[WSMDiscuss] National Indigenous Congress and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation - Convocation to the Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico, May 26-28 2017

Jai Sen jai.sen at cacim.net
Mon Jun 12 22:38:11 CEST 2017


Monday, June 12, 2017

 

Thank you, Quincy, for telling us of this essay on the days of the formation of the Indigenous Governing Council, and Kanya, for this indeed very moving, and powerful, reflection and essay…. and refrain.

            Here, for those on this list who are still wondering whether they will enter the song that Kanya D’Almeida sings in her refrain, are just two stanzas from it :

…… Because, you see, the earth has trembled before. It trembled with the birth of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation. We didn’t feel it then either, because the sound of indigenous men and women arming themselves is more of a whisper than a scream, this is the sound of dignified rage, it does not mimic the state, it doesn’t meet a battle-cry with shrillness but with a long, deep breath that becomes wind becomes movement becomes a storm.

…………………..

 

That is where I leave you now, in the applause, in the moment where the indigenous people of Mexico declared a perpendicular and anti-capitalist government. Perpendicular because it is not parallel! Parallel recognizes and respects another line. Perpendicular crashes into and obstructs that line! In this Below Other Ancient Perpendicular Place, there is no pageantry, only humble and sacred ceremony, there is no fanfare, just steady applause and a harkening back to battles unwon — ¡Tierra y Libertad! — and battles waiting-to-be-won. There are no dignitaries or red carpets, there are only compañeros y compañeras, their masks hiding everything but their smiling eyes, raising their lined hands in respectful greeting as they pass us, in clothes marked with earth and careful stitches, in simple shoes so they can make the earth tremble just by walking.

           

            Thank you too, Kanya, for helping us understand the ground on which we who were not there in San Cristóbal de las Casas, might be able to feel the earth tremble; for opening our feet and our hearts to that.

