O trabalho tem o objetivo central de identificar como se construiu historicamente a figura do Subcomandante Marcos, na esteira do processo de formação do movimento zapatista em Chiapas. Marcos, cuja identidade era ocultada por si mesmo (embora o governo mexicano tenha declarado publicamente, em 1995, que ele era o professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), é o principal porta-voz do Exército Zapatista de Libertação Nacional (EZLN) e destaca-se como figura-símbolo do referido movimento. Diante disso, busca-se apresentar a importância chave do indivíduo para o movimento zapatista (no plano intelectual e político), bem como compreender como se deu a dissolução de sua própria individualidade no plano simbólico na medida em que Marcos pareceu encarnar o ideário revolucionário zapatista. A ênfase analítica, para tanto, recairá sobre os aspectos de messianismo inseridos nesse processo, assim como sobre os elementos que sinalizem em Marcos a representação da própria experiência utópica, para que então se compreenda as razões pela quais sua liderança pareceu ter uma dimensão sui generis. Tal análise, feita a partir do levantamento de fontes primárias e da revisão da literatura secundária, mostra-se necessária frente à constatação de que o zapatismo constituiu-se como um dos movimentos políticos mais relevantes da contemporaneidade. Assim, realizando um estudo sistemático desse conjunto de aspectos, busca-se articular os temas de modo pertinente, para que se compreenda, então, o significado histórico deste ator político contemporâneo. / This work aims to identify the historical construction of Subcomandante Marcos image, in the wake of the process of the construction of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. Marcos, whose real identity is hidden by himself (though the Mexican government publicly declared in 1995 that he is Professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), is the main spokesperson of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and stands as a symbol-image of the movement. Therefore, the dissertation seeks to present this individuals key importance to the movement (in the intellectual and political spheres), as well as understanding the dissolution of his own individuality (in the symbolic sphere) as Marcos seems to incarnate the revolutionary ideas of Zapatismo itself. The analytical emphasis, therefore, is on the messianist aspects inserted in this process, as well as on the elements that demonstrate representations of his own utopian existence, in order to understand the reasons why his leadership seems to have a sui generis dimension. This analysis, based on a thorough survey of primary and secondary sources, is relevant because the Zapatistas have established themselves as one of the most relevant contemporary political and social movements. Thus, conducting a systematic study of these aspects, it seeks to understand the historical importance of Subcomandante Marcos within the context of the rise of the Zapatistas.

O trabalho tem o objetivo central de identificar como se construiu historicamente a figura do Subcomandante Marcos, na esteira do processo de formação do movimento zapatista em Chiapas. Marcos, cuja identidade era ocultada por si mesmo (embora o governo mexicano tenha declarado publicamente, em 1995, que ele era o professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), é o principal porta-voz do Exército Zapatista de Libertação Nacional (EZLN) e destaca-se como figura-símbolo do referido movimento. Diante disso, busca-se apresentar a importância chave do indivíduo para o movimento zapatista (no plano intelectual e político), bem como compreender como se deu a dissolução de sua própria individualidade no plano simbólico na medida em que Marcos pareceu encarnar o ideário revolucionário zapatista. A ênfase analítica, para tanto, recairá sobre os aspectos de messianismo inseridos nesse processo, assim como sobre os elementos que sinalizem em Marcos a representação da própria experiência utópica, para que então se compreenda as razões pela quais sua liderança pareceu ter uma dimensão sui generis. Tal análise, feita a partir do levantamento de fontes primárias e da revisão da literatura secundária, mostra-se necessária frente à constatação de que o zapatismo constituiu-se como um dos movimentos políticos mais relevantes da contemporaneidade. Assim, realizando um estudo sistemático desse conjunto de aspectos, busca-se articular os temas de modo pertinente, para que se compreenda, então, o significado histórico deste ator político contemporâneo. / This work aims to identify the historical construction of Subcomandante Marcos image, in the wake of the process of the construction of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. Marcos, whose real identity is hidden by himself (though the Mexican government publicly declared in 1995 that he is Professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), is the main spokesperson of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and stands as a symbol-image of the movement. Therefore, the dissertation seeks to present this individuals key importance to the movement (in the intellectual and political spheres), as well as understanding the dissolution of his own individuality (in the symbolic sphere) as Marcos seems to incarnate the revolutionary ideas of Zapatismo itself. The analytical emphasis, therefore, is on the messianist aspects inserted in this process, as well as on the elements that demonstrate representations of his own utopian existence, in order to understand the reasons why his leadership seems to have a sui generis dimension. This analysis, based on a thorough survey of primary and secondary sources, is relevant because the Zapatistas have established themselves as one of the most relevant contemporary political and social movements. Thus, conducting a systematic study of these aspects, it seeks to understand the historical importance of Subcomandante Marcos within the context of the rise of the Zapatistas.

