{{Short description|Rebellious area in Chiapas, Mexico}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Zapatista territories
| native_name = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|16|55|33|N|92|45|37|W|type:city}}
| motto = {{native name|es|Aquí manda el Pueblo y el Gobierno Obedece}}<br/>"Here the people command and the government obeys"{{force singular}}
| anthem = {{ill|Himno Zapatista|es|Himno zapatista}}
| image_flag = Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, Flag.svg
| flag_size = 150px
| image_map = Mexico_Chiapas_neozapatista_map.svg
| map_caption = Territory partially or totally controlled by the [[Zapatista Army of National Liberation]]
| p1 = <!--Chiapas{{!}}Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas-->
| population_est = 300,000<ref>{{cite web |last=Vidal |first=John |date=17 February 2018 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/17/mexico-zapatistas-rebels-24-years-mountain-strongholds |title=Mexico's Zapatista rebels, 24 years on and defiant in mountain strongholds |work=[[The Guardian]] |issn=1756-3224 |access-date=8 November 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Innes |first=Erin |date=17 February 2018 |url=https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/we-dont-need-permission-to-be-free |title="We don't need permission to be free": Women Zapatistas and the "modernization" of NAFTA |work=[[Briarpatch]]|issn=0703-8968 |access-date=8 November 2023 }}</ref>
| pop_est_as_of = 2018
| population_demonym = {{lang|es|zapatista}}<br>{{lang|es|neozapatista}}<br>{{lang|es|chiapaneco}}
| government_type = <!--[[Anarchism|Stateless]] [[Socialism|socialist]] [[confederation]]{{citation needed|date=February 2026|reason=None of these descriptors are verified by the article body.}}-->
}}

The '''Zapatista territories'''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/1/1/zapatistas-the-war-with-no-breath |title=Zapatistas: The war with no breath? |first=Chris |last=Arsenault |work=[[Al Jazeera English]] |date=2011-01-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.internationaleonline.org/contributions/echoes-of-zapatismo-outside-chiapas/ |title=Echoes of Zapatismo outside Chiapas |first=Alessandra |last=Pomarico |work=Internationale |date=2022-11-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://academic.oup.com/isagsq/article/4/3/ksae072/7824740 |title=A World of Many Walks? Zapatista World Ordering between Center and Margins |first=Christine |last=Unrau |journal=[[Global Studies Quarterly]] |volume=4 |issue=3 |date=2024-10-17 |at=ksae072 |doi=10.1093/isagsq/ksae072 |doi-access=free }}</ref> are a ''de facto'' [[autonomous territory|autonomous region]] controlled or partially controlled by [[neozapatismo|neo-Zapatista]] support bases in [[Chiapas]], [[Mexico]]. They have existed since the [[Zapatista uprising]] in 1994 and are part of the wider [[Chiapas conflict]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reyes Godelmann |first=Iker |date=30 July 2014 |title=The Zapatista Movement: The Fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico |url=https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/news-item/the-zapatista-movement-the-fight-for-indigenous-rights-in-mexico/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250117232611/https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/news-item/the-zapatista-movement-the-fight-for-indigenous-rights-in-mexico/ |archive-date=17 January 2025 |access-date= |publisher=[[Australian Institute of International Affairs]]}}</ref>

From 1994 to 2003, the Zapatista territories were structured as regional community centers called Aguascalientes. In 2003, the Aguascalientes were replaced by Centers of Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion (CRAREZ),<ref name="Moises2019">{{cite web |last=Moisés |first=Subcomandante Insurgente |date=17 August 2019 |title=Communique from the EZLN's CCRI-CG And, We Broke the Siege |url=https://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2019/08/20/communique-from-the-ezlns-ccri-cg-and-we-broke-the-siege/ |access-date=8 November 2023 |work=[[Zapatista Army of National Liberation|Enlace Zapatista]]}}</ref> a term coined in 2019, which consisted of ''Caracoles'' as community centers, over local formations (until 2023) as the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ) governed by Councils of Good Government ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''{{lang|es-MX|Juntas de Buen Gobierno}}'').<ref name=":3">{{cite web |author=Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos |date=July 2003 |title=Chiapas: La treceava estela |url=https://palabra.ezln.org.mx/comunicados/2003/2003_07_e.htm |website=Cartas y comunicados del EZLN}}</ref>

