Emiliano Zapata is a very important figure in Mexican history. He was born in 1879 in Anenecuilco, Mexico. He was a son of a mestizo peasant who would train and sell horses. In 1897, he was part of a protest where peasants of his village were fighting against a hacienda that had taken over their land which caused him to get arrested. After he had gotten pardoned he still kept getting the peasants to continue fighting for their land but this only got him into more trouble and they made him serve in the army.
In 1909, the people from his village and his followers elected him as their leader and thought he was fit to be president of the board which would defend their village. Although Zapata was trying to approach the situations with the landowners in an appropriate manner, things didn’t turn out as he wanted and it led to him and his followers taking land by force and distributing it among themselves.
When the revolution began in 1910, he created an army of peasants and they had the slogan, “Land and Liberty”. Zapata believed that everyone should be entitled to have their own land and make sure that their land was protected, in order for others not to take over and claim it as theirs. Zapata and his followers went against the Mexican government but never really took over such positions of power, they instead redistributed land and helped poor farmers that were in their area.
Zapata was killed in Morelos, Mexico by government forces but his influence continued. Zapatismo is an agrarian reform movement that still remains very important to many people in Mexico.
Works Cited:
Alba, Victor. “Emiliano Zapata.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., April 6, 2021.
“Revolutionary Leader Emiliano Zapata Assassinated in Mexico.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, July 20, 2010.
By:Penelophe Pintor
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