EZLN Revolutionary Laws EZLN - Social Security Law First: Abandoned children will be fed and protected by the nearest neighbors under the authority of the EZLN, before being turned over to the civilian authorities, who will protect them until they reach 13 years of age. Second: Elderly people without family will be protected and will receive priority in housing and the distribution of free food coupons. Third: Those incapacitated by the war will receive attention and work priority under the direction of the EZLN. Fourth: The pension of retirees will be equal to the minimum salary established by local Price and Salary Commissions. EZLN - Justice Law First: All prisoners in all prisons will be liberated, except those guilty of murder, rape and the leaders of drug-trafficking operations. Second: All government officials, from the level of the municipal president up to the president of the republic, will be subject to audit, and will be judged for misappropriation of funds in cases where evidence of guilt is found. EZLN - Revolutionary Agrarian Law The poor campesinos' movement in Mexico demands the return of the land to those who work it and, in the tradition of Emiliano Zapata and in opposition to the reforms to Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution, the EZLN again takes up the just struggle of rural Mexico for land and freedom. With the object of standardizing the new agrarian distribution enacted by the revolution throughout Mexican territory, the following Revolutionary Agrarian Law is issued: First: This law is valid in all Mexican territory, and benefits all poor campesinos and Mexican agricultural laborers regardless of their political affiliation, religious creed, sex, race, or color. Second: This law affects all agricultural properties and agro/livestock businesses inside of Mexican territory, whether they are national or foreign owned. Third: All poor-quality land in excess of 100 hectares and all good-quality land in excess of 50 hectares will be subject to the Revolutionary Agrarian Law. The landowners whose lands exceed the aforementioned limits will have the excess taken away from them, and they will be left with the minimum permitted by this law. They may remain as small landholders or join the cooperative campesinos' movement, campesino societies, or communal lands. Fourth: Communally held land and the land of popular cooperatives will not be subject to agrarian reform, even though they exceed the limits mentioned in the third article of this law. Fifth: The lands affected by this agrarian law will be distributed to the landless campesinos and the agricultural laborers who thus request it as collective property for the formation of cooperatives, campesino societies or agricultural production/livestock collectives. The affected lands should be worked collectively. Sixth: The collectives of poor, landless campesinos and agricultural laborers men, women, and children without land title, or who have land of poor quality-will have the right to be the first to request land. Seventh: In order to better cultivate the land for the benefit of the poor campesinos and the agricultural laborers, the expropriation of large estates and agricultural/livestock monopolies will include the expropriation of means of production such as machinery, fertilizer, stores, financial resources, chemical products and technical expertise. All of these means should pass into the hands of the poor campesinos and agricultural laborers, with special attention given to groups organized in cooperatives, collectives and societies. Eighth: The groups that benefit from this agrarian law should dedicate themselves to the collective production of necessary foodstuffs for the Mexican people: corn, beans, rice, vegetables and fruit, as well as to the raising of cattle, bees, pigs and horses, and to the production of animal derived products (meat, milk, eggs, etc.). Ninth: In time of war, a portion of the products of the lands affected by this law will be designated for the sustenance of orphans and widows of revolutionary combatants, and to the support of the revolutionary forces. Tenth: The purpose of collective production is primarily to satisfy the people's needs, to instill in those who benefit from this law a consciousness of collective work and benefit, and to create production, defense and mutual-aid units in the Mexican countryside. When a region doesn't produce some product, it will trade justly and equally with another region where it is produced. Excess production can be exported to other countries if there is no national demand for the product. Eleventh: Large agricultural businesses will be expropriated and passed to the hands of the Mexican people, and will be administered collectively by the workers of those businesses. The cultivation machinery, seeds, etc. that are sitting idle in factories and businesses will be distributed among rural collectives, with the objective of making the land fertile and ending the hunger of the people. Twelfth: Individual hoarding of land and the means of production will not be permitted. Thirteenth: Zones of virgin jungle and forest will be preserved. There will be reforestation campaigns in the principalzones. Fourteenth: The riverheads, rivers, lakes