Zapatistas

The Zapatistas, formally the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), are a leftist political and militant movement based in Chiapas, Mexico. Named after Emiliano Zapata, they mobilized on January 1, 1994, launching an uprising in the wake of NAFTA. After early armed action, they shifted toward a model centered on Indigenous autonomy, community self-governance, and nonviolent civil resistance.

The EZLN operates through autonomous municipalities and communal councils known as Juntas de Buen Gobierno and Caracoles, where decisions are made in popular assemblies. Leadership is decentralized; public spokespersons historically included Subcomandantes who wore balaclavas. The movement emphasizes gender equality, indigenous rights, and social services such as clinics and schools funded and run by the communities.

Ideology centers on anti-neoliberalism, anti-capitalism, and upholding indigenous autonomy within a plural society. They advocate land reform, cultural and political rights, and ecological stewardship. They reject centralized state authority and seek to replace it with participatory, horizontal governance that respects local custom and collective decision-making.

Historically, talks with the Mexican government produced the 1996 San Andrés Accords on indigenous rights, which were never fully implemented. The movement conducted the "Other Campaign" in 2006-2007 to build transnational solidarity with other social movements. The EZLN remains a symbolic reference for autonomous indigenous organizing and critiques of globalization.

Today, Zapatista autonomous zones continue to operate in Chiapas, maintaining education, health, and agrarian cooperatives. While the group has decreased public confrontations, it remains active in international solidarity networks and continues to publish communiqués. The Zapatistas are widely studied for their governance model and enduring critique of neoliberal policy.