The Extemporaneous and a National Initiative
ZAPATISTA SIXTH COMMISSION.
Mexico.
July 18, 2021.
To the adherents of the Declaration for Life:
To the Europe from Below and to the Left:
To the National and International Sixth:
To the National Indigenous Congress-Indigenous Governing Council:
To the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion:
To the Collective: Llegó la Hora de los Pueblos
16 Jul, 21 La Extemporánea y una Iniciativa Nacional
Traduzione Italiano (Italiano)
Deutsch Übersetzung (Alemán)
Перевод на русский язык (Ruso)
English Translation (Inglés)
Ελληνική μετάφραση (Griego)
Traduction en Français (Francés)
From: Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Compañeras, compañeroas, compañeros:
Sisters, brothers, and hermanoas:
I greet you in the name of the children, women, them, elders and men of the Zapatista communities, and I communicate to you the following:
First.- We already have a strong Zapatista airborne company of 177 Zapatistas ready. It is made up in its totality by nativeso f Mayan roots, from the Cho’ol, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal and Castilian languages. We were born in the geography called Mexico. Our ancestors were born and died in these lands. As the Mexican State does not recognize our identity and origin, and tells us that we are “extemporaneous” (so says the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, that we are “extemporaneous” Mexicans), we have decided to baptize this unit of Listening and Word [Escucha y Palabra] as “The Extemporaneous.”
As we saw in the dictionaries, “extemporaneous” means “that it is inopportune, inconvenient”, or “that it is inappropriate for the time in which it happens.” In other words, that we are inopportune, inconvenient and inappropriate.
Never before have we been so adequately defined. We are happy that at last the Mexican State recognizes that this is how it considers the original peoples of this geography called Mexico. I think that’s how it laments not having annihilated us… yet; and that our existence contradicts the official discourse about the «conquest.» Now it is understood that the demand of the government of Mexico to that of Spain, demanding that it ask forgiveness, is for not having exterminated us.
Of the 177 delegates, 62 of us still do not have a passport. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs is in a bind due to the «inconvenience» that we represent. Despite the fact that we have demonstrated our identity and origin, it continues demanding more and more documents. The only thing left for them to do is to ask the governments of Central America to say that we are not citizens of those countries.
2.- The airborne company «The Extemporaneous,» with me in the lead, has been preparing since October 2020 and we have been in quarantine for almost a month. It is composed of:
– Several groups of «Listening and Word.» [Escucha y Palabra] Indigenous Zapatistas whose existence and memory cover the history of our struggle from the years before the uprising to the beginning of the Journey for Life.
– A women’s soccer team. It is made up of 36 milicianas (who are also “Listening and Word”) who have taken the name and example of the late Comandanta Ramona, the first Zapatista to leave Chiapas, and identify the team as “Ixchel Ramona” and thus they will go out into the sports fields of Europe.
– The self-styled «Popcorn Command.» [Comando Palomitas] They are 6 girls and boys from the group «Play and Mischief» [Juego y Travesura]. Like all of us, they have been preparing.
– The coordinating group of the invasion. They are those who will be in charge of organizing and, where appropriate, reinforcing the “Listening and Word” groups that will be distributed in the 5 areas into which we have divided the European continent. They will also attend to the free and paid media, participate in round tables, conferences and public events, and will evaluate the development of the invasion.
With Squadron 421 we will complete the Zapatista first wave and begin the visits to those who invited us and, with attention and respect, we will listen to them. If they ask, we will tell them about our little story of resistance and rebellion.
3.- A delegation from the National Indigenous Congress-CIG will travel with us, strong in 10 indigenous languages: original Maya, Popoluca, Binizá, Purhépecha, Raramuri, Otomí, Naayeri / Wixarika, and Nahua, as well as 3 brothers/sisters from the People’s Front in Defense of the Land and Water of Tlaxcala, Puebla y Morelos. A total of 13.
4.- Since I am in charge of the Journey for Life-European Chapter, I have entrusted Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano to take command in Mexico and to initiate, as soon as possible, contacts with the National Indigenous Congress- CIG, with the National Sixth, with the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion, with Non-Governmental Organizations for the defense of Human Rights, with groups of Victims of violence, relatives of the disappeared and similars, as well as with artists, scientists, and intellectuals, with the aim of making them aware of a new national initiative and inviting them to organize for it. And thus to open a front of struggle for Life in our country.
5.- In a few more days, which we will inform you in due time, we will start our trip. Now all of us are trying to get vaccinated so we don’t bring you health problems, and waiting for the so-called “third wave” of infections in Mexico to decrease a bit.
