Voices of Mexico no. 27

Our Voice

The uprising of poverty-stricken Indian peasants at the beginning of the year has had domestic and international repercussions. All eyes were to have been turned to NAFTA, then coming into effect; instead they focused on the armed rebellion of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).
The campesinos of Chiapas, who since the time of the Spanish Conquest have suffered pillage, abuse, neglect and death, took the narre of the peasant hero Emiliano Zapata, who rose up in arms in 1910 in the state of Morelos under the slogans "Land and Freedom" and "Bread for All." The demands which led to that revolution remain unfulfilled; while there has been significant progress in Mexico, it has not spread throughout the nation.
At the beginning there was an effort to crush the armed revolt in Chiapas through force. Armed clashes and aerial bombings shook public opinion not only in Mexico but throughout the world. Fortunately a ceasefire was declared and peace negotiations begun. In eight days of talks, 34 demands were put forward, with point-by-point answers to each. It is noteworthy that this dialogue was achieved in such a short period of time.