and oceans are the collective property of the Mexican people, and they will be cared for by not polluting them and by punishing their misuse. Fifteenth: In order to benefit the poor, landless campesinos and agricultural workers, in addition to the agrarian redistribution established by this law, commercial centers will be created to buy the campesinos' products at a fair price and to sell to them, at a fair price, goods that the campesino needs for a dignified life. Also, community health centers will be created with every benefit of modern medicine, with capable and conscientious doctors and nurses, and with free medical care for the people. Recreation centers will be created for the campesinos and their families so that they may rest in dignity without the need for bars or bordellos. Educational centers and free schools will be created where the campesinos and their families can receive an education, regardless of their age, sex, race or political affiliation, and where they can learn the techniques necessary for their development. Housing and road construction centers will be established with engineers, architects, and the necessary materials for the campesinos' dignified housing and the construction of good roads for transportation. Service centers will be created in order to guarantee potable water, drainage, electricity, radio and television, in addition to everything necessary for housework: stoves, refrigerators, lavatories, mills, etc. Sixteenth: The campesinos who work collectively will not be taxed. Nor will the ejidos, cooperatives or communal lands be taxed. From the moment that this Revolutionary Agrarian Law is implemented, all debts--whether they are from credit, taxes, or loans--that are owed by the poor campesinos or agricultural workers to the oppressive government, to foreigners or to capitalists, are forgiven. EZLN - Law of Rights and Obligations of Peoples in Struggle In its liberatory advance through Mexican territory, and in the struggle against the government and against the large national and foreign exploiters, the EZLN will implement, with the help of the people engaged in struggle, the following Law of Rights and Obligations of Peoples in Struggle: First: The peoples in struggle against the oppressor government and the large national and foreign exploiters, without regard to their political affiliation, religious creed, race or color, will have the following rights: A: To choose, freely and democratically, the authorities of whatever type they consider convenient, and to demand that they be respected. B: To demand that the revolutionary armed forces not intervene in matters of civil order or the disposition of capital relating to agriculture, commerce, finances, and industry, as these are the exclusive domain of the civil authorities, elected freely and democratically. C: To organize and exercise armed defense of their collective and private goods, as well as to organize and exercise the vigilance of public order and good government according to the popular will. D: To demand that the revolutionary armed forces guarantee the safety of people, families and private and collective property of neighbors or transients, when these people are not enemies of the revolution. E: The inhabitants of every population have the right to acquire and possess arms to defend their persons, families and property, according to the laws of disposition of capital of farms, commerce, finance and industry, against the armed attacks committed by the revolutionary forces or those of the government. By the same token, they are fully authorized to make use of those arms against whatever person or group of people assaults their homes, the honor of their families, or attempt to commit robberies or attacks of whatever form against their persons. This is valid only for those who are not enemies of the revolution. Second: The civil authorities of whatever type, who are elected democratically, will have, in addition to the previous rights and the attributions that are signalled by the respective revolutionary laws, the following rights: A: They will be able to imprison, disarm and turn in to the Commands anyone they find robbing, raiding or looting any home or committing any other violation, for which they will receive their deserved punishment, even if they are a member of the revolutionary armed forces. The same procedures will be employed against those who commit any violation, even if they are not caught in the act, if their guilt is sufficiently demonstrated. B: They will have the right that, for their conduct, revolutionary taxes be imposed as established by the War Tax Law. Third: Peoples in struggle against the oppressor government and the great national and foreign exploiters, without regard to their political affiliation, religious creed, race or color, will have the following obligations: A: To give their services in works of vigilance, according to majority will or the military necessities of revolutionary war. B: To respond to calls for help made by the democratically elected authorities, the revolutionary armed forces or by any revolutionary military person in cases of urgency, to combat the enemy. C: To lend their services as mail deliverers or guides to the