Popular Power and Contra-Power within Mexican Indigenous Psychologies
摘要
The rich contribution of Indigenous cultures to knowledge and praxes systems that preserve the sustainability of the planet have been erased through the imperial project of colonization that continues to date in the form of coloniality. Yet autonomous Indigenous movements worldwide have been resisting and refusing the imposition of ongoing coloniality of power, knowledge, culture, nature, and gender. One of these movements is the Zapatismo in Mexico, which has inspired communities worldwide, offering deep understanding of cultural power within their traditional forms of knowing and acting and organizing contra-power to confront the devastating impacts of neoliberalism. Learnings from this movement reveal a new form of community empowerment as a cultural-political philosophy and pedagogy of lekil kuxlejal, buen vivir (good living). The Zapatistas have created autonomous educational and health systems and a good government, el Buen Gobierno, guided by fundamental elements and principles based on their traditional knowledge, axiology, and praxes. The movement has generated processes of community engagement gaining deep knowledge and understanding of the violent structures of neoliberalism and its impacts as war against life. The Zapatismo has engendered cultural-political contestations against this war in various forms, such as public performances and national and international educational engagements—among others. These actions, tactics, and strategies have inspired communities and organizations to replicate them worldwide, expanding the Zapatismo’s cultural-political power for self-determination and sovereignty.