A contribution by María Luisa de la Garza.
On January 1, 1994, Indigenous people from the Mexican state of Chiapas rose up in arms to demand the essentials for a dignified life: shelter, land, work, food, health, education, freedom, independence, justice, democracy, and peace. Three decades later—and under even harsher conditions, since organized crime now adds to long-standing structural violence—the Zapatistas continue to challenge us to build life-affirming projects that undermine the death-driven agendas taking hold across the globe. In a recent communiqué (available in several languages here), they asked how the rage scattered across five continents might recognize itself, become collective and creative:
“Is [rage] inherited? Acquired? Cultivated? Lost? Transformed? Contagious? (…) How does it become the historical root of entire peoples—different in geography, language, culture, history, time? Is rage the bridge between pain and rebellion? At what moment do anguish, despair, and helplessness become rage? (…) And what if all rages share a single root, and in that root, we—the peoples—meet? Will we greet each other? Will we have the strength to smile, embrace, exchange not only our pain but also the name of the one responsible—the same face (though different), the sardonic laugh, the mocking eyes, the cynicism, the awareness of impunity, the flag of money? (…) And what if, despite all our differences, what unites us is a shared rage? Who could stand against us? Who would condemn us to the same defeat as before, as now, as today? Who will threaten us with a tomorrow that looks like yesterday?”
To mark the 30th anniversary of this struggle, a network of scholars published 30 pocket-sized books in tribute to the movement, its teachings, and the challenges it poses to us. These are brief, freely accessible, and cover a wide variety of topics. They can be downloaded at
