The Zapatista Movement in Mexico

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The Zapatista movement occurred near the end of the 20th century where there was a technological and digital boom. These advances have helped the Zapatistas in a unique way and this resulted in their revolution to be completely different from past revolutions. The creation of network identity and communication transfer using the internet has contributed to the Zapatista’s success. Identity was an integral part in past revolutions, but it was redefined during this movement. Subcomandante Marcos’s testimonial communiques helped create an identity that was universal and this lead the creation of network identity which ultimately contributed to the Zapatista’s success. This essay will focus on the functions of network identity and the internet in the digital age. The aspect of identity is central to testimonial narratives discussed in this course. In past revolutions, personal identity was synonymous with communal identity, such as in I, Rigoberta Menchu. This new identity allows for the discourse of many people who share the same struggles regardless of their ethnic identity. Starting with the background about the creation of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) or Zapatista Army of National Liberation and Marcos’s involvement, this essay will include how Marcos was able to create a universal identity and compare it to the value of identity in other testimonies. The story of Votan is centuries old, dating back to Pre-Columbian era. But when the new settlers came to Mexico they associated Votan with the Biblical stories of Noah or Tower of Babel. The story describes Votan to be of the Old World, and was sent from God to go to Mexico to defeat the Quiname to establish an empire called Xibalba, and built the city of Pale...

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...s explains in “The Zapatistas uprising and the poetics of cultural resistance,” but rather the heart. The message was not intended to deter the revolution away from the political, economic, or theoretical spheres, nor was it used to invoke empathy in the readers. It was used to “bring the theory don to the level of the human being” (Higgins, 371). The aspect of humanness that encapsulated the writings and the speeches reached audiences on a different level. It was this aspect that attracted many people to come to the Chiapas to observe the Zapatistas. This humanness pierced through the superficial layers and appearances to provide an understanding based on what it was to be human and not the differences. Marcos’s creation of the universal identity had at its core the cultural of humanism. This culture can reach people more than any other culture to unify for a cause.

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