[DEBATE] : (Fwd) Marcos on the Other Campaign

[Patrick Bond]

LETTER FROM MARCOS TO ADHERENTS OF THE SIXTH DECLARATION

By Subcomandante Marcos
The Other Mexico

[translation by NarcoNews / The Other Journalism]

May 30, 2006

To all adherents of the Sixth and the Other:
Companeras and companeros:

As you may already know, in the Assembly of May 29th we presented a 
proposal for an Action Plan. Because of the weather and that some 
friends from various states had to get going, we explained it only 
briefly there. We think it, therefore, a good idea to explain the 
proposal in a bit more detail, and so we send along here these thoughts. 
Alright, then.

1. We, as the Sixth Commission of the EZLN, appreciate that the 
mobilizations of May 19th (decentralized) and the march of May 28th (a 
centralized concentration) show that the Other Campaign has evolved from 
being just a proposal to becoming a national organization with its own 
identity.

2. In particular, the May 19th mobilizations (and all those that took 
place all over the country throughout the month of May) demonstrate that 
the Other Campaign is not dependent on either the Sixth Commission or 
Subcomandante Marcos. Those present for the National Assembly of 
Adherents of May 29th [for those not present-the majority of 
adherents-and who have access to alternative media, we recommend that 
you connect for example with Radio Pacheco, Radio Sabotaje, Ke Huelga, 
Narco News, Indymedia, among others, where surely they have the 
recordings of speeches and so forth of the state delegates' reports] 
they were able to see that important things were accomplished in states 
where the Sixth Commission hasn't yet passed through (the whole northern 
part of the country). They could also see that there were plenty of 
actions that demonstrated ingenuity and creativity.  That confirmed what 
we had pointed out when we let everyone know that the Sixth Commission 
(and not the Other C
 ampaign, which is a coalition to which we belong) was staying in one 
place to push for the freedom of the prisoners. With or without the 
Sixth Commission, the Other Campaign marches on. We could spend a lot of 
energy reflecting on whatever you like regarding the Sup's protagonism, 
devotee-ism, messianism, or other -isms, but the reality is that without 
him and without the EZLN, mobilizations will happen, and successfully, 
all over the country.

3. With everything going against it, (a disinformation campaign in the 
media, poor or non-existent organization, adverse public opinion, among 
other things) members of the "Other" from different states of the 
Mexican Republic and from the "Other" on the Other Side, organized in 
their own way and on their own clock, in just one week created a 
national mobilization with a common aim: freedom for the prisoners of 
Atenco. All they had going for them was the conviction of a just cause 
and the certainty of knowing themselves to be part of a national 
movement-anti-capitalist and from the left. In localities, sub-regions, 
regions, and states, adherents organized themselves and completed their 
elemental duty, which we have as friends: to support each other, mutually.

4. The May 28th' march in Mexico City was a NATIONAL concentration, and 
fundamentally, of the "Other." The majority of those present were, and 
are, members of the "Other," committed and raising the flag. Without 
set-up transportation, without any support outside the "Other," against 
the grain of disinformation, at their own expense, delegates of 
adherents from all 32 of this country's states and federal district came 
together to one place and one time and with one mission: freedom for our 
imprisoned friends.

5. All of this indicates (for the Zapatistas) that the "Other" has 
passed through, by its acts, the organizing stage. Although there are 
still some important projects ahead regarding defining its profile, the 
"Other" already responds as a national organization (in all 32 states), 
with an ethic (to not leave the fate of the imprisoned to chance), with 
high morals (to super-impose our selves onto the terror that the 
governmental action meant to impose in Atenco), and with our capacity to 
autonomously and independently mobilize (through both decentralized and 
concentrated demonstrations). We think there is a need to continue the 
discussion of the six points and, at the same time, to go forward with 
the organization of our activities (as our friends have demonstrated 
across the country).

6. The aggressive response by the political class overall and by the 
mighty power of money against the "Other" confirms that we are headed in 
the right direction. Up above, they see us as the enemy, and that means 
that our fundamental characteristics are clearly defined: 
anti-capitalist, from below, to the left, and non-electoral.

7. As the Sixth Commission of EZLN, we thought this was going to take 
some time. The aggressive governmental action against the "Other" in 
Atenco required us to choose between two options: to retreat or to 
respond in an organized way. The "Other" chose to respond, organized, 
and this afforded us a profile that otherwise would have taken more time 
to establish. We aren't saying either way would have been better or 
worse, we're only pointing out that this is how it happened. Without 
leaders or heads, the "Other"
responded as a single body all across the national territory.

8. As the Sixth Commission of EZLN, we salute all members of the "Other" 
in Mexico and on the Other Side, and we express to you the honor and 
pride we have to be your compa~eros.