In 2023, after increased cartel violence, the EZLN announced the dissolution of the CRAREZ and its sub-formations, replacing them with Local Autonomous Governments (GAL) within local Zapatista Autonomous Government Collectives (CGAZ) and regional Assemblies of Collectives of Zapatista Autonomous Governments (ACGAZ).<ref name="Ninth">{{Cite web |author=Insurgent Subcommander Moisés |date=2023-11-13 |title=Ninth Part: The new structure of Zapastista Autonomy |url=https://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/2023/11/13/ninth-part-the-new-structure-of-zapastista-autonomy/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Enlace Zapatista}}</ref> Despite attempts at negotiation with the [[Mexican Government|Mexican government]] which resulted in the [[San Andrés Accords]] in 1996, the region's autonomy remains unrecognized by it.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Villegas|first=Paulina|date=2017-08-26|title=In a Mexico 'Tired of Violence,' Zapatista Rebels Venture Into Politics|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/26/world/americas/mexico-zapatista-subcommander-marcos.html|access-date=2020-05-07|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The [[Zapatista Army of National Liberation]] (EZLN) does not hold formal political power in Zapatista governance. According to its constitution, no commander or member of the ''Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee'' may take positions of authority or government in these spaces.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gloria Muñóz Ramírez |title=20 y 10 el fuego y la palabra. |year=2003 |publisher=Revista Rebeldía y Demos, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V. La Jornada Ediciones.}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Expand section|date=March 2025}}

=== Zapatista uprising ===
On 1 January 1994, thousands of EZLN members occupied towns and cities in Chiapas, burning down police stations, occupying government buildings, and skirmishing with the Mexican army. The EZLN demanded "work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice, and peace" in their communities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Muñóz Ramírez|first=Gloria|year=2008|title=The Fire and the Word: A History of the Zapatista Movement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fkMAQAAMAAJ|pages=22|translator-first1=Laura|translator-last1=Carlsen|translator-first2=Alejandro|translator-last2=Reyes Arias|publisher=[[City Lights Bookstore|City Lights]]|isbn=978-0-87286-488-7|lccn=2007052477}}</ref> The Zapatistas seized over a million acres from large landowners during their revolution.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Grubačić|first1=Andrej|author-link1=Andrej Grubačić|last2=O'Hearn|first2=Denis|author-link2=Denis O'Hearn|year=2016|chapter=Zapatistas|title=Living at the Edges of Capitalism: Adventures in Exile and Mutual Aid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raowDwAAQBAJ|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=9780520287303|lccn=2015036704|jstor=10.1525/j.ctv1xxx8z|page=129}}</ref>

=== Reorganization in 2003 ===
In 2003, the Aguascalientes were replaced by Centers of Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion (CRAREZ),<ref name="Moises2019" /> a term coined in 2019, which consisted of ''Caracoles'' as community centers, over local formations (until 2023) as the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ) governed by Councils of Good Government ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''{{lang|es-MX|Juntas de Buen Gobierno}}'').<ref name=":3" />

=== COVID-19 pandemic ===
{{See also|COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico}}
COVID triggered a decline in the Zapatista movement owing to inconsistent responses around cooperating with the Mexican government to distribute the vaccine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The difficult art of sustaining alternative governance: the case of the EZLN |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/action/cookieAbsent |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=www.tandfonline.com |doi=10.1080/21622671.2025.2583055}}</ref>

=== Dissolution of MAREZ in 2023 ===
In early November 2023, a communique signed by Subcomandante Moises announced the dissolution of the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities,<ref name="AP">{{cite web |last=Clemente |first=Édgar H. |date=6 November 2023 |title=Mexico's Zapatista rebel movement says it is dissolving its 'autonomous municipalities' |url=https://apnews.com/article/mexico-indigenous-zapatista-rebels-violence-04006895dc4bd430b4b957d459551a12 |access-date=8 November 2023 |work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref name="Jornada">{{Cite web |last=Henríquez |first=Elio |date=2023-11-05 |title=Anuncia EZLN desaparición de sus municipios autónomos |url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2023/11/05/estados/anuncia-el-ezln-desaparicion-de-sus-municipios-autonomos-1703 |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=[[La Jornada]] |language=es}}</ref><ref name="Infobae">{{Cite web |last=Flores |first=Miguel |date=2023-11-07 |title=Así fue como el EZLN perdió el control de municipios autónomos en Chiapas frente al CJNG y el Cártel de Sinaloa |url=https://www.infobae.com/mexico/2023/11/07/asi-fue-como-el-ezln-perdio-el-control-de-municipios-autonomos-en-chiapas-frente-al-cjng-y-el-cartel-de-sinaloa/ |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=[[Infobae]] |language=es}}</ref><ref name="El País">{{Cite web |last=Ferri |first=Pablo |date=2023-11-06 |title=El EZLN anuncia la desaparición de su estructura civil: "Las ciudades de Chiapas están en caos" |url=https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-11-06/el-ezln-anuncia-la-desaparicion-de-su-estructura-civil-las-ciudades-de-chiapas-estan-en-caos.html |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=[[El País]] |language=es}}</ref> along with their Councils of Good Government.<ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /><ref name="El País" /> The announcement declared that, effective immediately, all positions and documents related to the MAREZ would be considered invalid.<ref name="Infobae" /> The statement clarified that the Caracoles (Zapatista community centres) would continue providing their services to locals, but would be "closed to outsiders".<ref name="AP" /><ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /><ref name="El País" />

