Zapatista Uprising in Mexico

The Zapatistas, a group of indigenous people in Mexico have had a recent and so far civil uprising over their demand for “land, liberty, work and peace.”  The group had 40,000 supporters marching through Chiapas in December 2012  in order to reconfirm their presence and support within the smaller communities.  The Zapatistas are trying to receive more national attention to pursue their governmental goals and their spokesperson, Subcomandante Marcos released several statements in January and February criticizing the government and administration of Enrique Peña Nieto.  The Zapatistas originally sought rights for the indigenous people of Mexico through violent overthrow of the government but were stopped by the superior Mexican government in 1994.  They have shifted their focus to community building and garnering support for their way of governance in the villages of Chiapas, the southernmost city in Mexico and the only city under Zapatista control.  The intent of the critiques and what will come of them remains to be seen.  I question if the rebels feel that they have enough power and support to now overthrow the government or if they will continue to peacefully argue their case for the rights of indigenous people in Mexico.

The article I chose from Aljazeera remains unbiased throughout and does a good job avoiding the depiction of The Zapatistas in a negative light as they report what has been occurring with the group over the past 3 months.  It will be interesting to see which direction The Zapatistas take in the coming months.  I would argue for the peaceful route they have been using because it will lead to more and more support from around the world and eventually the Mexican government will have to take notice and begin to consider the rights and living conditions of the indigenous people in Mexico.       

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/01/201313014344451496.html

Steven Harrison

2/17/2013

11:53pm