revolutionary armed forces. D: To lend their services to carry food to the revolutionary troops when they are combatting the enemy. E: To lend their services to transport wounded, bury cadavers or other similar works tied to the cause and interests of the revolution. F: To give food and lodging to the revolutionary forces that are guarding or passing through the respective populations, to the degree that they are able. G: To pay taxes and contributions established by the War Tax Law and other Revolutionary Laws. H: They should not help in any way the enemy, nor give them articles of primary necessity. I: To dedicate themselves to legitimate work. Fourth: The civil authorities, of whatever type elected democratically, will, in addition to the previous obligations, have the following obligations: A: To regularly report to the civil population on the activities under their command and the origin and destination of all of the material resources and human posts in their administration. B: To regularly inform the respective Command of the revolutionary armed forces of any events that occur in their area. Instructions to Leaders and Officials of the EZLN The following orders are obligatory for all leaders and officials of troops under the control the Zapatista National Liberation Army. First: You will operate according to the orders that you receive from the General Command or from the Commands of the Front Line. Second: The leaders and officials who are in military operations in isolated zones or with difficulties in communicating with the Commands should carry out their military work, combatting the enemy constantly, according to their own initiative, taking care to advance the revolution in the places where they find themselves working. Third: You will submit a War Dispatch whenever possible, or at least monthly, to the respective Commands. Fourth: You will endeavor to preserve, as much as possible, good order among the troops, especially when you enter populaces, guaranteeing in full the lives and interests of the inhabitants who are not enemies of the revolution. Fifth: To aid the troops in their material necessities to the degree possible, you should impose war contributions on the businesses or property-holders who find themselves in the zones where you are operating, but only if they have important capital according to the War Tax Law and the Revolutionary Laws that affect commercial, agricultural, financial and industrial capital. Sixth: The material funds that are gathered by these means will be employed strictly for the material necessities of the troops. The leader or official who takes any of these funds for his personal benefit will be taken prisoner and judged according to the rules of the EZLN by a revolutionary military tribunal. Seventh: For the feeding of the troops, pasture of the horses, and fuel and repair of the vehicles, you should direct yourselves to the democratically elected authorities of the place in question. This authority will gather what they can from among the civilian population, for the material necessities of the Zapatista military unit, and will hand them in to the leader or official of the highest rank in said military unit, and only to him. Eighth: Only those officials with the rank of Major or higher will change authorities in those places that fall under the power of the revolution, according to the will of the people, and according to available and relevant sections of the Law of Revolutionary Government. Ninth: The people, in general, will take possession of their goods according to what is established in the Revolutionary Laws. The leaders and officials of the EZLN will give to these people their moral and material support, with the goal of carrying out what is set out in these Revolutionary Laws, whenever the same people request this help. Tenth: Absolutely no one will be able to have meetings or treaties with the oppressor government or with its representatives without the prior authorization of the General Command of the EZLN. EZLN - War Tax Law In the zones controlled by the EZLN the following War Tax Law will be instituted and will be made to function with all of the moral, political and military force of our revolutionary organization. First: The War Tax Law will apply from the moment that a military unit of the EZLN begins to operate in a specific territory. Second: The War Tax Law affects all of the civilian, national or foreign populations residing in or passing through said territory. Third: The War Tax Law is not obligatory for the civilian population that lives by its own resources, without exploiting any labor whatsoever and without obtaining any advantage from the people. For poor campesinos, day workers, workers, employees, the unemployed, participation in this law is voluntary and in no way will they be obligated morally or physically to subject themselves to this law. Fourth: The War Tax Law is obligatory for those in the civilian population who live by exploitation, by force or through work or who obtain some advantage over the people in their activities. Those small, medium and large capitalists of the countryside and the city can be obligated to obey this law without exception, in addition to submitting themselves to