Although he did not describe specific reasons for the dissolution, Moises cited rising cartel violence along the [[Guatemala–Mexico border]], where many of its municipalities are located.<ref name="AP" /><ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /> The state of [[Chiapas]] had already been experiencing a rise in [[people smuggling]], [[drug trafficking]] and open conflict between the [[Sinaloa Cartel]] and the [[Jalisco New Generation Cartel]].<ref name="AP" /><ref name="Infobae" /> In September 2021, the EZLN had described the situation in the state as a "[[civil war]]".<ref name="El País" /> The Zapatistas reported that the cartels, which they linked with the Mexican government, had carried out "road blockades, robberies, kidnappings, extortion, forced recruitment, [and] shootouts" in the region.<ref name="AP" /><ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /><ref name="El País" /> The statement described the cities of Chiapas as being in "complete chaos",<ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /><ref name="El País" /> and that many (including [[San Cristóbal de las Casas]], [[Comitán]], [[Las Margaritas, Chiapas|Las Margaritas]] and [[Palenque, Chiapas|Palenque]]) were controlled by the cartels.<ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /> They also reported that the [[Mexican Army]] and [[National Guard (Mexico)|National Guard]], which had deployed thousands of troops to the region, had not combatted criminal violence; they claimed that the Mexican state's troops were only there to prevent [[illegal immigration to the United States]].<ref name="AP" /><ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /><ref name="El País" />

According to the statement, the decision to dissolve the MAREZ had been discussed for months prior to the announcement.<ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /> It has been speculated that the decision had been taken due to the then-upcoming [[2024 Mexican general election]]. According to Mexican anthropologist Gaspar Morquecho, the Zapatistas had also become "increasingly isolated", cutting ties with other organisations. Morquecho claimed this had caused many in the younger generation to leave the Zapatista municipalities, in order to seek work or education.<ref name="AP" /> Moises promised that future statements would clarify the reasons for the decision, as well as details on the restructuring of "Zapatista autonomy". The statement also stated the Zapatistas' intention to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their uprising, inviting people to come, while also warning that Chiapas was no longer safe.<ref name="AP" /><ref name="Jornada" />