9. As the Sixth Commission of EZLN, we see that international support in 
the fight for freedom and justice for the prisoners of Atenco is very 
important. According to what we have been told by our friends in the 
Intergalactic Commission, at least 124 actions in 52 cities in 24 
countries of the world have taken place. On just the 28th of May, there 
were demonstrations in cities such as Rome, Berlin, Toronto, Vancouver, 
Havana, Buenos Aires, Mar de Plata, San Francisco, and in other places 
that they will tell us of later. As the Sixth Commission of EZLN, we 
salute the solidarity actions all over the world that are being made to 
happen by men, women, children, and elders of different cultures, 
colors, tongues, and ways of life, and we invite the whole "Other" to 
learn about these actions in the Zezta Internacional section of our web 
page.

Based on this evaluation, we are proposing to the entire "Other" in 
Mexico and to the "Other" on the Other Side the following plan of action:

1. To maintain the goal of freeing the prisoners and start to move 
forward in the organization and building of the "Other" in localities 
(cities), sub-regions (counties), regions (provinces), states, sectors, 
and zones; and in this way, to go forward in the construction of the 
"Other Alternative" for the organization of those below and to the left.

2. To deepen the cultural front, the artistic front, and the 
communications front in the fight for those imprisoned.

3. To create a National Commission of Liaison, provisional and with a 
single marked and defined assignment. One or two people of every "Other" 
work organizing unity (for example like the sub-regions that organized 
themselves for the visit of the Sixth Commission) to create a REGIONAL 
proposal, and also in the sectors as follows local logic and dynamic.

By "work organizing unity," we understand it as a unity that through its 
acts has come together for a purpose like the visit of the Sixth 
Commission, or for the actions of May 19th, or to attend a march; or in 
other words, that moment in which organizations, groups, collectives, 
and individuals come together and agree to make an organized action 
happen. What we mean are coordinations or commissions by city, county, 
state, or sector. What we propose is that in every state, province, 
county, city, it be decided with which part of the "other" it is in 
their best interest to stay in direct communication with, by 
coordination and actions of mutual support.

For example, perhaps the "Others" in Quintana Roo, Yucatan, and Campeche 
might decide to communicate and coordinate as a Peninsular Region since 
they have similar kinds of issues. Other examples: Regarding the "Other" 
in Morelos, should they coordinate with the southerly states, the 
easterly states, or the central states? Regarding the Huasteca Potosina 
Sub-region, is it in their best interest to get together with San Luis 
Potosi on the state level or with the other Huastecas? Should the 
Huicholes coordinate with the Jalisco "Other" or with the Durango 
"Other" or with the Nayarit "Other" or align themselves only when it is 
convenient (in time), in support of themselves and each "Other" group 
from all of the states in which their territory stretches? We already 
saw on the tour, for example, that in a certain part of Veracruz it made 
more sense to get together with a certain part of Hidalgo than with the 
"Other" of Veracruz. In the end, what we want to say is that the "Other" 
has no reason to subject itself to geographical limits imposed from 
above, but instead for each to follow their own historical orientation 
and organize that-a-way.

What we propose is that every "Other" work organizing unity discuss and 
propose with whom it would be in their best interest to create a Region, 
in which to learn, share, coordinate, and make agreements. If this is 
allright by everybody, then everybody would analyze, discuss, and come 
to an agreement where it would be best, and they'd send one or two 
commissioned people to get together with everybody else in this 
"Provisional Commission of National Networking."

The Provisional Commission of National Networking would then make a 
national proposal of "regionalizing" according to the proposals of each 
group. So, all the commissioned people would get together and make the 
proposal of a new "Other" map and send it out all over to see what 
everyone thinks. And after that the Commission of National Networking 
will disappear, complying with its Provisional existence. This way, in 
sum, an "Other" geography would be made, one from below and to the left.

4. To reaffirm the anti-capitalist and leftward character of the 
"Other."  The freedom of the imprisoned is right now the highest flag 
that the "Other" is flying, but the "Other" is not a solidarity 
committee with political prisoners but instead a national movement 
against the system that strips us bare, exploits us, looks down on us, 
and holds us down.

5. To bust into the calendar of those up above with civil and peaceful 
organization and demonstration. If those up above intend to pretend that 
nothing is going on and have their "holiday" without freeing our 
friends, we will put ourselves on their calendar and schedule our demand 
for that freedom there.

6. To put a definition forward in opposition to the electoral process: 
the alternative isn't to vote for one or the other or to not vote at 
all; the alternative is to organize or not, below and to the left. This 
is to say that we are not within in the electoral logic, but instead we 
are in that of the construction of a movement that truly opposes the 
capitalist system.

For the above reasons, it is proposed:

- Local decentralized demonstrations with defined purpose and action.
- Art, culture, and communication for the causes of freedom and justice 
of those who fight for social causes.
It is proposed that June 11th be the day that everyone in their own 
places, in their own ways, does that.