The founders named the group after Emiliano Zapata, a hero of the Mexican Revolution, and took up his rallying cry of tierra y libertad land and freedom.
After 10 years of clandestine organizing in the mountains and jungles of Chiapas, recruiting Indigenous peasants into their guerrilla army and civilian support base, the Zapatistas came to a consensus that they would rather risk dying from a bullet than continue watching their children die from preventable diseases. It was an army made up almost entirely of Indigenous people, and about a third of the soldiers were women. They stayed long enough to read their declaration of war from the balcony of the municipal palace but slipped away in time to escape the full brunt of the Mexican military.
The uprising lasted less than two weeks, but transformed the EZLN into one of the most well-known social movements in the world, and one that, over the next decade, would inspire an extraordinary level of solidarity. S ince then, the impact of the Zapatista movement has been visible at the local, national, and international level. In Zapatista territory, land takeovers carried out after the uprising—where Zapatistas occupied large ranches and reapportioned property to landless peasants—impacted the distribution of wealth in Chiapas and continue to shape living conditions for Zapatista villages farming on reclaimed land today.
The Zapatista structures of Indigenous autonomy have extended access to rudimentary health care and education to rural villages in Chiapas. The Zapatistas exercise self-determination through local and regional governments, and their economic cooperatives organizing the production of goods generate resources to invest back into their communities, which I detail in my book.
When the EZLN began organizing in the rural villages of Chiapas, women there experienced an extraordinary level of violence and discrimination. But the Zapatista movement radically redefined gender roles in the context of the Zapatista movement, as women became guerrilla insurgents and political leaders, healers and educators, and members of economic cooperatives.
A generation of young Zapatistas, born since the uprising and growing up in Zapatista territory, today represent the promise of the revolution. However, the EZLN proved able to change and, over time, developed a much more nuanced gender analysis.
Over the years, EZLN leadership paid greater attention to gender-based demands, and dismantling patriarchy became a goal of the movement in of itself. T he Zapatista movement has had a deep social, political, and cultural influence at the national level as well.
By empowering civil society, undermining faith in the Mexican government, and demonstrating that it was possible to challenge the status quo, the EZLN arguably contributed to ending decades of one-party rule in Mexico when the Partido Revolucionario Institucional Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI lost the presidential elections in Yet the entire time the Mexican government was negotiating with the EZLN, however, it was also waging low-intensity warfare against the Zapatistas.
Instead of returning fire, the Zapatista insurgents and tens of thousands of Zapatista civilians fled to the mountains. Mexican soldiers ransacked the abandoned villages, leaving behind destruction as they advanced through Zapatista territory. The government eventually called off the attack and peace talks were renewed, but the Mexican army established formidable army bases in the heart of Zapatista territory. The strained relationship between dialogue and violence would continue to mark this stage of the Zapatista movement, and women would end up on the front lines in defending their communities from military attack.
The Zapatistas have never forgiven AMLO, and the conflict could shape their relationships with the new president over his six-year term. Others have applauded the Zapatistas for their unwavering anti-capitalist stance and ongoing commitment to truly holistic solutions. Though, the government interests were limited in intimidating and oppressing the EZLN and in not accomplishing their requests. The EZLN insurgency functioned for indigenous peoples as a catalytic converter of indigenous rights in Mexico and as an effective example for other indigenous communities around the world on how to pursue indigenous interests and how to overcome the limitations of indigenous rights.
The Zapatista Movement was a consequential actor of indigenous political participation in Mexico. Another consequence of the Zapatista insurgency was that a new political, economic, social and cultural relationship between the Mexican Government and indigenous peoples was formed.
The theoretical progress to advance indigenous rights and living standards by the Mexican Government was a good step for achieving indigenous demands, reflected in the Zapatista revolt. However, in practice one can argue that the EZLN demands to the Mexican government were unsuccessful when examining the current conditions of the indigenous peoples in Chiapas. Presently, indigenous peoples in Chiapas lack basic services such as education and healthcare.
Alternatively, the Chiapas issue can be examined as a positive approach for indigenous populations. The Zapatista rebellion played a significant role in the expansion of indigenous rights and recognition in Mexico. As a consequence of the insurgency, together with its international implications — such as the loss of confidence of foreign investors — the Mexican Government was obligated to make constitutional reforms that granted indigenous peoples local political autonomy and greater political participation at a national level.
Indigenous peoples not only gained from this rebellion the expansion of political rights, but also guaranteed greater preservation of traditions, languages and ways of living. Supporters say the movement has restored a sense of pride in the area, saying the Zapatistas have empowered women by passing a law prohibiting forced marriage or any form of sexual discrimination, and have kept their communities free from violence and addiction by outlawing drugs and alcohol.
Teaching rebellion. With a new generation of Zapatistas having grown up since the uprising, education has become increasingly important to the survival of what is now more of a non-violent social movement than a guerrilla insurgency.
As soon as I arrived I saw that many of the principles, language, themes and ways of organising Occupy Wall Street had been taken straight from Zapatista philosophy. Participants included Alejandra, a young woman from Guadalajara. That was the idea. Although colourful murals of Che Guevara adorn the wooden huts in their communities, the Zapatistas — unlike Guevara — have never sought to overthrow the government and take over the state.
The Zapatistas realised this and sought to develop a new organisational structure that has evolved over the years and is now centred around five councils. Membership in these rotates between different members of the community every two weeks, so that everyone is directly involved in local governance. Global influence. Beyond the local struggle for autonomy, the Zapatistas have also influenced numerous international protest movements.
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