<nettime> Re: Zapatistas/Part 2

[ricardo dominguez <rdom@thing.net>]

ZAPATISTAS: THE RECOMBINANT MOVIE 

        

A people mute and brave are better than a people cultured and abject.
--Maria Arias (Maria Pistolas) at Madero's grave, August 1914 

I'm thinking of making a movie about all this. --Oliver Stone 

BLACK SCREEN. 

(A Virus voice speaks between spasms of white noise). 

Virus: 

"Recombinant politics calls for recombinant strains of disturbance at
all
levels. As screenal narratives become viral narratives--a new matrix of
critical interventions are beginning to emerge. A process of polyspacial
democratic movements who use methods of electronic civil disobediance to
counter the nomadic bunkers of pan-capitalism."

THE WORDS "RAPE CULTURE" APPEAR ON THE BLACK SCREEN. 

CUT TO ZOOM-SHOOT. 

(Jungle trail in Chiapas near Lake Pojaj, it is a hot night on October
26,
1995, in the distance one can hear the screams of woman being raped. It
is
companera Cecilia Rodriguez, United States citizen and legal
representative
of the EZLN in the US. Four laughing men surround her and kick her, one
of
them leans down and whispers in her ear). 

Man: "You already know how things are in Chiapas rigth? Shut up then,
shut
up, do you understand? Or you know what will happen to ,you. . ." 

(On a jeep radio in the distance we hear an announcement that the
Journalist
Fernando Yanez Munoz who was arrested on October 24, 1995 and accused of
being a high ranking member of the EZLN has been released. Yanez, who
was
part of the Mexican rebel movement in the 1970s can be heard speaking). 

Yanez: "I have no links to the EZLN, though it would be an honour for
me." 

CUT TO 

(A reporter in front of the Mexican consulate in California on October
25,1995 interviews John Ross, who published an account of the Chiapas
action, "Rebellion From the Roots"). 

John Ross: "The Neo-liberal agenda manifested itself, again, as a shaky
prop
that always lives in fear of the truth. The Zapatistas without
confirming or
denying Yanez as one of them, stated that the arrest was in bad faith
and
threated to end the peace talks. This caused the peso and Mexican stock
market to tumble. On October 25, 1995, the Dow dropped 50 points in the
US.
The day after Yanez came out prison the "bolsa" and peso came up for
air." 

"This is Zedillo's most prolonged absence that he has dared to entertain
since he took office. The arrest of Yanez may not be a stupid blunder by
the
local police; but that someone is out to derail the peace talks and
embarrass Zedillo. The possibilty of a military coup cannot be ignored." 

CUT TO. 

(November 4, 1995 a communique from the Indigenous Revolutionary
Clandestine
Committe arrives via the WEB and is read by a group of people in the
cold
basement of ABC NO RIO in New York. The camera pans around the group). 

Group Member: 

"Third. The evil goverment is incapable of guaranteening the securtiy of
any
person in Chiapas despite maintaining dozens of thousands of soldiers,
whose
only goal is to assure the impunity of the powerful. 

Forth. In view of the fact that the law of the evil government do not do
anything to address these situations, the EZLN has initiated the work of
finding and taking prisoners those responsible for this and other
similar
aggressions against women in Chiapas in order to judge them according to
Zapatista laws. 

Fifth. The EZLN adds its voice and its actions to that of the thousands
of
human beings who carry forward the demand for justice in all cases of
aggression against women. We call upon all the men and women who in
Mexico
and the world struggle for democracy, liberty, and justice, in order
that we
moblize with regard to this fundamental demand for all human beings:
respect
for women." 

CUT TO BLACK SCREEN. 

(A Virus voiceover as the words "SPEED DEMOCRACIES" appear). 

VIRUS: 

"The disturbance of electronic bunkers with excess communication is an
important act of radical emergence. The dissolution of
informatic-economies
with space.free.viruses that will allow cells of electronic
opposition-circuts to create speed-democracies. The Winter Place is not
being stormed it is being dematerialized as a state in ruins and the
lines
of flight lead towards liberated terminals. The Zapatistas accelerate
the
new possiblities of fractal politics by displacing the signiture-effect
of
pan-capitalist blockage. 

