WORLD WORLDWIDE MEXICO News Journal Update - (en) Mexico, CATL: The crack #7 - COMMUNALITY AND ANARCHY By: Carlos Beas Torres. (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 In three different regions of the world there are currently

anti-systemic movements that radically question patriarchy, capital and
the state. None of these movements claims to be anarchist or anarchic,
although a good part of their proposal has a great identity with the
postulates claimed by thinkers of that ideology. These three movements
are identified by the exercise of community practices, where
horizontality, mutual support and the claim of women's rights are in
force. ---- In all three cases, these movements are under constant siege
by armies, gunmen and police, who keep them under siege and in all three
cases, the participants in these movements belong to the original
peoples. Kurds, Chiapas Mayans or Mapuches resist brutal offensives in
their territories and all of them agree that these offensives are part
of the escalation of the Third or Fourth World War, which, among other
processes, includes the expansion of nation-states and the capital over
the territories of the so-called indigenous peoples, with extractivist
projects.
There are not a few activists identified with anarchism or with the
libertarian movement who maintain our sympathy and solidarity with these
three movements; however, there are others, mainly the doctrinaire
anarchists who mistrust and question the emancipatory nature of these
struggles, and they are partly right. The military structure of the EZLN
and the name of the Juntas de Buen Gobierno, the relationship of the
Kurds of Rojava with the PKK and the spirituality and assimilative role
of Wallmapuwen, are undoubtedly far from anarchist orthodoxy and its
beginning.
At first, the relationship of the Kurdistan Workers' Party with the
struggle of the peoples in Northern Syria caused me pain. The PKK of
Stalinist origin, linked thirty years ago to Parties such as the
Communist of Peru or the Philippines. I confess that the radical
evolution that the PKK had in the last 20 years did not cease to amaze
me, and its transition from Leninist-style authoritarian centralism to
democratic confederalism and the demand for the leading role of women,
to assemblyism and respect for nature. Four elements undoubtedly
influenced this transition: the emergence of the women's struggle, the
readings of Noam Chomsky and Murray Bookchin, the failure of the statist
centralist line, and the return to Kurdish communalist roots.
In the case of the EZLN, the existence of a hierarchical structure
typical of a military actor is undeniable, and like the PKK, the FLN was
profoundly transformed by contact with communities that maintain
practices of mutual support, decentralization and autonomy. The
caracoles and the autonomous municipalities have revocable
representatives of their mandate at any time and the assembly in which
they are elected where men and women participate continues to be
predominant.
For their part, the so-called Good Government Boards bring together
community representatives and function under the principles of mandate
revocation, rotation and accountability; However, the EZLN's electoral
initiative in 2018 and participation in a consultation promoted by the
government of the Fourth Transformation have been highly questioned, and
with good reason.
In the case of the Mapuche peoples, although an important sector was
involved in the creation of a political party and participated in
electoral processes, they never abandoned the assembly organization and
direct action in defense of their territories. The principles of Ad Mapu
continue to be valid and the recovery of their territory via occupation
continues to be one of their main strategies and their autonomy the main
political demand.
As we can see, there are coincidences between these three movements with
the anarchic proposal, but we also find important differences. However,
in the past and in different realities, the communities in resistance
joined the libertarian revolt, always keeping principles of respect,
giving rise to powerful rebellions.
We are living in extremely difficult times, the socio-environmental
crisis is brutally worsening day by day, and although my speech may seem
cataclysmic, we are living in crazy times, as the ancient Mayan priests
said, situations that endanger the planet and those of us who inhabit
it. . Faced with this situation, it is urgent to face the expansion of
death projects, patriarchy and state control, as well as build
relationships of respect and mutuality between people and with Mother
Earth. It is necessary and precise to rescue ancestral knowledge, create
self-sufficient community spaces in food, water, medicine and energy.

This last reflection took hold of me, after suffering, this spring, more
than 70 continuous days with temperatures above 37 °. Faced with this
picture, communality and Anarchy must establish a dialogue based on
respect and join forces to successfully face an ominous future, or now,
a present that has reached us.
Old Corner, Petapa, Oaxaca. July 2023. In the middle of the sixth wave
of mass extinction (Ehecatl, my son dixit)

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