Rebellion and WWW

Rebellion and the World Wide Web: The Influence of the Internet on the Rebellion in Chiapas by Mikele R. Meether

January 1, 1994 was the beginning of the Chiapas uprising in Mexico. The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) occupied several cities in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico close to Guatemala, among them San Cristibao de las Casas, Las Margaritas, Altamirant and Ocosingo. The rebels were vastly outnumbered and remain so today. It is a miracle that they have not been overrun and completely annihilated. They have continued to flourish and to make their presence known, in part because of their presence on the World Wide Web. The international circulation through the Net of the struggles of the Zapatistas in Chiapas is one of the most successful examples of the use of computer communications by a grassroots social movement.¹ This movement has brought support to the Zapatistas from throughout Mexico and the rest of the World, and it has sparked a worldwide discussion of the meaning and implications of the Zapatista rebellion for many other confrontations with contemporary capitalist economic and political policies.

This paper came about after repeated explorations of the Internet researching different topics. Many of the sites explored had links back to the Zapatistas and to the rebellion in Chiapas. The vast amount of information concerning them intrigued me and led to an investigation of the effects of the Internet on rebellion in today’s world. Because of our global connection through the Internet, there is no truly remote and isolated site. We have the ability to connect and to share information rapidly throughout vast amounts of space.

Because of this connection, the Mexican government could not claim that the rebellion was the work of a few agitators, use brutal force to put it down, and go back to business as usual. By using the Internet, the Zapatistas could and do communicate with the outside world, focusing global attention on their situation.

This paper will seek to explore the connection between the Internet and rebellion in terms of the Chiapas uprising and the future of rebellion.

Glossary of Terms

Chiapas: State in southern Mexico annexed in 1823 from Guatemala. It is one of the poorest regions in Mexico. Most of its population is made up of Indigenous Mayan Indians.

CYBERWAR: Conducting or preparing to conduct military operations according to information-technology related principles.

EZNL: Zapatista Army of National Liberation. The official name taken by the rebellion in Chiapas.

NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement

NEOLIBERALISM: Latin American term for pro-market, pro-business and anti-worker/peasant government policies. Based on the Liberal movement inspired by the Enlightenment that swept South America in the 1800s.

NETWAR: Societal-level conflicts waged in part through internetted modes of communication. Information related conflict that focuses on public opinion.

NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOs): Organizations outside the government who may find a use for the Internet. Official name given to many grassroots organizations.

PRI: Institutional Revolutionary Party, the political party that has ruled Mexico since the late 1920s at the end of the Mexican Revolution.

SUBCOMMANDER MARCOS: Initially unidentified leader of the Zapatista movement. He was later identified in 1995, as Rafael Sebastion Guillen Vicente, a communications professor at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City before the beginning of the rebellion.²

History of the Internet

The Internet is a large global network of computers. It integrates thousands of dissimilar computer networks worldwide using technical standards that enable all types of systems to interoperate. There is no central authority managing the Internet. Participation is voluntary, requiring only that technical standards be followed to establish a presence. Funding for communication links is provided partly by governments, U.S. National Science Foundation, and by non-governmental institutions, universities and corporations.³

The first working computer network was ARPANET (online in 1969). Advanced Research Projects Agency in the US Defense Department financed it. It was developed as part of Cold War research concerned with making Western military communications possible in case of nuclear war. The design developed was a highly flexible and geographically dispersed web of multiple linkage. This allowed information to travel from many different routes. In the event that one route was destroyed, many others would still be functioning.⁴

With the end of the Cold War, the Internet developed as a way to facilitate the long distance sharing of research information for those working on government projects. It has now evolved into a means of communication for all users, military and civilian. It is important to recognize that the Internet does not exist independently of its users. Its form and content are constantly reinvented and transformed. It is now being used in ways that were unforeseen by the original developers.⁵

At the beginning of the Chiapas Rebellion, Mexican governmental forces quickly moved in to block the flow of information. They were successful in dissuading mainstream media from covering the event, but they could not stop thousands of independent computer operators from sharing information throughout the world with all those connected to the WWW. This sparked the beginning of a major grassroots movement that has focused attention on an area that only a few years before was unknown by most in the world.

