The old mole in the new century
For at least the third time since the new century began, after Kabylie in Algeria and Buenos Aires in Argentina, a major city in one of the countries that surround the strongholds of the merchandise world is in the grips of a violent social convulsion that led its citizens to take their affairs into their own hands. The Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca is the de facto ruling body of the ancient and noble city of Oaxaca, Mexico. In each of these separate "incidents", the struggle against the powers of lie and deception has taken on the same form, that of a radically democratical assembly that tends to extend its power to all aspects of the social life around it. Each of the two preceding ones was defeated from the inside, by their own bureaucratic remnants, and by the isolation and utter silence under which they operate, but each also took a step further in the direction of full democracy.
This seems to be the mark of the new century.
The Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca has gone farther than any of its "ancestors" in taking control of its operational territory, but seems plagued by a too-lenient attitude towards the opportunistic "leaders" who insist on speaking in the name of the whole assembly and take upon themselves the "task" of negotiating with the powers that be. Its future will ultimately depend on its willingness and its ability to deal with these usurpers as they deserve — as the enemy.
