Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional

On January 1, 1994, the very day NAFTA came into effect, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) launched an armed uprising in Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state, demanding democracy, land, and rights for Indigenous communities.

The date was chosen deliberately as a protest against the free trade agreement. The movement is named after the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata; be careful not to confuse ‘Zapatista’ with ‘Zapotec’, which is an Indigenous people of Oaxaca.