In the middle of the month, EZLN issued a declaration that announced the new structure for the autonomous region. The new structure is more decentralized and would replace the previously dissolved Municipalities, allowing the base communities to better unite and act.<ref name="Ninth" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=CounterVortex |date=2023-11-22 |title=THE NEW ZAPATISTA AUTONOMY |url=https://countervortex.org/the-new-zapatista-autonomy/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=CounterVortex |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Distribution ==
Since 2003, the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ) coordinated in very small groups called ''{{lang|es-MX|caracoles}}'' (English: "snails" or "seashells"). Before that, the Neo-Zapatistas used the title of Aguascalientes after the site of the EZLN-organized National Democratic Convention on 8 August 1994;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://itzcuintli.tripod.com/b.html|title=Los Aguascalientes: Centros Culturales en el Corazón de la Selva Lacandona y en las montañas y rincones zapatistas.|website=itzcuintli rebelde|access-date=2018-09-14}}</ref> this name alluded to the [[Convention of Aguascalientes]] during the [[Mexican Revolution]] where [[Emiliano Zapata]] and other leaders met in 1914 and Zapata made an alliance with [[Francisco Villa]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+Distribution of Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (MAREZ) locations<ref name="Hidalgo 2003">{{cite journal|last1=Hidalgo|first1=Onésimo|last2=Castro Soto|first2=Gustavo|title=Cambios en el EZLN|journal=Chiapas al Día|series=Boletín de CIEPAC|date=2003|location=San Cristóbal de las Casas}}</ref><ref name="roarmag.org">{{cite magazine|last=Oikonomakis|first=Leonidas|date=2019-08-19|url=https://roarmag.org/essays/zapatistas-announce-major-expansion-of-autonomous-territories/|title=Zapatistas announce major expansion of autonomous territories|magazine=[[ROAR Magazine]]|issn=2468-1695|access-date=8 November 2023}}</ref>
|-
! MAREZ 
! Caracol
! Former name ''(Aguascalientes)''
! Indigenous Groups
! Area and municipalities in which they were found
|-
| 
* General Emiliano Zapata
* San Pedro de Michoacán
* Liberty of the Maya People
* Land and Liberty
| Mother of the sea snails of our dreams
| La Realidad || [[Tojolabales]], [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltales]], and [[Mam people|Mames]]
| Selva Fronteriza. "[[Ocosingo]], [[Marqués de Comillas|Marques de Comillas]]"
|-----
| 
* 17 November
* First of January
* Ernesto Ché Guevara
* Olga Isabel
* Lucio Cabañas
* Miguel Hidalgo
* Vicente Guerrero
| Whirlwind of our words || Morelia
| [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltales]], [[Tzotzil]]es, and [[Tojolabales]]|| Tzots Choj [[Altamirano, Chiapas|Altamirano]], [[Comitán]]
|-----
| 
* Francisco Gómez
* San Manuel
* Francisco Villa
* Ricardo Flores Magón
| Resistance toward a new dawn || La Garrucha
| [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltales]]
| Selva Tzeltal "[[Ocosingo]], [[Altamirano, Chiapas|Altamirano]]"
|-----
| 
* Vicente Guerrero
* Del Trabajo
* La Montaña
* San José en Rebeldía
* La Paz
* Benito Juárez
* Francisco Villa
| That speaks for all || Roberto Barrios
| [[Chʼol people|Choles]], [[Zoque people|Zoques]], and [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltales]]
| Zona Norte de Chiapas San Andrés Larrainzar, [[El Bosque, Chiapas|El Bosque]], Simojovel de allende
|-----
| 
* San Andrés Sacamch’en de los Pobres
* San Juan de la Libertad
* San Pedro Polhó
* Santa Catarina
* Magdalena de la Paz
* 16 February
* San Juan Apóstol Cancuc
| Resistance and rebellion for humanity
| Oventic || [[Tzotzil]]es, and [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltales]]|| Altos de Chiapas, San Andrés Larrainzar, Teopisca.
|-----
| Hope of Humanity
| 
| Ejido Santa María
| 
| [[Chicomuselo]]
|-
| Ernesto Che Guevara
|
| El Belén
|
| [[Motozintla]]
|-
| Planting consciousness in order to harvest revolutions for life
|
| Tulan Ka’u
|
| [[Amatenango del Valle]]
|-
| 21 December
|
| K’anal Hulub
|
| [[Chilón]]
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Distribution of Centers of Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion (CRAREZ) locations<ref name="Hidalgo 2003"/><ref name="roarmag.org"/>
|-
! CRAREZ 
! Caracol
! Former name ''(Aguascalientes)''
! Area and municipalities in which they were found
|-
| Steps of History, for the life of Humanity
| The heart of rebellious seeds collective, memory of Comrade Galeano
| La Unión
| [[San Quintín, Chiapas|San Quintín]]
|-
| Seed that flourishes with the conscience of those who struggle forever 
| Dignified spiral weaving the colors of humanity in memory of the fallen ones
| 
| 
|-
| New Dawn in resistance and rebellion for life and humanity
| Flourishing the rebellious seed
| El Poblado Patria Nueva
| [[Ocosingo]]
|-
| The rebellious thinking of the original peoples
| In honor of the memory of Comrade Manuel
| Dolores Hidalgo
| [[Ocosingo]]
|-
| The light that shines on the world 
| Resistance and rebellion, a new horizon
| El Poblado Nuevo Jerusalén
| [[Ocosingo]]
|-
| Heart of our lives for the new future 
| Root of the resistances and the rebellions for humanity
| Ejido Jolj’a
| [[Tila, Chiapas|Tila]]
|-
| Flower of our word and light of our people that reflects for all 
| Jacinto Canek
| Comunidad del CIDECI-Unitierra
| [[San Cristóbal de las Casas]]
|}

== Governance ==
[[File:Mexico.Chis.EZLN.01.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The sign reads (top): "You are in Zapatista rebel territory. Here the people rule and the government obeys." Bottom: "North Zone. Council of Good Government. [[Weapons trafficking|Trafficking in weapons]], [[planting]] of drugs, [[Recreational drug use|drug use]], [[alcoholic beverage]]s, and illegal sales of [[wood]] are strictly prohibited. No to the destruction of [[nature]]." Federal Highway 307, [[Chiapas]].]]
[[File:Zapatistas Territory sign in Chiapas, Mexico.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Zapatistas Territory sign in Chiapas, Mexico]]