The Use of “Netwar”

In 1993, John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, RAND Corporation analysts, developed a study that explored and identified the grassroots use of the Internet for the circulation of rebellion and as a new arena for national security operations. Although the study pre-dates the Chiapas uprising, it has been widely discussed as a central influence on current governmental efforts to deal with such uprisings.

In their study, Arquilla and Ronfledt, discuss the advent of “netwars” (see glossary). A netwar is concerned with knowledge about who knows what, when and why.[Italics mine] They state that a netwar tries to disrupt, damage or modify what a select population “knows” or thinks it knows about itself and the world around it. When netwar is conducted, propaganda, political and cultural subversion or interference with local media and disruption of computer networks may be used. It is an effort to promote a dissident or opposition movement across a computer network.⁶

In an article written in 1997, Ronfeldt and Armando Martinez, further explore the idea of netwar and the Zapatista use of it to advance their cause.

This active response by a multitude of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) to a distant upheaval-the first major case anywhere- was no anomaly. It built on decades of organizational and technological groundwork, and shows how the global information revolution is affecting the nature of social conflict. The NGOs formed into vast, highly networked trans-national coalitions to wage an information-age netwar to constrain the Mexican government and support the EZLN’S cause.⁷

This article explores the ideas Ronfeldt first explored in his work with Arquilla. The Rand Corporation, which funded both studies, is an extremely conservative non-profit organization that works closely with the US military.⁸ Their assessment of what a netwar is and has the potential to become is valid although somewhat antediluvian, they draw parallels between the use of netwar for social change and in the commission of crimes (the Mafia). They are able to see its uses, but are afraid of those who may use it to upset the status quo.

The grassroots implications of the Internet are overwhelming, but that does not make them dangerous. It does give people the potential to become much more involved in the decisions regarding the policies that effect their day to day lives. It allows people to focus on situations and experiences that disturb them and to let those in power know when change is wanted.

The Internet is already being used by many organizations that want to influence the decisions that people make on a daily basis. The political spectrum is neither too right or too left. Both sides use the power of the Internet. The National Rifle Association (NRA) and The National Organization for Women (NOW) are learning to understand its potential.

Chiapas
Chiapas has historically been one of the poorest regions of Mexico. Its people are mainly indigenous Mayans with very little access to education, health care or government services.⁹

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 had very little effect on Chiapas. To date, there has been no major land reform, so much of the land is owned by a very few. Chiapas has great potential for wealth, but the resources that are there are not passed on to the local inhabitants. In 1989, the Mexican government and private corporations took over 1,222,669,000,000 pesos from Chiapas in profit, but only reinvested 616,340,000,000 pesos back into the region.¹⁰ Chiapas is rich in petroleum, coffee, and beef, yet the people exist without electricity and malnutrition is commonplace.

On January 1, 1994, the date NAFTA went into effect, the dramatic revolt led by the EZLN destroyed the myth that the Mexican government was stable and secure and that NAFTA was welcomed by all. The EZLN pronounced that NAFTA would be a death sentence for all the indigenous people of Mexico.

The problems in Chiapas still exist today and do not appear to be ending within the near future. The focus of the world-wide community due to the WWW has kept the Mexican government from using brutal force to maintain order. But, it does not keep them from trying. On December 22, 1997, 45 people were ambushed and killed by a para-military group with ties to the government, although the ties are strongly denied by government officials.¹¹ The governor of the state was arrested in connection with the shootings.¹²

ZAPATISTAS USE OF THE INTERNET
The Zapatistas use of the Internet changed what began as a military conflict into a political conflict. Mexican military forces were unable to downplay events and were forced to abandon any attempt at a quick military solution. Mexican political leaders have been forced to deal with the rebellion in a political arena with the eyes of the world watching very closely. The intervention of the cyber-community forced the Mexican Government to enter a dialog with the Rebels and it has closely watched the negotiations.¹³ Many times in the conflict, the Mexican Government has proven to be false. While they negotiate, they also seek to establish a strong military presence in the area, which forces much of the population to flee their homes in fear of government reprisals.¹⁴

As the shooting stopped and the violence slowed, Mexican officials hoped media attention would also dwindle. For the mainstream media, this is exactly what happened. ABC, CBS, CNN and other news sources packed up their cameras and moved on to the next big story. The grassroots organization that had already begun to form in response to protests against NAFTA moved in and began to send information to the outside world.

