Zapatista: An Opposing Subdivision of American Subculture

So as a result of me being on the "outsider kind of status" (hence "The Outsider Looking In" for those of you who won't get the joke immediately) I decided to do my blog on a subculture that has derived from an element of American culture but is not in unison with it. In other words, they are a "counterculture". But what element is this "counterculture" opposed to? The element of globalization.

Globalization is the idea of uniting all countries to enhance international trade, diplomatic relations, technological innovation and most of all provide a means of integrating different societies and cultures.

As most of you are well aware the United States is regarded as the forerunner for globalization. Majority of the worlds economies function on the stability of the United States economy. Furthermore other countries work alongside with the United States to formulate new creations that will implemented on the world as a means of helping it prosper.

The Zapatistas, are well aware of the benefits of this ideal but are still opposed to it. Formally known as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN). They established themselves in 1994 as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); the doctrine served to provide free trade (by eliminating tariffs and border barriers) among Mexico, Canada, and the United States. What manifested the Zapatistas rebellion was what the doctrine altered: the 27th article of the Mexican constitution that protected Indian communal landholdings from being privatized or bought. With the establishment of NAFTA, business owners were allowed to invest and buy these sacred lands. In earlier years, Emiliano Zapata began a revolution from 1910 - 1919 when he faced obstacles in adding this clause. Thus, the Zapatistas named their group after Zapata to pay retribution to the individual who first fought for the clause to be added to the constitution.

From that moment on the Zapatistas stood as an anti-globalization revolutionary militia. Overtime they have gained some autonomy and took over the Eastern part of Mexico's poorest state, Chiapas. The Zapatistas subculture is based on the ideals of revolutionary imagery, Catholicism and Maya-centrism. According to ty.rannosaur.us, their leader Subcomandante Marcos (who is known for smoking a pipe through a ski mask and leading a protest for the poor treatment of indigenous inhabitants of Mexico in 1994) gives speeches with a rooster that he calls "el pinguino" (the penguin) because of it's hobbling walk. He uses this to represent the proletariat. Pretty creative.