This thesis demonstrates that the discursive strategies that characterise the political struggle of the Zapatista (EZLN) movement are produced in response to the political and economic realities of Mexico and the southeastern state of Chiapas. The EZLN�s intentionally ambiguous discourse of dignity epitomises these strategies. By deploying various incarnations of dignity to counter the Mexican Government�s strategic political manoeuvres, the EZLN destabilises the political, economic and social hegemonies of the nation. This destabilisation creates a space for the EZLN to suggest the possibility of an alternative political logic to the Mexican populace. However, the marginalised social location and ethnic diversity of the movement�s indigenous constituents impedes their ability to effect significant political change. This impediment is overcome when they coalesce around the politically advantageous subjectivity of indigenous Zapatistas and engage with the mestizo Subcomandante Marcos to produce the EZLN. The movement enacts a progressive coalitional politics that articulates radical political alternatives for Mexico through the strategic practice of translation. Thus, translation is posited as a powerful political practice for marginalised groups engaged in resistance struggles in the contemporary global conditions.

Ce mémoire porte sur le caractère heuristique et critique du discours utopique qu’il conviendra de mettre en lumière à travers les écrits du Sous-Commandant Marcos, écrits qui constituent un cas exemplaire des mécanismes que met en œuvre le discours utopique. Partant de la définition opératoire de l’utopie comme expression d’un imaginaire social qui relèverait d’une pratique utopique dont la fonction serait de critiquer le caractère idéologique des représentations spatio-temporelles induites par l’ordre dominant et, se questionnant par la suite sur la nature de l’ordre dominant contemporain et le caractère spatial de son hégémonie grâce aux travaux d’Henri Lefebvre et de David Harvey, il s’agira de montrer comment, au sein de ses textes, Marcos parvient à produire un espace représentationnel alternatif dans lequel opère un mécanisme de neutralisation des contradictions (Louis Marin), une véritable épochè, une suspension du jugement, seule condition de possibilité du dépassement des contraintes de l’ordre dominant dans le discours et les représentations. / This thesis focuses on the heuristic and critical character of the utopian discourse, as it will be demonstrated through the Subcomandante Marcos’ writings, which present an exemplary case of the mechanisms at play in the utopian discourse. Starting with the operational definition of utopia as an expression of a social imagination resulting from a utopian practice whose function would be to criticize the ideological nature of spatiotemporal representations imposed by the dominant order and, subsequently questioning the contemporary dominant order and the spatial nature of its hegemony with the help of Henri Lefebvre and David Harvey’s works, the objective will be to demonstrate how, in his texts, Marcos produces an alternative representational space in which a mechanism of neutralization of oppositions (Louis Marin), an epoché, a judgment suspension occur, that is the only condition of possibility for overcoming the dominant order constraints in the realm of discourse and representations.

Ce mémoire porte sur le caractère heuristique et critique du discours utopique qu’il conviendra de mettre en lumière à travers les écrits du Sous-Commandant Marcos, écrits qui constituent un cas exemplaire des mécanismes que met en œuvre le discours utopique. Partant de la définition opératoire de l’utopie comme expression d’un imaginaire social qui relèverait d’une pratique utopique dont la fonction serait de critiquer le caractère idéologique des représentations spatio-temporelles induites par l’ordre dominant et, se questionnant par la suite sur la nature de l’ordre dominant contemporain et le caractère spatial de son hégémonie grâce aux travaux d’Henri Lefebvre et de David Harvey, il s’agira de montrer comment, au sein de ses textes, Marcos parvient à produire un espace représentationnel alternatif dans lequel opère un mécanisme de neutralisation des contradictions (Louis Marin), une véritable épochè, une suspension du jugement, seule condition de possibilité du dépassement des contraintes de l’ordre dominant dans le discours et les représentations. / This thesis focuses on the heuristic and critical character of the utopian discourse, as it will be demonstrated through the Subcomandante Marcos’ writings, which present an exemplary case of the mechanisms at play in the utopian discourse. Starting with the operational definition of utopia as an expression of a social imagination resulting from a utopian practice whose function would be to criticize the ideological nature of spatiotemporal representations imposed by the dominant order and, subsequently questioning the contemporary dominant order and the spatial nature of its hegemony with the help of Henri Lefebvre and David Harvey’s works, the objective will be to demonstrate how, in his texts, Marcos produces an alternative representational space in which a mechanism of neutralization of oppositions (Louis Marin), an epoché, a judgment suspension occur, that is the only condition of possibility for overcoming the dominant order constraints in the realm of discourse and representations.

(in English): In this thesis I present the Zapatista movement and its media strategy. Further I describe its visual communication by means of a case study. After evaluating the significance of media strategies of the zapatista movement, I will prove that Zapatistas' media communication played a crucial role in the transformation of Mexican society in the late 90s and directly influenced the process of transition to democracy in Mexico. In the introduction I will explain how news photographs can be a source of exploration of the Zapatistas and I will introduce the basic hypotheses of my research. In the historical part of my introduction I will put the movement in the context with the political, social and historical development of Mexico and the state of Chiapas, where the uprising broke out in 1994 and I will explain the causes of the rebellion and introduce its goals. Before I describe the aspects of Zapatistas' communication, I will focus on the Mexican media environment so that I can link it with the media outlets of the Zapatista movement. I will describe in general terms media strategies and myths created by the movement. In the case study I will examine photographs of EZLN published in the magazine Proceso in the years 1994 and 2001, I will compare the Zapatistas' visual communication with...