            Jai



> On Jun 12, 2017, at 2:23 PM, Quincy Saul <quincy at email.com> wrote:
> 
> Thank you Jai!
> Here is a very moving reflection/report from the formation of the Indigenous Governing Council by Kanya D'Almeida:
> ¿Sentimos? (Did we feel it?)
> 
> May 31, 2017 from Kanya D’Almeida
> http://ecosocialisthorizons.com/2017/05/sentimos-did-we-feel-it/
>  
>  
>  
> Sent: Monday, June 12, 2017 at 1:51 PM
> From: "JS CACIM" <jai.sen at cacim.net>
> To: "Post WSMDiscuss" <wsm-discuss at lists.openspaceforum.net>, "Post Social Movements Riseup" <social-movements at lists.riseup.net>, "Post CJN!" <cjn at lists.riseup.net>, "Post Debate" <Debate-list at fahamu.org>, "Post Activism News Network" <activism-news-network at googlegroups.com>
> Cc: "Jai Sen" <jai.sen at cacim.net>, "Quincy Saul" <quincy at email.com>
> Subject: National Indigenous Congress and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation - Convocation to the Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico, May 26-28 2017
> Monday, June 12, 2017
> 
> Indigenous Peoples in movement…, Turtle Island in movement…
> 
> [Here, and further to my last post in relation to this - the October 2016 Communiqué titled ‘May The Earth Tremble At Its Core’ issued by the National Indigenous Congress and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation, posted here on November 4 2016 –, is the text for convening the major next step in this historic process, the holding of a Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico, just two weeks ago, during May 26-28.
> 
> [For those who missed the last post, the significance of the November Communiqué was nothing less than (a) the plan to form – and this too, as the Zapatistas do, after long deliberation on the ground – an Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico, and to do this through convening a highly democratic Constitutive Assembly; and (b) to nominate an indigenous woman candidate for the 2018 Presidential elections in Mexico as a whole, the first time that anything like this has ever taken place; and where both steps constitute fundamental challenges to Mexican politics.  (For those who’d like to read the November 2016 Communique, it’s available in the original Spanish at http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2016/10/14/que-retiemble-en-sus-centros-la-tierra/ <http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2016/10/14/que-retiemble-en-sus-centros-la-tierra/> and in English at http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2016/10/18/may-the-earth-tremble-at-its-core/ <http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2016/10/18/may-the-earth-tremble-at-its-core/>.) :
> 
> Convocation to the Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico, May 26-28 2017,
> 
> in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Zapatista territory
> 
> National Indigenous Congress and the Zapatista Army for National Liberation
> 
> [The Constitutive Assembly has therefore just taken place, and I would assume that the outcomes of that will soon be posted on the Zapatistas’ website.
> 
> [Here in addition are the citations to two other related documents that are available on the Zapatistas’ site, that you might like to also take a look at :
> 
> Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés, October 2016 – ‘Words of the General Command of the Zapatista Army for National Liberation at the opening of the Fifth Session of the National Indigenous Congress at CIDECI in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, on October 11 2016’.  Available in English at http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2016/10/15/words-of-the-general-command-of-the-zapatista-army-for-national-liberation-at-the-opening-of-the-fifth-session-of-the-national-indigenous-congress-at-cideci-in-san-cristobal-de-las-casas-chiapas-on/ <http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2016/10/15/words-of-the-general-command-of-the-zapatista-army-for-national-liberation-at-the-opening-of-the-fifth-session-of-the-national-indigenous-congress-at-cideci-in-san-cristobal-de-las-casas-chiapas-on/>  
> 
> Zapatista Army for National Liberation, January 2017 – ‘And The Earth Trembled ! A Report From The Epicenter…’, from Oventik, Zapatista Territory, Chiapas, Mexico, dated January 7 2017.  Available in English at http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2017/01/07/and-the-earth-trembled-a-report-from-the-epicenter/ <http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2017/01/07/and-the-earth-trembled-a-report-from-the-epicenter/>
>             Thanks, Quincy, for bringing me up to date on what’s happening and for these links.  In case you have anything else you feel you’d like to add, please of course reply, making sure to include the listserve links.
> 
>             JS
> 
> http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2017/04/03/convocation-to-the-constitutive-assembly-of-the-indigenous-governing-council-for-mexico/ <http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2017/04/03/convocation-to-the-constitutive-assembly-of-the-indigenous-governing-council-for-mexico/> 
> Convocation to the Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico
>  
> 
>  
> Convocation to the Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico
>  
> NATIONAL INDIGENOUS CONGRESS
>  
> CONVOCATION
> 
> Given the decision made in the second phase of the Fifth National Indigenous Congress December 29, 30, and 31, 2016 and January 1, 2017, during which it was agreed:
> 
> FIRST: “…to name an Indigenous Governing Council with men and women representatives from each one of the peoples, tribes, and nations that make up the CNI. This council proposes to govern the country. It will have an indigenous woman from the CNI as its spokesperson, which is to say, a woman of indigenous blood who knows her culture. This indigenous woman spokesperson from the CNI will be an independent candidate for the presidency of Mexico in the 2018 elections.”