the Revolutionary Laws affecting agricultural, commercial, financial and industrial capital. Fifth: The following percentages of taxes will be established, according to the work of each person: A: For small commercial businesses, small property holders, workshops and small industries, 7% of their monthly income. In no way will their means of production be affected by the collection of this tax. B: For professional people, 10% of their monthly income. In no way will materials strictly necessary for the exercising of their profession be affected. C: For medium-size property-holders, 15% of their monthly income. Their property will be affected according to the respective Revolutionary Laws of agricultural, commercial, financial and industrial capital. D: For large capitalists, 20% of their monthly income. Their property will be affected according to the respective Revolutionary Laws of agricultural, commercial, financial and industrial capital. Sixth: All of the goods seized from the armed forces of the enemy will be property of the EZLN. Seventh: All of the goods recuperated by the revolution from the hands of the oppressor government will be the property of the revolutionary government according to the laws of the revolutionary government. Eighth: All taxes and burdens imposed by the oppressor government will be ignored, such as those debts of money or goods that the exploited people of the country and the city find themselves obligated to pay by those governing or by capitalists. Ninth: All of the war taxes recovered by the revolutionary armed forces or by the organized people will become the collective property of the respective populations, and will be administered according to the popular will by the democratically elected civil authorities, giving to the EZLN only what is necessary to contribute to the material necessities of the regular troops, and for the continuation of the liberatory movement according to the Law of Rights and Obligations of Peoples in Struggle. Tenth: No civil or military authority, whether it be of the oppressor government or of the revolutionary forces, will take for personal or family benefit any part of these war taxes. EZLN - Law of Rights and Obligations of the Revolutionary Armed Forces The revolutionary armed forces of the EZLN, in their struggle against the oppressor government and the great national and foreign exploiters, and in its liberatory advance over the Mexican territory, commit themselves to the carrying out and enforcement of the following Law of Rights and Obligations of the Revolutionary Armed Forces: First: The revolutionary troops of the EZLN in their combat against the oppressor will have the following rights: A: The troops that pass through a village will have the right to receive from the people, through the democratically elected civil authorities, lodging, food and the means to accomplish their military missions, according to the means of the inhabitants. B: The troops that, by orders of the respective commands, are garrisoned in a place, will have the right to receive lodging, food, and means according to what is established in section (A) of this article. C: The leaders, officials or soldiers who observe that some authority does not fulfill what is established by the Revolutionary Laws, and lack popular approval, will have the right to denounce this authority to the revolutionary government. Second: The revolutionary troops of the EZLN, in their combat against the oppressor, have the following obligations: A: To make sure that those peoples who have not named, freely and democratically, their authorities, proceed immediately to free elections of the same, without the intervention of the armed forces, which under the responsibility of their military orders, will let the population work without any pressure whatsoever. B: To respect the civil authorities elected freely and democratically. C: To not intervene in civil matters, and to let the civil authorities work freely on these matters. D: To respect legal commerce that obeys the respective Revolutionary Laws. E: To respect the agricultural redistribution carried out by the revolutionary government. F: To respect the rules, customs and agreements of the people and to submit themselves to them in cases of civil-military relations. G: To charge no taxes to the population, in no way and under no pretext, for the use of its land and waters. H: To not take over, for personal use, the lands of the people, or of the estates taken away from the oppressor. I: To obey all of the laws and rules issued by the revolutionary government. J: To not demand personal services or works of personal benefit from the civilian population. K: To report those subordinates who commit any crime, imprison them, and remit them to a revolutionary military tribunal, so that they may receive their deserved punishment. L: To respect civil justice. M: The leaders and officials will be responsible before the respective Commands for the abuses or crimes of subordinates who are not remitted to revolutionary military tribunals. N: To dedicate yourselves to making war against the enemy until they are definitively removed from the territory in question or are annihilated. EZLN Revolutionary Laws Agree? Disagree?
