The West, the Others and the Construction of a New Public Space

• Main Author: Elsie Rockwell
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) 1998-12-01
• Series: Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals
• Online Access: http://www.cidob.org/es/content/download/5494/54060/file/43-44rockwell.pdf

Although the encounters among distinct groups may give rise to complex cultural situations, the contents of these are not always exclusively cultural. An example of this is the dialogue in Chiapas between the EZLN (“Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional”)and the delegation from the Mexican government that was, precisely, the same group that had proposed dialogues with “culturalistic” interpretations and solutions, without offering real respect for the differing indigenous elements in Chiapas. In this case, it was the representatives of the indigenous tribes themselves who proposed an open and modern political discussion that transcended the boundaries of the old one, the one in which arrogance, local boss dominance, impunity, murder, corruption, and the use of force, among others, prevail. The dialogue in Chiapas showed, indeed, that the West is not the proprietor of rationality.