> 
> SECOND: “…[to call] on the originary peoples of this country, the collectives of the Sixth, workers, coalitions and committees who struggle in the countryside and the city, students, intellectuals, artists, scientists, the elements of civil society that are not organized, as well as all good-hearted people to close ranks and go on the offensive. We call on you to dismantle the power of above and to reconstitute ourselves now from below and to the left, not only as peoples but as a country, to come together in a single organization  where dignity will be our final word and our first action. We call on all of you to organize with us to stop this war, and to not be afraid to sow our seeds and build ourselves upon the ruins left by capitalism.”
> 
> THIRD: “…[to convoke] a constituent assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico in the month of May 2017…to make the earth tremble at its core, to overcome fear and recuperate what belongs to humanity, what belongs to the earth, and what belongs to the peoples, to recuperate the territories that have been invaded or destroyed, for the disappeared of this country, for the freedom of all political prisoners, for truth and justice for all of those who have been murdered, for the dignity of the countryside and the city…making dignity the epicenter of a new world.”
> We have agreed to convoke the authorities, representatives, delegates, and councilpersons named by the indigenous peoples, nations, tribes, barrios, communities, and organizations that participate in the CNI to celebrate the:
> 
> CONSTITUTIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE INDIGENOUS GOVERNING COUNCIL FOR MEXICO
> 
> To be held May 26, 27, and 28 of 2017 at the facilities of the Indigenous Center for Integral Learning (CIDECI-UNITIERRA) in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Zapatista territory, in accordance with the following schedule:
> 
> PROGRAM
> 
> May 26:
> 1. Arrival and in-person registration of indigenous councilpersons, authorities, representatives, and delegates, as well as of press and guests invited by the Coordinating Commission of the CNI.
> 2. Traditional Ceremony
> 
> May 27:
> 1. Inauguration and installation of the Constitutive Assembly of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico.
> 2. Working groups on the following topics:
> 1. Proposals and strategies for the Indigenous Governing Council
> 2. Functioning and Organization of the Indigenous Governing Council
> 3. Links between the Indigenous Governing Council and other sectors of civil society
> 4. Naming of the Spokeswoman for the Indigenous Governing Council
> 
> May 28:
> 1. Constitutive Plenary of the Indigenous Governing Council for Mexico and swearing-in ceremony of its members.
> 2. Discussion and approval of agreements, resolutions, and declarations.
> 3. Assembly closing ceremony.
> The naming of council members to the Indigenous Governing Council should be carried out according to the guidelines indicated in Appendix I of this Convocation and in the regions documented in Appendix II. Any concerns with regard to the proposed regions or necessary revisions should be communicated to the CNI coordinating committee.
> Advance registration of indigenous delegates can be made through the CNI email: catedrajuanchavez at congresonacionalindigena.org <mailto:catedrajuanchavez at congresonacionalindigena.org>.
> Those who are explicitly invited by the CNI coordination or the EZLN may participate as INVITED OBSERVERS.
> Members of the national and international Sixth who would like to attend as observers can register beforehand at the email: cni20aniversario at ezln.org.mx <mailto:cni20aniversario at ezln.org.mx>.
> 
> Attentively,
> March 2017
> For the Full Reconstitution of Our Peoples
> Never Again a Mexico Without Us
> National Indigenous Congress
> Zapatista Army for National Liberation
> 
> Appendix I:
> GROUNDS FOR NAMING THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO THE INDIGENOUS GOVERNING COUNCIL FOR MEXICO ACCORDING TO THE AGREEMENTS ADOPTED BY THE FIFTH NATIONAL INDIGENOUS CONGRESS IN ITS PLENARY ASSEMBLY JANUARY 1, 2017.
> 
> 1. The Indigenous Governing Council (CIG by its Spanish acronym) will be made up of two council members, preferably one man and one woman, from each of the participating indigenous regions in the National Indigenous Congress (CNI by its Spanish acronym) as indicated in the following appendix, with the exception of those peoples residing in the metropolitan zones of Mexico City and Guadalajara, who will name one council member from each people.
> 
> 2. The council members will be named through the assembly consensus of their people or in agreement with the traditions and customs of each people, and should be documented in writing.
> 
> 3. Those who are proposed as council members should obey the mandate of the people that named them and that of the CNI assembly, and work collectively under the seven principles of the CNI.
> 
> 4. Those who are proposed as council members should meet the following requirements:
> Have permanent membership in the CNI
> Practice the seven principles of the CNI
> Belong to an originary people
> Know the history and culture of their people and hold recognition and moral authority in their community
> Be nominated, named, and confirmed in Assembly or in the decision-making body of their people according to its traditions and customs.
> Have accompanied their people in struggle and have a congruent trajectory of struggle; they should be people who know how to work the land, who are humble, who listen to and serve their people, and who know the path of the CNI.
> Be anticapitalist, from below and to the left.
