"They Must See that we are the Rebellious Mirror that wants to be Glass and Break"

by Julia Marszalkowska

Who Are the Zapatistas?

The Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN; Zapatista Army of National Liberation; from here onwards: Zapatistas), founded in the Lacandon Jungle in the eastern part of Chiapas, Mexico, in 1983, is a movement focused mainly on indigenous rights and land autonomy, often associated with anti-globalisation and anti-neoliberalism. The Zapatistas gained traction and international recognition with their vociferous opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), famously staging an uprising in Chiapas on the day of its ratification in 1994. Espejo (meaning mirror in English), is a magazine published by Barcelona-based counter-hegemonic collective, El Lokal. It commemorates the third year since the Zapatista revolt by providing an overview of the movement thus far, its ideological foundation, and its future prospects. As it is encapsulated in one of the magazine’s articles, the Zapatistas' objective is not to install a communist state – rather, it is to unite the victims of international capital in the struggle for autonomous ways of life, a life with dignity. The transformative potential of these ideals is realised through the extensive use of symbolism and visuals. This is demonstrated through the magazine cover, where Zapatismo is interwoven with Mayan traditions and rebellious activism, drawing from both the past and the future, the local and the global.

“We Are the Rebellious Mirror” –

the Use of Symbolism

The cover creates a robust, visual world that illuminates the use of imagery as a tactic to communicate political goals. Based on a combination of indigenous, communist, and Christian imagery, the Zapatistas employ a symbolic language that amplifies their message of resistance. The eponymous mirror is not only incorporated into the magazine’s logo, but it also alludes to the image traditionally associated with the movement – the black balaclavas that reveal only the wearer’s eyes and mouth. The recurring symbol of balaclavas, combined with the mirror imagery, illuminate the movement’s solidarity-fostering objective. Here, the anonymity of the ski mask emphasises that while the struggle is rooted in the injustice faced by the Mayan community, it corresponds to the global experience of the victims of neoliberalism. Paradoxically, the act of covering the faces makes the Zapatistas recognisable as rebels and revolutionaries. It emphasises the decentralised nature of the movement and its universalism, uniting the dissidents from all around the world.

The main spokesperson of the movement, Subcomandante Marcos (centre, saluting), emphasises the power that this symbolism holds. He demonstrates a profound awareness of his image and its potential – he has rarely been seen in attire that does not constitute his military uniform, balaclava, and pipe. This iconisation also alludes to the iconographic tradition of Latin American revolutionary imagery, resembling the omnipresence of portraits of Che Guevara or Emiliano Zapata. This way, the Zapatistas spotlight solidarity and communicate their new way of doing politics – as remarked by the Subcomandante in the magazine’s slogan: “if you want to know what face is behind the balaclava, it’s very simple: take a mirror and look at it.”

Similarly, Comandanta Ramona (sitting, in a white dress) taps into the traditional Mayan imagery through her usual wear – a dress typically worn by indigenous women, accompanied by the iconic balaclava. As women constitute almost 30% of the Mayan community in Chiapas, Comandanta Ramona was devoted to carving out space for the indigenous women within the movement and fighting their traditional isolation from politics. They quickly became known as “las mujeres con la dignidad rebelde” (“women with rebellious dignity”), with Ramona as their key figure and spokesperson. In their campaign for the EZLN to incorporate Women’s Revolutionary Law into the agenda, “las mujeres” constantly illuminate that while indigeneity is a category of struggle, so is gender. The strong presence of the Comandanta on the cover makes this point loud and clear.

Transnational Solidarity

The back cover of the magazine is covered by a poster announcing II Encuentro Intercontinental por la Humanidad y Contra el Neoliberalismo (Second Intercontinental Meeting for Humanity and against Neoliberalism; Encuentro onwards), which points to another key aspect of the movement – transnational solidarity. As reflected by the red colour palette and the revolutionary symbol of a red star, the Encuentro was focused on building intercontinental networks of resistance against the neoliberal hegemony and brought together more than 4,000 participants from all over the world. United in defence of human dignity, the delegates at Encuentro spearheaded a new definition of solidarity as a common journey grounded in grassroots struggle and resulting in an exchange of lived experiences and organisational know-how.

This way the magazine, despite being produced thousands of kilometres away from the jungle of Chiapas, captures the essence of the Zapatista mission. It conveys that although they are engaged in a struggle that spans over 500 years of oppression and injustice, the novelty of the Zapatista tactics, their focus on art and transnational orientation defies the conventional ways of doing politics.

The Protectors of Life

As we are entangled in a global crisis that put the relationship between humans and nature into question, the Zapatismo’s message seems more relevant than ever. Their fight for personal dignity, democracy and justice rooted in the indigenous identity demonstrates that another form of political organisation is possible, one that retains the fight for human dignity at its heart. Through their activism, the Zapatistas have created a platform for cooperation with anti-globalisation movements from different parts of the world. Such an internationalist focus illustrates the urgency of cross-border political alliances. With their recent initiative – sailing to the shore of Spain in May 2021 – the Zapatistas take their local struggle to a global level. Both the Encuentro and their latest venture are efforts to forge solidarity and defend life in its multiplicity of forms. To echo Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the recently deceased former student of King's College London where this project is taking place, “the future does not belong to the Merchants of Death – it belongs to the Protectors of Life.”