ******* The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. This report is approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. ******* Comments pertaining to this report are invited and should be forwarded to: Director, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5050. Comments also may be conveyed directly to the authors by calling commercial (717) 245-4123 or DSN 242-4123. ******* The authors wish to thank Drs. Roderic Camp, Edward Williams, Gabriel Marcella, Steven Metz, and Earl Tilford, and Colonels William Allen and William Doll for their incisive comments on earlier drafts of this work. Needless to say, any errors of omission or commission are entirely the authors' responsibility. ii FOREWORD On January 1, 1994, an obscure guerrilla group calling itself the Zapatista National Liberation Army attacked and captured four cities and a number of towns in Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state. The violence shocked the Mexican government and military, as well as the public, and ushered in a multifaceted political crisis that over the course of the next several months brought into question not only the prospects for democracy and economic development, but also for continued political stability.
    [Show full text]
  • Globalisation and Resistance in Post-Cold War Mexico: Difference, Citizenship and Biodiversity Conflicts in Chiapas
    Third World Quarterly, Vol 22, No 6, pp 1045–1061, 2001 Globalisation and resistance in post-cold war Mexico: difference, citizenship and biodiversity conflicts in Chiapas NEIL HARVEY ABSTRACT In the post-cold war era changes at the global, regional, national and local level are altering earlier ways of understanding and practising citizen- ship. In Mexico the decline of the state-guided national development project (1930s–70s) has been accompanied by the transformation of corporatist forms of political control. This article uses examples of recent biodiversity conflicts in the state of Chiapas to illustrate this process in terms of a struggle between competing models of ‘market citizenship’ and ‘pluri-ethnic citizenship’. By focusing on the actions and demands of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and other indigenous organisations, the article highlights how resistance to globalisation in the Lacandon rainforest of Chiapas is related to struggles for collective rights and a more inclusive form of democracy in Mexico. This also raises important questions regarding the future shape of national identities and the scope of democratic rights around the world in the post-cold war era. In recent years a new type of conflict has emerged over control of the biological resources of the world. The rapid pace of corporate concentration in the agro- chemical and pharmaceutical industries has been accompanied by increasing competition for access to genetic materials found in plants, fungi and other living organisms. Since the areas of greatest biodiversity happen to be located in the tropical regions of Latin America, Asia and Africa, such areas are currently the sites of new struggles over the right to use biological resources and indigenous knowledge.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Anarchists
    A Movement of Movements?—5 david graeber THE NEW ANARCHISTS t’s hard to think of another time when there has been such a gulf between intellectuals and activists; between theorists of Irevolution and its practitioners. Writers who for years have been publishing essays that sound like position papers for vast social movements that do not in fact exist seem seized with confusion or worse, dismissive contempt, now that real ones are everywhere emerging. It’s particularly scandalous in the case of what’s still, for no particularly good reason, referred to as the ‘anti-globalization’ movement, one that has in a mere two or three years managed to transform completely the sense of historical possibilities for millions across the planet. This may be the result of sheer ignorance, or of relying on what might be gleaned from such overtly hostile sources as the New York Times; then again, most of what’s written even in progressive outlets seems largely to miss the point—or at least, rarely focuses on what participants in the movement really think is most important about it. As an anthropologist and active participant—particularly in the more radical, direct-action end of the movement—I may be able to clear up some common points of misunderstanding; but the news may not be gratefully received. Much of the hesitation, I suspect, lies in the reluc- tance of those who have long fancied themselves radicals of some sort to come to terms with the fact that they are really liberals: interested in expanding individual freedoms and pursuing social justice, but not in ways that would seriously challenge the existence of reigning institu- tions like capital or state.
    [Show full text]