> 
> 5. The council members’ position will rotate over the time period decided by each people and is immediately revocable by the assembly or the body by which it was named.
> 
> 6. Council members should preferably be named before the CNI assembly programmed for May 27 and 28 in San Cristóbal de las Casas. The organization and functioning of the council members and the CIG will be agreed upon by that assembly.
> 
> FOR THE FULL RECONSTITUTION OF OUR PEOPLES
> NEVER AGAIN A MEXICO WITHOUT US
> FROM THE PROVISIONAL COORDINATION
> 
> Appendix II:
> List of Regions for the Indigenous Governing Council
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
> 
> List of Regions for the
> 
> Indigenous Governing Council
> 
> Region Number People – Language
> Baja California
> 1 Cucapá
> 2 Kumiai
> Campeche
> 3 Castellano of Candelaria
> 4 Chol of Campeche
> 5 Maya of Campeche
> 6 Tzeltal of Campeche
> Chiapas
> 7 Castellano of the Coast of Chiapas
> 8 Chol
> 9 Mam of Chiapas
> 10 Tojolabal
> 11 Tzeltal of the Selva Norte
> 12 Tzeltal of the Highlands of Chiapas
> 13 Tzeltal Zona Fronteriza
> 14 Tzotzil of the Highlands of Chiapas
> 15 Tzotzil of the Coast of Chiapas
> 16 Tzotzil of the Central Region of Chiapas
> 17 Lacandón
> 18 Zoque of the North of Chiapas
> Chihuahua
> 19 Rarámuri
> Mexico City
> 20 Nahua from the South Federal District
> Colima
> 21 Nahua of Colima
> Durango
> 22 Wixárika of Durango
> Guanajuato
> 23 Chichimeca
> Guerrero
> 24 Afromexicano
> 25 Mephaa of the Mountains of Guerrero
> 26 Nahua of Central Guerrero
> 27 Nahua Mountains de Guerrero
> 28 Amuzgo of Xochistlahuaca
> 29 Ñu Savi of the Coast of Guerrero
> 30 Ñu Savi of the Mountains of Guerrero
> Hidalgo
> 31 Nahua of Hidalgo
> Jalisco
> 32 Coca
> 33 Nahua of South Jalisco
> 34 Tepehuano de Jalisco
> 35 Wixárika de Jalisco
> Mexico State
> 36 Matlatzinca
> 37 Nahua from Central Mexico state
> 38 Nahua from East Mexico state
> 39 Otomí- Ñatho
> 40 Otomí- Ñañhú
> Michoacán
> 41 Mazahua
> 42 Nahua from the Coast of Michoacán
> 43 Otomí of Michoacán
> 44 Purépecha
> Morelos
> 45 Nahua of Morelos
> Nayarit
> 46 Náyeri
> 47 Wixárika of Nayarit
> Oaxaca
> 48 Chinanteco of Chinantla Alta
> 49 Chinanteco of Chinantla Baja
> 50 Cuicateco
> 51 Ikoots
> 52 Mazateco
> 53 Mixe
> 54 Ñu Savi of the Costa Chica Oaxaqueña
> 55 Ñu Savi of the Mixteca Alta Oaxaqueña
> 56 Ñu Savi of the Mixteca Baja Oaxaqueña
> 57 Ñu Savi of the Mixteca Media Oaxaqueña
> 58 Triqui Alta
> 59 Binnizá of the Sierra Norte
> 60 Binnizá of the Sierra Sur
> 61 Binnizá of the Isthmus
> 62 Binnizá of Valles Centrales
> 63 Chontal of Oaxaca
> 64 Zoque of Chimalapas
> Puebla
> 65 Nahua of the Mixteca Poblana
> 66 Nahua of the Sierra Norte of Puebla
> 67 Nahua of the Volcanes Puebla
> 68 Totonaco of the Sierra Norte of Puebla
> Querétaro
> 69 Otomí- Ñañhú of Amealco y Tolimán
> Quintana Roo
> 70 Maya of Quintana Roo
> San Luis Potosí
> 71 Castellano of Wirikuta
> 72 Nahua of the Huasteca potosina
> Sinaloa
> 73 Mayo of Sinalóa
> Sonora
> 74 Guarijío
> 75 Mayo of Sonora
> 76 Seri
> 77 Tohono Odham
> 78 Yaqui
> Tabasco
> 79 Chol
> 80 Chontal of Tabasco
> 81 Zoque of Tabasco
> Veracruz
> 82 Nahua of the Huasteca
> 83 Nahua of South Veracruz
> 84 Nahua of Zongolica
> 85 Otomí- Ñuhú
> 86 Popoluca
> 87 Sayulteco
> 88 Tepehua of North Veracruz
> 89 Totonaco of the Coast of Veracruz
> 90 Totonaco of the Sierra of Totonacapan
> Yucatán
> 91 Maya of Yucatán
> Migrant Peoples
> 92 Peoples residing in the Mexico City valley
> 93 Peoples residing in Guadalajara
> 
> 
> 
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> ______________________________
> 
> Jai Sen
> 
> jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
> www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/> / http://www.openword.net.in <http://www.openword.net.in/>
> Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded Algonquin territory (+1-613-282 2900) 
> 
> Recent publications :
> 
> Jai Sen, ed, 2016  – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ? (forthcoming in 2017 from New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press), ADVANCE PREFINAL ONLINE MOVEMENT EDITION @ www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/>
> Jai Sen, ed, 2013 – The Movements of Movements : Struggles for Other Worlds, Part I. Prefinal version of Volume 4 Part I in the Challenging Empires series. New Delhi : OpenWord.  Prefinal version 1.0 available @ http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/the_movements_of_movements/ <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/the_movements_of_movements/>
> FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS  :
> 
> Jai Sen, ed, 2017a – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  Volume 4 in the Challenging Empires series (New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press).  Available for pre-order at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
> &
> 
> Jai Sen, ed, 2017b – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance.  Volume 5 in the Challenging Empires series (New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press)
> 
> CHECK OUT CACIM @ www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/>, OpenWord @ http://www.openword.net.in <http://www.openword.net.in/>, and OpenSpaceForum @ www.openspaceforum.net <http://www.openspaceforum.net/>
>  
> AND SUBSCRIBE TO World Social Movement Discuss, an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum for the exchange of information and views on the experience, practice, and theory of social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global), including the World Social Forum.  To subscribe, simply send an empty email to wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net <mailto:wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net>
______________________________

