In the aftermath of the transit of Delegado Zero and the Zapatistas through Oaxaca in the week of February 7, 2006, dozens of small organizations were obliged to  analyze their faults, their strengths, and what their rivalries mean for Oaxaca.

This may be the most important outcome of the Otra Campaña: a heightened sense of the necessity for collaboration, to achieve a united voice.

Delegado Zero on route with The Other Campaign is targeting his efforts to focus privately on those who are already adherents to the Otra Campaña or will become so – supporters for organizing from the Left and below. He’s not talking to those who have no interest or use for the movement he calls for. Public summaries in open areas are for the gawkers, gringos, spies and mainstream press.

In the weeks leading up to the arrival of the Zapatista Otra Campaña I am ambling around the city as usual, looking for people to speak to about Delegado Zero, Marcos. As you may imagine, a city is not a place to find campesinos, unless you count the woman who sits on the sidewalk at the corner of Porfirio Diaz with a small display of onions, zucchinis and chiles laid out on the pavement in front of her. I asked if she knew of any such person as Marcos. She had not. Nor the Zapatistas.

What is going on in Mexico is the trial rhetoric of a new vision, a "socialist" perspective to govern from the point of view of the people. It's anti-neoliberal, so watch out. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was challenged and so far, has survived - both literally and politically.

This account is from Oaxaca.

Mexico is waiting to see what will happen in the desafuero struggle. A report from Oaxaca - it seems muy tranquilo, but is it?

The desafuero of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador seems suspended in space like a cloud over the country. Fox offered a rather pitiful bone, saying maybe he could “pardon” AMLO. I bet he’s scared shitless, at the dual possibility of massive protests and withdrawal of foreign investment monies. At the end of the month the Mexican AG will rule on what’s to be done- the most gracious out at this moment being that the court disallows the desafuero.

Elections and Protests Part III
By Nancy Davies         December 26, 2004

    “Big Tent”, inclusionary politics is another word for tolerance. Tolerance is shorthand for “We’re different but we can tolerate each other.” It suggests, as the very word “party” suggests, that in a particular short-term situation we can get along. Historically, tolerance has implied that the top dog was willing to admit the bottom dog, that the ones with superiority or control were willing to bend.
    Disparities in power were never addressed by inclusion, and are not addressed now. How many of us screamed at Kerry to denounce the Iraq war? How many marched in the streets? How many letters and e-mails flew around the globe? And so what?
    Participatory politics intends to be a bottom up proposition. Participation is construction, of a different kind of entity, with all contributions equally valued and all contributors involved in the decision-making. If participation becomes “we’ll let you in” it has reverted to the bad old days and lost it’s meaning. Participation must do more than step over the gap of “irreconcilable differences”.

Participation and  Democracy: Why aren’t the people the government?

In the USA if you bring an uninvited guest to a sit-down meal you’re violating a profound commitment to exclusion. In Oaxaca, on the other hand,  the host is appreciative. The more the people who participate, the more confirmed everyone feels. One has support in what one undertakes, one is part of a community, and everyone provides mutual reification.

Elections have a certain similarity in many countries and all over the world; a certain aura of corruption succeeding on the back of public indifference and/or ineffectiveness.

Readers may be interested in Wired 12.11: The Mystery of the Coca Plant That Wouldn't Die  
 by Contributing editor Joshua Davis (jd@joshuadavis.net)

The article describes a new coca plant that is now taking over in Columbia. It's herbicide resistant. Heidi-ho.

      Issue 12.11 - November 2004