COMUNIQUE FROM THE INDIGENOUS REVOLUTIONARY CLANDESTINE COMMITTEE-GENERAL COMMAND OF THE ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION (EZLN).

MEXICO.

OCTOBER 16, 2024.

TO THE SIXTH NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL:

TO THOSE WHO SIGNED THE DECLARATION FOR LIFE:

COMPAS:

FOR A FEW WEEKS NOW, PEOPLE FROM THE VILLAGE CALLED “PALESTINA” HAVE THREATENED WOMEN, OUR ELDERS, CHILDREN AND MEN FROM THE ZAPATISTA VILLAGE “6 DE OCTUBRE”, WHICH IS PART OF THE CARACOL “JERUSALEM”. THEY THREATEN TO EVICT THEM FROM THE LANDS THEY HAVE OCCUPIED AND WORKED PEACEFULLY FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS.

UNTIL BEFORE THIS “CHANGE” OF GOVERNMENT, THE VILLAGE OF “6 DE OCTUBRE” HAD LIVED IN PEACE AND HARMONY WITH THE SURROUNDING POPULATIONS, WITHOUT ANY DISPUTES OR PROBLEMS.

SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROBLEM, THE LOCAL AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENT (GAL) OF “6 DE OCTUBRE” AND THE ASSEMBLY OF COLLECTIVES OF ZAPATISTA AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENTS (ACEGAZ) OF CARACOL JERUSALEM, HAVE INSISTED ON DIALOGUE AND AGREEMENT WITH THE COMMUNAL AUTHORITIES OF “PALESTINE”, BUT IT HAS BEEN IN VAIN. THESE AUTHORITIES POINT OUT THAT THEY HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES OF OCOSINGO AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT OF CHIAPAS (BELONGING TO THE PVEM AND MORENA PARTIES RESPECTIVELY), AND THAT THEY HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED BY THESE BAD GOVERNMENTS TO GRANT THE AGGRESSORS PAPERS THAT PROVE THEIR OWNERSHIP OF THE DISPOSSESSED LANDS.

THE PEOPLE OF “PALESTINA” THEMSELVES POINT OUT THAT THERE IS PRESSURE FROM THE SO-CALLED ORGANIZED CRIME FOR OUR COMPAÑEROS AND COMPAÑERAS TO BE EVICTED, AND THAT THERE IS AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN ORGANIZED CRIME AND THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT TO GRANT “LEGAL” CHARACTER TO THIS PLUNDER.

THE THREATS HAVE BEEN INCREASING IN TONE AND NOW INCLUDE THE PRESENCE OF PEOPLE FROM “PALESTINA” BEARING HIGH-POWERED LONG GUNS, INVOKING THREATS OF RAPE AGAINST WOMEN, BURNING OF HOUSES AND THEFT OF BELONGINGS, CROPS AND ANIMALS.

THE PROVOCATIONS DO NOT CEASE. THE CARACOL OF JERUSALEM WAS ONE OF THE VENUES THAT WE WERE CONTEMPLATING FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE 2024-2025 ENCUENTROS DE REBELDÍA Y RESISTENCIA.

AS WE MUST PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETERIORATION OF THIS SERIOUS SITUATION, WE WILL SUSPEND ALL COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION ABOUT THESE ENCUENTROS AND WILL CONSIDER CANCELING THEM BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE NO SECURITY FOR THE ATTENDEES ANYWHERE IN CHIAPAS.

THIS IS THE REALITY OF “CONTINUITY OF CHANGE” IN BAD GOVERNMENTS.

THAT IS ALL.

By the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee-
General Command of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Mexico, October 2024.