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Madrid, Spain – In the summer of 1521, Spanish conquerors headed by Hernan Cortes sacked and destroyed Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.
Today, 500 years later, the indigenous Zapatistas of Mexico are celebrating their own “invasion” of the Spanish capital.
A few weeks ago, in May, a delegation of seven Zapatistas set off by boat from Isla Mujeres, the easternmost point in Mexico, and followed the reverse route of the Spanish invaders half a century ago.
They crossed the Atlantic in 50 days and disembarked in Vigo, northern Spain, on June 22.
After setting foot on European soil, Zapatas renamed the continent “Slumil K’ajxemk’op”, which means “land of rebellion” in the Mayan language Tzotzil.
But Zapatistas say they are not here to conquer or rule.
They said in a statement that their mission is to “listen and learn” the local struggle for social justice.
The purpose of this trip is to “talk about our common history, our pain, our anger, our success and our failure”.
The Spanish conquerors besieged Tenochtitlan with the help of the League of Indigenous Peoples until it surrendered on August 13, 1521.
Violence and disease brought by Europeans destroyed the Aztec capital.
Mexico City was built on its ruins.
Caroline Pennock, a senior lecturer specializing in Aztec history, said: “Even at the lowest estimate, about 8 out of every 10 people still die of disease.”
Collective assembly organizes Zapatista events in Madrid [Marta Vidal/Al Jazeera]“There is also terrible violence and slavery. The destruction and destruction [indigenous] People’s lives are unimaginable. “
In 2019, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador asked Spain to apologize for the brutal conquest of Mexico. But the Zapatistas have made it clear that they are not seeking an apology and have redefined the anniversary as a commemoration of “500 years of indigenous resistance.”
“We want to tell the Spanish people two simple things: first, they did not conquer us, we are still here to resist and rebel. Second, they don’t have to ask us to forgive them for anything,” they said.
“We are not conquered”
In Madrid, the Zapatistas commemorated the fall of Tenochtitlan with the slogan “We are not conquered-we will not surrender” on Friday.
Zapatistas and their supporters will march from Puerta del Sol in the city center to Plaza Columbus, where there is a monument to the Spanish colonial empire.
After the Madrid event, Zapatistas will continue their journey and visit other European countries, where they plan to meet with groups that share the movement’s anti-capitalist and environmentalist values-from feminist collectives to immigrant support Initiatives and the climate justice movement.
For Sylvia Marcos, a Mexican researcher and lecturer who specializes in indigenous movements, the main goal of this trip is to promote cooperation and solidarity.
“The Zapatistas are building connections with other places, where people are also fighting to defend their land and nature. People are fighting extractionism and large-scale projects, fighting for the survival of the planet,” she told Al Jazeera .
Madrid Central Metro Station Sol was changed by radicals to welcome Zapatistas [Marta Vidal/Al Jazeera]“These grassroots groups are marginalized, but their strength comes from these connections, from attempts to unite forces,” she said.
In July, Zapatista sent a delegation to France to participate in a feminist meeting in ZAD (a community that opposes the construction of an airport in Nantes), and joined a protest march by undocumented workers in Montreuil, a suburb of Paris.
Other Zapatista delegations will fly to Europe to participate in the commemorative event, but face COVID-19 movement restrictions and encounter problems in obtaining passports. Spokesperson Subcomandante Galeano (formerly Marcos) condemned passports as “racism”.
From local autonomy to global relevance
Named after Emiliano Zapata, who led the land rebellion in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, the Zapatists made their first international headlines on New Year’s Day in 1994, when most of the indigenous Mayan rebels briefly occupied Several towns in the southernmost state of Mexico, Chiapas.
Chiapas has abundant natural resources, but many of its indigenous communities lack running water, basic medical care and education, and most of the land and resources are controlled by a few elites.
The time of the rebellion coincided with the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Zapatistas called the agreement a “death sentence” for poor indigenous farmers because it revoked their constitutional rights to public land and flooded the local market with cheaper U.S. imports.
Since the uprising against inequality and the marginalization of indigenous communities, the insurgents have established municipalities with their own education and health systems.
They refused government assistance and relied on land collectives, coffee and handicraft cooperatives instead.
However, in addition to the local struggle for indigenous dignity and autonomy, the Zapatistas’ proposal for a more democratic and fair society has also inspired people and movements around the world.
“We can learn a lot from Zapatismo,” said Lola Sepulveda from Madrid, who has been following the sport since the 1990s.
She has hosted many times in Chiapas and is now one of the groups organizing Zapatista events in Madrid.
“They showed us another way of doing things,” she told Al Jazeera, “a way that centers on life and human dignity.”
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