Within the MAREZ, [[popular assembly|popular assemblies]] each consisted of around 300 families in which anyone over the age of twelve could participate in decision-making. These assemblies strove to reach a [[Consensus decision-making|consensus]], but were willing to fall back to a [[majority vote]]. The communities formed a federation with other communities to create an autonomous municipality, which formed further [[Federalism#Federalism and localism in anarchist political theory|federations]] with other municipalities to create a region.<ref name=Flood>{{cite magazine|first=Andrew|last=Flood|title=The Zapatistas, anarchism and 'Direct democracy'|url=https://anarchism.pageabode.com/the-zapatistas-anarchism-and-direct-democracy/|magazine=[[Anarcho-Syndicalist Review]]|issue=27|year=1999|issn=1069-1995}}</ref> Each community had three main administrative structures: (1) the ''commissariat'', in charge of day-to-day administration; (2) the ''council for land control'', which dealt with forestry and disputes with neighboring communities; and (3) the ''agencia'', a community police agency.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Barmeyer|first=Niels|year=2009|chapter=Who is Running the Show? The Workings of Zapatista Government|title=Developing Zapatista Autonomy: Conflict and NGO Involvement in Rebel Chiapas|url=https://archive.org/details/developingzapati0000barm|url-access=limited|publisher=[[University of New Mexico Press]]|page=89|isbn=978-0-8263-4584-4|lccn=2008045276}}</ref>

== Public services ==
After the dissolution of the MAREZ, Subcomandante Moises said in an official statement that the Caracoles (Zapatista community centres) would continue providing their services to locals, but would be "closed to outsiders".<ref name="AP" /><ref name="Jornada" /><ref name="Infobae" /><ref name="El País" />

=== Education ===
The Zapatistas run hundreds of schools with thousands of teachers. They are modeled around the principles of [[democratic education]] in which students and communities collectively decide on school curriculum and students are not graded.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Zibechi|first=Raúl|year=2012|title=Territories in Resistance: A Cartography of Latin American Social Movements|publisher=[[AK Press]]|isbn=978-1-84935-107-2|lccn=2012937110|pages=132}}</ref>

=== Healthcare ===
The Zapatistas maintain a [[Universal health care|universal healthcare]] service which is provided free of charge. However, patients still have to pay for medications to cover restocking costs.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Health and Autonomy: the case of Chiapas|url=https://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/csdh_media/autonomy_mexico_2007_en.pdf|first=J.H.|last=Cuevas|date=March 2007|website=World Health Organization|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123184551/https://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/csdh_media/autonomy_mexico_2007_en.pdf|archive-date=2021-11-23}}</ref> The Zapatistas built two new hospitals and 18 health clinics in the region by the mid-1990s.<ref name=":1" /> One 2014 study indicated the following achievements in Zapatista healthcare:

* In 2005, 84.2% of Zapatista children were fully vaccinated, while that figure stood at 74.8% in pro-government communities.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Castellanos|first=Laura|date=2014-01-04|title=El suicidio ronda en San Andrés|url=https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/impreso/el-suicidio-ronda-en-san-andrs-212031.html|access-date=2020-06-16|website=[[El Universal (Mexico City)|El Universal]]|language=es}}</ref>
* In regions where there were previously significantly high rates of death during childbirth, there has now been a period of eight years or more where no maternal deaths have been recorded.
* The manufacture and consumption of alcohol has been banned, which is directly linked to the reduction in many illnesses and infections including ulcers, cirrhosis, malnutrition, and surgical wounds.<ref>{{Cite book|date=October 2014|last=Warfield|first=Cian|title=Understanding Zapatista Autonomy: An Analysis of Healthcare and Education|url=https://www.academia.edu/33163010|language=en}}</ref> Banning the consumption of alcohol was a collective decision. Nayely, a Zapatista representative, stated that alcohol is "not good for one's health, and just wastes money".<ref>{{Cite web |first=Alex|last=Contreras Baspineiro|date=2004-05-08|title=The Zapatistas Reject the War on Drugs |url=https://www.narconews.com/Issue33/article971.html |access-date=2022-12-24 |website=[[Narco News]]}}</ref>

