A Communique from Subcomandante Marcos

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by JCG
He has decent to good PR but no real chance of making any of his words into reality, IMHO.

From what I've gathered from a couple of Mexican friends, he seems to be politically irrelevant in Mexico, as long as he doesn't try anything big (that's when they slap him around some, but just enough to leave him walking/talking, as they don't want to enrage all you lefties more than necessary).

Of course he's politically "irrelevant" - Mexican politics is dominated from the Federal level, and has seven decades (which Fox has done precious little to change in any meaningful way) of a single-party rule with a peculiar combination of paternalism, socialism (when convenient) and plantation/colonial capitalism. The EZLN really isn't looking to export their system to the rest of the country, they're looking to maintain control over their de facto dominion in parts of Chiapas and Oaxaca.

They do that pretty well, because unless the Army goes there in major force, which pisses off everyone. If the Army goes there in less than major force, they get their asses handed to them, which is even more unpopular, because some working stiff's conscript kid gets shot up for ****ing with some other working stiff. The PFP and other paramilitary police forces have gone down there a bit in the past (relatively rarely under Fox and Zedillo before him) and beat up and shot up some locals to send a message, but the EZLN itself has never been thumped really hard. The terrain suits guerilla fighters and the local populace supports them for the most part.

A more or less permanent stalemate is the situation now, and it'll be that way for a good long time.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Agathon


Says the man who wanted to look like El Che.

El Che was great, as long as you don't count his fighting abilities or ability to pick good places to start up revolutions.

Besides, I just picked that photo because those three were the first example I could think of for three well-known despotic thugs, two of whom were brothers. It fit the OT them so well, don't you think?