In an attempt to discredit Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos, officials spread rumors that he was gay, hoping this would undermine his credibility in a region shaped by machismo. He responded by writing a poem:
“Yes, Marcos is gay. Marcos is gay in San Francisco; Black in South Africa; Asian in Europe; a Chicano in San Ysidro; an anarchist in Spain; a Palestinian in Israel; a Mayan Indian in the streets of San Cristóbal; a Jew in Germany; a Gypsy in Poland; a Mohawk in Quebec; a pacifist in Bosnia; a single woman on the Metro at 10 p.m.; a peasant without land; a gang member in the slums; an unemployed worker; an unhappy student; and, of course, a Zapatista in the mountains.
Marcos is all the exploited, marginalized, and oppressed minorities resisting and saying ‘Enough.’ He is every minority beginning to speak, and every majority that must shut up and listen. He is every untolerated group searching for a way to speak. Everything that makes power—and the good consciences of those in power—uncomfortable: this is Marcos.”