^^^ Do explain, good sir. I say these rules work a damn lot better for the poor campesinos than those imposed by an urban-based, corrupt government...
I would have to agree... There is much that is fair and noble in that declaration. The Zapatista cause is one that has my full support.
The zapatista are a good standard for revolutionary movements all over the world. Plus Ive got a man crush on subcomandante marcos. “It is not only in the mountains of southeastern Mexico that neoliberalism is being resisted. In other regions of Mexico, in Latin America, in the United States and in Canada, in the Europe of the Maastricht Treaty, in Africa, in Asia, and in Oceania, pockets of resistance are multiplying. Each has its own history, its specificities, its similarities, its demands, its struggles, its successes. If humanity wants to survive and improve, its only hope resides in these pockets made up of the excluded, the left-for-dead, the ‘disposable.’”
Those laws take away the farmer's economic freedom. They would be forced to sell their produce at the government's prices in the government's market. Only "excess" could be sold to whoever the farmer wishes. Laws against "hording" provide an easy way for the government to seize land from any farmer who gets too uppity. Other than the fact that some nice language is used, how is this different from sharecroppers in the early 20th century in the United States? Also there are a lot of promises being made (health care collectives, utilities, schools, etc...), how can anyone be sure the EZLN will even be capable of carrying these things out? Making promises is a popular way for revolutionary governments to take power, but they often fall short when they have neither the resources or the planning to carry it through. Can someone clarify this? I'm an engineer, are you saying my technical expertise can be "expropriated"? EDIT: I'm not saying the situation in Mexico for farmers is great now, but the right way to improve people's lives is to give them more economic freedom, more control over their own destiny.
That's a fucking laugh man, take away their economic freedom?! These are campesinos, you realise that they never HAD economic freedom to begin with, no? They're little more than sharecroppers, working under tyrannical, greedy landlords - that was fairly well the whole cause of the revolution. Have a read of this - Chiapas conflict - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Evidently, the poor, indigenous farmers not only had no economic freedom, financial autonomy or political representation, they were getting their ancestral land/forests constantly destroyed to make way for rich, white 'development'. Regardless, you must realise that this is an indigenous revolution, comprised largely of indigenous people who don't wish and never have wished to be capitalist farming tycoons... the culture is radically different. To put it bluntly, these people don't really WANT some yankee vision of 'economic freedom', don't want to start a business and compete with each other to see who ends up the richest, largely because those 'capitalists' who have done this have been those who have been oppressing them and indeed robbing them of their economic freedom. I mean, I obviously can't speak for them and authoritively say what it is that 'they' want and don't want, but I can say authoritively that capitalism is both completely absent from indigenous Mayan custom/lifestyle and is responsible for the enormous disparities in wealth that plagues Chiapas. After being trampled by the boots of the rich for so long, I'd say that they're quite happy to have some power over their own fates, power over their own culture and freedom to enjoy revitalising that culture on the clean slate that has been offered to them by the revolution. After all, you don't hear of the campesinos complaining about their lack of 'economic freedom', do you?
So the EZLN would replace tyrannical, greedy landlords with a tyrannical government. One that would force all farmers to sell their produce only at government markets, at government mandated prices. The government could also seize land, farming equipment, fertilizers, "financial assets", "technical expertise", and anything else a citizen is considered "hoarding". Explain to me how this would be any different? I'm not talking about starting a business, I'm talking about the freedom to make a living how one chooses. That's what everyone in the world deserves. The right to not have some thugs show up and seize 90% of your farm because you're considered "hoarding" (I'm sure that will be a good way to silence dissidents), or to not have the military seize your cattle for the good of the revolution and they'll be crashing in your home for the next few weeks (laws related to military, first section A-C). I do respect the indigenous people of Mexico, and I think they should have the right to live as they choose. Everyone should. But the EZLN is trying to force its views on everyone in Mexico. That is unjust.
