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Part VI of The Mexican Transition

By Subcomandante Marcos

The Narco News Bulletin

"The Name of Our Country is América"

-- Simón Bolívar

A Play in Two Acts

On the Political Class that Does Not End

ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION, MEXICO. November 2000.

TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Here, once again. A letter for he who is already going (fortunately) and an invitation for you to attend a press conference. We will do everything including the impossible to not stick to the scheduled hour.

Vale. Good health and no, you don't have to worry, because Martha Sahagún will not be here.

From the Mountains of the Mexican Southeast,

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos.
México, Noviembre del 2000.

(¡The Last Hours of Zedillo!)

¡Yepa! ¡Yepa! ¡Yepa!
¡Andale! ¡Andale! ¡Andale!
¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!

A Play in Two Acts by El Sup Marcos


(The following translation of the postscript is dedicated by Narco News to Judith Malina and Hannon Reznikoff of The Living Theater)

P.S. SCRIPT (¡ha!) THAT SAYS WHAT IT SAYS.

Act One

Players: The political class, the host, the headline, the public.

Place: Mexico.

Date: Before the July 2nd 2000 elections.

(The curtain rises. On the stage are a television and a radio hidden and at full volume. The backdrop is the headline of a national newspaper. The audio in the TV and radio are the same: commercial jingles. The newspaper headlines change according to the script.)

The Political Class: We are in the media, thus, we exist. Now we must confront our greatness with the most difficult test in the supreme art of governing: the ratings. Call the image consultants! (clap your hands)

The Headline: THE FIP IS CREATED, THE FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF POLLING. The bother of going to the polls will be eliminated, says the subhed.

The Consultant (entering stage right): Here I am. (Speaking to the public.) Modern political science doesn't just consist in discovering what product will have better acceptance in the market, but, and this I have proven scientifically, it consists in converting anything that exists into something that subjects itself as much as possible to that product (He takes from his briefcase a complete makeup kit). (He begins to paint the face of the political class).

The headline: Cybernetic Vote Buying is a Democratic Advance: Ernesto Zedillo.

The Political Class (sneezing): Hatchoo! I think I'm allergic to this dust. What is it?

The Consultant (offering a hankerchief): Bless you! It is the last gasp of a style. It is democratizing dust.

The Political Class (sighing in resignation): Okay, it will all be put to use.

The Headline: PRICES OF CANDIDATES GO DOWN!

Host (entering stage left): Hurry up! Faster! The sponsors are upset! We have to tape the program.

Consultant: The sponsors? I thought that the unhappy ones were the spectators…

Host: No, no no. The rhythm of politics is not marked with watches or calendars, but with programming hours. Hurry up! We have little time between the commercial breaks.

The Political Class (looking at itself in a mirror that the consultant is holding): Okay, how do I look?

The Consultant (smiling with satisfaction): Magnificent! You are unrecognizable...

The Political Class (speaking for itself): Brief commercials! In the good old days there weren't any that were shorter than those produced by the happy sound of the slogans like "It's Seen! It's Felt! The PRI is Omipotent!"

(The consultant steps to the side).

Host: Lights! Cameras! Action!

Host (speaking to the public): Welcome to our program, "The Able Truth!" Today we have as our special guest, The Political Class! (strong applause is heard, the public is immobilized, the audience silent, but an audiotape avoids the heavy task of clapping hands).

The Political Class (to the host): Is my tie straight?

Host: Tell us, Political Class, excuse me... can I ask you something?

The Political Class (suffering a cavity that looks like a smile): Of course.

Host: Good, tell us, what can be hoped from the coming electoral process?

(The political class moves its lips but no sound emerges.)

Host: Very interesting! Almost as interesting as these messages from our sponsors.

The Political Class: Are we off the air?

Host: Yes. It went perfectly. Now we will wait for the consultant, who, after conducting his market studies, will send us the audiotape with your response.

The Political Class: Then, can I leave now?

Host: Yes.

(The Political Class leaves. Someone comes close and turns off the radio and the TV. The headlines fade out. The curtain falls. The audience yawns. An audiotape blasts a strong applause.)

Act Two

Players: The Political Class, Mrs. X, Youth Y and Mr. Z

Place: Mexico, July 2nd, 2000.

(The curtain rises. The stage is a lonely street)

The Political Class (speaking for itself): We see faces, but we don't know how they are voting.

Mrs. X: No.

Youth Y: No.

Mr. Z: No.

The Political Class (speaking to the public): We see faces, but we don't know how they are voting.

The Public (breaking onto the stage, scandalizing everyone): NO!

This work of theater is a problem. Those who direct are forced to convince the viewer that it is already over. The public not only abandons the seats but begins to jump onto the stage. The director and the actors scratch their heads. It's already not possible to know where the stage will be and where the script will go. Soon, without apparently having made an agreement, and with a hard look on their faces, everyone in the public shouts: "Third Call! Third Call! Third! Let's Begin!"

Does the Curtain Fall?

What? You didn't like it? The Sea liked it, at least she laughed. What? Dario Fo, Carballido, Burrola, Savariego and Leñero are going to scold me? They will do it. They scolded Einstein for his personal hygiene (or was it for his math?)

El Sup, in the Ticket Booth

The Mexican Transition: Immediate History

Part I: Mexico's Next Secretary of State says Legalize Drugs

II: Fox's 1st Challenge is to enact the Chiapas San Andrés Accords

III: Fox Names Drug Reformer Gertz as Nation's Top Cop

IV: Answer the Call to Mexico City, February 2001

V: Marcos to Zedillo: "You Lost the War"

VI: A Play in Two Acts by Marcos

VII. Marcos Welcomes Fox: "You Start from Zero"

See Our Previous Nine Part Series on the Narco in Chiapas

"Third Call! Let's Begin!"