Letter of April 1st 2001 from Jacques Gaillot
The long march of Marcos
 


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The long march of Marcos
 
Une marche de 3000 kilomètres  I am full of enthusiasm for this march. Under-Commander Marcos, head of the Zapatist army of national liberation, is stepping out of his haunt after seven years of resistance in the Lacandone forest in Chiapias.  
 
It has been a two thousand-mile march to Mexico, following the same path as the famous Zapata did in 1914. All along the way, hundreds of thousands of people came to support him.

This great initiative was a surprise for every body, first for the politicians. Marcos proclaims that the time to fear is finished: " We represent dignity although we are rebels, we are the forgotten heart of the nation". This pacific march has been done in the name of the ten million native Indians in order that their rights are recognized after five centuries of humiliation and neglect. The defense of their rights is sacred.

Marcos does not go to Mexico to seek power. He is not interested in power and he has no weapon only words, which makes him a formidable opponent!
 
la place de Mexico  "la place de Mexico - moment historique" 

The famous square of Mexico was crowded; it was an historical moment, unforgettable. Mexico has become the "Capital of the world" by the presence of the Zapatists, as it was rightly reported.

The stake is big. Marcos has always correlated the poverty of the peasants and the ultra-liberal agricultural reform in the 90's. He was the first to describe how the globalization of the liberal economy marginalizes the poor of the planet. His action fits the action of those who oppose globalization that transforms men into merchandise.

Marcos offers an alternative. He opens a new opportunity for Mexico. Nothing will be as before.
Jacques Gaillot