The Zapatista Uprising
Rebellions, uprisings, revolutions - whatever the name we all know what they stand for, as they have been a constant in our history regardless of the moment or place, be it of political, racial, economic, religious or ideological origin.Today, in the 21st century, after two world wars, in the age of globalization and intercultural communication, of technology, democracy and human rights, such events continue to appear and exist, as our world is not perfect yet. One representative example is the Zapatista Uprising, a post-modern revolutionary movement from Mexico. The Zapatista National Liberation Army (known as EZLN- Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional) is actually a rebel group that started a military uprising against the Mexican government. They did this on January 1st 1994 (when Mexico joined the North American Free Trade Agreement - NAFTA) by occupying some towns in the state of Chiapas. This was only the beginning of their "battle", an action intended to draw attention to their cause. Their cause, or the reason they decided to make this step, is the situation of the indigenous people who live in the southeastern region of the country, a very underprivileged part of Mexico's population; but they go beyond this home
Right from the beginning, the rebels were represented by a mysterious and charismatic man, of uncertain origins, who was the primary public spokesman for the EZLN, although not its official leader. Since the episode in January 1994 (when the North American Free Trade Agreement became operational), the rebels and the government have had many attempts to resolve the situation, they participated at negotiations, which concluded with the San Andres Accords in 1996; but these agreements proved to have no actual power as the government disregarded them and amplified military presence in the area. It is impressive and also admirable that the Zapatistas, given the inhumane living conditions of the people from Chiapas, did not chose a violent approach in trying to solve these problems. A major political change was the election of Vicente Fox who did not represent the Institutional Revolutionary Party; this caused the withdrawal of the military troops in Chiapas area. The government agreed to make legislative adjustments, but the Zapatistas criticized them and began creating autonomous municipalities in Chiapas. Its ideals, its goals have been outdated in today's world, a world defined by capitalism, globalization, and neo-liberalism. Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos was characterized by many as an intellectual, a competent communicator, not just a politician but a true revolutionary. "Our cause is not the cause of war, or the cause of destruction, or the cause of death. objective, as they proclaim their desire for democracy, liberty and justice all over the world. If such ideals would have been successful in the 19th century, at this moment they have become obsolete. A world in which the indigenous, as all minorities for that matter, have equal rights as the majority of the people would be an almost perfect one, but unfortunately we still have a long way to go. Their attacks are mainly aimed at the party-state that has had the power in Mexico for several decades (the Institutional Revolutionary Party) and the government policies that closes the eyes to the Native Americans' situation (lack of education, low salaries, lack of medical assistance, etc. And, as Marcos said himself, the future of the Mexican nation depends on the reforming of the constitution regarding the rights of the indigenous.
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