Aug 8, 2025
Tzotzil man, Mexico, by contemporarynomad
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Tzotzil man, Mexico, by contemporarynomad
Separatist Movements in the Americas
Zapatista
Proposed state: Chiapas
Region: Chiapas, Mexico
Ethnic group: Mayans
Date: 1820s
Political parties: -
Militant organizations/advocacy groups: Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)
Current status: active
History
7000 BCE: first human occupation
250–1697 CE: Maya civilization
1522: Spanish arrival
1810–1821: Mexican War of Independence
1823: Chiapas declares independence from Mexico.
1824: declaration of the State of Chiapas
1867–1870: “caste war”
1910–1920: Mexican Revolution
1983: creation of the EZLN
1994: Zapatista uprising
1997: Acteal massacre
2005: Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle
The first human beings settled in present-day Chiapas around the seventh century BCE. The most important civilization to emerge was the Maya. The Spanish arrived in the 16th century and did not leave the region until Mexico achieved independence in 1821.
After the United Provinces of Central America were formed in 1823, some towns in Chiapas wished to join the new republic and declared independence from Mexico. However, after a referendum, Chiapas joined Mexico.
The “caste war” was a Tzotzil uprising fueled by religion that pitted Liberals against Conservatives. The poor quality of the Maya people’s farmland and their poverty led to non-violent protests, which eventually turned into an armed struggle led by the EZLN. Zapatista forces occupied several towns after NAFTA took effect. In 1997, 45 unarmed Tzotzil peasants were killed by government forces. In 2005, the Zapatistas published the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, in which they outlined their principles and vision for Mexico.
Maya People
There are around 8 million Maya people, 7 million of whom live in Guatemala. The rest of them live in Belize, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. The Tzotzil are indigenous Maya living in Chiapas. They number nearly 300,000.
They speak Tzotzil, a Mayan language, as well as Spanish. They practice a syncretic form of Catholicism that incorporates elements of their traditional religion.
Vocabulary
(Spanish - Tzotzil - English)
Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional - Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas - Skotol Yosilal Chyapas - Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas
México - Meejikoo - Mexico
lengua tzotzil - Batsʼi kʼop - Tzotzil language
pueblo tzotzil - Sotz’leb - Tzotzil people
Mexico's indigenous weavers seek international recognition
Indigenous weavers in Mexico's southern highlands are striving for rightful recognition from an international fashion industry that they say plunders their creations and tradition.
The struggle has taken on added symbolism as Mexico this month celebrates its independence with plaudits for indigenous peoples' resistance against Spanish colonization
Sitting on blankets on the ground in the courtyard of Julia Perez's house in the town of Zinacantan, weavers use traditional looms to produce fabric blending a multitude of bright colors.
"There is a fusion of our ideas so that our tradition, our culture, our fabrics are not lost," the 39-year-old Tzotzil craftswoman said.
"That's why we always use it in our designs," she said of the inspiration for the colors and patterns.
The weavers' enthusiasm belies the laborious and complex nature of their work, which requires great dexterity, Perez said.
Fabrica Social (Social Factory) is a project devoted to traditional Mexican art. More than 10 years ago, Fabrica Social recognized the quality of Perez's work and asked her to collaborate.
Since then they have followed a path of mutual learning, trust and friendship.
Under the Fabrica Social brand, the women of Zinacantan and other artisans in six Mexican states seek to improve working conditions and oppose business inequalities, through training that is more educational than commercial.
The weavers set up chairs and a table in the yard and they begin to review the basics of costs, expenses and other aspects to reach a crucial but complex goal: fair trade.
The artisans listen with enthusiasm and discuss their time and needs and the correct way to put a price on them.
"It's a tool that helps us a lot to arrive at a price for a product that is often almost invaluable," said the founder of the project after completing the workshop.
Beyond the financial value, indigenous textiles represent a cultural and historical heritage systematically used without permission by international fashion brands.
The Mexican government has demanded explanations from designers such as Venezuela's Carolina Herrera and France's Isabel Marant, as well as brands like Zara, Rapsodia and Anthropologie, for cultural misappropriation" of indigenous culture.
"It's not fair that they do this to us as indigenous people," said Perez.
Major brands' exploitation of indigenous heritage shows the asymmetry of power between transnational companies and local creators, a legacy of old "colonial regimes," founder of the project said said. "The artisans of this country and their work, their techniques and their processes should be as well-known as Carolina Herrera, Isabel Marant, Zara or Mango -- that's the real struggle. We live in an economic system that is still absolutely colonial."
Fabrica Social is one of several projects invited by the Mexican culture ministry to join the "Original" platform, which seeks to draw on their experiences to promote "ethical collaborations" between large companies and artisans.
The weavers of Zinacantan hope it will bring more respect from international brands for their talent and identity.
"We would like them to recognize our work because it is done well," said Julia's cousin Sara Perez, who has been part of the project from the start.
"It's made with all our heart and we're also working with materials made in Mexico," she said.
Blouse (Huipil), Tzotzil, 1925, Art Institute of Chicago: Arts of the Americas
Gift of Avrina Pugh Size: 66.4 x 97.2 cm (26 1/8 x 38 1/4 in.) Medium: Cotton, silk, and wool, plain weave with patterning and brocading wefts
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/37139/
An indigenous Tzotzil Maya man, texting on a phone, sits in front of the church of San Juan Bautista in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico. - Copyright © 2021 Jan Sochor Photography
In Claudia Albertina Ruiz’s indigenous Tzotzil community, she was expected to marry young and tend to the home, but chose a different path.
A bookmaking collective in San Cristobal de las Casas is helping keep the Tzotzil language alive.
Good news of the day: in Mexico, a group of indigenous women has been working for almost five decades to bring an endangered language and a century-old bookbinding technique back to life.
In 1975, Mexican-American poet Ambar Past started to translate and collect traditional poems in Tzotzil and went on to found a workshop where local women could create one-of-a-kind, environmentally sustainable books in accordance with ancient Mayan techniques.
That’s how Incantations: Songs, Spells, and Images by Mayan Women became the first book in over 400 years to be written, produced, and published by indigenous Mayas.
[learn more about this project | the Tzotzil language | the Tzotzil people | buy a paperback copy of Incantations]