Zapatistas – EZLN (Zapatista National Liberation Army)

Abstract

The EZLN is an indigenous, peasant‐based social movement and guerrilla organization located in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. It rose up in arms against the Mexican government and army on January 1, 1994, declaring its opposition to the Mexican government's incorporation into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the historical neglect of Mexico's indigenous peoples, and the lack of democracy within Mexico. The EZLN has roots in the National Liberation Front (FLN), a clandestine guerrilla movement with socialist principles that has its origins in the student protest movement of 1968. It is also influenced by indigenous, peasant, labor, and catechist organizations that emerged in Chiapas in the 1970s during a period of political awakening for indigenous people in the region.