EPR bombings justify Mexican state's clampdown
Oct 1 2007 20:41
Oh good, another Marxist-Leninist "guerrilla army". How fun, bomb some fucking gaslines and shit and vindicate the Mexican army blazing into Cuidad de Oaxaca and arrest a whole bunch of activists accusing them of being in the EPR. Not only that, create a political climate in which its seen as justifiable to commit torture, illegal detention and loads of other heinous shit that's only rumour in San Salvador Atenco, Edo de Mexico. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the government-backed paramilitaries that have spent most of 2007 attacking Zapatista communities in Chiapas.
Links to come but I have a Spanish exam today so I can't really fill in too much right now. I'm planning a longish piece about the state's activities in the last few months which would neatly tie up the above 3 stories, cos they all link into a longer narrative about Calderon's hardlineness. Basically, after the high point of 12-15 months ago, the state's consolidating itself (and the continued harping of Lopez Obrador is aiding this project).
Oct 1 2007 23:50
#2
They list the EPR's bombing campaign after the States attacks on the Chiapas autonomous communities as the reasons for suspending the tour. After Marcos published that gloriously rude open letter to the EPR back in '96 when they first started making headlines, no, the zaps were in no position to ask a political favor from them.
Quote:
Though you may be successful and conquer power, we will continue struggling for democracy, liberty and justice. It does not matter who is in power, the Zapatistas are and have always struggle for democracy, liberty and justice.
Well said comrade!
EZLN Communiqué suspending the second phase of the Other Campaign
To the soldiers and commanders of the Popular Revolutionary Army
Oct 2 2007 01:02
#3
Yeah he's well down on them. Also props to him for his lukewarmness RE: APPO, although it really fucked off all the Trots I know.
And my point was that the EPR's resurrection has created a climate in which the state feels it have another crack at Chiapas, Oaxaca, Atenco etc etc (well not entirely in chronological terms but I'd still link the two). 2007 has been a year of bourgeois recuperation.
Oct 4 2007 20:07
#4
Incidentally, a friend of mine was telling me yesterday that it's generally accepted that the government actually stitched up EPR on the gasline bombings, Strategy of Tension style. She was quoting some witnesses from the town concerned or something. I haven't seen any evidence of this but I haven't fully looked. You seen anything David?
Oct 4 2007 21:49
#5
The fact that they alternately confuse and annoy Trots seems to me yet more reason to feel a strong sense of solidarity with the zaps. APPO is a highy mixed bag politically, with more than it's share of opportunists, reformists and vanguardists, but for that matter so were the soviets and the Paris Commune.
It also has a significant number of libertarian revolutionaries and a broad base among workers and the poor, as did they. I understand why Marcos and the commandant@s didn't drop what they were doing and run to Oaxaca City, but there was practical solidarity shown. I think if i were in the middle of a major urban insurrection I'd rather have highway blockades and food caravans by way of support, as the Chiapas rebel communties supplied, than political interventions by high profile quests I'd have to supply security and publicity for.
I hadn't heard that, about the set-up, but it seems possible. from my readings, EPR had a split a few years ago and it wouldn't surprise me if one or both factions are rife with provocateurs.Then again, there are leftists who sincerely think clandestine armed struggle is the correct path, indeed the only path, to social revolution. Damn fools in my view.
One way or another, the bombings are a significant shift in tactics for the EPR from the firearms attacks of their campaign in the late '90's.
Oct 4 2007 23:39
#6
I agree that you aren't gonna get the perfect workers' council and should be prepared to settle for less, and in fact, APPO shows a remarkable demographic diversity in terms of social status and is far from simply the Trojan Horse of politicos. However, that does seem to be the direction it's taking. What does APPO even do nowadays?
And yeah, Trots and the Zapatistas is a funny one. They all go strangely quiet.
Oct 5 2007 01:35
#7
The latest press releases on oaxacalibre.org show APPO coordinating a national front against repression with CNTE and comrades from Atenco and initiating a good sized march for the victims of police violence, not up to the Mega-Marches of the past, but significant. Defensive organizing but logical and unelectoral organizing as far as i can tell.
With my pretty much non-existant Spanish I lost track of the debate on electoral policy in the Assembly and aren't sure what they eventually decided to do. I would imagine they played a role in the h$avy absention rate in the election for governor. When i last tried to follow the issue on Oaxacan movement sites the debate seemingly had as it's poles "trust no one but punish PRI at the polls and build the Assembly" and "trust no one, vote for no one and build the Assembly".. Earlier there had been a faction of fopmer PRD operatives who wanted APPO to either run or actively support electoral campaigns but they were told they couldn't do so as APPO. The campaign to block 7as supported by cipo-rfm, alia.za magonista/zapatista, VOCAL collective and many of the commen4ators on oaxacalibre
Oct 9 2007 03:19
#8
Article now up, thanks to David for the links. I think APPO are struggling, but the national front against repression sounds like a good idea and there's a lot of talk about it. Prisoner support has become a real hot button issue...the majority of political posters/graff I see are along those lines. Shit, I can't believe I left that out of the article. Ah well, neat follow up story I suppose. 
Oct 9 2007 04:17
#9
Alan wrote:
2007 has been a year of bourgeois recuperation.
Says the tourista.
Oct 9 2007 04:23
#10
that's turista. And keep your unfunny quips in Libcommunity...noone really cares what you think.
Oct 9 2007 15:33
#11
Alan, good article but I have one minor correction. CNTE was founded as an opposiition group in SNTE before Gordilo broke Seccion 22's strike. According to a Trot site i just found, she was appointed as union presidant by PRI president Carlos Salinas de Gortari
Oct 10 2007 21:46
#12
Yeah i know, it was more a case of awkward phrasing that made there seem to be a chronological causality...
BTW they haven't cancelled the entire campaign, just this leg of Marcos' world tour (haha). Also, my thread title's shit, something like "EPR bombings justify Mexican state's clampdown" would be sweet. C'mon, Joseph K or someone's gotta be online.