Spaces of information must be disassembled and reconstituted as
replicating
networks of decolonization through the naming of free civil digital
spaces.
These free electronic spaces will be constructed of excessive
communication
and unlimited counter-memories--and nolonger as part of the
hypermnesiac-hierarchies of information. As a memo from the Rand
corporation
stated: "institutions can be defeated by networks, and it may take
networks
to counter networks." To become effective speed-democracies we must
continue
to puncture the smooth-state by whatever means necessary." 

CUT TO CECILIA RODRIGUEZ. 

(She is speaking to a large gathering of people in front Mexican
Consulate
in El Paso, Texas under a clear blue sky on Novemer 12, 1995) 

CECILIA: 

"I know three Tzeltal women were raped at a military checkpoint, and
three
nurses were raped and almost killed at the site of the peace talks, San
Andres Larraninzer. How many other women whose stories we do not know
have
suffered through this hell? Women who have never said anything publicly
because they fear for their lives. 

I have decided to make a public statement because I hope my experience
will
illustrate the brutal nature of the low-intensity war being waged in
Chiapas. I am one more piece of evidence of the use of sexual violence
as a
weapon specifically directed against women in this war. 

I ask for justice--not from the governments of the United States and
Mexico
because they are complicit in this war--but from the people of Mexico
and
the United States. Look into my suffering and multiply that by hundreds
of
women, men and children whose voices you do not seem to hear, who suffer
on
a daily basis the humilation of a low-intensity war which intends to
suffocate the very human aspirations for democracy, liberty and
justice." 

FADE TO BLACK. 

(The words "RITUALS OF CHAOS" appear on the black screen). 

CUT TO A BEETLE CRAWLING OVER THE REMAINS OF A DEAD BODY. 

(As the beetle moves in and out of the corpse as the Virus speaks). 

Virus: 

"Fractal politics crashes the imaginary of total State command and
control
with a counter-net dissolution which disrupts and erodes the hierarchies
around which institutions are normally designed. It diffuses and
redistributes power to dispersed cells who communicate, consult,
coordinate,
and operate on a polyspacial basis. Between real events outside of the
macro-panoptic flow of data and excess information--counterhegemonic
disturbances spread. Netwar is most the effective form of both defensive
and
offensive decentralized activism. " 

"Counter Intelligence Programs, COINTELPRO, are being reconfigured as
anti-network forces whose aim is to neutralize nodes that promote
participation in engendering an 'excess of democracy' on both a local
global
level. States in the last few years have began to map out possible
methods
to limit digital autonomy: Italy, an Anti-Crime group shut down 'BITS
Against the Empire,' a node on Cybernet and Fidonet; United Kingdom, The
Terminal Boredom (BBS) was raided by police; Germany, the State attempts
to
stop access to RADIKALL, a small anti-State electronic journal; United
States, several new bills (S390 and HR896) with bipartisan backing are
before congress that would give full legal force to COINTELPRO actions
against radical electro-political networks; Senator Exon (D-NE) and
GORDON
(R-WA) are pushing a bill (S314) that would hold internet providers
criminally liabal for the activities of their subscribers." 

CUT TO A HAND PICKING UP THE BEETLE. 

(As the beetle crawls over a series of brown hands the voice of
Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos is heard). 

Marcos: 

"In the mirror, chaos is a reflection of the logical order and the
logical
order a reflection of chaos." 

"I don't remember the name of the movie (maybe the masters Siskel and
Ebert
remember) but I do remember that the main actor was Peter Fonda. I
remember
the plot clearly. It was about a group of brilliant Harvard students who
raped a woman. She accused them in a public hearing and they responded
that
she was a prostitute. Their lawyer defended them by using their grades
and
good families. They're found innocent. The woman commits suicide. As
adults,
the 'juniors' look for stronger emotions and they dedicate themselves to
hunting down vacationing couples on weekends. . . after the standard
rape,
the 'juniors' free the couple in the countryside and hunt them down with
shotguns." 

