To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) uprising, the Al Faro Zapatista Collection has undertaken the immeasurable task of publishing 30 books, with the participation of more than 50 authors and collectives. As Carlos Tornel points out in his extensive review, “Weaving Networks of Rebellion and Sowing Hope: 30 Years, 30 Books and Lessons from Zapatismo,” this collection “is perhaps one of the most complete and systematic approaches to recovering the contributions of Zapatismo.” This is made possible thanks to the commendable support of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences, the Retos Publishing Cooperative, the Jorge Alonso Chair at the University Center for Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of Guadalajara, and Al Faro Zapatista, San Cristóbal de Las Casas and Buenos Aires. In particular, Volume III, Zapatista Autonomy in the Face of the Storm, edited by Xóchitl Leyva Solano, Lola Cubells, Jorge Alonso, and Axel Köhler, and published this year in Spain by the Traficante de Sueños Cultural Association, develops a crucial theme for understanding Zapatismo, referring to the processes of autonomy that began in the intense debates held during negotiations between the EZLN and the federal government. In these negotiations, the Zapatistas opened up the participation of multiple sectors of civil society and a significant representation of Indigenous peoples, in what for many was the closest thing to a constituent congress.
In the editors’ words, the book reveals “three great rivers that allow us to navigate toward the sea of Zapatista autonomy. The first analyzes the time-space and history of Zapatismo. The second addresses and analyzes the different facets of Zapatista autonomy: its autonomous forms of de facto and unauthorized government, its emancipatory agroecologies, and the Zapatista arts and communication system in the face of the Fourth Transformation project and the political storm. All three rivers place the Zapatista word and deed at their center.”
Indeed, the book includes an introduction by the editors and nine chapters in its 310 pages. Among these are a brief introduction to Zapatismo by Carlos and Jorge Alonso, “Zapatista Deliriums” by Jorge Regalado Santillán, and “The Zapatista We and Time as Flower and Rebellion” by Sergio Tischler Visquerra. “Zapatista Autonomy, a Beacon in the Struggle for Life,” by Jerome Baschet. “Emancipatory Agroecology(ies) for a World Where Many Autonomies Flourish,” by Valentín Val and Peter M. Rosset. “Nautical Charts for a Stormy Sea,” by the Radio Zapatista Collective. “Art and Politics,” by Francisco de Parres Gómez. “The Tercios Compas: Zapatista Autonomous Audiovisual Communication,” by Axel Köhler. “Legacy of the Zapatista Peoples and Communities to the Struggle for Land and Life in the Face of the Storm,” by René Olvera Salinas and Alonso Gutiérrez Navarro.
The collection as a whole emerges as a tribute to Zapatismo, to its legacy from the perspective of critical thought and situated, embodied, and deeply felt knowledge of the support and solidarity network surrounding this movement. It serves as a reflection for urgent action, taking into careful consideration the challenge with which the book closes regarding autonomy—this unsettling question posed by Zapatismo: “And what about you?” — which challenges each individual, according to their own way, timeline, and geography, to organize and act in order to “bequeath life” — a dignified, just, and fulfilling life — to those who come after them. Coincidentally, around this time, my colleague Waldo Lao Fuentes Sánchez, a renowned continental authority on the study of autonomies and the collective rights of Indigenous peoples, sent me his latest work, Indigenous Autonomies in Latin America. A brief historical overview (Abya Yala Collection, El Colectivo-La Fogata publishing house, Winter 2025), in which he defines autonomy as “a mechanism used by Indigenous peoples to defend their culture, reorganize their territories, govern themselves, and build resistance against the advance of capitalism. The basis of autonomy is the territory — where the construction of community dynamics takes place — with creativity, affection, discipline, and sustainability on the part of those who exercise it; therefore, each autonomy is unique and different.” This work includes a timely and detailed chronology of events, declarations, agreements, uprisings, marches, and legal and constitutional reforms from 1953 to 1994 related to autonomy movements.
‘’Zapatista Autonomy in the Face of the Storm’’ is a necessary work to provide a comprehensive perspective on the self-management experiences, among which that of the Zapatista Maya is emblematic—an autonomy that, as Leyva points out, “has challenged us and organized us as a way of life and struggle that encompasses all aspects of the personal, collective, and organizational life of the Zapatista movement.”
Original article by Gilberto López y Rivas at La Jornada, December 12th, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.