It is important to remember that the Zapatistas have no direct connection to the Internet, they rely on outside support. In 1992, Subcommander Marcos wrote a treatise on the subject of the conditions of Chiapas. He outlined the problems and hinted at the coming rebellion.¹⁵   This has been widely disseminated across the Internet, attracting people to his cause.

The EZNL has been able to fax information to outside sources who are sympathetic to their cause and who have access to the WWW. Subcommander Marcos and EZNL have sent volumes of information to the outside world via fax. This information is relayed to outside sources that upload it up on to the Internet.

The struggle in Chiapas has brought together many different organizations with different ideologies. Those concerned with the human rights violations have joined with those opposed to NAFTA. The Chiapas Netwar has brought together those interested women’s issues and cyber-anarchists, the overriding concern with the Zapatistas and their struggle.

What has been remarkable about the rebellion is the speed in which information is relayed throughout the world concerning the Zapatistas. When Alexander Cockburn wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal exposing a memo Chase Manhattan Bank had commissioned concerning the Mexican problems, very few people saw it. But, when a large number of listservers and the USENET uploaded it to the Internet, it reached a vast majority of people and renewed attention was focused on the issue.

The memo, written by Riordan Roett, argued that the Mexican government needed to eliminate [Italics mine] the Zapatistas in order to demonstrate their effective control of national territory and security policy.¹⁶ If the Mexican government wanted support from American banks, it would have to crush the Zapatistas. The immediate public scrutiny that was focused on the US Government, the Mexican Government, and Chase Manhattan forced Chase Manhattan to distance itself from the memo and from Roett.

There have been protests in many countries throughout the world in support of the Zapatistas: Spain, Belgium, Italy and the United States to name just a few. These protests began as contacts made over the Internet that exploded into social movements of the cyber-linked masses. On January 17, 1998, there was a demonstration in Pittsburgh, PA, on the steps of Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute. The site was chosen because of Carnegie Mellon’s military research interests. The protesters were there in support of different aspects of the Zapatista rebellion, some because of NAFTA, some because of the Acteal massacre. All agreed that what had initially brought them together in the movement was contact over the Internet.¹⁷

Protesters have also used the Internet to make pro-active attacks on the Mexican Government. On February 4, 1998, hackers hacked into a government home page and defaced it with anti-government slogans. It was the homepage for Mexico’s Finance Ministry, (http://www.shcp.gob.mx). The site was plastered with the message “We’re watching You, Big Brother!” The Mexican Government refused to comment.¹⁸

The Mexican Government has acknowledged the power of the Internet. In a speech given in April of 1995, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Jose Angel Gurria observed that

Chiapas. . . is a place where there has not been a shot fired in the last fifteen months. . .The shots lasted ten days, and ever since[sic]the war has been a war of ink, of written word, a war on the Internet.¹⁹

This coalition of concerned people has focused considerable attention on political action. There has been an explosion of activity on the Internet. Sites devoted to all aspects of the Zapatistas have sprung up in many different languages. A keyword search “Zapatista” on Alta Vista lists 6674 web sites and one on Hot Bot brought back over 8000. The sites are in English, Spanish, Italian, German and many more. There are sites devoted entirely to the women’s struggles in Chiapas, as well as sites that attempt to be all encompassing. Many of the sites are links to much larger pages concerned with issues of non-violence and working for peace.

I will attempt to give a sampling of the sites that are out there, but it is by no means exhaustive or definitive. Any attempt to do that would require much more time and space than this paper allows.

Zapatistas in Cyberspace
http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/zapsincyber.html
This site gives a great overview and analysis of the Zapatistas use of the Internet. It is all encompassing and has great links to other sites

North East Zapatista (Solidarity) Network
http://zapnet.rootmedia.org/
This is a fairly new site that is concerned mainly with the advancement of the Zapatista cause.

