Zapatistas

Zapatista Army of National Liberation

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a modern day revolutionary group based in Chiapas, Mexico. The Zapatistas got their name from the Mexican Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. Emiliano Zapata was a Large contributor to the Mexican Revolution in 1910. The Zapatistas became a publicly know group on the same day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was formed. The Zapatistas did not agree with NAFTA because they believed it would only widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

The Zapatistas believe in equal rights for all Mexican people especially those in poor areas like Chiapas. Their ideas are influenced by anarchy and socialism. One of the beliefs is that the people should have the most input and power and that anyone should have the opportunity to govern. They also believe in equal rights for women in the movement and in everyday life. On January first, roughly 3,000 armed members of the Zapatista took over many cities and towns; they freed prisoners from jail houses, and vandalized many police and military buildings. On January 8 1992, the Zapatistas declared war on the Mexican government because they felt that the government was out of sync with the Mexican people and declared the government illegitimate. The armed fighting ended on January 12, 1994 when a ceasefire was established between the Zapatistas and the Mexican government, since then, the Zapatistas have been known as an armed, non-violent revolutionary group that aims for peace and involvement for the people. The Zapatistas are important to Mexico because their ideas are that Mexico should be a place where the poor are taken care of, and have the same amount of influence as rice people when it comes to decisions affecting the people.