The Struggle of EZNL In Modern Mexico
Introduction
In so few words, the Zapatistas are a people united in the struggle for the rights and dignity of the indigenous people of Mexico. They are a group composed of the natives to the land of the state of Chiapas, the southernmost and poorest state in Mexico, which primarily consists of the tribes of the Mayan peoples. The conditions that these indigenous people live in are a testament to the injustices caused by the spread of colonialism and capitalism and the blind eye that its institutions and governments have turned to the people who inhabit the land from which its profits are made. The suffering has given these people a voice, and the collective struggle has given rise to an organized army of the people: the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). The motives, actions, and origins of the EZLN are either misinterpreted or misunderstood by many. Often times my research has uncovered contradictions as to the purpose of this group, which shows that they are not fully known on a larger scale. However, their methods of non-violence after some initial violent uprisings have led to their sustenance, and the message they preach is spreading throughout the world and gaining them much support. They are both War and Peace in their existence, and in their ends have stated that they will bring War in order to finally attain Peace. What follows is a brief introduction to the setting of which the EZLN was born: the history of Mexico, the conditions and peoples of Chiapas, the shrouded origins of the EZLN, and the legend of the man from which they took their name: Emiliano Zapata. Following this is an account of the uprising that announced their presence to Mexico and the worl...
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...municados. Ediciones Era, Mexico. 2003
VIDEO RECORDINGS
Storm from the mountain: Zapatistas take Mexico City [videorecordng]. Colombo, Santiago. Big Noise Films, New York. 2001.
The Silence of the Zapatistas. [videorecording]. Paco. Chiapas Media Project, Chicago. 2001.
WEB RESOURCES
http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/mexico/0311Zap_March.htm
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico/ezln/2000/fzln_10thesis_july.html
http://www.geocities.com/alt_politics/EZLN.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EZLN
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico4.html
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chiapaslink.ukgateway.net/Mexicomap.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.chiapaslink.ukgateway.net/ch0.html&h=384&w=492&sz=51&tbnid=TNzEGG5d_Z4J:&tbnh=99&tbnw=126&start=19&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmexico,%2Bchiapas,%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN
Corchado, Alfredo, Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey Through a Country's Descent into Darkness , 2013, Penguin Press
Miguel Melendez’s book, “We Took the Streets” provides the reader with an insightful account into the activities of the Young Lords movement established in the latter years of the 1960s and remained active up until the early seventies. The book’s, which is essentially Melendez’s memoir, a recollection of the events, activities, and achievements of the Young Lords. The author effectively presents to the reader a fascinating account of the formation of the Young Lords which was a group of college students from Puerto Rico who came together in a bid to fight for some of the basic rights. As Melendez sums it up, “You either claim your history or lose authority over your future” (Melendez 23). The quote is in itself indicative of the book’s overall
A growing affluent class called upon the Diaz regime and imported architects to construct buildings in the Zocalo to reflect a “proper” image that drew on influences from Europe and the United States. Johns recognizes the architectural dependence of the influential Mexicans constructing Mexico City when he states, “Mexican architecture, on the other hand, was an expression of a city run by a people who were looking to create their own culture while entirely dependent on the industry and ideas of Europe and America” (22). The same construction that the elite felt was a celebration of a newfound dignity in the Mexican people was criticized, by visitors and locals alike, as grandiose and a futile effort to shield the native roots of a circle of imposters. Johns’s argues that the “Mexicans knew little of their adopted European tradition, had acquired even less of its taste, and enjoyed none of its tranquility” (23). While the influence on the Westside led to development, the squalor and lack of authority of the peasants on the Eastside created mesones, or as Johns described them, “…a little more than ‘a bare spot to lie down in, a grass mat, company with (the) vermin that squalor breeds…’” (48). Politics on the Westside of the Zocalo were concerned little with the living conditions of the majority. No one would undertake the unglamorous task of assisting the poor, but rather they attempted to veil the masses in the shadow of their refined buildings and recent assumption of culture.
...Morelos seemed at a permanent stalemate. Carranza knew that he could never fully take Mexico while Zapata was still alive and in charge of his army. To rid himself of his enemy, Carranza devised a trap. A letter had been intercepted in which Zapata invited a colonel of the Mexican army who had shown leanings toward his cause to meet and join forces. This colonel, Jesús Guajardo, under the threat of being executed as a traitor, pretended to agree to meet Zapata and defect to his side. On Thursday, April 10, 1919, Zapata walked into Carranza's trap as he met with Guajardo in the town of Chinameca. There, at 2:10 PM, Zapata was shot and killed by federal soldiers, and as the man Zapata hit the ground, dead instantly, the legend of Zapata reached its climax. Carranza did not achieve his goal by killing Zapata. On the contrary, in May of 1920, Álvaro Obregón, one of Zapata's right-hand men, entered the capital with a large fighting force of Zapatistas, and after Carranza had fled, formed the seventy-third government in Mexico's history of independence. In this government, the Zapatistas played an important role, especially in the Department of Agriculture. Mexico was finally at peace.
