Zapatista Movement Analysis

Living in a first world country with many privileges often times allows society to turn their heads and not see the battles that third world countries have to go through daily. The challenges that people of Latin America face do not directly affect common Americans in fact in ways it benefits them therefore it is easily ignored. Currently there is and has been many social movements and social change in Latin America that are against multi transnational and national corporations. The poor and indigenous people cannot choose to ignore or overlook the struggles because it affects them every minute every day. Movements like the Zapatistas, Via Campesina, Indigenous movements in Bolivia and Ecuador, the rise of urban media in Venezuela have sought …show more content…
As the trade liberation was being discussed and people were signing NAFTA the Zapatistas opposed the agreement. Indigenous communities knew that NAFTA would not help them but would increase the gap between the rich and the poor. Their lifes “were worth less than those of machines or animals. [They] were like stones, like weeds in the road. [They] were silenced” and it would only get worse with the agreement hence they were left with no other alternative than to arm themselves. Their lifes were not valued they did not exist except for the sole purpose of providing cheap labor to big corporates. They were targeted as the means of production for first world countries. If they continued to allow corporations to take advantage of them they would have continued to be voiceless. Acknowledging and understanding the consequences that NAFTA would bring upon indigenous communities allowed them to give value to their own lifes to give a face to the faceless and a voice to the voiceless. They made their voice be heard by arming themselves and although many may argue that the guns gave them negative media coverage arms were their way of being heard. Arms do connote violence and in a way hinder them because it prevents them from gaining more supporters and having people in solidarity be it as it may be the government wouldn’t have listened to them wouldn’t have taken them seriously. Also, they used their poetic language to connect with others, which made them cross boarders and gain wide support. Another important aspect was that they integrated women in their struggle. Accordingly, by including/empowering women it not only gave them more numbers but also proved true to their proposed form of governance. Subsequently while they were fighting for a more democratic government they were using black wool masks to cover their faces and to make an