Political Leadership in Zapatista Mexico: Marcos, Celebrity, and Charismatic Authority

Abstract

Can charismatic authority be used to further progressive politics without simultaneously doing damage? Is it possible for a movement with a charismatic leader to achieve an egalitarian society? Tracing the history of Mexico's Zapatista movement and the emergence of its controversial masked spokesman, Subcommandante Marcos, Daniela di Piramo investigates the implications of these questions. Di Piramo's important distinction between charisma as an individual attribute and charismatic authority as a form of political power is reflected throughout her study. Following Marcos's public trajectory, she focuses not only on how the leader has used his personal appeal to draw international attention to the Zapatista's plight, but also on how the constant spotlight on him has sometimes eclipsed the larger political agenda. Her work is both a significant biography and a penetrating exploration of the nature of charismatic political leadership in Latin America.