THE LACANDON FOREST AND THE POLITICAL: A RANCIERÈAN ACCOUNT OF THE ZAPATISTA MOVEMENT A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY AYKUT ÖRKÜP IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE FEBRUARY 2014 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Raşit Kaya Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Çırakman Deveci Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Çırakman Deveci (METU, PADM) Assist. Prof. Dr. Aylin Topal (METU, PADM) Instr. Dr. Nalan Soyarık Şentürk (Başkent Uni., PSIR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Aykut Örküp Signature: iii ABSTRACT THE LACANDON FOREST AND THE POLITICAL: A RANCIERÈAN ACCOUNT OF THE ZAPATISTA MOVEMENT Örküp, Aykut M.S., Department of Political Science and Public Administration Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Aslı Çırakman Deveci February 2014, 134 pages This thesis aims to show that the Zapatista movement has a political character in line with the thought of Jacques Rancière. The main themes of Rancière's understanding of politics, such as police/politics distinction, presupposition of equality and subjectivization are presented. It is argued that the Zapatista movement has created a rupture in the police order since the initial uprising of January 1, 1994 showed that there was another world which had been invisible. It is also asserted that the movement has acted out of the presupposition of equality, not only in the declarations, communiques and statements of the members of the EZLN, but also in the practices and principles followed within the Zapatista communities. Finally it is argued that the characteristics of subjectivization, which are argumentative demonstration, theatrical dramatization and impossible identification, are observed in the movement. It is thought that the examination of the Zapatista movement with reference to Rancière's understanding of the ‘political’ will be helpful to understand the Zapatista movement and the hope that it implies for the all movements around the world. Keywords: Zapatista Movement, Jacques Rancière, EZLN, political, politics iv ÖZ LACANDON ORMANI VE SİYASAL: ZAPATİSTA HAREKETİNİN RANCIÈRECİ BİR DEĞERLENDİRMESİ Örküp, Aykut Yüksek Lisans, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Aslı Çırakman Deveci Şubat 2014, 134 sayfa Bu tez, Zapatista hareketinin, Jacques Rancière'nin düşüncesiyle bağdaşan bir şekilde siyasal bir yanı olduğunu göstermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Rancière'nin siyaset anlayışındaki, polis/siyaset ayrımı, eşitliğin varsayımı ve öznelleşme gibi ana temalar sunulmaktadır. 1 Ocak 1994 günü gerçekleşen ilk ayaklanma, daha önceden görülmez olan diğer bir dünyayı gösterdiği için Zapatista hareketinin polis düzeninde bir çatlak yarattığı iddia edilmektedir. Ayrıca hareketin, yalnızca EZLN üyelerinin deklarasyonlarında, duyurularında ve açıklamalarında değil, yanı zamanda Zapatista topluluklarında görülen uygulamalarında ve izledikleri ilkelerde de eşitliğin varsayımı ilkesi üzerinden hareket ettiği öne sürülmektedir. Son olarak, öznelleşmenin özellikleri yani tartışmacı gösteri, teatral dramatizasyon ve imkansız kimlik hareket içinde gözlemlenmektedir. Zapatista hareketinin, Rancière'in 'siyasal' anlayışına referansla incelenmesi, Zapatista hareketini ve hareketin dünya çapındaki tüm hareketler için ortaya koyduğu umudu anlama konusunda faydalı olacağı düşünülmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Zapatista Hareketi, Jacques Rancière, EZLN, siyasal, siyaset. v To Zapatistas vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my greatest attitude to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aslı Çırakman Deveci who provided me with invaluable guidance, help and support. I am also indebted to my thesis committee members, Instr. Dr. Nalan Soyarık Şentürk and Assist. Prof. Dr. Aylin Topal, for their insightful comments. I must express my profound gratitude to my friends Sanem, Pelin, Ayça Berna, Senem and Güray for their help and encouragement in the course of writing this thesis. I am also thankful to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şebnem Oğuz for her valuable comments and support. I am also grateful to my family for their support. Without the support and encouragement of these people, this thesis might not have been completed. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM.............................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT............................ ................................................................................. iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................ v DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 2. RANCIÈRE AND THE POLITICAL ............................................................. 8 2.1 The Distinction between the Police and Politics ................................... 9 2.2 Equality .............................................................................................. 11 2.3 The Wrong or the Miscount ................................................................ 19 2.4 Subjectivization........................................................................ ............ 23 3. A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEXICO.................................................. ............. 27 3.1 The Conquest and the Colonial Era (1521-1810) ................................ 27 3.2 Independence (1810-1821) ................................................................. 32 3.3 The Porfiriato (1876-1911) ................................................................ 41 3.4 Revolution and the Single Party Rule (1911-1982) ............................. 45 3.5 Transition to Neoliberalism (1982-1994) ............................................ 57 4. HISTORY OF THE ZAPATISTA MOVEMENT ....................................... 61 4.1 The Roots and Ten Years of Preparation............................................. 62 4.2 Declaration of War and the First Years ............................................... 65 4.3 The Fourth Declaration....................................................................... 71 4.4 The New Millennium ......................................................................... 74 5. A RANCIÈREAN ACCOUNT OF THE ZAPATISTA MOVEMENT........ 86 5.1 The Distinction between the Police and Politics and the Zapatistas.... 87 5.2 Equality and the Zapatistas ................................................................. 98 5.3 Subjectivization and the Zapatistas ................................................... 105 6. CONCLUSION......................................................................................... 115 viii BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................... 119 APPENDICES APPENDIX A: TURKISH SUMMARY ......................................................... 124 APPENDIX B: TEZ FOTOKOPİSİ İZİN FORMU ......................................... 134 ix CHAPTER I Introduction This study examines the Zapatista Movement, which emerged after the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional - EZLN) went public and took control of several towns in Chiapas on January 1, 1994. Although the occupation of towns by the EZLN did not last long, the emergence of the Zapatista movement had profound effects. Apart from being an inspiration to antisystemic movements all over the world such as the Seattle World Trade Organization protests and the creation of World Social Forum; the Zapatistas abandoned the traditional method of seizing state power through armed struggle used by the previous guerilla groups while renouncing hierarchical organization and organizing on the basis of equality, and made listening a central value in the movement. In addition, the Zapatistas introduced an alternative to the politics in Mexico by opening up political spaces. While seizing political power is not on the agenda of the movement, participation in the elections or supporting candidates in elections are not their ways of engaging in politics, either. Their objective is the creation of autonomous democracy, which is not regulated by the political elite and which is based on equality. In this regard, the Zapatista movement's significance is not only caused by their unmasking the inequalities and exclusion faced by the indigenous but also by their presenting an alternative politics. The analysis of the principles and practices of the Zapatista movement from a Rancièrean perspective