| Zapatista Municipalities Municipios Zapatistas | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
|
Anthem: Himno Zapatista | |
| Capital | none |
| Official languages | none |
| Spoken languages | Spanish, Mayan languages |
| Demonym | Zapatista |
| Government |
Zapatismo Direct democracy |
| Legislature | Good Government Councils |
| Establishment | |
• Founded |
1994 |
• Reformed |
2015 |
| Population | |
• 2015 estimate |
9,450 |
| Currency | Mexican Peso (de facto), none (de jure) |
This article of part of Altverse
The Free Rebel Zapatista Municipalities (Spanish: Municipios Libres Rebeldes Zapatistas) commonly known as the Zapatista Municipalities are self-governing territories in the the far south of Mexico which are controlled by Zapatista support bases and majority Mayan communities. They were originally founded in 1994 after the Chiapas conflict and Zapatista insurrection, however were brutally crushed by the Mexico's Veracruzist government under Pablo Hidalgo de Veracruz in his attempts to destroy all opposition to his regime.
In 2015, following Sierra's resolution to go war with Mexico, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) joined the fight to topple the Mexican regime, supporting opposition forces in the 2015 invasion of Mexico. The municipalities reorganised themselves as self-governing entities and changed their strategy from campaigning for indigenous autonomy, towards a plan to push for full independence from Mexico in light of the conflict according to a series of communiqués from Subcomandante Javier in June 2015.
The Rebel Municipalities consist of 27 loosely associated self-governing communities, known as 'caracoles', which are governed through Good Government Council (Juntas de Buen Gobierno) which are open to everybody in the community and involve cooperative direct decision making. The councils have established their own set of laws and programs which are implemented in the communities. The decisions made by the councils are communicated to a central assembly by elected delegates from each council. The territories claim adherence to self-organised socialism, workers self-management, autonomous Marxism, and anarchism. The municipalities strongly associate and align themselves with wider anti-globalisation, indigenous rights and ecologist organisations.
The Zapatista Municipalities are not governed by the EZLN, however are united behind, and rally behind the EZLN's main activist and spokesperson, Subcomandante Javier in the current conflict. The main export and economic acitvity of the communities is the cooperative farming of coffee, which is self-managed through the Zapatista coffee cooperatives, which provides economic support for the communities and the Zapatista cause.
Politics[]
Governance[]
See Also: Good Government Council, List of Zapatista Municipalities
A typical Good Government Council meeting house.
The Zapatista Municipalities consist of 27 loosely associated self-governing municipalities, that operate outside of Mexican law and govern for themselves. Each of the 27 communities is governed by a Good Government Council (Juntas de Buen Gobierno) which is open to all, and is said to consist of all the citizens of the local municipality and lack formal bureacracy. Good Government Councils meet weekly, and have the power to decide on various aspects relating to the local community, which leads to differences in policies and laws between the municipalities. The GGCs main responsibilities include the coordination of food, health and education programs, local law enforcement, and the local economy. Good Government Councils collectively coordinate and provide universal programs providing healthcare and education, aswell as the distribution of food.
The decisions made by the Good Government Councils are then passed to elected delegates whose job it is to pass the information to a Board of Delegates located in Ocosingo. The delegates can be revoked and also serve on a rotation basis. In this way, it is expected that the largest number of people may express their points of view.
Laws and Enforcement[]
Laws vary between the municipalities, and the GGCs coordinate their own laws and enforce them. All of the councils have declared serious opposition to trafficking in drugs, commodities and people. Trafficking offenders are usually warned the first time, then punished if they repeat the offense. The laws made by a GGC are enforced by voluntary local policing groups, or more often than not, local members of the EZLN. Several municipalities have prohibited the consumption of inebriating beverages, including drugs and alcohol, while others have prohibited the illegal sales of commodities, as they are coordinated and distributed solely by the local GGC.
Military[]
The Zapatista Municipalities officially have no standing military force, however are supported and were originally formed by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). According to the EZLN that it does not hold any interest in the "self-governed" spaces, saying that according to its principles it is not to take power, so no commander or member may take a position of authority in the municipalities. As of 2015, the EZLN has a military force of approximately 3,000 active participants and militiamen.
following Sierra's resolution to go war with Mexico, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) joined the fight to topple the Mexican regime, supporting opposition forces in the 2015 invasion of Mexico. Initially ill equipped, under the command of spokesperson, Subcommandante Javier, the EZLN saw the Wabash Armed Forces provide $240 million worth of military hardware to this cause, including weapons, vehicles and logistical equipment.
Economy[]
The economy of the Zapatista Municipalities is decentralised and is highly variable as decisions are made by the Good Government Councils as to how the local economy is organised. The economy is also influenced by the concepts of anti-globalisation and workers self-management, part of the Marxist economic values. While there is a high standard of and access to, universal education, healthcare and access to food and basic necessities, there is still a high level of poverty within the municipalities, however this has been addressed by the implementation of barter and gift economic values in the majority of the municipalities where the need for currency has almost been eradicated. The main industries of the municipalities include farming and production of coffee through the Zapatista coffee cooperatives and the mining of amber in some municipalities.