February 11, 1999

To National and International Civil Society.

From: SupMarcos

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The 5000 Zapatista Delegates who will travel to all the Municipalities in all of Mexico have now been named!! (well, actually 6000 have been named, since the compañeros said that there should be reserves in case someone gets sick). While we’re preparing for our departure, I’ll take advantage of the moment to talk a little bit about how the organization is going for the National Consultation for the recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights and the end to the war of extermination.

I don’t know if I should start telling you about the messages that have been left on our answering machine, and let you know that, for example, Chac called to give us his suggestions and his regards (in that order); that a good part of the calls come from Chihuahua; that a secondary school teacher named Alma tells us that she is fed up with the government’s lies, that she supports the Consultation, and that she has hope that everything will change for the better if we organize ourselves (good health and greetings, Doña Alma, we also want it a ton); that a radio program in Chihuahua (I think it’s called "Live and Direct") called to ask us questions so that their listeners could find out "Live and Direct" what this Consultation was all about (unfortunately, I don’t know where to send the recording of what we said); that the "Diario de Chihuahua" also called to ask us to send a message to their readers (good luck, and we hope they’ll publish this letter, which is also for them); that the Segura family, from Ciudad Juarez, ("yes, sir!"), tells us that they regret the present state of the country and ask God to enlighten us; that others have also called to remind us of Mother’s Day (which doesn’t lack foresight, since there’s still a long ways left to May 10); that others just call to listen to the message or to say "Hello!" or "Good Luck!"

But even better, I won’t tell you about all that. There have been a lot of calls, and they have represented a lot of inclinations and a lot of spirits.

It’s better to tell you about the brigades that are right now promoting and spreading the Consultation. There is, for example, the Brigade "Moisés," which is carrying out its work in Poza Rica, Veracruz, and is promoting the Consultation in the colonia Chapultepec, Obras Sociales, Fraccionamiento San Roman and Tepeyac. The one responsible for the brigade is a woman whose body is sick, but whose spirit is healthier than anyone’s, and she, without looking for any congratulations, is fully engaged in the fight for justice, with, of course, the six that make up her brigade. I’m not going to put down her name, but she and we all know who she is. Then there’s the Brigade "Tierra y Libertad," in Tijuana, Baja California, which has put in a special request for the video "Sup-Speedy and the Consultation." Or the brigade "Hermanos," from Ensenada, Baja California, which is promoting the Consultation in Triqui and Nahautl.

In Parral, Chihuahua, the Brigade "Teporaka" is spreading the Consultation in Raramuri y tells us KITA SHIWE! (which in Raramuri means "Don’t Give Up!"). In Chiapas, the Brigade "Chawok" (which means "thunder") is working in Mam, Chuj, and Jaltieco. And other brigades are pushing ahead in Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tojolabal, Chol, Cakchiquel, Zoque and Spanish. In Colima there is a brigade called "La Parota Apapachadora" which is, ditto, promoting the Consultation. In Mexico City there are a bunch of brigades of young people (One is called "Tlacuaches in Rebellion," so watch out!). Also in Mexico City, the Alicia Multiforo is a brigade and a forum and a thousand other things. In the State of Mexico, the Brigade "Tloque-Nahuaque" is promoting in Otomi. In Guanajuato, to the cry of "Yepa-yepa!," "Rubén Jaramillo" is spreading the Consultation in Salamanca. The same cry is heard in Guadalajara but from the Brigade "AOKMO." In Michoacán, "Utopia" is doing its work in Purepecha. In Puebla, the Brigades "Chaneques" and "Adelita" ask that we cheer them on (ok then: A la bio, a la bao, a la etcetera!, done). In Quintana Roo, the Brigade "Sacbé" is working in Maya. In Sinaloa, the Brigade "Los Indecisos" ("The Indecisive") are waiting to decide about working on the Consultation. In San Luis Potosí, more exactly in Tamazunchale, they’re playing basketball and promoting the Consultation in Teke and Nahuatl. In Tampico, Tamaulipas, the brigade is not named "Sebastián Guillén," but "Tamaulipas por la Paz." In Veracruz, the Brigade "Hombres Necios" does honor to its name by struggling with dignity. In Jeréz de Garcia, Zacatecas, there is a brigade called, of course, "López Velarde"…

And there is more: in Mexico City, for example, a group of ex-professional football players (now retired from the "sport of men") have scheduled a football game between themselves and the Zapatista delegates who will attend the delegations in Mexico City. They ask if we accept the challenge and what our uniforms should be. Of course we accept, and we ask that our uniforms be: black shirt with a red five-pointed star and the letters "EZLN" (front), the number of the same red color, shorts (preferably like the ones "Chololo" Diaz wears) in white (and that’s where the contrast will be) and black socks. Don’t worry about the shoes; we’ll bring huaraches, brand "Yepa-yepa, the only globalized huarache" (forget about it, we already have the exclusive contract). I’m planning on lining up on the extreme left (you have to be consistent, don’t you?), and on defense we’ll set up a Zapatista roadblock. Our strategy will be dignified resistance. We have been told that the ex-football players will provide the stadium and the ball. Fine, we’ll provide the referee (we’ve got to play it safe, after all).

And so I could talk to you about a lot of men and women, young and old who, in these moments, are working so that the Consultation will go well in Mexico and its success will be a step on the road to the peace that we all deserve and need.

But, instead of continuing with these dispersed facts, I’m going to give you a summary of what’s most important in this stage of promoting and spreading the Consultation in Mexico. As of the 11 of February, 1999, there were registered more than 600 brigades in 30 of the 32 states of the Federation (only Nayarit and Campeche are missing, but they won’t be long). The states with the most people in brigades are the Federal District, Chiapas, Puebla, the State of Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Morelos, Nuevo León, and Zacatecas.

Many of those participating in the brigades thoughout the Republic are people without a party or political organization. What are the social and political organizations waiting for to join in? Right on! This Consultation is for everyone.

And so we go. There are already a lot of Municipalities that have brigades, but a lot of others still don’t. So get up! Form your brigade and register it! Or else what?

What’s more, the stage of the Territorial Organization of the Consultation has begun. So what? Join in!

As regards the International Consultation, next time I’ll talk about our brigades and the brigade members in Spain, Italy, Euskadi, Argentina, Uruguay, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, France, Norway, Switzerland, Nicaragua, Israel, Greece, England, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Venezuela, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Chile, and the United States of America.

Well, ladies and gents, this is more or less what I wanted to tell you. Don’t forget that the Consultation is Sunday the 21 of March, 1999, and that the Zapatista delegates will come to your Municipality to speak and listen, and that this is what the Consultation is for. Sale y Vale.

Allright. Health, and KITA SHIWE!