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| Ramor Ryan |
Short Interview with some Danish Magazine
Thanks to Mikas Larsen.
Author:
Ramor Ryan
Book: Zapatista Spring (AK Press)
What did you do before coming to Chiapas
(live, study, work)?
Lived in an autonomous squatting community
in East Berlin after the Wall came down.
When did you leave for Mex?
1st January, 1995.
Why?
Inspired by the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas,
by the new language of emancipation they spoke and embodied, and for the
similarities with autonomous idea of the Zapatista municipalities and the
seed of which we had been trying to create in Europe with our autonomous communities
in squats etc. Frustrated by the lack
of hope/radical potential in an increasingly neo-liberal and hostile-to-migrant
Europe.
How would you describe the situation then?
A revolt blossoming, brimming with
possibilities. It really seemed that a new world was not only possible but just
around the next corner.
How was the Zapatista movement back then?
Exuberant. Overflowing with indigenous people
wanting to join up and internationals enamoured by the writings of subcomandante
Marcos. There was a real sense of of changing history, of being part of a
revolutionary moment, of transformation. Anything seemed possible.
How would you describe the development of the
movement? (and when did the foreigners get thrown out?)
Too broad a question, it would take a book to
answer! The foreigners got thrown out (1997-98) because of the appalling
strategy of the PRI government of the time who seemed to be saying that the
indigenous of Chiapas were not capable of organising their own revolt,
that they must be directed by 'foreign agents' and therefore the Chiapas
problem was foreign interference -- not institutionalised injustice, deep
racism and the exclusion of a whole strata of society.
What was your role in the events? What is it
today?
See my
book Zapatista Spring! Today, things are more complicated: the
Zapatistas say they don't need direct solidarity in the communities from
internationals like in the 90's with the peace and solidarity encampments which
brought thousands of global activists in contact with the
grass roots Zapatistas. The situation
is changing, now they are focusing on their own internal development
and building everyday, practical autonomy in their communities. Be a
Zapatista wherever you are, they say, now more than ever.
How would you describe the present situation
in Chiapas? And what is the
movement like now?
It is a period of subterranean springs, where
the Zapatistas instead of being prominent political actors in Mexican society,
are moving quietly in the shadows and fortifying their position. Interestingly,
the biggest single manifestation of their numbers occurred this year
(2011) in San Cristobal, when more than 20,000 base indigenous emerged
onto the streets to raise their voice against the Drug War ravaging Mexico.
Which are the most important recent changes
and events (the state)?
The main story for the whole of the Presidency
of Calderon (PAN) has being the catastrophic drug war which is devastating the
social fabric of the country and in turn, the potential of the
previously massive and powerful social movement. The drug war is a consequence of the US
market for a (proscribed) product and involves vast segments of the Mexican
state collaborating with criminals to supply that demand. In a
nutshell: Raw, ferocious capitalism and the unmitigated pursuit of profit.
How do you see the future of the movement?
After the winter must come spring. In a bleak
almost hopeless scenario, the social movements - and the Zapatistas as
part of that - hold the key to returning Mexico into a place of hope once more,
beyond the horror of the narco-state.
-Ends.
