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SPEAKER_01: This episode of Womanica is brought to you by BetterHelp. As an entrepreneur, one of the most impactful things I've learned is how important it is to have a strong support system. Sometimes we all need some help and someone to talk to who's professionally trained to listen. That's where BetterHelp comes in. It's not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It's professional counseling done securely online. I wanna help you start living a happier life today. As a Womanica listener, you'll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com slash EW. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P, dot com slash EW. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica. This month, we're highlighting indigenous women from around the globe. Today, we're talking about a legendary member of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, or EZLN, a revolutionary indigenous political and militant organization in Mexico. To this day, the group is fighting for indigenous rights and autonomy in the country. Our protagonist today was one of the seven women commanders in the group, often seen wearing a red shirt and a black balaclava covering everything but her eyes. She led the way in organizing indigenous women for the cause, and she ensured that women's rights and equal protections under the law were at the forefront of the movement's revolutionary struggle. Please welcome Comandante Ramona. Comandante Ramona was born in 1959 in a Totsu Maya community in Chiapas, Mexico, the country's southernmost state border in Guatemala. Her real name is unknown, as is almost everything about her early life and family. Comandante Ramona was the nom de guerre she chose when she joined the EZLN. Before that, she earned a small living traveling around the state selling artisan crafts. In the late 1980s or early 1990s, Ramona joined the Zapatistas after experiencing the deep disparities between rural communities and larger towns in Chiapas, particularly with regard to indigenous women. EZLN originally formed in 1983 and had slowly gained influence in the state's indigenous communities with its call for indigenous control over local resources. Ramona quickly became an important voice in the movement as she focused on advocating for indigenous women and mobilizing them for the struggle. Her work was made more challenging by the fact that women in her community didn't traditionally play a role in politics or political movements. Still, she traveled from community to community, teaching about the movement and motivating women to fight against the Mexican government's suppression and exclusion of the country's indigenous communities. In 1993, Ramona introduced a document called the Revolutionary Law on Women that declared women equal to men. It had 10 specific demands, including a woman's right to equally participate in the community and politics, the right to work, reproductive and marriage rights, the right to an education, the right to not be beaten or mistreated, and equal protection under the law. The Revolutionary Law on Women was presented at an EZLN assembly where it was voted on and passed. In 1994, the EZLN publicly surfaced to protest the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA. The agreement required Mexico to welcome foreign investment and commercial agriculture into the country, even though the increased presence was likely to deeply impact land resources and threaten indigenous communities. On January 1st, 1994, the day that NAFTA went into effect, Commandante Ramona organized the takeover of the town of San Cristobal de las Casas, the former capital of Chiapas, by EZLN rebels. The Zapatistas demanded the Mexican government take up indigenous rights and put an end to NAFTA. After 12 days of fighting and the deaths of around 150 people, the rebellion ended, and the Zapatistas retreated to the jungle, still a potent political force. In March 1994, just months after the siege, the EZLN published 34 demands to be met by the Mexican government. Ramona wrote the 29th demand. It called for the Mexican government to improve the lives of indigenous women by providing them with access to education, birth control, job training, childcare centers, birth clinics, craft markets and artisan workshops, and mills for grinding corn into flour. That same year, Ramona was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and the next year, she received a kidney transplant. In 1996, Ramona started lobbying for a new agreement called the San Andres Accords that granted autonomy, recognition and rights to the indigenous population of Mexico. Both the EZLN and the Mexican government signed onto the first phase of the agreement in February of 1996. But the government didn't uphold its end of the bargain. It actually increased military aggression and levied a travel ban against the Zapatistas. Ramona was the first to break the travel ban when she traveled to Mexico City a few months later to help found the National Indigenous Congress. There, she was met by huge crowds of supporters who surrounded her to protect her from arrest. For the next five years, Ramona continued to lobby the Mexican government to comply with the San Andres Accords. In 2001, she and other leading members of the EZLN marched into Mexico City to once again call for the government to honor its commitments to Mexico's indigenous peoples. In 2006, Comandante Ramona passed away from kidney failure. She'd battled cancer for more than a decade. She died while traveling hours to the closest hospital. Even after all of her hard work, there was still no hospital in her town. She was believed to be 47 years old. Today, Comandante Ramona is a celebrated figure in Mexico, particularly among indigenous communities. She's taken on a bit of a mythical status and serves as a symbol of equality. Though she was often photographed with a gun, it's believed that she never used one. She's instead remembered for her peaceful demeanor and perseverance in her fight for the rights of her community. All month, we're honoring the legacies of indigenous women. For more information, check out our Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
