--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't want to impose our solutions by…" description: "\"We don't want to impose our solutions by force, we want to create a democratic space. We don't see armed struggle in the classic sense of previous guer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/subcomandante-marcos-17145_armed-struggle_we-don-t-want-to-impose-our-solutions-by_1328344.jpg" --- # We don't want to impose our solutions by force, we want to… ![“We don't want to impose our solutions by force, we want to create a democratic space. We don't see armed struggle in the classic sense of previous guerrilla wars, that is as the only way and the only all-powerful truth around which everything is organized. In a war, the decisive thing is not the…” quote by Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/subcomandante-marcos-17145_armed-struggle_we-don-t-want-to-impose-our-solutions-by_1328344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/subcomandante-marcos-17145_armed-struggle_we-don-t-want-to-impose-our-solutions-by_1328344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d5/subcomandante-marcos-17145_armed-struggle_we-don-t-want-to-impose-our-solutions-by_1328344.jpg) > “We don't want to impose our solutions by force, we want to create a democratic space. We don't see armed struggle in the classic sense of previous guerrilla wars, that is as the only way and the only all-powerful truth around which everything is organized. In a war, the decisive thing is not the military confrontation but the politics at stake in the confrontation. We didn't go to war to kill or be killed. We went to war in order to be heard.” [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political change relies on democratic dialogue, not force; the true battle is ideological, not merely military. **In simple terms:** Change comes from ideas and voices, not guns. Key Takeaway Prioritize inclusive political engagement. Themes politics democracy conflict resolution Mood determined hopeful Type political activist When to use this quote - community forums - peace negotiations - grassroots organizing - media campaigns Key Concepts ideology power dynamics social movements Questions to Reflect On - What strategies ensure voices are heard? - How to balance dialogue with security? A Different Perspective Violent oppression can still dominate despite peaceful intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Armed struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armed-struggle/) [Confrontation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confrontation/) [Guerrillas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guerrillas/) [Kill Or Be Killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-or-be-killed/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [In a confrontation with the politics of power, the soft center has always melted away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-hailsham/in-a-confrontation-with-the-politics-of-power-the-soft-center-has/) [Lord Hailsham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-hailsham/) > [I am convinced there is no more effective method of preventing a war than a decisive stance illustrating that we are ready at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-duda/i-am-convinced-there-is-no-more-effective-method-of-preventing-a-war/) [Andrzej Duda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-duda/) > [Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive one; it is man and not materials that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/weapons-are-an-important-factor-in-war-but-not-the-decisive-one-it-is/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [There are very interesting books about these events, for instance one by a very well-known American historian named William R. Polk called Violent Politics.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-very-interesting-books-about-these-events-for-instance-one/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Guerrilla wars, and even more so terrorist assaults, are conducted only by forces with insufficient strength to carry out a real war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/guerrilla-wars-and-even-more-so-terrorist-assaults-are-conducted-only/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [“As a corollary, guerrillas deny all information of themselves to their enemy, who is enveloped in an impenetrable fog. Total inability to get information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/as-a-corollary-guerrillas-deny-all-information-of-themselves-to-their/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive factor; it is people, not things, that are decisive. The contest of strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/weapons-are-an-important-factor-in-war-but-not-the-decisive-factor-it/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [We stand for the dismantling of foreign military bases. We stand for a reduction of armed forces and armaments in areas where military confrontation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-brezhnev/we-stand-for-the-dismantling-of-foreign-military-bases-we-stand-for-a/) [Leonid Brezhnev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-brezhnev/) > [The ultimate Form of devaluation is military confrontation and global war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-ultimate-form-of-devaluation-is-military-confrontation-and-global/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [When there's a status quo, usually what shakes everybody up is some sort of military confrontation, at which point we all come running and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-there-s-a-status-quo-usually-what-shakes-everybody-up-is-some/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The United States and China have both beefed up their naval presence in Southeast Asia, leading to fears of a military confrontation. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-woodruff/the-united-states-and-china-have-both-beefed-up-their-naval-presence/) [Judy Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-woodruff/) > [Military confrontation is not a suitable alternative in confronting terror and current security threats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalal-talabani/military-confrontation-is-not-a-suitable-alternative-in-confronting/) [Jalal Talabani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalal-talabani/) > [Once a major military confrontation occurs, North Korea will definitely be annihilated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-young-sam/once-a-major-military-confrontation-occurs-north-korea-will/) [Kim Young-sam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-young-sam/) > [NIE presents a major obstacle to those who are pushing for military confrontation. In many ways it is a severe blow to their agenda.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trita-parsi/nie-presents-a-major-obstacle-to-those-who-are-pushing-for-military/) [Trita Parsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trita-parsi/) > [I was a hardliner with regard to colonialism, which had occupied Africa and large parts of the world. We were waging an armed struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muammar-al-gaddafi/i-was-a-hardliner-with-regard-to-colonialism-which-had-occupied/) [Muammar al-Gaddafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muammar-al-gaddafi/) ## More by Subcomandante Marcos > [Our choice is not between war and peace but between life with dignity or without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/our-choice-is-not-between-war-and-peace-but-between-life-with-dignity/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [“I shit on all the revolutionary vanguards of this planet”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/i-shit-on-all-the-revolutionary-vanguards-of-this-planet/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [The powerful have invoked God at their side in this war, so that we will accept their power and our weakness as something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/the-powerful-have-invoked-god-at-their-side-in-this-war-so-that-we/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [The word of the oldest of the old of our peoples didn't stop. It spoke the truth, saying that our feet couldn't walk alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/the-word-of-the-oldest-of-the-old-of-our-peoples-didn-t-stop-it-spoke/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [“Why