"I don't remember the ending, but it's one of those where justice is
done,
Where Hollywood resolves on the screen what in reality often goes
unpunished." 

"Today, the real 'juniors' have found that they have a country to play
with.
One of them is at Los Pinos (the Mexican White House) and the other in
Bucareli (The Governer's house in Chiapas), they get tired of playing
DOOM
and instead play at hunting down 'bad guys' in a game of real war in
countryside. They give their prey time to escape, and move their game
pieces
to surround them and make the game more intresting. But, the 'juniors,'
find
themselves in a quandry because the game grows longer and they can't
catch
the 'bad guys.' Then the US Ambassador, the lawyer from the first scene,
tries to save them again: 'It was just a game' he says, 'the dead are
not
dead, the war is not a war, the displaced are not displaced, we always
wanted to talk and we only sent thousands of soldiers to tell the 'bad
guys'
that we wanted to talk.' A pathetic argument for an 'efficient' Harvard
goverment." 

"Meanwhile, reality approaches. . .and the mass media tries to impose
itself
on reality. Forgetfullness begins to populate the goverment discourse;
they
forget the fall of the stock market, the devaluation, the 'negotiations'
of
San Andres as a window dressing to hide the true indigenous politics of
neoliberalism, instability, jealousy and distrust, ungovernabilty and
uncertainty. They forget the principal objective, according to
Machiavelli;
they've had no results, they've not been 'efficient." 

"In the mirror, chaos is a reflection of logical order and the logical
order
a reflection of chaos." 

CUT TO BLACK. 

("FORTH DECLARATION OF THE LACANDON JUNGLE" appears on the screen). 

FADE INTO A PAINTING OF ZAPATA. THE CAMERA PULLS BACK. WE SEE PRESIDENT
ZEDILLO AT HIS DESK. 

("JANUARY 1, 1996. 12:01 A.M." appears on the screen. He stares into the
air
as he taps his fingers and as he listens to the Reader). 

READER: 

"The flower of the world will not die. The masked face which today has a
name may die, but the word which came from the depth of history and the
earth can nologer be cut by the ears with its cannons." 

(Zedillo opens his top desk drawer and finds a remote control. He aims
the
remote at the camera and the sound of the opening chords of a DYNASTY
rerun
are heard. He reclines back and smiles). 

"The arrogant wish to extinguish a rebellion which they mistakenly
believe
began in the dawn of 1994. But the rebllion which now has a dark face
and an
indigenous language was not born today. It spoke before with other
languages
and in other lands. This rebellion against injustice spoke in many
mountains
and many histories. It has already spoken in nahuatl, paipai, kiliwa,
cucapa, otomi, mazahua, maltatzinca, ocuilteco, zapoteco, solteco,
chatino,
papabuco, mixteco, cucateco, triqui, amuzzgo, mazateco, chocho,
ixcaateco,
hauve, tlapaneco, totonaca, tepehua, populuca, mixe, zoque, huasteco,
lacandon, mayo, chol, tzeltal, tzotzil, tojolabal, mame, teco, ixil,
aguacateco, motocintleco, chicomucelteco." 

(Zedillo reaches down and brings up a half eaten bag of FRITOS and
begins to
shove them into his mouth). 

"Ignoring Article 39 of the Constitution which it swore to uphold on
December 1, 1994, the supreme goverment rduced the Mexican Federal Army
to
the role of an army of occupation. It gave it the task of of salvaging
the
organized crime which has become government. . . Meanwhile, the true
loss of
national sovereignty was concretized in the secret pacts and public
economic
cabinet with the owers of money and foreign goverments. Today, as
thousands
of federal soldiers harass and provoke a people armed whith wooden guns
and
the word of dignity, the high officials finish selling off the wealth of
the
great Mexican Nation and destroy the little that left." 