Acción Zapatista
http://www.utexas.edu/students/nave/
An organization that gathers and redistributes information concerning the Zapatistas. It was started at the University of Texas and it maintains a communications network designed to link local struggles. The AZ network allows individuals and organizations to collaborate via the Internet in order to participate in debate, post important information, request relevant data, present opinions and insights and be informed of upcoming events or actions in the Austin, TX, area.

Mujeres Zapatistas - Zapatista Women
http://www.actlab.utexas.edu/~geneve/zapwomen/enter.html
This site was created "in honor of the women who have offered their lives to the Zapatista movement." The materials include Marcos' "12 Women in the 12th Year", two analytical papers by Diane Goetze, several reports from Mexico and the 2nd Intercontinental Encuentro. A web "Forum on Zapatista Women" provides a vehicle for discussion and interaction among those who visit the site.

Chiapas: Special Coverage
http://www.presidencia.gob.mx/welcome/chiapas/chiapas.htm
The Government of Mexico maintains this site, very slick and professional with video and audio clips. It is strictly PRI party line rhetoric.

The Nonviolence Web
http://www.nonviolence.org/
This site does not deal directly with the Zapatistas, it is a site that promotes non-violence. It has links to sites that are concerned with the Chiapas rebellion.

HACH WINIK HOME PAGE
A Web site for the Lacandon Maya communities
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/3134/
This site give an overview of the Lacandon Maya, the indigenous Indiana population of Chiapas. It has good graphics and serves as an introduction to the Indigenous population of the area.

The Zapatista movement has had great impact on the Internet community throughout the world. It has affected how the community views itself and the world around it. Internet access has given people a voice in their government and the hope that they can have an influence on what goes on around them. Any rebellion or struggle that exists on earth can now be brought to the forefront of public opinion and scrutiny because of the power of the Internet.

For the people of Chiapas, there is no end in sight for their struggle. The week before Easter saw renewed conflict with the Government. A small village in the area held non-government sponsored elections and declared themselves an autonomous area. Other villages have done the same thing without government interference. The Mexican government decided to make an example of this village, the military moved in and retook control. Also, the government expelled twelve foreign observers who were staying in the village. The observers were all young people who were visiting the area to learn more about the people and the Zapatista movement.²⁰   Again the Mexican government is working to isolate Chiapas, but with the help of the Internet hopefully that will not be allowed to happen.

Bibliography

Arquilla, John, Ronfeldt, David. "Cyberwar is Coming." In Atheana's Camp Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, ed. David Ronfeldt, 23-60: Rand, 1993.

"Chronology of Events in Chiapas." In Chronology: Important dates and facts in the history of Mexico and Chiapas. [online] http://www.nonviolence.org/sipaz/chron.htm: International Service for Peace, 1997.

Cleaver, Harry. "The Zapatistas and the Electronic Fabric of Struggle." In The Chiapas Uprising and the Future of Revolution in the Twent-First Century, ed. John Holloway: accased online http://www.eco.utexas.edu80/Homepages/Faculty/Cleaver/index.html, 1995.

Marcos, Subcommander. "Chiapas: The Southeast in Two Winds." In [Online] http://www.ezln.org/SE-in-two-winds.html, 1992.

Martinez, David Ronfeldt and Armando. "A Comment on the Zapatista 'Netwar'." In In Athena's Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Informatin Age, ed. David Ronfeldt, 369-391: Rand, 1997.

Ronfeldt, John Arquilla and David. "Cyberwar is Comming." In In Atheana's Camp Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, ed. David Ronfeldt, 23-60: Rand, 1993.

Srikameswaran, Anita. "Internet Site Focuses Support for Protest of US Military Aid." Pittsburgh (PA) Post Gazette, January 18, 1998 1998.

"Struggles begin again in Chiapas Region." Radio Broadcast: National Public Radio, 1998a.

Swett, Charles. "Strategic Assessment: The Internet." [online] http://www.fas.org/cp/swett.html. March 5, 1998, 1995.

Wehling, Jason. "Netwars and Activists Power on the Internet." [online] http://www.telport.com/~jwehling/Netwars.html, 1995.

"Zapatista Supporters Hack Government Web Site." [online] http://zapnet.rootmedia.org/newsinfo/zaphack.htm. April 3, 1998. Reuters, 1998b.

