Indigenous Zapatista’s Notion of Capitalist Hydra: Between Foucault’s Power and Marx’s Capital?

• In Event: Analyzing Racial Colonialism and Power Relations From a Freirean Perspective

Abstract

Some argue that the critical idea for understanding contemporary society is Foucault's concept of power, while others say that Marx's concept of capital is the key. However, the challenge, which involves breaking with epistemic racism, is to understand that perhaps indigenous Zapatista communities have ideas to offer beyond Foucault or Marx. Indigenous Zapatista communities offer the notion of the capitalist hydra to understand oppression and hope today. This paper shows that the notion of the Capitalist Hydra may be the key to building a truly decolonial education: a society beyond European notions of revolution.

Author

• Raul Olmo Fregoso Bailón, University of Nevada - Reno