"Three new initiatives were launched by the Zapatistas as responeses to
the
success of the PLEBISCITE FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY. An initiative for the
international arena expresses itself in a call to carry out an
intercontinental dialogue in opposition to neoliberalism. The two other
initiatives are on a national character: the formation of civic
committees
of dialogue whose base is the discussion of the major national problems
and
which are the seeds of a non-partisan political force; and the
construction
of the new Aguascalientes as places for encounters between civil society
and
Zapatismo." 

(An Amercan Express Card commericial comes on and Zedillo begins to
channel
surf). 

"Today, with heart of Emiliano Zapata and having heard the voice of all
our
brothers and sisters, we call upon the people of Mexico to participate
in a
new stage of the struggle for national liberation and the construction
of a
new nation, through this FORTH DECALARTION OF THE LACANDONA JUNGLE in
which
we call upon all honest men and women to participate in the new national
political force which is born today: the ZAPATISTA FRONT OF NATIONAL
LIBERATION. . .a civil and nonviolent organization, independent and
democratic, mexican and national. . .and we extend an invitation to
participate in it to the factory workers of the Repulic, to the labores
of
the countryside and of the citys, to the indigenous peoples, to the
colonos,
to teachers and students, to the honest artists and intellectuals, to
responsible priests and nuns, and to all the Mexican people who do not
seek
power, but rather democracy, liberty, and justice for ourselves. . .we
are
here. We do not surrender. Zapata is alive, and in spite of everything,
the
stuggle continues." 

(Zedillo ends his drift with the sound of Clinton saying that he
supports of
emplimentation of the CILPPER CHIP 2 project in order to protect the
people). 

CUT TO A MEXICAN MURAL WITH THE WORDS "THE HALLUCINOGENIC-STATE" IN RED
ARE
SCRAWLED ACROSS IT WITH A SPRAY CAN. 

A SLOW PAN ACROSS THE ENTIRE WORK. 

Virus (voiceover): 

"Pan-capitalism is a crack war of narco-colonialism which enframes the
neo-liberal relaxation of exchange between the PRI party and nomadic
investment communities. The War-on-drugs is the main NAFTA artery of
exchange for the Colombian cartels of coke and heroin into the urban
markets. Drug-inforcement-economies must command and control body-rights
and
land-rights in Chiapas--this is foundational drive of the
hallucinogenic-State." 

CUT TO A BLACK AND WHITE IMAGES OF OLIVER STONE'S "NIXON" IN FAST
FORWARD. 

(We hear John Tesh on Entertainment Tonight speaking, it's March 25,
1996). 

JOHN TESH (voiceover): 

"Mr. Stone will be meeting with Mexican rebels tonight instead of
staying in
Hollywood for the Oscars. Oliver Stone said he was thinking of making a
film
about the Rebels as soon as he finishes his next project. He also would
like
to meet Subcomandante Marcos. Edward James Olmos is also making a
pilgrimage, so is Lady Danielle Matterrand, and the rebels have just
turned
down Benetton modeling contract. Mary who knew that electronic
distrubances
could be so much fun!" 

CUT TO A STILL IMAGE OF THE WALL STREET SKYLINE. 

(We hear bombs, gun fire, and the screams of people in the distances). 

Virus (voice over): 

"Can the hallucinogenic-State be resisted hallucinogenically? Is
electronic
activism a mirrioring of State-logic as a tool for developing better
counter-insurgency networks?" 

CUT TO A MAP OF SOUTHERN MEXICO WORDS "POPULAR REVOLUTIONARY ARMY
ATTACKS"
STAMPED ON IT. 

(We hear Mr. Arreolo, a taxi diver in Hautuloc, Mexico, on August 30,
1996).

ARREOLO (voiceover): 

"They commandeered my taxi, but it doesn't bother me--these people want
to
change the goverment, right? Well, I say I'm all for that! But, I'm
afraid
that the police will accuse me of collaboration. I don't want trouble
with
anybody, not with the masked ones, and not with the police. I just want
to
live here quietly." 

CUT TO A PHOTOGRAPH OF SOLDIER STANDING AND SALUTING WITH THE WORDS
"MEXICANS ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM SAY THE REBELS POSE NO REAL
THREAT"
STAMPED ON IT. 

