Talk:Subcomandante Marcos

Rage Against the Machine

I removed the reference to Rage Against the Machine in the =Background= section. It really has nothing to do with Marcos' background. Perhaps it should be included in a section about "Marcos in Popular Culture." As it was in the background it only added confusion as to whether the subject of a sentence was Marcos or de la Rocha. User:Editoro 10 May 2006 7:26 GMT

Ethnicity

I read a while ago that Marcos was falling back in favour of other Zapatista leaders, as his ethnicity (reportedly largely european) was on contrast to the largely indigenous ethnic makeup of the majority of Zapatistas and Chiapans in general. If this is the case (or if there's some reasonable chitchat to that effect) then I think this would make a decent improvement to the article. Comments? -- Finlay McWalter 19:29, 3 Jan 2004 (UTC)

If Marcos was born 1964, how was he radicalized in 1968? As a 4-year old? If you tell about his student times it would be interesting to know his real name, because as far as I know Marcos is his nom de guerre. User: Klas Heising, 22 jun 2004

Ethnicity - Birthdate - Rewrite

Marcos is clearly white (or rather mestizo), but I'd be very surprised if this were a problem with other Zapatistas all of a sudden, after they've worked with him for twenty years. People I know who've actually been to Chiapas (in human rights observation camps etc.) have told me that the indigenous population (i.e. those who are Zapatistas or at least sympathizers) absolutely worship Marcos - and I don't think this would've changed so rapidly.

As to the question about a four-year-old being radicalized in 1968: Guillén was born in 1957, not in 1964 (at this point, neither date is in the article). That makes him an eleven-year-old in 1968 - still somewhat young to undergo a major political formation... I suggest that the whole 1968 thing be deleted until proven.

Speaking of this: I intend to do a major rewrite of this article myself, including e.g. some interesting new stuff about Guillén (I personally absolutely do believe he's Marcos), as my first (!) contribution to Wikipedia. - User:DownTown

Historical Resemblances

Marcos? Zorro? Comments?

Marcos styles himself after Zorro? SqueakBox 19:51, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

looks more like he bought his clothe at the local terrorists R us store. Zorro is not exactly a figure that mexicans look up to in mexico, particulary is not a political figure.

I disagree with the anonymous comment here. Whether or not it is intentional, there are certainly parallels between Marcos and Zorro. I've been studying Zapatismo in Hispanic Studies; I'll go through my papers and cite some sources when it isn't so late. In the meantime, I'll mention that Marcos, at one point, encouraged EZLN sympathizers to don ski masks and call themselves Marcos; in his discourse and writings he seems to view "Marcos" as something other than a specific person, such as himself. This reminded me of the scene in The Mask of Zorro (a shaky source, to be sure, and possibly itself inspired by Spartacus) in which all of the prisoners began claiming "I am Zorro!" That movie also had Antonio Banderas assuming the role of Zorro once lived by Anthony Hopkins' character, implying that the "idea" of Zorro transcends any one person. It's something to think about, but, at least until we have sources, wouldn't do well in the article. --BDD 06:55, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

• • • It's an interesting point, and early in the campaign Marcos certainly did say that if anything happened to him, someone else could step into the role. It might be worth a couple of sentences about "Marcos" as a role rather than a single person. Of course, with a character as strong as Marcos has, that's not a realistic possibility, but it was an interesting idea. bikeable (talk) 19:03, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Article needs balance

Subcomandante Marcos is a well known and controversial international figure, his ideas and actions are heavily reported and followed by many. This is true not just in his own community, but globally. I think the article should include some criticism or at least a larger group of opinions on him, his political philosophy and his actions. The article right now is very sympathetic, regardless of your opinion of Subcomandante Marcos, the article needs balance. Arm

The article is not sympathetic as you say, it is just a simple description of few facts. How criticism will make it neutral?--tequendamia 22:03, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

Agreed, just because half the page isn't devoted to foaming right wing bile doesn't mean it's imbalanced, it's just a short bio.

If you think he needs to be criticised then put it up, find some sources that agree with you and add it to the article, don't just moan about it. --Horses In The Sky 18:38, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Name change

Seeing as he is now known as Delegado Zero should the title of this article be changed to that? --Horses In The Sky 18:38, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

• I would say not -- he's been the Sup for a decade, and there's a link from Delegado Zero. Seems good enough for now. bikeable (talk)

There's an error. The line "He later moved to Mexico City where he graduated from the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), then received a masters' degree in philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and began work as a professor at the UAM." is wrong.

Marcos studied the Bachelor of Arts (or Science) on Philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He won the "Gabino Barreda" award for being the top in his class. Then he got a couple of classes by working as a professor at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM).

1994 uprising and 1995 arrest orders

The article currently lacks a detailed discussion of Marcos's role in the 1994 Chiapas Uprising, the 1995 arrest orders announced by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León and the related negotiations that took place several years later. These will be critical to explaining the strong adverse views of Marcos still in circulation. It is not clear whether the 1995 arrest orders have been quashed, but as of 2006 Marcos is able to circulate in Mexico.

Craig Bolon 06:29, 11 May 2006 (UTC)