Fourth: Communally held land and the land of popular cooperatives will not be subject to agrarian reform, even though they exceed the limits mentioned in the third article of this law. Fifth: The lands affected by this agrarian law will be distributed to the landless campesinos and the agricultural laborers who thus request it as collective property for the formation of cooperatives, campesino societies or agricultural production/livestock collectives. The affected lands should be worked collectively. Sixth: The collectives of poor, landless campesinos and agricultural laborers men, women, and children without land title, or who have land of poor quality-will have the right to be the first to request land. Seventh: In order to better cultivate the land for the benefit of the poor campesinos and the agricultural laborers, the expropriation of large estates and agricultural/livestock monopolies will include the expropriation of means of production such as machinery, fertilizer, stores, financial resources, chemical products and technical expertise. All of these means should pass into the hands of the poor campesinos and agricultural laborers, with special attention given to groups organized in cooperatives, collectives and societies. How is the above 'tyrannical', much less governmentally focused? The land, 'expertise' and whatnot isn't going to the government, it's going to the campesinos - 'all of these means should pass into the hands of the poor campesinos and agricultural laborers, with special attention given to groups organised in cooperatives, collectives and societies'. That's simple wealth redistribution, not 'tyranny'... As far as hoarding goes, I can understand that - the entire aim of the movement is to eliminate heirarchies, power structures and inequality, so having one person hoarding land (much less the means of production) that belongs to everybody is indeed something that should not be tolerated. That sounds harsh, 'should not be tolerated' has an ominous ring to it, but I certainly can't imagine and don't condone anything happening other than the hoarder being offered the choice of leaving to capitalist Mexico or joining the revolution and turning the excess land/access to the machines of production over to the people. That's not ECONOMIC freedom then, that's simple self-determination - which I'm quite sure they're free to engage in under the ELZN laws (as long as it doesn't bring harm to others), and if they want to operate outside these laws they can leave EZLN territory and operate under whatever laws they find preferable. I'm sure it was figurative, but there's nothing there saying that they 'seize 90% of your farm'... and Christ, if they're seizing 90% of your farm it must be an enormous fucking farm, far too large for its produce to be produced to the beneficiery of one wealthy family. I think you may be mistaking the 'spirit' of this revolution for something far more sinister, more totalitarian - it's really not, there's barely any militarisation, it's more based on intelligent means of ensuing the success of the revolution, such as consensus decision making, teaching the campesinos to read, write and think about the problems of class and wealth disparities for themselves, and above all listening to what the campesinos have to say. Indeed, much of the movement is modelled on indigenous Mayan thought and traditional practises, to many of the campesinos it probably represents not 'progress' or any kind of radical change, but simply a RETURN to the cultural mores and systems that they used to live by. I'm not entirely sure where you got this from, the EZLN operates only in their territory in Chiapas and that's it - they're not engaging in military offensives and coupes, not commiting terror attacks to spread their ideology, they're just trying to craft a better life for themselves with the hope that surrounding indigenous people will catch on.
It's just more Marxist gibberish. It didn't work in the USSR, it didn't work in Cuba, it didn't work any any other communist country. What makes you think it'll work in Mexico?
It's only vaguely Marxist, it's more in-line with libertarian socialism... and the reason it will and is working in Chiapas is because this movement is more an indigenous liberation movement than anything else. Look what's happening in Bolivia, same deal - are the people being oppressed? Far from it, the people are building the new society themselves based upon the old societies that they were once the proud torch-bearers of. And that's why it will work - because it's deeper than an ideology like Marxism or libertarian socialism, it's going back to their roots.
