- citations are from Stephen Duncombe's book Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy.
"It is New Year's Day 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect, and out of the mountains of southern Mexico walk three thousand indigenous peasants wearing black ski masks, some carrying rifles, others with merely machetes or long sticks, declaring war on the Mexican oligarchy. The 'First Declaration of the Lacondon Jungle' of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) explains that this ragtag band of rebels are taking up arms in the struggle for political democracy and economic justice. The Zapatista's resident poet-in-arms Subcomandante Marcos then lays out their plans. The first step is: 'to advance to the capital of the country, overcoming the Mexican Federal Army, protecting in our advance the civilian population, and permitting the people liberated to elect, freely and democratically, their own administrative authorities.' It's a tall order. The Mexican army is 130,000 soldiers strong, and Mexico City, the capital, is 663 very indirect miles away; the Zapatista army numbers in the low thousands and many carry only sticks." pp. 165-6
This guerilla army manage to be simultaneously real and imaginary, or at least, imagined. They actually have taken control of sections of Chiapas, but most of their actions are more aimed at hijacking the media, creating what Duncombe proposes as the "ethical spectacle." A great detail is that when Subcomandante Marcos was interviewed by Gabriel García Márquez, he insisted that Don Quixote is the best book of political theory. The strength of their insurrection lies not in the accomplishment of stated goals - though they have arguably had effects on the ground level - but in the imagining of other possibilities.
"Six years after the EZLN demonstrated their formidable army to the world, they unveiled their 'air force' against a Mexican army encampment. Guerillas wrote notes to soldiers asking them to put down their weapons, then folded these notes into hundreds of paper airplanes and flew them over the razor wire encircling the armed camp." pp. 166-7
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