I’ve looked at June Nash’s well-written book “Mayan Visions: The Quest for Autonomy in an Age of Globalization,” and she basically says a lot of things along the lines of “Zapatista political discourse reflects indigenous reality” or that the Zapatistas/Maya have a different “logic” that is opposed to the “logic” of neoliberalism, or that “Zapatista democracy responds to Mayan traditions.”
One review states that "Nash views the Zapatista Rebellion as one expression of the Maya's attempts to remain true to their culture in the face of the extraordinary changes taking place in Mexico today. At issue here are the competing influences of Western modernity and the cultural traditions of the Chiapas"
While this is somewhat helpful, how much of this is just sliding down the slope toward a sort of over-idealization and “noble savage” characterization?
Nash does provide some material basis for these claims by stating that neoliberalism causes “deculturation” (loss of symbolic and material refrence points to cultural identity, i.e. land and collective farming), which then makes the “Mayan people” inherently opposed to neoliberalism.
Thoughts? Reactions? Any links to good reviews of Nash’s work or any on a similar topic?
-Marc R.