In 1994, a group of indigenous people began a rebellion against the poverty of native people throughout Mexico. When the fighting was over, more than 150 people had died. The rebel group is called the Zapatista National Liberation Army, named for their hero Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919). During the early 20th century, Zapata fought against the Mexican government. Today’s Zapatistas live in the state of Chiapas in the Lacandon rain forest. Chiapas is one of the poorest states in Mexico. The goal of the Zapatistas is to gain land rights and equality for Mexico’s indigenous people.
Also during the 1990s, Nahuatl speakers in the Mexican state of Guerrero rose up to defend their rights. People in several towns along the Balsas River joined together to fight the building of a dam that would have destroyed their homes. They won their battle, and the group that led the effort is still fighting for the indigenous people of the area. Unlike the Zapatistas, however, they have used legal means in their struggle, not violence.
In 2001, newly elected Mexican president Vicente Fox (b. 1942) tried to address the concerns of the country’s indigenous people. He recommended immediate changes in the Mexican constitution to protect the rights of Nahuatl speakers and others. Mexico’s Congress, however, passed a law that did not give the protesters all that they wanted. The new law, for example, made it hard for indigenous people to create their own governments if they had groups who live in more than one state. Mexico’s indigenous
World History
