Abstract
This essay looks at the Zapatista struggle in Southeast Mexico from the perspective of epistemic decolonization. I follow Walter Mignolo’s analysis of Zapatismo as a decolonial “theoretical revolution” and moreover build on it by articulating it in relation to other concepts in the decolonial theoretical toolkit, such as epistemic humility, pluriversality, and knowing how to listen. I conclude with an interpretation of recent events in the Zapatista communities that reinforce what Mariana Mora has called the Zapatista’s “politics of listening,” which also allude to the transformations that continue to make Zapatismo a global beacon of decolonial thinking and doing.
Highlights
On December 21, 2012, the same day the thirteenth baktun cycle in the Maya long count calendar came to its end, the streets of San Cristóbal de las Casas (Chiapas, Mexico) witnessed the largest ever demonstration of Zapatista unity
Close to fifty thousand Zapatista villagers marched in complete silence under the rain, only to raise their fists as they passed the City Hall building they had once occupied in the 1994 insurgency
By the year 2012, both national and international media were more interested in the 2012 phenomenon that erroneously attributed a doomsday prophecy to the end of the thirteenth baktun cycle in the Maya long count calendar
Summary
RAFAEL VIZCAÍNO DEPAUL UNIVERSITY “En estos 20 años ha habido un relevo múltiple y complejo en el EZLN. Algunos han advertido sólo el evidente: el generacional. Ahora están haciendo la lucha y dirigiendo la resistencia quienes eran pequeños o no habían nacido al inicio del alzamiento. Pero algunos estudiosos no se han percatado de otros relevos: El de clase: del origen clase mediero ilustrado, al indígena campesino. El de raza: de la dirección mestiza a la dirección netamente indígena. Y el más importante: el relevo de pensamiento: del vanguardismo revolucionario al mandar obedeciendo; de la toma del Poder de Arriba a la creación del poder de abajo; de la política profesional a la política cotidiana; de los líderes, a los pueblos; de la marginación de género, a la participación directa de las mujeres; de la burla a lo otro, a la celebración de la diferencia.”.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