DR. ESTEVEZ (voiceover): 

"They seem to have more money and are more heavily armed than in
Chiapas.
They came fast and vanished even faster into the the mountains of
Oaxaca.
The fighters have the feet of peasants who work barefoot--but they also
had
good boots--American maybe. They spoke like Marxist, not like
Zapatistas--but, they do have the backing of the coastal peasants. When
I
was stitching the foot of one of the rebels a group of peasants brought
them
some a case of soft drinks, mostly Cokes." 

CUT TO A CAN OF COKE WITH THE WORDS "WE OFfEN SEE PEOPLE DRESSED IN
MILITARY-STYLE CLOTHING HERE." 

GONZALO MONTOYA (voiceover): 

"As the police comander in Tacambaro I know these armed men who attacked
the
military convoy on August 30, 1996 were narcotic traffickers. They all
attacked military outpost in Guerrero and Chiapas. At this momemt we are
arresting individuals on suspicion of being members of the group and
also
anyone who part of above-ground peasant and worker oganizations we have
indentified as fronts for the Popular Liberation Army. We are going to
try
to make a distinction between the Zapatistas and this new group--if we
can."

CUT TO A COMPUTER SCREEN ON WHICH THE WORDS "A CALL FOR A MARCHA
VIRTUAL"
APPEAR. 

(We hear a Japanese woman read as subtitles in English scroll across the
screen) 

JAPANESE READER (voiceover): 

"Action Alert: October 7, 1996. The goverment of Mexico has taken a
rigid
stance against the Zapatista Delegation traveling to the National
Indigenous
Congress, threating punative action if the Zapatistas leave Chiaps." 

"Mexican Civil Society has has called for a 'marcha vitual' to show
International support for including the Zapatistas in national dialogues
towards peaceful solutions to Mexico's crisis. Given the fact that
members
of the EZLN travelling to Mexico City are Mexican citizens, and are thus
guaranteed by the Mexican Constitution the freedom to travel
unencumbered
anywhere in the Republic, and given the fact the Mexican goverment does
not
consider them criminals or terrorists, and that the San Andres Dialogue,
and
the agreements which govern it, although on hold, have not been broken,
it
is extremely to pressure the Mexican Goverment. We are also asking that
you
forward this message to all lists, groups, and individuals liable to
participate in the this march, in order to show that we in Cyberspace
can
mobilize to form "war of the Internet" (Gurria dixit) in the service of
PEACE." 

CUT TO A FOLDED MEXICAN FLAG AND A SINGLE FUCHSIA ROSE. BENEATH THEM THE
DATE: OCTOBER 12,1996. 

(We hear about 2000 people screaming "the struggle continues"). 

THEN ON THE TOP OF THE IMAGE THE WORDS "TZOTZIL WOMAN ARRIVES" APPEAR. 

WILLIAM MEANS (voiceover): 

"Commandante Ramona walked out of the Lacandona and into the heart of
Mexico
City. The PRI goverment did not want this to happen, on October 8 they
even
threatened to arrest any Zapatista that attempted to leave the military
cordon. Subcommadante Marcos said that, 'she is the most belligerent,
aggressive and intransigent member of the Zapatista Army for National
Liberation and before dying she wanted to speak to other indians." 

JUAN CUELLAR (voiceover): 

"I brought my daughter to the Zocalo to see this small fragile women
demolish 500 years of enslavement. She is a bomb of tenderness. She is a
bomb of patinence. Beneath the ski-mask my child's future. Long Live
Ramona,
Sweet Rebel!" 

CUT TO A BLACK SCREEN. THE WORD "PUNCTUM" APPEARS. 

VIRUS (voiceover): 

"Commandante Ramona is an event that punctures the bunker of containment
as
a trace of mourning empowering the ignored. She is a virtual line of
flight
that names the real condition of fractal politics--death or the
invention of
a new form of democracy. She is a virus for polyspacial systems of
representation which can disturb the telematic force of pan-captalism.
Viva
Ramona. The Struggle Continues." 

FADE TO BLACK.
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