From August 3 to 16, in the Semillero Comandanta Ramona, Morelia, Chiapas, the Zapatistas opened their world to a gathering unlike any before it —the Encuentro de Resistencia y Rebeldía: “algunas partes del todo (some parts of the whole).” For two whole weeks, surrounded by colorful murals that breathe life into the semillero, and the breathtaking view of the cañada, the youth of Zapatista support base communities welcomed people from all corners of the world -representatives from 37 countries and from all over the Mexican territory.
Every day, the comedor bearing the name of El Común nourished us, not only with food prepared by compañeras and compañeros, but with the spirit of collectivity. The very infrastructure of the encounter—built with their own hands—was a testament to autonomy in practice.
Through theatre the Zapatista compañeros shared their stories, lessons, and even serious errors of their past organization, recounting both the good and the not-so-good of the last 31 years. What is clear is that these previous steps in education, in health and in justice have paved the way for the making of el Común (the communal). This concept, notably the practice of non-property and inclusion, is currently underway within the autonomous territories with one clear purpose: to dismantle the pyramids of power, and to extend a hand to sisters and brothers in organizing around basic needs.
From our scattered geographies, we came together with one simple yet profound task: to listen. To listen to each other, to look at one another, and to learn from the diverse struggles that resist the storm unleashed by capitalism.
And during the opening act, as if signalling an energetic focal point for our collective heart, a thunderous cry echoed across the mountains:
“We are all Palestinian children. We are all Palestine.”
Thousands of Zapatista milicianas and milicianos, led by the voice of Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés, made it clear: the struggles of the world are intertwined, and solidarity has no borders.
Over the days that followed, we heard from madres buscadoras (searching mothers), defenders of land and territory, and the CNI (National Indigenous Congress). Cooperatives, occupied towns and factories, labor unions, anti-capitalist collectives for health, free media, arts, and mutual aid presented their contexts and their collaborations. Groups spoke of prison abolition, migrant solidarity, climate justice, food sovereignty, gentrification and homelessness. It was a space to share our visions and our limitations, our strategies and our sadnesses, and to glimpse the many facets of organizing and building from below, from the neighborhood to the national and the international.
These accounts from around the globe resonate in their familiar struggles. Though our circumstances vary, our challenges are not foreign—isolation, conflict between the different ‘isms’, insecurity from violence and the rise of authoritarianism and repression. What have we learned about colonization, dehumanization, dispossession, alienation, patriarchy, counterinsurgency, ethnic supremacy, and militarism? And from every geography, woven through it all, Palestine…Palestine. The moral issue of our time.
We learned from struggles of every color, from different trenches of resistance, each one a small light pushing against the darkness of oppression. Milling between presentations, passing evenings in the comedor, laughing and bouncing through a baile — every moment was an opportunity to learn, to connect, to build the bonds that extend our collective struggle.
As the days came to a close, even as the compañerxs Zapatistas answered questions about their journey and what they had learned, we knew our task was to return to our territories to reflect and continue to build our struggles from our own geographies. We know our journeys will be both different and the same. We carry with us many lessons, as well as the hope and strength born from walking together. What was the purpose/intention of it all?
Despite our distinct realities and modes of resistance, we could think/feel that our struggle is a shared one. We have differing ways of talking, of thinking, of organizing. But we also,collectively have a tremendous capacity for analysis, communication, self-criticism, unlearning and re-learning. And just as our hosts demonstrated for us, our mission is to have the perceptivity, the humility and the determination and grace to persevere in forging a common ground. The Encuentro offered a practice space to soften our learned barriers and start those conversations, this time, with a different lens.
So to those who were present at the Encuentro de Resistencias y Rebeldías: Algunos Partes del Todo we might turn the question around. What were you hoping you would glean from your experience in Zapatista territory? How was it different than you imagined? Do you walk away with inspiration from alternatives that you might replicate in your territory? How do you envision cultivating the connections that you have made? What concrete actions will you take?
How is Chiapas, how is Zapatismo a school for us, for the day that comes after the storm?
From the very beginning, the compañeras and compañeros of the EZLN have been a compass in the path of Schools for Chiapas. Along this journey of many years the compañerxs have been joined by grassroots organizations, collectives, and NGOs in Chiapas, each from their own trench of struggle, reminding us that—despite the storm already upon us—it is possible to do things differently.
Chiapas, its land and territory, and the compañeras and compañeros who live it, is for us a living school. A school that teaches through daily acts of dignity, through resistance that is also creation, through memory that becomes a seed for the future.
For Schools for Chiapas, this living school inspires us to keep dreaming, but above all to keep building a world where many worlds fit. It reminds us that community, autonomy, and solidarity are not abstract ideals, but practices we must nurture wherever we are.
These lessons travel with us and invite others to join—to look to Chiapas, to listen, and to learn how, even in the storm, another way is possible.
With gratitude to the EZLN for creating these spaces of encounter, of hope, of recognition, and of learning to see ourselves in El Común.
source: Schools for Chiapas