The Lessons of Mexico's Zapatista Women Activists for Today's Social Movements James Tracy - In These Times
go to original February 2, 2016

Compañeras: Zapatista Women's Stories by Hilary Klein Check it out on Amazon.com

Images of the Zapatistas have always been striking - indigenous peasants with wooden rifles declaring war on the Mexican government; with their faces covered by black ski masks or red bandannas, they symbolically became the face of the faceless, the voice of the voiceless.

On January 1, 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), made up of mostly indigenous peasants from Mexico's southern state of Chiapas, declared war on the Mexican government. It was the same day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed. Coming three years after the end of the Communist bloc, the Zapatistas offered a unique political perspective that combined indigenous perspectives with an organizing model called “leadership through obedience,” reflecting both anarchist and socialist political traditions.

They became one of the major catalysts for the anti-globalization/global justice movement, and the Zapatista ethos offered an alternative to both stale, orthodox leftist party building and the expanding global neoliberal project. Quickly mastering the art of rebellion at the dawn of the internet era, the Zapatistas became a major source of inspiration for young activists, many of whom travelled from North America and Europe to directly work alongside the Zapatistas.

Hilary Klein was one of those young activists. She spent much of the 1990s working in Zapatista communities. Since returning, she has organized at Make the Road New York and currently works the Center For Popular Democracy. Her new book Compañeras: Zapatista Women’s Stories is the first English-language study of the role of indigenous women in the Zapatistas.

Read the interview at In These Times

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