Zapatismo
Zapatismois the armed movement identified with the ideas ofEmiliano Zapata,one of the leaders of theMexican Revolution,reflected mainly in thePlan of Ayala(1911). The members of theLiberation Army of the Southled by Zapata were known as "Zapatistas". Zapatismo is a form ofagrarian socialism.
Philosophy
[edit]Zapatismo is primarily concerned withland reformand land redistribution according to the Plan of Ayala and the Agrarian Law written in 1915, signed by Manuel Palafox. Such documents confirmed the right of the citizen to be able to possess and cultivate the land, that lands were to be fairly returned to indigenous peasant farmers, villages were to retain the right to maintainejidos.[1]This was a direct response to the encroachment faced during thePorfiriato.The Zapatistas and many rural peasants opposedPorfirio Díaz's efforts at land privatization of previously communal lands because the small plots hindered the ability to plant enoughmaizeandstaple cropsto survive the year.[2]Zapatismo called for a broader better system in which land claims can be processed and collective lands can be returned to their respective communities.
The motto of Zapatismo "Liberty, Justice, and Law," later altered to "Reform, Liberty, Justice, and Law," is believed to have been borrowed, if not heavily influenced byRicardo Flores Magón's anarchist newspaperRegeneración.It reflected the popular phrase used by theMexican Liberal Party,"Tierra y Libertad,"in English,"Land and Liberty."[1][3]
Zapatismo is also associated withbanditry.It was a common tactic for Zapatista forces to ransack the wealthy land-owning elite in Mexico. Banditry within troops would become an increasing problem, something thatFrancisco I. Maderowould call out and use as a slight against Zapata and Zapatismo as a whole. Fearing the ramifications of having a reputation as a bandit, Zapata would attempt to enforce rules barring troops from looting the poor.[1][3]
Mexican Revolution
[edit]The ideals of Zapatismo spread throughout Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, but the army was localized in the state of Morelos and subsequently, Zapatismo ideals were mostly practiced and enforced just in the state of Morelos.[4]The ideals of Zapatismo were mocked and frowned upon byFrancisco I. Madero,who gave permission for the Plan of Ayala to be published so that, "everyone will know how crazy that Zapata is." Zapatismo clashed with the ideologies ofVenustiano Carranzaand Francisco I. Madero because it was antithetical to the idea that the Mexican Revolution was the creation of the urban working class.[1]
Zapatismo would have an influence on the 1917 Mexican Constitution due to the sheer number of radical delegates at theConstitutional Convention of Querétaro.Article 27in particular would accomplish one of the many goals of Zapatismo. It mandated the return of the lands that wereprivatizedand taken under the control of Porfirio Díaz. It also stated that land can be taken away if it wasn't put to good use and be given to the public instead. Article 123 included labor rights for all workers, child labor laws, and laws protecting women in the workplace.[5]
After Emiliano Zapata's Assassination
[edit]
Zapatismo continued after the assassination of Emiliano Zapata in 1919. Many of the remaining Zapatistas continued to fight Venustiano Carranza's forces, others surrendered peacefully in exchange for amnesties.[1]In 1920,Álvaro Obregónsided with the Zapatistas in a coup against Venustiano Carranza's government. This led to the installation of agrarian reforms in the state of Morelos.[6]
Emiliano Zapata became a national hero after his death. The face of Emiliano Zapata became representative of Zapatismo as a whole and his image would be called upon whenever land reform was brought to the table.
After Mexico signed theNorth American Free Trade Agreement,theZapatista Army of National Liberation(EZLN) would declare war on the Mexican government. Their ideology (Neozapatismo) would be similar to the original Zapatismo of the Mexican Revolution but includes additional feminist andanti-neoliberalsentiments.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdeWomack, John (1970).Zapata and the Mexican Revolution.A Vintage book, V-627. New York: Vintage Books.ISBN978-0-394-70853-9.
- ^Craib, Raymond B. (2004-11-01),Cartographic Mexico: A History of State Fixations and Fugitive Landscapes,Duke University Press,ISBN978-0-8223-8594-3
- ^abBrunk, Samuel (1996).""The Sad Situation of Civilians and Soldiers": The Banditry of Zapatismo in the Mexican Revolution ".The American Historical Review.101(2): 331–353.doi:10.2307/2170394.ISSN0002-8762.
- ^Garza, Hisauro A. (Summer 1979). "Political Economy and Change: The Zapatista Agrarian Revolutionary Movement".Rural Sociology.44(2): 281–306 – via EBSCO.
- ^Oficial, Diario."The Constitution of 1917 - The Mexican Revolution and the United States | Exhibitions - Library of Congress".www.loc.gov.Retrieved2024-05-02.
- ^Russell, Phillip (2011).The History of Mexico: From Pre-Conquest to Present.Routledge.
- ^"The Zapatista Movement: The Fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico".Australian Institute of International Affairs.Retrieved2024-04-29.