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On 1 January 1994, just as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into action, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN, according to its Spanish acronym) took over four cities in the southern region of Chiapas, saying 'enough is enough', demanding the resignation of the President and the establishment of a temporary government. The Zapatistas cried out for freedom, democracy and justice citing their armed struggle as the only alternative for the indigenous people of Chiapas. The days that followed were filled with bullets flying between the EZLN and the Mexican army. After ten days however, a cease-fire was declared and the battle morphed into a media war. The Zapatistas had a media-savvy spokesperson; whilst the government benefited from their command over the national media.
Since then, much has been written about the Zapatista movement both nationally and internationally; in academic texts and news articles; in films and documentaries. But little has directly focused on the figure of Subcomandante Marcos. This is what Nick Henck tackles in Subcommander Marcos: The Man and the Mask, the first biography of this 'revolutionary leader' to be written in English. The book is divided into three parts (in order) to depict what Marcos himself has referred to as the three Marcoses: 'Marcos of the past who has a past, Marcos of the Mountains before the First of January (1994), and post-January Marcos'.
In Part I 'Rafael', Henck focuses on the early years of Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente the man declared by president Ernesto Zedillo's government as being the 'real' Subcomandante Marcos - the man behind the mask. Henck's tone is somewhat messianic, not only because he regards Rafael as fulfilling a prophecy, but because the prophecy rests on such tenuous ground. Rafael fulfils the prophecy of becoming a revolutionary leader according to Henck - due to the fact that his year of birth coincides with the year in which Che Guevara and Fidel Castro established their first foco in Cuba. This is further reinforced by his witnessing (as an 11 year old) the student movements and massacre - of 1968; and experiencing the ruling political party's (PRI) high levels of repression and corruption. Moreover, Henck's use of Fran J....