Saturday, April 7, 2012

AMLO reaches out to the EZLN

On the campaign trail in Chiapas just before the Easter break, AMLO made a call to "the rebels of 1994" to participate in his electoral movement. The plaza reportedly fell completely silent as he touched upon the topic of  EZLN, without mentioning the zapatistas by name.

El Universal's description of it as a call for "reconciliation" is not entirely accurate, as reconciliation must go two ways. AMLO has always reached out to EZLN, but the latter responded, in the parody of leftwing secterianism that if unfortunately descended into behind its messiah-complexed Subcomandante Marcos, with givin the PRD the finger (literally) and denouncing it as worse than PAN and PRI, and, to boot, "fascist" - coincidentally the same term the more reactionary wings of the Mexican Catholic church likes to fling around.

In 2006, EZLN openly campaigned against any participation in the 2006 federal elections. I'm not sure to what extent that struck a blow for anything, let alone against the imperialists.

So for a "reconciliation" to take place, the EZLN would also need to do their part.
Don't expect them to.

1 comment:

  1. I've seen some Mexican commentators suggest that Marcos, being a Stalinist, preferred a PAN victory, the better to start the revolution. Anyway, with his "other campaign" having been something of a bust, perhaps the ELZN will, if only by not actively supporting a nulo voto campaign, have some effect. I've always thought discouraging the ELZN and other minority movements from becoming stakeholders in the electoral system was a mistake... one reason I thought trying to limit the number of parties (in the name of "efficiency") was a mistake. Democracy isn't efficient.

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