Jai Sen

jai.sen at cacim.net <mailto:jai.sen at cacim.net>
www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/> / http://www.openword.net.in

Now based in New Delhi, India (+91-98189 11325) and in Ottawa, Canada, on unceded Algonquin territory (+1-613-282 2900) 

Recent publications :

Jai Sen, ed, 2016  – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ? (forthcoming in 2017 from New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press), ADVANCE PREFINAL ONLINE MOVEMENT EDITION @ www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/>
Jai Sen, ed, 2013 – The Movements of Movements : Struggles for Other Worlds, Part I. Prefinal version of Volume 4 Part I in the Challenging Empires series. New Delhi : OpenWord.  Prefinal version 1.0 available @ http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/the_movements_of_movements/ <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/the_movements_of_movements/>
FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS  :

Jai Sen, ed, 2017a – The Movements of Movements, Part 1 : What Makes Us Move ?.  Volume 4 in the Challenging Empires series (New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press).  Available for pre-order at PM Press <http://www.pmpress.org/>
&

Jai Sen, ed, 2017b – The Movements of Movements, Part 2 : Rethinking Our Dance.  Volume 5 in the Challenging Empires series (New Delhi : OpenWord and Oakland, CA : PM Press)

CHECK OUT CACIM @ www.cacim.net <http://www.cacim.net/>, OpenWord @ http://www.openword.net.in <http://www.openword.net.in/>, and OpenSpaceForum @ www.openspaceforum.net <http://www.openspaceforum.net/>
AND SUBSCRIBE TO World Social Movement Discuss, an open, unmoderated, and self-organising forum for the exchange of information and views on the experience, practice, and theory of social and political movement at any level (local, national, regional, and global), including the World Social Forum.  To subscribe, simply send an empty email to wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net <mailto:wsm-discuss-subscribe at lists.openspaceforum.net>
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