According to one account of [[Oventic]] from 2016:<blockquote>In Oventic, there was a small yet seemingly fully-functional medical clinic, which appeared to offer basic healthcare. A sign on the door said general consultations, gynecology, optometry and laboratory services were all available five days a week. Emergency services were available 24 hours, seven days a week. They appeared to have a shiny new ambulance at their disposal. Other services offered a few days a week included dentistry and ultrasounds.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|first=Ryan|last=Mallett-Outtrim|date=2016-08-13|url=https://links.org.au/two-decades-glimpse-inside-zapatistas-capital-oventic|title=Two decades on: A glimpse inside the Zapatista's capital, Oventic|website=Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal|access-date=2023-05-01}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Water ===
Many Zapatista communities are in rural areas with little access to running water. Projects were undertaken to supply Zapatista communities with fresh water. In one case, [[Roberto Arenas]], a small [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltal]] community, built its own water service with the help of solidarity activists. Such projects were coordinated democratically. An account by Ramor Ryan noted:<ref name=Ramor>{{Cite book|last=Ryan|first=Ramor|year=2011|title=Zapatista Spring: Anatomy of a Rebel Water Project & the Lessons of International Solidarity|url=https://archive.org/details/zapatistaspringa0000ryan/|url-access=limited|publisher=[[AK Press]]|isbn=978-1-84935-072-3|lccn=2011925323}}</ref>{{rp|10}}
{{Blockquote|text=The good government committee of the autonomous municipality refer the case to their elected water commission and the options are weighed. The commission consults various parties including the local EZLN commander and clandestine committee members, and so, in the end, after the issue has been bandied around what seems like half the inhabitants of this particular region of the jungle, the community of Roberto Arenas is notified about the eligibility of their request. It’s a process similar to what happens anywhere in the world at a local council level, except for one significant difference: the state authorities have no involvement whatsoever; this is an autonomous process overseen by the communities’ people. There is no separation between who is governed and who is governing—they are one and the same.}}
Ryan described the process of finishing the water project:{{r|Ramor|p=179}}
{{Blockquote|text=We’re getting lots of little bits and pieces done, fine tuning this and that. Helping people construct their family tap stands, digging here and there, testing the pressure, tightening valves. A group of women come together during the morning to put together a tap stand for the collective clothes washing area. We earmark a bag of cement—the very last one—for the later construction of a large concrete washbasin. The day is punctuated by minor moments of crisis—people coming up and saying that the water isn’t arriving to their house—but it is usually just a blocked pipe or a faulty connection. Really, the system is almost flawless and works perfectly fine; it’s been an exemplary project.}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[Cherán]]
*[[Chiapas Media Project]]
*[[Chiapas conflict]]
*[[Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]]
*[[FEJUVE]]
*[[Libertarian socialism]]
*[[Marinaleda]]
*[[Permanent autonomous zones]]
*[[Revolutionary Catalonia]]
*[[Villa de Zaachila|Zaachila]]
*[[Zapaturismo]]
*[[Zapatista Army of National Liberation]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
===Books===
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{Cite book|last=Barmeyer|first=Niels|year=2009|chapter=Who is Running the Show? The Workings of Zapatista Government|title=Developing Zapatista Autonomy: Conflict and NGO Involvement in Rebel Chiapas|url=https://archive.org/details/developingzapati0000barm|url-access=limited|publisher=[[University of New Mexico Press]]|isbn=978-0-8263-4584-4|lccn=2008045276}}
