Zapata of Mexico

By Peter E. Newell

Book Overview

Emiliano Zapata, hero of the Mexican Revolution that overthrew the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship in 1910, died a victim of that revolution. With his call for 'land and liberty', Zapata helped make and shape the revolution. The governments that followed the toppling of the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship (1877-1910), while professing a commitment to the country's campesinos (peasantry or farmworkers), fell short of meeting the demands of the zapatistas for land and political freedom. In the end, the campesino general became an outlaw in the post- revolutionary state. Ten years after he took up arms to defend the campesinos of his home state of Morelos, Zapata was assassinated by government emissaries in 1919. But his murder did not silence Zapata's Liberation Army of the South. Instead, cries of Viva Zapata emboldened the Zapatistas in their struggle to win back control of ancestral community lands. Even after the original zapatistas put away their guns, Zapata's name continued to inspire campesino militancy. Whenever campesinos have gathered to seek land or confront the State, the image and the name of Emiliano Zapata has been present. Campesino militants inevitably invoke his legacy to build support for their own causes. In the history of the campesino struggles, the memory of Zapata has never died. How this came about, and why it continues to be is the subject of this book. Zapata describes what Emiliano Zapata worked towards and what he and his companeros actually achieved in Morelos and southern Mexico between 1910 and 1920. It also includes a short account of the evolution of the ejidos and common lands of Mexico.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551640724
• ISBN13: 9781551640723
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: Black Rose Books
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Very informative

Peter Newell gives us a good look at the impact that Zapata had on the Mexican Revolution. He shows us that Zapata was a man of honor and respect who unlike the other key figures of the revolution was not interested in ruling the people, but instead wanted to serve them. His battle was for one thing only, that the poor of Mexico have a better chance of having a good life. In this short book, Newell does show us this, and also shows us how all the different factions at one time or another betrayed him, or didn't take him seriously. That was the downfall of some of this men. He also tells of the historic meeting between Zapata and Villa and gives a detailed description of what transcribed. Of the two, Zapata was the one who kept true to the aims of the revolution and that is why he is still a symbol of resistence to the poor of Mexico today.