Civil Society and Democracy: The Zapatista experience
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Thematic Section
Civil Society and Democracy: The Zapatista experience
ATILIO BORON
ABSTRACT Atilio Boron examines the use of the terms civil society, democracy and the state in a review of key thinkers of the global justice movements and the emergence of Zaptismo in Latin America. He underscores some key concerns in the Zapatista political discourse, asking to what extent political liberalism has been smuggled into the Zapatista discourse. He warns that while recognizing the extraordinary creativity of Zapatismo the way to bring about revolution may not be resorting to ingenious plays on words. KEYWORDS Holloway; Gramsci, Marx; revolution; power; hegemony; class; state
Introduction The emergence of Zapatismo is bound to leave a profound mark in Latin American societies. Contemporary political practice as well as reflection on the social circumstances that run through the region have been decisively influenced by the sudden appearance of the armed movement in Chiapas. An inquiry into some of the questions raised by Zapatismo’s theories can help to clarify the terms of a debate around social transformation, the role of civil society and democracy. Repeated references to ‘humanity’ and ‘civil society’ appear in several of Marcos’ addresses and in many EZLN documents, including such phrases as ‘democracy for all’. The Second Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle (1994) is a moving appeal to civil society ‘to organize itself however it considers appropriate in order to attain a transition to democracy in our country’. Similar assertions mark the text, and they reappear more noticeably in the Fifth Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle (1998):‘the national civil society has been a fundamental reason why the fair demands of the Zapatistas and the indians all over the country continue by means of peaceful mobilizations; ‘this is the time for the national civil society, and of independent social and political organizations; ‘we want democracy, justice and liberty for all’ (Arguedas,1999). What can we say about such ambiguous expressions as ‘humanity’and ‘civil society’, so dear to the doctrinal background of Zapatismo and to contemporary Latin American political thinking? The use of these categories can lead to serious mistakes when they are insensitively transformed into interpretive categories of political reality. Let us Development (2005) 48(2), 29–34. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100138
Development 48(2): Thematic Section take a closer look at some of the perplexities and questions raised by the Zapatista’s use of such categories as ‘civil society’and ‘democracy’.
Civil society
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First, ‘civil society’ refers to a category used widely in Latin American political discourse. It is one of the social sciences’ most confused and intricate categories. It was not always the case, especially if we think about its meaning in classic political economy, Hegelian philosophy and the Marxist tradition. In the latter, the concept of ‘civil society’ had a clear meaning: it was the site of the social relations of production,
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