*{{cite book|last=Cerullo|first=Margaret|year=2009|chapter=The Zapatistas Other Politics: The Subjects Of Autonomy|editor-first=David|editor-last=Fasenfest|title=Engaging Social Justice: Critical Studies of 21st Century Social Transformation|series=Studies in Critical Social Sciences|volume=13|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|pages=289–299|isbn=978-90-04-17654-6 |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004176546.i-350.94}}
*{{cite book|last1=Chabot|first1=Sean|last2=Vinthagen|first2=Stellan|year=2020|chapter=One no against violence, many yeses beyond violence: Zapatista dignity, autonomy, counter-conduct|editor-first1=Richard|editor-last1=Jackson|editor-first2=Joseph|editor-last2=Llewellyn|editor-first3=Griffin|editor-last3=Manawaroa Leonard|editor-first4=Aidan|editor-last4=Gnoth|editor-first5=Tong|editor-last5=Karena|title=Revolutionary Nonviolence: Concepts, Cases and Controversies|publisher=[[Zed Books]]|pages=107–131|isbn=978-1-78699-825-5}}
*{{cite book|last=Eldredge Fitzwater|first=Dylan|year=2019|title=Autonomy Is in Our Hearts: Zapatista Autonomous Government through the Lens of the Tsotsil Language|publisher=[[PM Press]]|isbn=978-1-62963-580-4|lccn=2018931534}}
*{{Cite book|last1=Grubačić|first1=Andrej|author-link1=Andrej Grubačić|last2=O'Hearn|first2=Denis|author-link2=Denis O'Hearn|year=2016|chapter=Zapatistas|title=Living at the Edges of Capitalism: Adventures in Exile and Mutual Aid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raowDwAAQBAJ|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=9780520287303|lccn=2015036704|jstor=10.1525/j.ctv1xxx8z}}
*{{cite book|last=Halkin|first=Alexandra|year=2008|chapter=Outside the Indigenous Lens: Zapatistas and Autonomous Videomaking|editor-first1=Pamela|editor-last1=Wilson|editor-first2=Michelle|editor-last2=Stewart|title=Global Indigenous Media: Cultures, Poetics, and Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-8pzHPos4U0C|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|pages=160–180|isbn=9780822388692}}
*{{Cite book|last=Kovel|first=Joel|year=2007|orig-year=2002|author-link=Joel Kovel|chapter=Ecosocialism|title=Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?|publisher=[[Zed Books]]|pages=242–275|isbn=978-1-84277-870-8}} <!-- pp. 252-253 -->
*{{Cite book|last=Muñóz Ramírez|first=Gloria|year=2008|title=The Fire and the Word: A History of the Zapatista Movement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fkMAQAAMAAJ|translator-first1=Laura|translator-last1=Carlsen|translator-first2=Alejandro|translator-last2=Reyes Arias|publisher=[[City Lights Bookstore|City Lights]]|isbn=978-0-87286-488-7|lccn=2007052477}}
*{{Cite book|last=Ryan|first=Ramor|year=2011|title=Zapatista Spring: Anatomy of a Rebel Water Project & the Lessons of International Solidarity|url=https://archive.org/details/zapatistaspringa0000ryan/|url-access=limited|publisher=[[AK Press]]|isbn=978-1-84935-072-3|lccn=2011925323}}
*{{cite book|last=Speed|first=Shannon|year=2014|chapter=Zapatista Autonomy, Local Governance, and an Organic Theory of Rights|editor-first=Robert|editor-last=Warrior|title=The World of Indigenous North America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XQgcBQAAQBAJ|publisher=[[Routledge]]|pages=82–102|isbn=978-0-415-87952-1|lccn=2013039796}}
*{{cite book|last=Stahler-Sholk|first=Richard|year=2014|chapter=Mexico: Autonomy, Collective Identity, and the Zapatista Social Movement|editor-first1=Richard|editor-last1=Stahler-Sholk|editor-first2=Harry E.|editor-last2=Vanden|editor-first3=Marc|editor-last3=Becker|title=Rethinking Latin American Social Movements: Radical Action from Below|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|pages=187–207|isbn=978-1-4422-3567-0|lccn=2014030142}} <!-- pp. 191, 193, 200-202 -->
*{{Cite book|last=Zibechi|first=Raúl|year=2012|title=Territories in Resistance: A Cartography of Latin American Social Movements|publisher=[[AK Press]]|isbn=978-1-84935-107-2|lccn=2012937110}}
{{refend}}

