The Zapatistas

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The Zapatistas

• Indigenous Revolution in Mexico

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Composition of the Movement

• Indigenous Maya from all over Chiapas
• Tzotziles
• Tzeltales
• Choles
• Tojolabales
• Zoques
• Mames

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History of Subjugation

• Tumultuous history plagued by patriarchal
  domination and racism toward indigenous
  population
• Emergence of national heroes during the Mexican
  Revolution of 1910
• Venustiano Carranza, Francisco Madero
• Emiliano Zapata

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Emiliano Zapata

• Man for whom the Zapatista movement is named
• Poor mestizo sharecropper from Anencuilco
• Sided with Maderos demands for justice
• Proposed the Plan de Ayala

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Emiliano Zapata
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Subcomandante Marcos
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Roots of the Movement

• Communists from the 1968 student revolutions
  moved to Chiapas
• Forced migration of the Maya into the Lancandon
  jungle
• Early 1980s first rumors of organization
• The Mexican economic crisis of the 1980s and
  1990s
• North American Free Trade Agreement 1994

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Role of Social Networks

• Catholic Church
• Non-governmental Agencies
• Christian Base Communities
• Emiliano Zapata Peasant Organization
• Bishop Samuel Ruiz
• Communist organizers from the late 1968 student
  revolutions
• Construction of new Indigenous hybrid identity

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The 1994 Uprising

• January 1, 1994
• Takeover of seven cities in Chiapas
• Denounced neoliberalism, namely NAFTA
• Called for increased autonomy, rights, and
  legitimate democracy
• Led by a woman, Major Ana Maria

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Armed Takeover in Chiapas January 1, 1994
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The Women

• Conditions of inequality inside and outside of
  indigenous communities led to involvement
• Uneducated, malnourished, identity based on
  motherhood and sexuality
• Now many have increased sense of autonomy and
  positions of importance
• Still many obstacles for true equality

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Latest Developments

• Seven years after the revolt, on March 11, 2001,
  the Zapatistas marched to Mexico City and
  addressed Congress
• Encouraged the passage of an Indigenous Rights
  Bill
• Closed the door on dialogue due to Congress
  radically changing Bill and denying certain rights

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Latest Developments

• January 2003 Rose up again armed with machetes
  denouncing neoliberalism, ecotourism, foreign
  investment and plans for war with Iraq
• Have aggressively detained several foreigners in
  an effort to deter foreign investment