The Zapatistas are dismantling their municipal government to survive cartel violence

Wars & Conflicts · Published 17 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In the jungles of Chiapas, a de facto autonomous region has survived for three decades by rejecting state power. But in 2023, the Zapatistas made a radical move: dissolving their formal municipal structures. This shift marks a desperate pivot to protect their communities from a rising tide of organized crime.

The Zapatista territories emerged from a 1994 uprising where the EZLN seized over a million acres of land from large owners. For decades, they operated under a complex, decentralized governance model. From 1994 to 2003, these were 'Aguascalientes' (named after a 1914 revolutionary convention). CRAREZ, known as Centers of Autonomous Resistance and Zapatista Rebellion, took over as the new structure, employing MAREZ for regional administration and Caracoles for communal gathering points. In November 2023, Subcomandante Moises announced the dissolution of the MAREZ and their 'Councils of Good Government.' While specific reasons were not fully detailed, the move was prompted by escalating cartel violence along the Guatemala–Mexico border. The EZLN described the state of Chiapas as a 'civil war' in 2021, reporting that cartels—which they link to the Mexican government—controlled major cities like San Cristóbal de las Casas through kidnappings, extortion, and forced recruitment. The Zapatistas claim the Mexican Army is prioritizing immigration control over combating this criminal violence. The new structure replaces the dissolved municipalities with 'Local Autonomous Governments' (GAL) within 'Zapatista Autonomous Government Collectives' (CGAZ). This shift is more decentralized, intended to allow base communities to unite more effectively while remaining 'closed to outsiders.' Despite these internal shifts, the region's autonomy remains unrecognized by the Mexican government, which has not honored the 1996 San Andrés Accords.

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