Zapatistas Celebrate 15 Years Since Chiapas Uprising

It was 15 years ago that the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional began a new era in grassroots struggles in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas.

The Zapatistas made themselves known and linked the poverty that exists among the communities of Chiapas to the global economy the same day that NAFTA went into effect, January 1, 1994. The EZLN took a revolutionary approach against the Mexican government to reclaim indigenous rights in the area and while the Mexican mainstream media focuses on how no official agreement between the Zapatistas and Mexico's government has been reached since the San Andres Accords, that acknowledged some Indigenous rights, the ELZN was successful in creating 32 autonomous areas and building a movement that has global support.

Sources : Global Voices, VivirMexico, el Universal