For the 71 years that the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was in power, Mexico saw great political, social and economic upheaval. This can be seen in the evolution of the PRI party, whose reign over Mexican society came at the expense of true democracy. “A party designed for power, the PRI's mechanisms for success involved a combination of repressive measures. The party professed no specific ideology, enabling it to adapt to changing social, economic and political forces over time. It attached itself virtually all aspects of civil society, and in this way, it become the political extension and tool of the government.” In 2000, however, the PRI’s loss of its monopoly on political power and institutional corruption gave rise to inter-cartel violence that was created in the political void left after the PAN won the national presidential election. These conditions gave rise to the Zetas: a new type of cartel that changed the operational structure of previous drug cartels. The Zetas operate in a new militant structure associated with a higher brand of violence, which has led it to branch out beyond a traditional drug smuggling enterprise common under the PRI government. Simply put, the electoral defeat of the PRI in 2000 was supposed to usher in a more democratic era in Mexican politics. Instead, the PRI party’s defeat created a state of chaos that gave rise to inter-cartel violence and the birth of the Zetas cartel.
In In the summer of 1968, Mexico was experiencing the beginning of a new student movement. The students sought liberal reform from the political system in Mexico. These students were determined to reveal the realities of poverty and misery and corruption in their country. (Guttmann) They were involved in different movements that would lead up to one event that would change the lives of everyone, “The Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968”. A day that ended the lives and shattered the dreams of many people. This event was the confirmation that the government could not be trusted and their lives would be determined by the actions they would take. This day would be brushed underneath the carpet and never spoken about for the sake
The Civil Rights Era became a time in American history when people began to reach for racial equality. The main aim of the movement had been to end racial segregation, exploitation, and violence toward minorities in the United States. Prior to the legislation that Congress passed; minorities faced much discrimination in all aspects of their lives. Lynchings and hanging...
If you want a general history of the Mexican Revolution because you are just beginning to think about the subject, if you are looking for concise explanations, then this is not the book you need. ZAPATA AND THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION is for college courses on Latin American history, or for the scholar who wants every detail in Zapata's long struggle, for the person who wants to know what the peasants and small town dwellers of the state of Morelos went through in the first two decades of the twentieth century. The work is impressive, not only for its vast wealth of detail, but for its compassion and sympathy for the aims of those people who made tremendous sacrifices for their cause.
When we hear discussions or read articles about drug wars, killings, and illegal immigration into the United States, many of us immediately think of Mexico. As a nation, Mexico is a much greater country than these commonly referred to issues. Mexico is a country with a broad history, deep family culture, and an economy fueled by oil and tourism. The United States Department of State (USDS) offers a broad range of information on countries outside the US, including Mexico. I found a wealth of information about Mexico through the USDS Background Note provided on their website located at www.state.gov. I will outline for you the key information found in this report, and others, related to the Mexican economy, culture, and more.
The Mexican Revolution began November 20th, 1910. It is disputable that it extended up to two decades and seized more than 900,000 lives. This revolution, however, also ended dictatorship in Mexico and restored the rights of farm workers, or peons, and its citizens. Revolutions are often started because a large group of individuals want to see a change. These beings decided to be the change that they wanted to see and risked many things, including their lives. Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata are the main revolutionaries remembered. These figures of the revolution took on the responsibility that came with the title. Their main goal was to regain the rights the people deserved. The peons believed that they deserved the land that they labored on. These workers rose up in a vehement conflict against those opposing and oppressing them. The United States was also significantly affected by this war because anybody who did not want to fight left the country and migrated north. While the end of the revolution may be considered to be in the year of 1917 with the draft of a new constitution, the fighting did not culminate until the 1930’s.
From the beginning when the Weird Sisters told Macbeth of his future, he was motivated. Additionally, Lady Macbeth’s selfish thoughts on living a noble life forced Macbeth into sticking up to his promises. Lastly, Macbeth’s strong desires prevented him from making the right decisions, therefore leading to his downfall. This tragic play simplifies what is to be elected from intentional mistakes, known as karma. After all, lessons must be learnt, whether they end positively or
After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...
In regards to the history of abortion, it is known to have been performed for thousands of years, and in every society that it had been studied. From the time when the earliest settlers arrived, it had been legal in the Unites States. Abortions before "quickening" had been openly advertised and were commonly performed, at the time the Constitution was adopted. Throughout the 1880's, all surgical procedures had been extremely risky, as hospitals were not common, antiseptics were unknown, and even those most respected as doctors had only primitive educations. There are two types of abortion in the Unites States: an in-clinic abortion and the abortion pill (plannedparenthood.org). In a way, a number of states (such as Idaho, Iowa, etc.) have exercised abortion. However, such states had established abortion laws which have put women's health and freedom in danger. (alternet.org)
In 1910, the first social upheaval of the 20th century was unleashed in Mexico. Known as the Mexican Revolution, its historical importance and impact inspired an abundance of internationally renowned South American authors. Mariano Azuela is one of these, whose novel, "The Underdogs" is often described as a classic of modern Hispanic literature. Having served as a doctor under Pancho Villa, a revolutionary leader of the era, Azuela's experience in the Revolution provides The Underdogs with incomparable authenticity of the political and social tendencies of the era between 1910 and 1920. The Underdogs recounts the living conditions of the Mexican peasants, the corruption of the government troops, and the revolutionary zeal behind the inspiring causes of the revolution. In vivid detail and honest truth, Azuela reveals the actuality of the extent of turmoil that plagued Mexico and its people during the revolution. However, before one can acknowledge The Underdogs as a reflection of the Mexican Revolution one must have an understanding the political state of Mexico prior to the Revolution and the presidents who reigned during it.
Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...