The Zapatista Uprising and the Struggle for Indigenous Autonomy

Abstract

Discusses the struggle for full citizenship and autonomy waged by Mexico's indigenous population from January 1994, when the Mexican government declared a ceasefire in the battle with the Zapatistas (EZLN), until the formation in August 2003 of the Juntas de Buen Gobierno (JBG's), bodies coordinating the Zapatista civil population's structures of self-government, or autonomous municipalities, which operate parallel to existing municipalities. The indigenous population's struggle for rights has advanced along two avenues. The first, legal reform, led to the San Andrés accords, which were signed on 16 February 1996 and established the recognition of various indigenous rights. However, the opportunity that the Accords presented for the indigenous movement and the Zapatistas was ultimately lost when the government exhibited a lack of commitment and limited legal reform was implemented in April 2001. Circumventing legal recognition, the second avenue of struggle has centered on indigenous "autonomy in practice," which was achieved through the establishment of the autonomous municipalities. Autonomy became the focus of the indigenous struggle when the legal battle became mired in a stalemate. The autonomous municipalities and JBG's have functioned effectively and enjoy legitimacy with a wide swath of Mexican society. Still, this strategy is costly in terms of efforts and resources.