Emiliano Zapata

     Born in Anenecuilco, a poor, yet independent, communal village in the southern Mexican state of Morelos, Emiliano Zapata, would emerge as an unlikely, yet influential, revolutionary figure.  Having had to flee Morelos with his brother, Eufemio, when he was just 18 as a result of a drunken altercation with two ruales, Zapata would return two years later to find Anenecuilco in the midst of a crisis.  The village’s growing population, accompanied with the gradual shrinking of their claimed territory, meant that many living within the village were unable to sustain themselves, forcing many to toil away as hacienda workers.  

     Once again having to flee Anenecuilco due to  political tensions following the election of Pablo Escandon, Zapata would once again return to Anenecuilco, only to subsequently be elected president of the local Junta de Defensa. This community defense council, previously made up of well trusted and highly respected village elders, was responsible for defending the village’s ejido land claims.  Knowing that the coming legal battle would take a tremendous amount of time and energy, the elders entrusted Zapata, just thirty years old, with a litany of documents that supported their claim to the land that had provided the very life-blood of the village spanning back generations.  Armed with these important documents, Zapata, along with his cousin and secretary of the Junta de Defensa, Fransico Franco Salazaar, would spend more than a week tucked  inside the small community’s church, reading through page after page old maps, land grants, and legal documents in order to better understand their claim to the land.  With a new understanding of their claims, as well as a healthy appreciation for those who came before him, Zapata would be determined to protect his community from those who would wish to exploit it.