Zapata's Letter on the Russian Revolution

Headquarters of the Liberating Army, Tlaltizapán, Morelos. February 14, 1918.

EMILIANO ZAPATA'S LETTER ON THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Headquarters of the Liberating Army, Tlaltizapán, Morelos. February 14, 1918. Translated by taller ahuehuete.

⏳ 4 minutes

Dear friend,

I refer to the pleasant regards from you, dated January 1st and 15th. From them, I see that you have continued, with success, the arduous work that the Revolution has entrusted to you. I also see with pleasure that in this task you are effectively assisted by enthusiastic and intelligent collaborators.

From the clippings you have enclosed, I am convinced of the benevolent reception in the press, based the statements you have made about the goals we are pursuing.

It is a sure sign that the Cuban intelligentsia is aware of the importance of this regenerative movement, and openly sympathizes with it, recognizing its undoubted merit.

I am truly pleased that in that interesting sister-nation¹, the demands gallantly sustained by the peasant people of Mexico are having repercussions, and leaving deep traces.

Much we would gain, much would humanity and justice gain if all the peoples of the Americas and all the nations of old Europe understood that the cause of Revolutionary Mexico and the cause of Russia are and represent the cause of all humanity, the supreme interests of all oppressed peoples.

Here as there, there are great masters, inhuman, greedy and cruel, who from father to son have been exploiting to the point of torture great masses of peasants. And both here as over there the enslaved people — the people with a dormant conscience — are beginning to awaken, to shake, to stir, to retaliate.

Mr. Wilson, President of the United States, has been right in paying homage, on a recent occasion, to the Russian revolution, describing it as a noble effort for the attainment of liberties, and it would only be desirable that in this respect he should remember and take into account the visible analogy, the marked parallelism, the absolute parity, better said, that exists between this movement and the land revolution of Mexico.

Both are directed against what Leon Tolstoy called the great crime, against the infamous usurpation of the land, which, being the property of all, like water and air, has been monopolized by a few powerful individuals, supported by the force of armies and by the iniquity of the laws.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the international proletariat applauds and admires the Russian Revolution, just as it will give all its adherence, sympathy and support to this Mexican Revolution, once it becomes fully cognizant of its aims.

That is why the work of dissemination and propaganda by you in favor of the truth is so interesting; that is why you should go to all the workers' gathering centers and groups of the world, to make them feel the imperious need to embark simultaneously and jointly carry out the two enterprises: to educate the worker in the struggle and to cultivate awareness in the peasantry.

It must not be forgotten that by virtue and because of the solidarity of the proletariat, the emancipation of the worker cannot be achieved if the freedom of the peasant is not achieved at the same time. Otherwise, the bourgeoisie could set these two forces against each other, and take advantage, e.g., of the unlearned condition of the peasants and fight and restrain the righteous impulses of the workers in the same way that, if the case arises, it could use the unconscious workers and throw them against their brothers in the countryside.

This is what Francisco I. Madero did in Mexico in the beginning and Venustiano Carranza more recently; although here the workers have already come out of their error and now understand perfectly well that they were victims of Carranza's perfidy.

I hope that you and your comrades will continue to work with the greatest commitment and without faltering.

The political, economic, financial and military situation of Carranza is desperate. Most of Carranza's former supporters have finally met him and have abandoned him en masse. Now only a few politicostros, totally discredited and without any influence on opinion, are with him. The fall of this abominable regime is only a matter of days. Revolutionary unification will soon be a fact.

I greet you and wish you all the best as your friend and comrade, S. S.

Emiliano Zapata²

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1. Cuba

2. Excerpt. Letter to Jenaro Amezcua. Headquarters of the Liberating Army, Tlaltizapán, Morelos. February 14, 1918.