Footnotes

1 Cleaver, Harry. "The Zapatistas and the Electronic Fabric of Struggle." In The Chiapas Uprising and the Future of Revolution in the Twent-First Century, ed. John Holloway: accased online http://www.eco.utexas.edu80/Homepages/Faculty/Cleaver/index.html, 1995. Return to Text.

2 "Chronology of Events in Chiapas." In Chronology: Important dates and facts in the history of Mexico and Chiapas. [online] http://www.nonviolence.org/sipaz/chron.htm: International Service for Peace, 1997. Return to Text.

3 Swett, Charles. "Strategic Assessment: The Internet." [online] http://www.fas.org/cp/swett.html. March 5, 1998, 1995. Return to Text.

4 Ronfeldt, John Arquilla and David. "Cyberwar is Comming." In In Atheana's Camp Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, ed. David Ronfeldt, 23-60: Rand, 1993. Return to Text.

5 Cleaver, Harry. "The Zapatistas and the Electronic Fabric of Struggle." In The Chiapas Uprising and the Future of Revolution in the Twenty-First Century, ed. John Holloway: accessed online http://www.eco.utexas.edu80/Homepages/Faculty/Cleaver/index.html, 1995. Return to Text.

6 Ronfeldt, John Arquilla and David. "Cyberwar is Comming." In In Atheana's Camp Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, ed. David Ronfeldt, 23-60: Rand, 1993. Return to Text.

7 Martinez, David Ronfeldt and Armando. "A Comment on the Zapatista "Netwar." In Athena's Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, ed. David Ronfeldt, 369-391: Rand, 1997. Return to Text.

8 Cleaver, Harry. "The Zapatistas and the Electronic Fabric of Struggle." In The Chiapas Uprising and the Future of Revolution in the Twenty-First Century, ed. John Holloway: accessed online http://www.eco.utexas.edu80/Homepages/Faculty/Cleaver/index.html, 1995. Return to Text.

9 Marcos, Subcommander. "Chiapas: The Southeast in Two Winds." In [Online] http://www.ezln.org/SE-in-two-winds.html, 1992. Return to Text.

10 Ibid. Return to Text.

11 "Chronology of Events in Chiapas." In Chronology: Important dates and facts in the history of Mexico and Chiapas. [online] http://www.nonviolence.org/sipaz/chron.htm: International Service for Peace, 1997. Return to Text.

12 "Struggles begin again in Chiapas Region". Radio Broadcast: National Public Radio, 1998a. April 15,1998. Return to Text.

13 Cleaver, Harry. ""The Zapatistas and the Electronic Fabric of Struggle"." In The Chiapas Uprising and the Future of Revolution in the Twenty-First Century, ed. John Holloway: accessed online http://www.eco.utexas.edu80/Homepages/Faculty/Cleaver/index.html, 1995. Return to Text.

14 "Chronology of Events in Chiapas." In Chronology: Important dates and facts in the history of Mexico and Chiapas. [online] http://www.nonviolence.org/sipaz/chron.htm: International Service for Peace, 1997. Return to Text.

15 Marcos, Subcommander. "Chiapas: The Southeast in Two Winds." In [Online] http://www.ezln.org/SE-in-two-winds.html, 1992. Return to Text.

16 Wehling, Jason. "Netwars and Activists Power on the Internet." [online] http://www.telport.com/~jwehling/Netwars.html, 1995. Return to Text.

17 Srikameswaran, Anita. "Internet Site Focuses Support for Protest of US Military Aid." Pittsburgh (PA) Post Gazette, January 18, 1998 1998. Return to Text.

18 "Zapatista Supporters Hack Government Web Site." [online] http://zapnet.rootmedia.org/newsinfo/zaphack.htm. April 3, 1998: Reuters, 1998b. Return to Text.

19 Martinez, David Ronfeldt and Armando. "A Comment on the Zapatista 'Netwar'." In In Athena's Camp: Preparing for Conflict in the Information Age, ed. David Ronfeldt, 369-391: Rand, 1997. Return to Text.

20 "Struggles begin again in Chiapas Region". Radio Broadcast: National Public Radio, 1998a. Return to Text.

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