do we need to be pardoned? What are we to be pardoned for? For not dying of hunger? For not accepting humbly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/why-do-we-need-to-be-pardoned-what-are-we-to-be-pardoned-for-for-not/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [“Yes, Marcos is gay. Marcos is gay in San Francisco, black in South Africa, an Asian in Europe, a Chicano in San Ysidro, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/yes-marcos-is-gay-marcos-is-gay-in-san-francisco-black-in-south/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [We think, fundamentally, that the future story of Latin America, not only of Mexico but for all of Latin America, will be constructed from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/we-think-fundamentally-that-the-future-story-of-latin-america-not/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [In reality, the pioneers of this transformation of the indigenous Zapatista woman are a merit of the women insurgents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/in-reality-the-pioneers-of-this-transformation-of-the-indigenous/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [Every time the diaphragm winks, the camera repeats the question that now travels through cyberspace and invades, as a modern virus, the memories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/every-time-the-diaphragm-winks-the-camera-repeats-the-question-that/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [In our dreams we have seen another world, an honest world, a world decidedly more fair than the one in which we now live.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/in-our-dreams-we-have-seen-another-world-an-honest-world-a-world/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [Marcos is all the exploited, marginalised, oppressed minorities resisting and saying "Enough!" He is every minority who is now beginning to speak and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/marcos-is-all-the-exploited-marginalised-oppressed-minorities/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [All cultures forged by nations—the noble indigenous past of America, the brilliant civilization of Europe, the wise history of Asian nations, and the ancestral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/all-cultures-forged-by-nations-the-noble-indigenous-past-of-america/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [... the photographer is a thief who chooses what he steals (which, at this stage of the crisis, is a luxury) and does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/the-photographer-is-a-thief-who-chooses-what-he-steals-which-at-this/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [“We were born between blood and gunpowder; and between blood and gunpowder we were raised. Every so often the powerful from other lands came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/we-were-born-between-blood-and-gunpowder-and-between-blood-and/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [The photographer discovers himself/herself being photographed and we can guess he is uncomfortable. Unsuccessfully he/she tries to recompose his posture and to look like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/the-photographer-discovers-himself-herself-being-photographed-and-we/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) [Explore all 33 Subcomandante Marcos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) ## More Armed struggle quotes > [I was a hardliner with regard to colonialism, which had occupied Africa and large parts of the world. We were waging an armed struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muammar-al-gaddafi/i-was-a-hardliner-with-regard-to-colonialism-which-had-occupied/) [Muammar al-Gaddafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muammar-al-gaddafi/) > [Act after having made assessments. The one who first knows the measure of far and near wins - this is the rule of armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/act-after-having-made-assessments-the-one-who-first-knows-the-measure/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I rejected the armed struggle because, as a Christian, I am committed to a nonviolent and peaceful struggle. But people take their own initiatives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mangosuthu-buthelezi/i-rejected-the-armed-struggle-because-as-a-christian-i-am-committed/) [Mangosuthu Buthelezi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mangosuthu-buthelezi/) > [I supported the right of oppressed people to armed struggle. That didn't mean I did it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-supported-the-right-of-oppressed-people-to-armed-struggle-that-didn/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [The purpose of armed struggle is not simply to kill ... its purpose is to reach a political goal,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-abbas/the-purpose-of-armed-struggle-is-not-simply-to-kill-its-purpose-is-to/) [Abu Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-abbas/) > [We will defend our victory through armed struggle. We will have to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/we-will-defend-our-victory-through-armed-struggle-we-will-have-to-do/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [Two years ago, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim as a vital part of Israel's national security and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zuheir-mohsen/two-years-ago-israeli-prime-minister-ariel-sharon-described-the-gaza/) Zuheir Mohsen > [The main form of struggle is war; the main form of organization is the army... . Without armed struggle there would be no place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/the-main-form-of-struggle-is-war-the-main-form-of-organization-is-the/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [My father believed in armed struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-father-believed-in-armed-struggle/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Our militant union with peoples which still have to carry on an armed struggle against the colonialists constitutes an important element of our line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-brezhnev/our-militant-union-with-peoples-which-still-have-to-carry-on-an-armed/) [Leonid Brezhnev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-brezhnev/) > [The IRA has abandoned its armed struggle in pursuit of its goals by political means. This must be fully acknowledged. Continued challenge does nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-walsh/the-ira-has-abandoned-its-armed-struggle-in-pursuit-of-its-goals-by/) [James T. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-walsh/) > [In the past I have defended the right of the IRA to engage in armed struggle. I did so because there was no alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-adams/in-the-past-i-have-defended-the-right-of-the-ira-to-engage-in-armed/) [Gerry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-adams/) > [Armed struggle is a necessary and morally correct form of resistance in the Six Counties against a government whose presence is rejected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-adams/armed-struggle-is-a-necessary-and-morally-correct-form-of-resistance/) [Gerry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-adams/) > [I don't accept armed struggle. Maybe it was the way in the '50s and '60s, but we want a democratic revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/i-don-t-accept-armed-struggle-maybe-it-was-the-way-in-the-50s-and-60s/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [The armed struggle is not ending just now. We are upholding a ceasefire. We have our arms with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/the-armed-struggle-is-not-ending-just-now-we-are-upholding-a/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) [Browse all 19 Armed struggle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armed-struggle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't want to impose our solutions by force, we want to create a democratic space. We don't see armed struggle in the classic sense of previous guerrilla wars, that is as the only way and the only all-powerful truth around which everything is organized. 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