Rojava, Maxmûr and Chiapas: Building and Defending an Alternative to Capitalist Modernity, is the title of an article by the Rojava Internationalist Commune.

"The Zapatistas from the autonomous region in Chiapas have reported an increasing presence of military,police, paramilitary groups, spies, and informants since 2019. Recent revelations from the Guacamaya group reveal a large espionage and investigation network by SEDENA (Secreatria de Defensa Internacional), acting against democratic forces such as the Zapatista communities and their supporters. Physical attacks including kidnappings, torture, and firearms assaults have also occurred. On May 22, the paramilitary organization ORCAO attacked the Zapatista base in the autonomous municipality of Moisés Gandhi, resulting in serious injuries to comrade Gilberto López Sántiz. Both Chiapas and Kurdistan are constantly under attack from capitalist modernity.

The Zapatistas face relentless aggression from the Mexican government, which heavily aligns with the United States. In Kurdistan, the fascist Turkish state launches attacks. These assaults by nation-states are not coincidental; they represent the modus operandi of capitalist modernity, also referred to as the capitalist hydra by the Zapatistas. Subcomandante Insurgent Galeano describes the current capitalist system as one that imposes its logic worldwide. This system seeks to control all aspects of social life and manifests in various forms and spaces. The hydra of capitalism bites from all sides, making it a ruthless and cruel monster, dividing humanity into rulers and the ruled.

The attacks on indigenous peoples and democratic forces globally, like those in Chiapas and Kurdistan, emphasize the necessity of uniting democratic forces worldwide. Examples include the attacks on the Zapatista community of Moisés Gandhi and the passing of laws in Brazil that deny indigenous peoples the right to return to their ancestral lands. In Kurdistan, the Turkish fascist government carries out successive attacks in Southern Kurdistan’s mountains, while Rojava faces a “low-intensity war” and constant threats of large-scale ground assaults. Maxmûr, a self-organized camp in Southern Kurdistan, has been a hotbed of resistance since the late 1990s. Its residents, similar to many communities in Chiapas, left their villages in Botan, Northern Kurdistan, to avoid siding with the state against the PKK. They organized themselves based on Abdullah Öcalan’s paradigm of democratic confederalism.

Recently, the Iraqi government launched attacks, deploying military vehicles and attempting to enclose Maxmûr with fences. However, society resisted, successfully defending themselves even when faced with army gunfire. After 16 days, the army withdrew. Behind this attack lies Turkey, Kurdish collaborators, and the United States. Iraq acts under pressure from the Turkish state and the KDP. Maxmûr camp poses a significant threat to capitalist modernity as it offers an alternative to nation-states and regional oppression, effectively defending morality and communal living.

The targeting of self-administration and autonomy by the system of nation-states is evident in Kurdistan, Chiapas, and numerous other places globally. These dynamics occur within the context of what the Apoist Movement refers to as World War 3, where the world is transitioning into a multi-polar order with nation-states fighting for influence. Contradictions between the nation-states and globalist forces, conflicts, low-intensity wars, rapidly forming and dissolving alliances, and the potential for major wars, such as between the US/NATO and China, highlight these chaotic times. Democratic forces must utilize this space to organize, institutionalize alternatives, and practice self-defense.

Our response to these attacks should be contemporary internationalism, fostering solidarity among peoples who face successive attacks in their fight to live according to their values and roots. If we are attacked, our response should be coordinated, rooted in our ideals, and driven by creative forms of self-organization. Sehid Bager Nûjiyan, who found truth in the free mountains of Kurdistan after he explored the reality of the people in Chiapas, emphasizes in his writings that the Zapatista and Kurdish struggles are inseparable. They are part of a global revolution, which can be seen as a cultural revolution—a fight for a different way of life. It is time for a new alliance against capitalist modernity.

As internationalists in the Internationalist Commune of Rojava, we support the National Indigenous Congress’ demands regarding the recent attacks on Zapatista communities. We urge allies of the Rojava Revolution to show support for the people of Chiapas who are facing war. The best way to support them is by building alternatives to capitalist modernity wherever we are, organizing our communities and surroundings, establishing communes, creating educational institutions, reclaiming control over our economy, discussing societal self-defense, and empowering our communities to live a life of freedom and dignity. To ensure a future for our world, we need change, and that change must begin with us.

In this sense, we must intensify our efforts to develop ourselves according to revolutionary culture and ethics, knit threads between societies and struggles around the world and strive for a global answer to the pressing issues humanity is facing today.

We stand with the resistance in Maxmûr, Chiapas, and everywhere people struggle for a life of dignity and fight for a socialist alternative!

¡Viva Zapata!
Bijî Berxwedana Maxmûrê! – Long live the resistance of Maxmûr!
Bijî Şoreşa Cihanê! – Long live the world Revolution!"