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The Zapatistas or Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) is an armed revolutionary group based in Chiapas, which is one of the poorest states in Mexico. The EZLN is made up of mostly indigenous Mayas but they have supporters in urban areas as well as international support. Their spokesperson and military commander is Subcomandante Marcos. The masked Marcos identity has been a well kept secret.

The group takes its name from Emiliano Zapata, one of the most progressive members of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920); The Zapatistas see themselves as his ideological heirs, and heirs to five hundred years of indigenous resistance against imperialism.

The Zapatistas went public on January 1, 1994, the day that NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) went into effect. The initial goal of the EZLN was to instigate a revolution in all of Mexico but this did not happen. They used their uprising as a platform to call the world's attention the large gap between the rich people of Mexico and the poor people of Chiapas. They also wanted to protest the signing of NAFTA, which the EZLN felt would only intensify the gap between the rich and the poor in Mexico and Chiapas. NAFTA is a free trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico, which many people feel will exploit poorer people by encouraging the use of cheap labor. The EZLN does not demand independence from Mexico, but rather autonomy, asking that the natural resources that are extracted from Chiapas directly benefit the people of Chiapas. For example, a great part of Mexico's hydroelectricity (electricity from water) comes from Chiapas, yet many communities in Chiapas suffer because they have no access to fresh drinking water. It is these kinds of injustices that the EZLN intends to address.

Short armed clashes in Chiapas ended on January 12 of 1994, with a ceasefire brokered by the Catholic diocese in San Cristóbal de las Casas under Bishop Samuel Ruiz. Much of the land taken over by the Zapatistas in 1994 was retained at first but much of the territory that was taken back a year later by the Mexican Federal Army during a surprise raid in February 1995. Duirng the raid, Mexico’s PRI government tried to capture the leaders of the Zapatistas. The PRI set up army camps along all major thoroughfares, but the Mexican government failed to capture the guerrilla movement's commanders.

Mexican Government talks with the EZLN culminated in the signing of the San Andrés Accords in 1996. These accords granted autonomy and special rights to the indigenous population. However, former President Zedillo and the PRI ignored the agreements and instead increased military presence in the region. With the new PAN government of President Fox in 2001, the Zapatistas marched on Mexico City to present their case to the Mexican Congress. The PAN came up with watered-down agreements that were rejected by the Zapatistas. Without the governments consent, the Zapatistas proceeded to create 32 autonomous municipalities in Chiapas, thus partially implementing the agreements without Mexican Government support. These renegade municipalities have been tolerated by the government despite being a state within the state. However, the Mexican government gives no additional benefits to these areas. Subcommandante Marcos has issued numerous statements telling the Mexican Government to fully accept the San Andrés Accords.

Questions: (on ack or attach separate paper)

  1. Where is the EZLN located and who makes up a majority of the group?
  2. Where did they get the name Zapatistas and why did they take that name?
  3. Who is Subcommandante Marcos?
  4. Because of what two reasons did the EZLN go public in 1994?
  5. How did the armed conflict come to an end?
  6. What happened to the territory the Zapatistas took?
  7. What are the San Andrés Accords? What do they say?
  8. How did the PRI deal with the Zapatistas?
  9. How did the PAN deal with the Zapatistas?
  10. What have the Zapatistas done to help their own cause?