EZLN/RATM

EZLN = Ejercito Zapatista Liberación Nacional, which translated into English is the Zapatista National Liberation Army. They are a group of indigenous people from the Southern Mexico state of Chiapas. They are more often referred to as the Zapatistas.
The EZLN started a rebellion on January 1st, 1994, in their home state (Chiapas), the day that NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) was to become “operational”. They chose this day to take up arms and rebel because of the effects NAFTA would have on their country. The EZLN leader, Subcomandante Marcos called NAFTA a “death sentence” and said "when NAFTA goes into effect it will represent an international massacre because the treaty will only exacerbate the polarization of wealth in Mexico and hence increase the poverty and misery of the Mexican poor.” More to the point (from wikipedia):

Apart from opening the Mexican market to cheap mass-produced US agricultural
products it spells an end to crop subsidies and drastically reduces income and living standards of millions of Mexican farmers who can not compete with the artificially fertilized, mechanically harvested and genetically modified imports. The signing of NAFTA also resulted in the removal of Article 27 Section VII in the Mexican Constitution which previously had guaranteed land reparations to indigenous groups throughout Mexico.

Could you ever imagine the US allowing another country to adopt a policy that would exploit (putting it nicely) our cheap labor (if we had that) and at the same time, erased articles of our federal constitution that guaranteed land to our Native Americans? It would never happen. The only reason they thought it could happen in Mexico is because they didn’t believe people would actually take up arms to protect what is rightfully theirs. That’s not to say the effects of NAFTA didn’t happen in Mexico, they did, and they continue to, but the land that was thought to be used for corporate use was not taken away. It was not taken away because the indigenous peasants and farmers didn’t allow it.

The use of “Zapatista” is derived from the last name Zapata. It is used in honor of Emiliano Zapata, who was the leader of the Mexican Revolution of the early 1910-1921. He is famous for his quote: “I would rather die on my feet, than live on my knees.”

The leader of this rebellion is iconic figure Subcomandante Marcos (left).





In a quote he says:

We have a choice: we can have a cynical attitude in the face of the media, to say that nothing can be done... Or we can simply assume incredulity: we can say that any communication by the media monopolies is a total lie. We can ignore it and go about our lives.... But there is a third option that is neither conformity, nor skepticism, nor distrust: that is to construct a different way -- to show the world what is really happening....In August 1996, we called for the creation of a network of independent media, a network of information.... We need this network not only as a tool for our social movements but for our lives: this is a project of life, humanity -- humanity which has a right to critical and truthful information.
-- Subcomandante Marcos (January, 1997)

RATM = rage against the machine

RATM = rage against the machine. They are a hard/aggressive rock band born in the early 90's. I’ve posted lyrics by them in previous posts, but here is a little more info on them.
They are the first real rap/rock band, which I love and hate. As the pioneers of this music, they put two very different things together and made it sound literally like nothing ever heard before. I hate that they are the pioneers of this music because they spawned shit music like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit (I can't stand either of those bands). The difference between rage and those other bands are twofold: one is the political edge of their music; and two is the originality of their sound. Their music and lyrics are in your face, angry, and loud, and as an avid concertgoer, they happen to be the best live band I have ever seen.

Politically motivated shows they've done include:
- benefits shows for the Tibetan Freedom Concert organized by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys,
- for individuals they consider political prisoners such as Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier (both of who have also been inspiration to RATM songs)
- against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), an organization formed by 4 wives of elected officials in Washington (including Tipper Gore) that claimed “popular music, especially rock music, was partially responsible for the contempory increase in rape, teenage pregnancy, and teen suicide.” So how did RATM protest? At a 1993 Lollapalooza show in Philadelphia that they were performing in, they took the stage, stripped naked, had the letters PMRC written on their chests, and stood silent with only the sound of feedback from both guitars in the background, for 15 minutes.


What do the EZLN and RATM have to do with each other?
The lead singer of RATM happens to be of Mexican descent, and among the many inspirations for his lyrics, the Zapatista movement is a huge source. This band is the way I learned of the Zapatista Movement, as well as the situations that surround Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier, and countless other social/political issues. They opened my eyes to something I probably wouldn’t otherwise care about: government and politics. To put it more bluntly, they have changed my life (I’ll explain in a later post).

With regard to the Zapatista Movement, this movement in Southern Mexico is happening now…and this post serves as a reminder of it. For those that didn’t know about it, hopefully it serves as a little enlightenment.

Most people don’t believe revolutions can occur in today’s world of corporate oppression, but this movement is a reminder that it is possible.

Below is the music video and the lyrics for the RATM song titled “People of the Sun”. The title is fitting as this song is inspired by and dedicated to the EZLN. Enjoy.



People of the Sun

Yeah people come up
Check it, since 1516 minds attacked and overseen
Now crawl amidst the ruins of this empty dream
With their borders and boots on top of us
Pulling knobs on the floor of their toxic metropolis
But how you gonna get what you need to get?
The gut eaters, blood drenched get offensive like Tet
The fifth sun sets get back reclaim
The spirit of Cuahtemoc alive and untamed
Now face the funk now blastin' out your speaker, on the one Maya, Mexica
That vulture came to try and steal your name but now you got a gun,
Yeah this is for the people of the sun

(this is the Chorus)
It's coming back around again!
This is for the people of the sun!
It's coming back around again!

You never forget that the whip snapped you back
Your spine cracked for tobaccoooh I'm the Marlboro man, uh
Our past blasting on through the verses
Brigades of taxi cabs rolling Broadway like hearses
Troops stripping zoots, shots of red mist,
Sailors blood on the deck, come sister resist
From the era of terror check this photo lens,
Now the city of angels does the ethnic cleanse
Uh, heads bobbin' to the funk out your speaker, on the one Maya, Mexica
That vulture came to try and steal your name but now you found a gun,
You're history, this is for the people of the sun

Chorus repeated