“¡Tierra y libertad!” A 100 Year-Old Echo for the Maya of Chiapas

A review of Conflict in Chiapas: Understanding the Modern Mayan World. By Worth H. Weller. North Manchester, IN: DeWitt Books, 2000. 152pp.

Prior to the January 1, 1994 uprising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, Mexico’s impoverished southernmost state, were largely oppressed by their own government and ignored by the rest of the world. The Zapatistas, (named after the mustachioed hero of the Mexican Revolution, Emiliano Zapata), and their eloquent, pipe smoking spokesperson, Sub-Comandante Marcos, changed that by turning the international spotlight on the woeful living conditions of Mexico’s indigenous population.