Thousands of Zapatistas march in Mexico against ‘capitalist wars’
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico, Mar 13 (EFE).- Thousands of indigenous supporters of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) marched on Sunday against “all capitalist wars” in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, where they showed solidarity with Ukraine.
The Zapatistas marched in the emblematic cities that the guerrillas took in 1994: San Cristóbal de las Casas, Palenque, Margaritas and Ocosingo, where they demanded an end to the war in Ukraine but also conflict in Palestine, Kurdistan, Syria and Chile.
“Out with the Russian army from Ukraine that disintegrates families,” was one of the slogans of the contingent, which was estimated at about 5,000 people.
The men wearing balaclavas also chanted slogans such as “Yes to life,” “No more persecution for those who fight for life,” “Let the capitalist system die” and “Stop the war.”
For more than two hours, the Zapatistas walked around the Plaza de la Paz, while visitors watched and applauded.
The indigenous Mexicans called for this massive protest after the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24.
Prior to the protest, Subcomandante Moisés, spokesman for the EZLN, circulated a manifesto in which he denounced that “there is an aggressor force, the Russian army. There are interests of big capital at stake.”
The EZLN said that “those who win in this war are the big arms consortiums and the big capitals that see the opportunity to conquer, destroy and rebuild territories.”
It also criticized the inability of Europe, the United States and other powers to stop the war.
The Zapatista demonstration comes as Mexico’s government, which sits on the United Nations Security Council, faces pressure to take a stronger stance against Russia.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has condemned the Russian invasion, has refused to apply economic sanctions against Moscow, as Ukraine’s ambassador to Mexico, Oksana Dramarétska, requested on Thursday.
In the US, Democratic senators have accused the Mexican government of “siding with Putin” for not joining the sanctions. EFE
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