===Journal articles===
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Chatterton |first1=Paul |last2=Ryan |first2=Ramor |year=2008 |title=¡Ya Basta! The Zapatista struggle for autonomy revisited |journal=[[City (journal)|City]] |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=115–125 |issn=1360-4813 |doi=10.1080/13604810801933800 |bibcode=2008City...12..115C |s2cid=145770382}}
*{{cite journal |last=Cortez Ruiz |first=Carlos |year=2004 |title=Social Strategies and Public Policies in an Indigenous Zone in Chiapas, Mexico |url=https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/8551/IDSB_35_2_10.1111-j.1759-5436.2004.tb00124.x.pdf |journal=[[IDS Bulletin]] |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=76–83 |doi=10.1111/j.1759-5436.2004.tb00124.x |issn=0265-5012}}
*{{cite journal |last=Dinerstein |first=Ana Cecilia |year=2013 |title=The Speed of the Snail: The Zapatistas' Autonomy De Facto and the Mexican State |journal=[[University of Bath|Bath Papers in International Development and Wellbeing]] |issue=20 |pages=1–17 |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2401859 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2401859 |s2cid=153929083 |issn=2040-3151 |url-access=subscription |doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Earle |first1=Duncan |last2=Simonelli |first2=Jeanne |year=2004 |title=The Zapatistas and Global Civil Society: Renegotiating the Relationship |journal=[[European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies]] |issue=76 |pages=119–125 |doi=10.18352/erlacs.9689 |issn=0924-0608 |jstor=25676076 |doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal |last=Forbis |first=Melissa M. |year=2016 |title=After autonomy: the zapatistas, insurgent indigeneity, and decolonization |journal=Settler Colonial Studies |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=365–384 |issn=2201-473X |doi=10.1080/2201473X.2015.1090531 |s2cid=159590375}}
*{{cite journal |last=Fox |first=Jonathan |year=2007 |title=Rural democratization and decentralization at the state/society interface: What counts as 'local' government in the mexican countryside? |journal=[[The Journal of Peasant Studies]] |volume=34 |issue=3–4 |pages=527–559 |issn=0306-6150 |doi=10.1080/03066150701802934 |s2cid=152847463 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/68d6b2bh}}
*{{cite journal |first1=Erandi |last1=Maldonado-Villalpando |first2=Jaime |last2=Paneque-Gálvez |first3=Federico |last3=Demaria |first4=Brian M. |last4=Napoletano |year=2022 |title=Grassroots innovation for the pluriverse: evidence from Zapatismo and autonomous Zapatista education |journal=Sustainability Science |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=1301–1316 |issn=1862-4065 |doi=10.1007/s11625-022-01172-5 |doi-access=free |pmid=35818623 |pmc=9261257 |bibcode=2022SuSc...17.1301M}}
*{{cite journal |last=González Casanova |first=Pablo |year=2005 |title=The Zapatista "caracoles": Networks of resistance and autonomy |journal=[[Socialism and Democracy]] |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=79–92 |issn=0885-4300 |doi=10.1080/08854300500257963 |s2cid=144853640}}
*{{cite journal |last=Guillén |first=Diana |year=2017 |title=Societies in Movement vs. Institutional Continuities? Insights from the Zapatista Experience |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=114–138 |doi=10.1177/0094582X16635292 |s2cid=147296630 |issn=0094-582X}}
*{{cite journal |last=Harvey |first=Neil |year=2005 |title=Inclusion Through Autonomy: Zapatistas and Dissent |journal=[[NACLA Report on the Americas]] |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=12–17 |doi=10.1080/10714839.2005.11722353 |s2cid=152256789 |issn=1071-4839}}
*{{cite journal |last=Harvey |first=Neil |year=2016 |title=Practicing autonomy: Zapatismo and decolonial liberation |journal=Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1080/17442222.2015.1094872 |s2cid=146183871 |issn=1744-2222}}
*{{cite journal |last=Mora |first=Mariana |year=2003 |title=The Imagination to Listen: Reflections on a Decade of Zapatista Struggle |journal=[[Social Justice (journal)|Social Justice]] |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=17–31 |issn=1043-1578 |jstor=29768206}}
*{{cite journal |last=Mora |first=Mariana |year=2007 |title=Zapatista Anticapitalist Politics and the "Other Campaign": Learning from the Struggle for Indigenous Rights and Autonomy |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=64–77 |issn=0094-582X |doi=10.1177/0094582X06299086 |s2cid=145172536}}
*{{cite journal |last=Mora |first=Mariana |year=2015 |title=The Politics of Justice: Zapatista Autonomy at the Margins of the Neoliberal Mexican State |journal=Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=87–106 |doi=10.1080/17442222.2015.1034439 |s2cid=146985966 |issn=1744-2222}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Reyes |first1=Alvaro |last2=Kaufman |first2=Mara |year=2011 |title=Sovereignty, Indigeneity, Territory: Zapatista Autonomy and the New Practices of Decolonization |journal=[[South Atlantic Quarterly]] |volume=110 |issue=2 |pages=505–525 |doi=10.1215/00382876-1162561 |issn=0038-2876 |hdl=10161/10650 |hdl-access=free}}
*{{cite journal |last=Stahler-Sholk |first=Richard |year=2007 |title=Resisting Neoliberal Homogenization: The Zapatista Autonomy Movement |journal=Latin American Perspectives |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=48–63 |issn=0094-582X |doi=10.1177/0094582X06298747 |jstor=27648009 |s2cid=143631891}}
*{{cite journal |last=Stahler-Sholk |first=Richard |year=2010 |title=The Zapatista Social Movement: Innovation and Sustainability |journal=[[Alternatives: Global, Local, Political]] |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=269–290 |issn=0304-3754 |doi=10.1177/030437541003500306 |s2cid=144511806}}
*{{cite journal |last=van der Haar |first=Gemma |year=2004 |title=The Zapatista Uprising and the Struggle for Indigenous Autonomy |journal=[[European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies]] |issue=76 |pages=99–108 |issn=0924-0608 |jstor=25676074}}
*{{cite journal |last=Zugman |first=Kara |year=2005 |title=Autonomy in a Poetic Voice: Zapatistas and Political Organizing in Los Angeles |journal=Latino Studies |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=325–346 |issn=1476-3435 |doi=10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600157 |s2cid=143742914}}
{{refend}}

{{Zapatista Army of National Liberation}}

[[Category:1994 establishments in Mexico]]
[[Category:Former municipalities of Chiapas]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1994]]
[[Category:Rebel groups that actively control territory|Zapatistas]]
[[Category:Zapatista Army of National Liberation]]
[[Category:Anarchist communities]]
[[Category:States with limited recognition]]
[[Category:Native American polities]]
[[Category:Maya polities]]