Week 9 - Charles Miin

Charles Miin
ASA 114
November 22, 2015

Week 9 - Mapping Networks of Support for the Zapatista Movement

There were a few key differences that arose with the continuous technological leaps of information. The processes of the past required rigid structural process from international banking to sending a letter or telegram to a family member elsewhere in the world. The difficulty of these actions made them more hold special significance to many but ultimately they put lots of obstacles on strains on what should be a simple and quick action. Projected on a different field, groups that desired change within their states and governments were often at a grand disadvantage in regard to the longstanding infrastructure these official organizations had. This all was turned on its head when the Zapatista movement rose up on January 1, 1994 under the banner of the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN). They rose up on the day NAFTA took effect in response to a swath of extreme poverty that had gripped their region. They stood out for the simple fact that Subcomandante Marcos who led the movement, was online two days after they started. They were strongly supported by the fact that they were able to reach out internationally for support and interact with their opponents (the Mexican government). As unfortunate as it may seem, this same principle may be what distinguishes Daesh (ISIS) in its current state in the Middle East today as it capitalizes heavily on using mass communication via Twitter and video sharing sites to solicit international support. However, a strong positive note to take from the foundation of the Zapatista movement is that by inspiring groups to bypass the nation-state, indigenous people are able to interact and build networks which helps them to grow and support each other. Clearly the biggest lesson to draw here is that even the unified force of people under a single idea pales in comparison to the usage of technology to bring widely separated and even unlike groups together in the support of their common goals. Contemporary companies like Facebook, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Google, though not social revolution groups, serve to support this notion.

What would the global landscape of social movements look like if the Zapatistas had never helped to pioneer and inspire the idea of using technology at a user level to support a collective idea?

Garrido, M. & Halavais, A. (2003). Mapping Networks of Support for the Zapatista  Movement: Applying Social­Networks Analysis to Study Contemporary Social Movements. In McCaughey & Ayers (Eds.), Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice. London: Routledge. pp 164-184