Zapata Lives!: Histories and Cultural Politics in Southern Mexico

Acknowledgments

Zapata lives in southern Mexico through local histories that claim the demands of Emiliano Zapata as their own and that, like all histories, interpret the past through the present. These histories were given a particular interpretation in ejido communities in Oaxaca and Chiapas during the 1990s. The period during which this book was researched and written, 1993–2001, was an important transitional era in Mexican history . Marked by the beginning of the North American Free Trade Agreement , the Zapatista rebellion, and the fall of the Institutional Revolutionary Party from power after seventy-one years of presidential rule, these years spun out tumultuous currents in Mexican politics, culture, and society. Indigenous Mexicans organized at a national level to claim their rights and autonomy; militarization and monitoring of Mexican civil society increased; social movements in many sectors took to the streets; new billionaires emerged; the ranks of those living on less than U.S. $2 per day increased; political parties splintered and forged new coalitions. Change was certainly in the air. I have learned a tremendous amount by sharing this period of Mexican history with a wide range of people. The first hint of what this book was to be came in 1989 when I was a postdoctoral visiting research fellow at the Center for U.S.–Mexican Studies at the University of California , San Diego. There, during a discussion with several top-level politicians from the PRI, it was suggested that part of President Salinas de Gortari’s program would include ending agrarian reform and revising Acknowledgments xi Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution. At the time, several of us argued that this would “undo” the Mexican Revolution. Three years later, in preparation for NAFTA, Article 27 was changed, ending the government ’s obligation to redistribute land to the landless and encouraging privatization of ejido land. There are many kinds of support to be acknowledged on completing a long-term project. While it is traditional to first acknowledge sources of financial support, I would like to first acknowledge the men and women in Mexico critical to this project. First and foremost are those in the communities in Oaxaca and Chiapas where I was privileged to visit and work from 1993 to 2001. To protect their identities, I have given them all pseudonyms, as requested. In Oaxaca, ejido authorities in Santa Mar ía del Tule and in Unión Zapata invited me to discuss my work with the ejido assemblies and, after assembly approval, facilitated my work over many years. The men, women, and children who took time to talk with me again and again in these two ejidos have been wonderful to work with. At the time this book goes to print, it appears that the community of Santa María del Tule may begin its own community history project, using some of my work as a resource for developing a local history and possible museum ; I hope this idea comes to fruition. For several years, the staff of the Procuraduría Agraria in Oaxaca, led by Carlos Moreno Derbez, were very forthcoming with time, information , and, most important, interest in developing a collaborative relationship with myself and several graduate students. María de la Luz Acevedo, María de la Paz Padilla Sória, and María Edith Baños were particularly generous with their time. Carlos Moreno Derbez continued to support my work, in his later role as the Oaxacan state delegate for the Secretary of Agrarian Reform. José Armando Guzmán Alcantara, head of the Registro Agrario Nacional (RAN) in Oaxaca, was always very helpful in providing updated statistics and access to agrarian historical records. Indigenous activists Adelfo Regino Montes and Carlos Béas Tórres took time on several occasions to share their thoughts about movements for indigenous autonomy. In Oaxaca, Alejandro de Avila provided endless support for this project over the years in more ways than he can know, as have others at the Jardín Etnobotanico. A warm circle of friends, including Teresa Pardo, Paola Sesia, Margarita Dalton, Julia Barco, Paco González, Petra Bautista , Irais Saynes, Cecilio Blas, Silvia Salas Morales, Leo Schibli, and Chepa Aranda, were a source of good times, comfortable conversations , shared family joy, and relaxing hours. My dear friend Guadalupe xii Acknowledgments Musalem M.—who was to pass away in 1995—offered friendship, food, and “hammock-time” for me and this project. Some of the most important and...