Zapatista Are the Actions of the ELZN Effective and Just
The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) attained global notoriety when it assaulted and captured four cities in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas in the early hours of the morning on New Years day 1994. ... Although problems of political, economic and social unrest have plagued Mexico for centuries and are by no means unique to the region of Chiapas, the intentions, motives and methods used by the ELZN to achieve change serve a morally just cause and go beyond those of traditional rural uprisings. Who are the Zapatista? Composed primarily of poor indigenous farmers, the Zapatista are a rebel force fighting for the rights of the impoverished in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Fed up with the 500 years of oppression that has plagued the lives of indigenous peoples since the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the 70 years of neglect experienced under the rule of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary party (PRI), the people of Chiapas have formed and rallied behind a guerrilla unit know as the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). The term Zapatista is a reference to Emiliano Zapata, the famous leader of the Mexican Revolution who fought to attain land, liberty and justice for the peasants of Mexico in 1910. Just as Emiliano Zapata represented the voice of the underprivileged a century ago, the Zapatista rebels and the EZLN represent the voice of “the poor, the exploited and the miserable of Mexico” against “the oppressive government and the big national and foreign exploiters of the people” (Oppenheimer, 1996a, p. ... Another factor contributing to the Zapatista rebellion and New Years Day assault was the state of the Mexican economy. ... Perhaps the best explanation for the Zapatista rebellion can be found by examining the issue of land distribution. ... The Zapatista Army of National Liberation was founded on November 17th, 1983 out of a meeting of three indigenous and three non-indigenous people near Lake Miramar in the Lacandon Jungle (Harvey, 1998, p. ... This body is made up of community elders from the Zapatista controlled territory. ... Despite not having one leader, a high-ranking member of the EZLN known as Subcommander Marcos has become the symbolic leader of the Zapatista movement. ... According to Neil Harvey, a Government professor at New Mexico State University, the goals the Zapatista and the EZLN hope to achieve can be organized into 4 main categories: the rights of Mexico’s indigenous peoples, democratization in Mexico, land reform in Chiapas, and women’s rights (Harvey, 1998, p. ... Aftermath of the New Years Day Attacks: Events since 1994 In response to the New Years Day attacks on the cities of San Cristobal da las casas, Ocosingo, Altamirano and Las Margaritas, the Mexican Army was called in to suppress the Zapatista revolt.