Indigenous rebels from the Zapatista movement said Monday they plan to send a delegation in canoes on a trip to “invade” Spain in May and June, as Mexico marks the anniversary of the Spanish conquest of 1519-1521. . .
The Zapatistas said when announcing the trip that they hope to be in Madrid on August 13, a date that marks 500 years since Mexico City was taken from the Aztecs by the Spanish and their indigenous allies.
In a statement from Subcomandante Galeano, formerly Subcomandante Marcos, the group said that once in Spain, its members will announce the message: “The invasion has begun.”
The Zapatistas did not mention apologizing. That is different from the Mexican government, which has asked Spain to apologize for the brutal conquest that ended up killing millions of indigenous people.
Far from seeking a hostile encounter, the Zapatistas said, “if we manage to land and embrace with words those who are in the struggle there, who resist and rebel, then there will be a party.”
As usual, the itinerary of the seven-member Zapatista delegation was marked by important flights of fantasy that often characterize Marcos’s statements. The delegation will depart on May 3 from the Caribbean island of Isla Mujeres, one of the first parts of Mexico where the Spanish landed.
Then they will probably travel by sea. The statement said that the Zapatistas will unfurl a banner off the Spanish coast that says “Awake!” If Spain denies them entry, they will use their four small symbolic wooden canoes to row back to Mexico, according to the statement.
“We are going to tell the people of Spain two simple things,” the Zapatistas said in another statement. “One, they didn’t conquer us; here we are still resisting, in rebellion. Second, they don’t have to ask us to forgive them for anything. “
The Zapatistas led a brief armed uprising to demand greater indigenous rights in 1994, and since then they have remained in their “autonomous” municipalities in the southern state of Chiapas, rejecting government aid programs. ALTAMIRANO, Mexico (AP) –