Then we will go to the Caracol Jacinto Canek, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, and there we will concentrate. From there we will move to Mexico City where the 177 delegates will go to the offices of the SRE (Secretary of Foreign Affairs) to be told, to our faces and in public, that we have no rights because we are “extemporaneous”, and that its “aspirations” force it to delegate its responsibility to racist and ignorant bureaucrats. Then, perhaps Paris, France.
We will tell you the precise dates later, because it seems that, for the French government, we are also inopportune; In addition, of course, to the world’s new wave of COVID 19. Oh well, it must be globalization.
6.- We are a little nervous but happy -because it is not the first time that we will do something without knowing what awaits us. We already thank the Europe from Below, the National Sixth, the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion, NGOs in solidarity from this and the other side of the ocean, and the collective «The Time of the Peoples has arrived»[Llegó la Hora de los Pueblos] for the economic and in-kind support that will allow us to make the air trip. The cost of maritime travel and passports (between 10 thousand and 15 thousand pesos each, for the continuous trips to and from our towns to meet the ridiculous requirements of the Mexican State for being «extemporaneous»), was fully covered by the EZLN and left us without a reserve fund. But it did not represent, for any of the delegates, any personal expense.
7.- Regarding the national initiative – of which SupGaleano remains in charge -, I can only foretell that it will begin with our call to participate in the so-called “Popular Consultation» on the 1st of August, and to answer “Yes» to the question about whether or not something should be done to comply with the right to truth and justice of those who have been victims by actions and omissions of the Mexican State (that that, and nothing else, is what is indicated by the question elaborated by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation of the country called Mexico). Those up there, in the «opposition» parties, who are resisting the consultation, are not only afraid of what will come out of it; they are also terrified that the victims will recover their demands from the dastardly and perverse use that the ultra-right-wing makes of their pain. Because pain should not be an electoral business, and even less for such shitty purposes as the return to the government of those who are some of those mainly responsible for the violence, and who before only dedicated themselves to accumulate money and cynicism. That is why the INE (National Electoral Institute), which also considers the indigenous people to be «extemporaneous» and denies us our ID cards, is doing everything possible to make the consultation fail, because it knows that it also has its share of the crime due to its exclusive policy in favor of the light-skinned and urban.
We have to make a start, not looking up, but looking at the victims. We must turn the consultation into an «extemporaneous» consultation, in order to start, independent of those above, a movement for a Commission for Truth and Justice for the Victims, or whatever it may be called. Because there can be no life without truth and justice.
That’s all for now.
From the Mountains of the Mexican Southeast.
For the extemporaneous Zapatistas.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Still in Mexico, July 2021
«Bella Ciao» versión trombones, Germán El Trombón & El Clan del Solar"Bella Ciao" trombone version, Germán El Trombón & El Clan del Solar.
Compañeras, compañeroas, compañeros:
Sisters, brothers, and hermanoas:
I greet you in the name of the children, women, them, elders and men of the Zapatista communities, and I communicate to you the following:
First.- We already have a strong Zapatista airborne company of 177 Zapatistas ready. It is made up in its totality by nativeso f Mayan roots, from the Cho’ol, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal and Castilian languages. We were born in the geography called Mexico. Our ancestors were born and died in these lands. As the Mexican State does not recognize our identity and origin, and tells us that we are “extemporaneous” (so says the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, that we are “extemporaneous” Mexicans), we have decided to baptize this unit of Listening and Word [Escucha y Palabra] as “The Extemporaneous.”
As we saw in the dictionaries, “extemporaneous” means “that it is inopportune, inconvenient”, or “that it is inappropriate for the time in which it happens.” In other words, that we are inopportune, inconvenient and inappropriate.
Never before have we been so adequately defined. We are happy that at last the Mexican State recognizes that this is how it considers the original peoples of this geography called Mexico. I think that’s how it laments not having annihilated us… yet; and that our existence contradicts the official discourse about the «conquest.» Now it is understood that the demand of the government of Mexico to that of Spain, demanding that it ask forgiveness, is for not having exterminated us.
Of the 177 delegates, 62 of us still do not have a passport. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs is in a bind due to the «inconvenience» that we represent. Despite the fact that we have demonstrated our identity and origin, it continues demanding more and more documents. The only thing left for them to do is to ask the governments of Central America to say that we are not citizens of those countries.
2.- The airborne company «The Extemporaneous,» with me in the lead, has been preparing since October 2020 and we have been in quarantine for almost a month. It is composed of:
– Several groups of «Listening and Word.» [Escucha y Palabra] Indigenous Zapatistas whose existence and memory cover the history of our struggle from the years before the uprising to the beginning of the Journey for Life.
– A women’s soccer team. It is made up of 36 milicianas (who are also “Listening and Word”) who have taken the name and example of the late Comandanta Ramona, the first Zapatista to leave Chiapas, and identify the team as “Ixchel Ramona” and thus they will go out into the sports fields of Europe.
