EZLN: Politics and power from the social movements

Abstract

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, like all movements, has not had one and the same policy over the years. Comparing the First Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle and the subsequent ones with the latest, the Sixth Declaration, we see that the classic insurrectionism of the first moment—aimed at defeating the army in armed struggle and taking Mexico City and the government—gave way to: a) an effort to break physical isolation through national and international alliances; b) a withdrawal into the Zapatista municipalities while maintaining strong support and propaganda abroad; c) an attempt to amend the Constitution through pressure and legal means, including the March of the Color of the Earth to the Chamber of Deputies; d) prolonged silence and the building of the autonomous experiments known as Caracoles and Good Government Councils; and e) finally, with the Sixth Declaration, national politics and the construction of a political and social front.