---
title: CIDECI-Unitierra
type: education
status: active
country: MX
website: https://seminarioscideci.org
logo: /assets/org-logos/cideci-unitierra.png
summary: An indigenous education and documentation centre in Chiapas, Mexico, aligned
  with the Zapatista autonomous communities — hosting the Zapatista 'Little Schools'
  and serving as a hub for research on the Juntas de Buen Gobierno governance model.
concepts:
- democratic-confederalism
location:
  latitude: 16.737
  longitude: -92.6376
  name: San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
events:
- date: '1989-08-24'
  title: CIDECI founded in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
  url: https://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/rsb_int_esp.html
  quote: Este centro nace el 24 de agosto de 1989 hace 16 años.
  note: '"This centre was born on 24 August 1989" — interview with CIDECI coordinator
    Dr Raymundo Sánchez Barraza.'
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-17'
- date: '2006-01-02'
  title: La Otra Campaña holds its first public encounter (delegate Zero) at Unitierra-Cideci
  url: https://www.jornada.com.mx/2006/01/03/index.php?article=003n1pol&section=politica
  quote: la otra campaña dio inicio práctico esta mañana con el primer encuentro del
    delegado Zero en las instalaciones de Unitierra-Cideci (Centro Indígena de Estudios
    y Capacitación Integral), en las afueras de esta ciudad.
  note: Subcomandante Marcos (delegate Zero) opened the Zapatista Sixth Declaration's
    Other Campaign at CIDECI-Unitierra on 2 January 2006 (La Jornada).
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-17'
- date: '2013-08-10'
  title: Hosts registration for the first Zapatista Escuelita (little school)
  url: https://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2013/07/18/nuevas-fechas-para-la-escuelita-informacion-de-videoconferencias-y-de-otras-cosas/
  quote: El registro, con su clave y una identificación, es en los días 10 y 11 de
    agosto del 2013 en el CIDECI, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, México.
  note: '"Registration ... is on 10 and 11 August 2013 at CIDECI" — EZLN communiqué;
    classes ran 12–16 August 2013.'
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-17'
activity:
  dod:
    checked: 2026-06-28
    date: 2026-06-28
    note: 'Web search confirms active programming: ''Seedbed Seminar — War Against
      Humanity'' convened at CIDECI-UniTierra 20-24 July 2026 by the Zapatista Sixth
      Commission.'
  sitemap:
    checked: 2026-08-09
    date: 2024-05-21
    note: Page last modified (from sitemap)
last_checked: '2026-06-28'
---

The Centro Indígena de Capacitación Integral – Universidad de la Tierra (CIDECI-Unitierra) is an indigenous education and documentation centre based in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. It operates in close alignment with the Zapatista autonomous communities and serves as the primary hub for the Zapatista *Escuelitas* (Little Schools) — structured learning exchanges in which participants live with Zapatista families and study the autonomous governance system directly.

CIDECI-Unitierra is one of the few open points of contact between the Zapatista governance experiment and outside researchers, journalists, and solidarity visitors. It hosts seminars, publishes documentation on autonomous governance, and provides a space where the governance theory of *mandar obedeciendo* (governing by obeying) is articulated and debated with external interlocutors.

## The governance model it documents

The Zapatista **Juntas de Buen Gobierno** (Good Government Councils, JBG) have operated since 2003 across five *caracoles* (autonomous community clusters) in Chiapas. Key features:

- **Mandar obedeciendo** — authority flows upward from communities; leaders are mandated delegates, not representatives with independent authority
- **Rotation and recall** — council membership rotates; communities can recall delegates
- **Gender parity** — mandatory co-representation at all levels
- **Economic redistribution** — councils administer community development funds with direct accountability to the base
- **Non-participation in state elections** — the autonomous communities have rejected electoral participation as a form of state capture since the late 1990s

The model draws on Mayan community governance traditions and has been in continuous operation for over 20 years — one of the longest-running non-statist democratic governance experiments with longitudinal academic study. It directly influenced the development of democratic confederalism in Rojava; Abdullah Öcalan cited the Zapatistas in his prison writings.

## Links

- Website: [seminarioscideci.org](https://seminarioscideci.org) — the centre's seminar documentation site (their ongoing activity is announced through [Enlace Zapatista](https://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx))

## See also

- [Democratic Confederalism](../concepts/democratic-confederalism.md)
- [TEV-DEM](tev-dem.md)