Born in the state of Jalisco, María de Jesús Patricio Martínez – or Marichuy – is the Zapatista candidate running for presidential office in Mexico. She is the first indigenous woman in the country’s history to run for their highest position.
This fifty-four-year-old woman is currently a spokesperson for the National Indigenous Congress, an alliance composed of 58 ethnic groups founded in 1996. They aim to create “a space where indigenous people can find shared thought and solidarity to strengthen their struggles of resistance and rebellion…”
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) is a left-wing political and militant group whose goal is to fight for Mexico’s indigenous population. Their guiding principles include “obey, not command,” “represent, not supplant,” “serve, and not serve oneself,” and “propose and not impose.” They have served as an inspiration for many around the world who are constructing their own alternatives to neoliberalism.
Marichuy’s persistence in her social justice work has earned her the support of both these groups. She is also a traditional Nahua healer who founded and currently manages a health center in Tuxpan. She heals those who can’t afford medicine by using native plants and ancestral knowledge.
In Mexico, the indigenous people are highly oppressed and neglected. A representative such as Marichuy shines some light onto them and offers them significant political representation. Their communities lack access to proper healthcare, education, and employment – leaving over 20% of the population overlooked and disregarded.
Marichuy believes that the country is in need of a feminist indigenous leader in order to bring justice to the people. However, her presidential campaign is far from the usual. She is refusing to receive government funding and considers herself the vocera (speaker) of the National Indigenous Congress rather than the candidate.
Her strategy intends to redesign politics. She and the National Indigenous Congress have made it clear that the goal isn’t aimed at taking power over people and abusing that privilege. This anti-systematic approach reveals their commitment to creating a communal sense of political life. Marichuy believes good leadership is based on a community’s decision-making process and fairness.
The general election is to be held on July 1, 2018. Marichuy states, “we do not bring promises, we do not bring anything to give away, more than the heart, more than sweat, more than the effort of each day. It has been a difficult road because people no longer believe in anything and are tired of hearing promises. That is why we are not promising things. We are launching a call to the organization of society, to a union that goes beyond elections. This is the moment of youth, of childhood, of women. It is time for us to be aware that we can move forward together,” according to “Intercontinental Cry Magazine.”