The EZLN and the persistence of Deep Mexico
Diego Martín Velázquez Caballero
The appearance of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation meant the cancellation of the candidacy of Luis Donaldo Colosio. In one way or another, the guerrilla hurts political candidates because it delegitimizes participation through the institutional means of political struggle and only grants guarantees to the armed means.
Mexico is a country of painful, long-standing inequalities that urgently need to be resolved. The continuation of guerrillas like the EZLN is indicative that the needs of deep Mexico have not been met and, after resorting to all types of means to achieve their attention, the use of weapons to project their demands is considered necessary; Hence, the criticisms of the head of the federal Executive against the EZLN were incomprehensible. Unlike the Mexican narcoterrorists, the Zapatista guerrilla does not have the arsenal to exert violence on a disproportionate scale; On the other hand, the EZLN has been confronted and attacked as the strongest cartel in the country. It's not fair.
The EZLN appeared at a time when Mexican integration with North America seemed logical and immediate. Zapatismo, in these circumstances, has been Cleopatra's nose in Mexican history; More than a hindrance, it is a human and social actor that comes to settle accounts of the past and oblivion and invites us to raise awareness about the path that the Mexican political system has taken.
Indigenous people continue to be the most discriminated against and marginalized social stratum in the country. Mexico remains as it was in the time of Bartolomé de las Casas and the country is not capable of incorporating the original communities. The damage is enormous over time and the reasons are not understood. The storm guerrillas continue to appear to tell us that something is missing in Mexico, that we are not complete on the journey.
The search for effective public policies and an equitable legal framework are also debts of the Fourth Transformation with the indigenous communities, especially when being Mexican constituted one of the main focuses of attention of the current government.