Emiliano Zapata

Peasant leader from Morelos who, with the Plan of Ayala and the slogan "Land and Liberty," became the symbol of Mexican land reform.

Life

Village representative

Zapata was born into a smallholding farm family in the village of Anenecuilco, Morelos. In the late 19th century, the sugarcane plantations of Morelos kept expanding, swallowing up village land and water. As a young man Zapata made his living training horses, and in 1909 the villagers elected him village representative, responsible for using colonial-era land titles to fight for the village's land.

Plan of Ayala

When Madero called for the overthrow of Díaz in 1910, Zapata rose in revolt in the south in support. But once in power, Madero did not promptly return the land and instead demanded that the peasant army disarm. In November 1911 Zapata issued the Plan of Ayala, refusing to recognize Madero and demanding that land, forests and water seized by the haciendas be returned to the villages, and that part of the great estates be expropriated and distributed to landless peasants.

Ambush and legacy

He went on to fight the Huerta regime and then the Carranza government, and at the end of 1914 he entered Mexico City together with Villa from the north. In April 1919 he was lured into a trap and killed by Carranza's government troops at the Chinameca hacienda. Zapata did not live to see land reform fully carried out, but Article 27 of the 1917 Constitution and the large-scale land distribution of the later Cárdenas era both carried on his ideas.

Legacy

Zapata was the most steadfast champion of land reform in the Mexican Revolution. He insisted on returning land to the village communities and refused to compromise with any regime that failed to deliver land reform. He is seen as a symbol of peasant and Indigenous rights, and his ideas were later partly embodied in Article 27 of the 1917 Constitution and in the land distribution of the Cárdenas era. Critics argue that his movement was confined to the corner of Morelos and lacked a national program. The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, which rose up in Chiapas in 1994, is named after him.

Major works & achievements

• Rose in the South in support of Madero
• Issued the Plan of Ayala
• Rallied under "Land and Liberty"
• Entered Mexico City with Villa in 1914

Key dates

• 1879Born in Anenecuilco, Morelos
• 1909Elected village representative
• 1910Rose in support of Madero
• 1911Issued the Plan of Ayala
• 1914Entered Mexico City with Villa
• 1919Killed in an ambush at Chinameca