Revolutionary Law in Chiapas, Mexico: A New Generation of Mayan Women Plan Their Future | Truthout

9.12.11

Revolutionary Law in Chiapas, Mexico: A New Generation of Mayan Women Plan Their Future | Truthout: Since 1994, Mexico’s Zapatista movement has expanded well beyond the borders of the country’s southernmost and poorest state of Chiapas. In many ways, the factors that started and now sustain the movement are similar to those of other resistance movements characterized by human rights violations, lack of access to health care and education, gender inequality, and a variety of land disputes. However, one differentiating aspect of the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberaci�n Nacional (EZLN) movement has been its female leadership. Even before EZLN forces entered the city of San Crist�bal de las Casas on the morning of January 1, 1994 to protest against Mexico’s membership to NAFTA, the women of Chiapas had set off an indigenous rights movement more powerful than anyone could imagine at the time. The vision and dedication with which these indigenous rebels advocated the EZLN ideals exposed the rest of the world to the movement in the jungle of Chiapas.