FREE ESSAY ON CHIAPAS REVOLUTION

CHIAPAS REVOLUTION

1994 proved to be radical year in Mexican history. There were three major assassinations
of political figures, President Carlos Salinas signed the NAFTA agreement, and a small
revolution began in the Pacific Southwest of Mexico. Although all of these a major impact
on Mexican society none played out to the public greater then Zapatista uprising in
Chiapas. 
Several hours before 1994 became the New Year the Mexican state of Chiapas was thrust
upon the international scene as the Zapatista guerilla army seized control of the city of
San Cristbal de las Casas and five towns in the surrounding Chiapas mountain region.
The guerillas were bands of ethnic Mayan Indian peasants from the highlands of Chiapas.
These indigenous people are among the poorest in all of Mexico, and are basically an
agrarian culture.
The first glimpse of the struggle seemed to mimic similar guerilla activities in nearby
Central American regions. When reexamined the organization and careful planning of the
Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) showed that these rebels, composed mostly of
teenagers and young adults from ethnic Mayan groups, didn't resemble their neighbors.
What at second glimpse appears to be another ethnic conflict in a decade of ethnic
uprising around the world, is both that and more. The roots of the struggle do in fact
spring the history of racism and oppression of the Mayan Indians. The war also is an
attack on mistreatment of the poor of all ethnic backgrounds throughout Mexico.
To clearly analyze the reason and the will of this rebellion a history of the Indians and
the Mexican political actions must be examined. The Indians are of Mayan ancestry and
have made their living off of farming. Still to this day all products and tools are
handmade by the Indians in their villages. Land is the quintessential possession in their
culture. Not only does it determine wealth, but also land has strong religious aspects
and is considered holy. The Indians believe that land is "ancestral private property"
passed down to them by sacred ancestral generations.
The roots of the present day conflict extend back to the Conquistador era. Chiapas is
made up of three regions main regions. The central region is a high elevation plateau
composed of steep rugged terrain, known as the Chiapas highlands. To the Southwest are
fertile Pacific lowlands, and to the East is the Lacandon jungle. The ancestors made the
fertile Pacific lowlands their center of their civilization. Upon the arrival of the
Spaniards the native people were pushed out of the lowlands and up into the highlands
over a period of 500 years. The thin rocky soil proved to be insufficient for a majority
of the Indians and many migrated East to the Lacandon jungle. The soil their was equally
as bad as the highlands and was only capable of supporting a year or two of planting.
The slow loss of land set the stage for a rebellion. Since land and farming is so
important to the Indian way of life