The June 2026 monthly meeting of International Labour Network were pleased to welcome Peter Russet (cademic author, activist, and researcher based in Chiapas, Mexico) and Dr Lia Pinheiro Barbosa (activist and professor of sociology at the State University of Ceará (UECE) based in Fortaleza, Brazil) who gave an interesting presentation on the history of the Mayan Zapatista insurgency, tracing how an Indigenous uprising burst forth from southern Mexico’s Lacandon Jungle in the early 1990’s.
The Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, or “EZLN” (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) was founded on November 17, 1983. The movement is named after Emiliano Zapata Salazar,a Mexican revolutionary and leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920.
In January 1994, in the poorest region of the country, EZLN declared war against the Mexican state. A rebelliion that was staged against neo-liberal policies that stripped poor and indigenous Mexicans of rights, land, and social agency
Zapatistas describe themselves as a decentralized organization. It is claimed that the group has no single leader. Political decisions are deliberated and decided in community assemblies. Military and organizational matters are decided by the Zapatista area elders who compose the General Command (Revolutionary Indigenous Clandestine Committee – General Command, or CCRI-CG).
Whilst originally an armed military, for the past 30 years it hasbeen estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 armed combatants remain, but the main thrust of the Zapatista movement is towards autonomy, to build and maintain their own health, education, and sustainable agro-ecological systems, promote equitable gender relations via Women’s Revolutionary Law, and build international solidarity through outreach and political communication, in addition to their focus on building “a world where many worlds fit”.
We hope to have a video available of the presentation, questions and answers.
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