The government is deciding how it will be distributed, what constitutes hoarding, and who it will be distributed to. Just wait until some farmers express dissatisfaction with the new government and are suddenly found "hoarding". And what do they mean by "expertise." As I said before, I'm an engineer, the only person deciding how my expertise will be distributed is me, my skills aren't up for democratic vote. You're right, we should just give the government a bunch of power and just trust that they won't start abusing it. When revolutions are started by people with good intentions, they never radicalize and become just as oppressive as their predecessors...well that happened a few times, but it'll be different this time, right? I admit I was wrong when I said they want to take over all of Mexico, however I still argue it is not right to force your will on your neighbors, no matter how well intentioned you may be. Just because many indigenous farmers support the EZLN doesn't mean they can force the ones that don't to participate, or kick them off of their land if they refuse.
No, the PEOPLE are deciding all of these things... if you've done your research, you'll know that EZLN 'government' is not a government at all, it's a participatory assembly of all who want to be involved. The EZLN are founded on the tradition of Zapata, who was an anarchist in the socialist sense of the term. They describe themselves as anarchist, and I think the best way to put a label on them would be to say a collection of affiliated villages (libertarian municipalism) who manage their affairs themselves based upon public consensus. There, quite simply, IS no central government or really any government at all, just autonomous villages running themselves based on the same manifesto. As for your skills argument... very true, I agree with you 100%. A person is not a resource, not in the same way that land, water or food is. Land, water or food is there for everyone and has no choice in being there, while a person exists for themself (or, at least, has the right to) and absolutely has the choice to become an engineer, dentist or whatever else. For anyone to command them to work against their choice is very wrong - the choice should be the standard one, join the movement and put your services to use on the people or go find somewhere else to go engineering. Once again, this 'the government' business is quite erronous. Indeed, have a read of this - First: The peoples in struggle against the oppressor government and the large national and foreign exploiters, without regard to their political affiliation, religious creed, race or color, will have the following rights: A: To choose, freely and democratically, the authorities of whatever type they consider convenient, and to demand that they be respected. B: To demand that the revolutionary armed forces not intervene in matters of civil order or the disposition of capital relating to agriculture, commerce, finances, and industry, as these are the exclusive domain of the civil authorities, elected freely and democratically. C: To organize and exercise armed defense of their collective and private goods, as well as to organize and exercise the vigilance of public order and good government according to the popular will. D: To demand that the revolutionary armed forces guarantee the safety of people, families and private and collective property of neighbors or transients, when these people are not enemies of the revolution. E: The inhabitants of every population have the right to acquire and possess arms to defend their persons, families and property, according to the laws of disposition of capital of farms, commerce, finance and industry, against the armed attacks committed by the revolutionary forces or those of the government. By the same token, they are fully authorized to make use of those arms against whatever person or group of people assaults their homes, the honor of their families, or attempt to commit robberies or attacks of whatever form against their persons. This is valid only for those who are not enemies of the revolution. This empowers the people, ENCOURAGES them to doubt, question and contest the military or 'government'. I'd agree to that, indigenous people have no right to kick other campesinos off the land - as long as they're indigenous, they have just as much right to be there and use the land how they see fit as the members of the EZLN. Hence, I can't imagine it WOULD come to that - in the spirit of libertarian socialism and consensus-decision making, I'd imagine anyone who doesn't want to be part of it would be able to have their own territory where they can do what they want, so long as they don't harm anyone outside of their territory.
These were really great information given by you, well I think that the EZLN incorporates women in the revolutionary struggle regardless of their race, creed, color or political affiliation, requiring only that they meet the demands of the exploited people and that they commit to the laws and regulations of the revolution.
Who is enforcing these laws? What tool will the people have to make sure they are deciding and not the people with a monopoly on force? A lot of these laws sound like they are specifically designed to force the "people" who are supposedly holding the power, to support warfare committed by EZLN. Its almost as if its designed solely to benefit their revolutionary war.
Right, But besides the honor code, what forces the EZLN to comply? Will these community council meetings be the primary type of organization that interperets what these EZLN laws actually mean?
I think it is pretty clear how to interpret it. The EZLN has proven that it sticks by its code because its power lies with the very people it protects.