The two representatives of the EZLN arrived the afternoon of September 11th, where they were welcomed by writers Eduardo Galeano, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, Yvon Le Bot, and Gianni Mina, as well as by Gianfranco Bettin, the Vice-Mayor of Venice, and Ramon Mantovani, a leader of the Communist Refoundation Party of Italy.
Upon their arrival at Palasport de Mestre--now known as the Aguascalientes of Venice--where the conference was to be inaugurated, they presented personal gifts to Galeano and Mina from Subcomandante Marcos; and to all those present at the meeting, they gave a large 400cm x 50cm painting representing the Zapatista March to Mexico City.
Other than Maribel and Mesias, who denounced the continuing militarization of indigenous communities in the Mexican countryside, the most popular speaker at the evening inauguration ceremony was Galeano who, apart from introducing the Zapatista guests of honor, spoke briefly and beautifully of the right to dream--and the right to utopia.
The following day, French sociologist Yvon Le Bot spoke to a full and attentive auditorium about "the primary contributions of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation to the contemporary political struggle":
"The first thing that surprised me about the Zapatista Army", said Le Bot, author of "El Sueno Zapatista", "was the decision to go to the center of power without practicing traditional politics; the second thing was their use of the symbolic effects of the armed struggle in order to sustain a peaceful struggle; and third, the capacity demonstrated by the EZLN to transfrom its violence into a force which feeds the symbolic values of its struggle and, together with all of this, the capacity of the EZLN to take a critical distance from everything, and laugh, and make us laugh as well".
Maribel and Mesias also took time out on September 12th to chat informally for two hours with the other people attending the meeting, and explained how they were chosen by their communities in open assembly voting in order to attend the conference in Italy. "I had gone to hang out for a while in Altamirano", said Mesias, "and there I ran into the person who told me I had to take on this job that the community had entrusted me with, to come here, to this place they called Italy".
Maribel, for her part, said she was sad to leave her three children, but that she was fulfilling her obligation to the community, as "a right given to us by our Revolutionary Law of Women".
The anti-racism conference continued on September 13th, with a march through the city of Venice by a group of between 30,000 and 40,000 people in a sea of red flags. Maribel was one of the keynote speakers at the rally, and read a communique from the CCRI-CG of the EZLN:
"On the lands of Europe, in this nation called Italy, the Zapatistas who are already in the Mexican capital join our steps with those of all of you. Thus, today, September 13th, two rebel marches meet. Two continents which again become brothers in the struggle. Here in Italy, and there in Mexico, we struggle against racism and against separatism. Both here and there, we stand up to the global system which has made racism into a new religion. Here and there, neoliberalism destroys nations in order to take control of them. Here and there, cynicism and cruelty are applauded. Here and there, the rich disdain us."
"In America and Europe", she continued, "the oppression we suffer is the same. They can change the colors, the languages, and the cultures. But the oppresion is the same....We do not want crime to be celebrated. We do not want the lie to be a virtue. We want to be free. And the only way to be free is to be free together. We do not fit in this world. The rich and the powerful want to throw us out, because we disturb them. But we are not going....We are staying. We will struggle. We will make a new world. A better one...."
Maribel's speech was applauded by the 30,000 demonstrators, and by the Secretary General of the Communist Refoundation Party, Fausto Bertinotti--one of the strongest and most vocal supporters of the EZLN in Europe--who added that "in Mexico, neoliberalism tries to destroy an indigenous people, in order to take control of the riches in Chiapas. In Italy, it wants to destroy the rights of the workers. But in Mexico and in Italy, it is the dignity of men [sic] which opposes itself to the deification of the market".
Indeed, the dignity of the men and women of the Communist Refoundation Party brought down the Italian government of Romano Prodi just weeks after the rally in Venice, over the latter's refusal to withdraw proposed slashes in social spending and social security from its national budget proposal; and the Communist Refoundation leaders have also recently begun a major diplomatic campaign in Italy to demand that Mexico honor the San Andres Accords on Indigenous Rights and Culture signed with the EZLN in February of 1996.
On September 14th, the European Meeting Against Racism came to an end, with a ceremony in Venice in which Maribel and Mesias were awarded the "Gold Lion"--the highest distinction given by the Venice government, normally reserved for visiting heads of state.
While presenting the award, Venice Vice-Mayor Gianfranco Bettin announced that as of this November, the city government of Venice will finance the construction of a hydroelectric plant to bring electricity to the Zapatista jungle community of La Realidad.
In return, the EZLN delegation presented Bettin with a baston de mando--an indigenous "staff of command"--meant to reinforce Bettin's obligation to "serve those he governs with honesty".
The Zapatista delegation remained in Italy for several more days following the conference in Venice, visiting with gypsies, union leaders, politicians, feminist organizations, rock groups, and the provincial presidents of Milan and Crotona, as well as reporters, before finally returning to Mexico on Septmeber 21st.
Maribel and Mesias were accompanied on their return journey by Communist Refoundation deputy Tziana Valpiana, Il Manifesto reporter Pierluigi Sullo, and the president of the Italian Ya Basta Association, Federico Mariani.
Among the "gifts" they brought back with them to the Rebel Municipality "17 de Noviembre" are an antique clay vase dating from the 8th century B.C., given to them by Carmine Talarico, provincial president of Crontona; a declaration of solidarity and friendship, issued by the Provincial Congress of Crotona and its president, Pino Greco; a photograph of Maribel sitting in the exclusive Ca' Bianca restaurant with the provincial president of Milan--a member of the then-governing social democratic party of Italy, who pledged he would do "everything in our power" to demand that the Mexican government withdraw its soldiers from indigenous communities; and a photograph taken with the ecstatic members of the rock group 99 Posse.
While recounting their experiences to La Jornada journalist Hermann Bellinghausen following their return, Maribel and Mesias insisted that their trip "was important":
"We saw that we have support", they said, "and that they are well organized over there. It made us very happy to find people that are fighting just as we are fighting here".
Primary sources for all news articles: La Jornada, Proceso, El
Universal, El Excelsior, independent human rights reports, personal
observations, and press statements of the Zapatista Front of National
Liberation.
The primary responsibility for the content of this news page lies with
its author, Joshua Paulson, and not necessarily with a commission,
civil committee, or other dependency of the Zapatista Front of
National Liberation.
*SPECIAL ZAPATISMO NEWS UPDATE*
THE ZAPATISTA MARCH AND THE FOUNDING CONGRESS OF THE FZLN
Part 2 of 2
October 14, 1997
A service of the Zapatista Front of National Liberation.
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