The EZLN’s First Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle was released (dated Dec. 31, 1993), framing the movement’s public emergence and its call to confront Mexico’s political order on the eve of the NAFTA era.
On the day NAFTA took effect, the EZLN began an armed uprising, occupying several Chiapas towns (including San Cristóbal de las Casas, Ocosingo, Altamirano, and Las Margaritas) and drawing global attention to Indigenous rights, land, and democracy.
After nearly two weeks of combat between the Mexican security forces and the EZLN, a ceasefire was brokered, shifting the conflict toward negotiation and longer-term political struggle.
Formal peace talks began in San Cristóbal de las Casas, with mediation by Bishop Samuel Ruiz and government negotiator Manuel Camacho Solís, marking a major early attempt to resolve the Chiapas rebellion politically.
The EZLN established the first Aguascalientes (a civil-society encounter and dialogue space) at Guadalupe Tepeyac, reflecting the movement’s pivot toward organizing, political communication, and national/international civil society engagement.
The Mexican government and the EZLN signed the San Andrés Accords in San Andrés Larráinzar, setting out commitments on Indigenous rights and autonomy; disputes over implementation later became a central grievance of the movement.
Forty-five members of the pacifist Indigenous organization Las Abejas were killed while praying in Acteal (Chenalhó, Chiapas), a landmark atrocity in the broader Chiapas conflict and a symbol of paramilitary violence surrounding the post-1994 period.
An EZLN delegation, including Subcomandante Marcos and other commanders, arrived to mass استقبال in Mexico City’s Zócalo as part of the March of the Color of the Earth, pressing for constitutional recognition of Indigenous rights and autonomy.
Comandanta Esther spoke before the Mexican Congress, a high-profile moment of Indigenous women’s leadership within the EZLN’s political strategy and the broader campaign for Indigenous rights legislation.
The EZLN launched the Caracoles and Juntas de Buen Gobierno (Good Government Councils), reorganizing Zapatista autonomy and governance structures to coordinate regional self-government and relations with outside actors.
The EZLN issued the Sixth Declaration, outlining an explicitly anti-capitalist program and calling for new alliances beyond Chiapas—an ideological and organizational pivot that set the stage for a national political initiative.
As part of the Sixth Declaration’s strategy, Subcomandante Marcos (as Delegado Zero) launched La Otra Campaña, aiming to build a non-electoral national movement by listening to and linking struggles “from below and on the left.”
The EZLN opened the first session of the Little Zapatista School (Escuelita)—a structured program hosting participants in Zapatista communities to teach practices and principles of autonomy (with classes beginning Aug. 12, 2013).
Following the killing of Zapatista teacher José Luis Solís López (“Galeano”), Marcos announced the end of the public persona “Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos” and continued under the name Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano.
A communiqué signed by Subcomandante Moisés announced the dissolution of long-standing Zapatista “autonomous municipalities” (MAREZ) and related structures, while indicating Caracoles would continue operating (with restricted access amid heightened regional violence).
The EZLN and supporters marked 30 years since the 1994 uprising with a major gathering in Chiapas, highlighting generational renewal and reaffirming autonomy claims in a context of increased insecurity and shifting governance structures.
Zapatista uprising and the EZLN movement in Chiapas (1994–present)