– The self-styled «Popcorn Command.» [Comando Palomitas] They are 6 girls and boys from the group «Play and Mischief» [Juego y Travesura]. Like all of us, they have been preparing.
– The coordinating group of the invasion. They are those who will be in charge of organizing and, where appropriate, reinforcing the “Listening and Word” groups that will be distributed in the 5 areas into which we have divided the European continent. They will also attend to the free and paid media, participate in round tables, conferences and public events, and will evaluate the development of the invasion.
With Squadron 421 we will complete the Zapatista first wave and begin the visits to those who invited us and, with attention and respect, we will listen to them. If they ask, we will tell them about our little story of resistance and rebellion.
3.- A delegation from the National Indigenous Congress-CIG will travel with us, strong in 10 indigenous languages: original Maya, Popoluca, Binizá, Purhépecha, Raramuri, Otomí, Naayeri / Wixarika, and Nahua, as well as 3 brothers/sisters from the People’s Front in Defense of the Land and Water of Tlaxcala, Puebla y Morelos. A total of 13.
4.- Since I am in charge of the Journey for Life-European Chapter, I have entrusted Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano to take command in Mexico and to initiate, as soon as possible, contacts with the National Indigenous Congress- CIG, with the National Sixth, with the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion, with Non-Governmental Organizations for the defense of Human Rights, with groups of Victims of violence, relatives of the disappeared and similars, as well as with artists, scientists, and intellectuals, with the aim of making them aware of a new national initiative and inviting them to organize for it. And thus to open a front of struggle for Life in our country.
5.- In a few more days, which we will inform you in due time, we will start our trip. Now all of us are trying to get vaccinated so we don’t bring you health problems, and waiting for the so-called “third wave” of infections in Mexico to decrease a bit.
Then we will go to the Caracol Jacinto Canek, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, and there we will concentrate. From there we will move to Mexico City where the 177 delegates will go to the offices of the SRE (Secretary of Foreign Affairs) to be told, to our faces and in public, that we have no rights because we are “extemporaneous”, and that its “aspirations” force it to delegate its responsibility to racist and ignorant bureaucrats. Then, perhaps Paris, France.
We will tell you the precise dates later, because it seems that, for the French government, we are also inopportune; In addition, of course, to the world’s new wave of COVID 19. Oh well, it must be globalization.
6.- We are a little nervous but happy -because it is not the first time that we will do something without knowing what awaits us. We already thank the Europe from Below, the National Sixth, the Networks of Resistance and Rebellion, NGOs in solidarity from this and the other side of the ocean, and the collective «The Time of the Peoples has arrived»[Llegó la Hora de los Pueblos] for the economic and in-kind support that will allow us to make the air trip. The cost of maritime travel and passports (between 10 thousand and 15 thousand pesos each, for the continuous trips to and from our towns to meet the ridiculous requirements of the Mexican State for being «extemporaneous»), was fully covered by the EZLN and left us without a reserve fund. But it did not represent, for any of the delegates, any personal expense.
7.- Regarding the national initiative – of which SupGaleano remains in charge -, I can only foretell that it will begin with our call to participate in the so-called “Popular Consultation» on the 1st of August, and to answer “Yes» to the question about whether or not something should be done to comply with the right to truth and justice of those who have been victims by actions and omissions of the Mexican State (that that, and nothing else, is what is indicated by the question elaborated by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation of the country called Mexico). Those up there, in the «opposition» parties, who are resisting the consultation, are not only afraid of what will come out of it; they are also terrified that the victims will recover their demands from the dastardly and perverse use that the ultra-right-wing makes of their pain. Because pain should not be an electoral business, and even less for such shitty purposes as the return to the government of those who are some of those mainly responsible for the violence, and who before only dedicated themselves to accumulate money and cynicism. That is why the INE (National Electoral Institute), which also considers the indigenous people to be «extemporaneous» and denies us our ID cards, is doing everything possible to make the consultation fail, because it knows that it also has its share of the crime due to its exclusive policy in favor of the light-skinned and urban.
We have to make a start, not looking up, but looking at the victims. We must turn the consultation into an «extemporaneous» consultation, in order to start, independent of those above, a movement for a Commission for Truth and Justice for the Victims, or whatever it may be called. Because there can be no life without truth and justice.
That’s all for now.
From the Mountains of the Mexican Southeast.
For the extemporaneous Zapatistas.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Still in Mexico, July 2021
«Bella Ciao» versión trombones, Germán El Trombón & El Clan del Solar"Bella Ciao" trombone version, Germán El Trombón & El Clan del Solar.
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