ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author analyzes the relationship between rural modernization in Chiapas and the Zapatista rebellion. It contrasts the decapitalized social sector in Chiapas with the modernizing private sector during the 1980s. The chapter focuses on the reforms in two particularly sensitive sectors, coffee and maize production. It discusses the implications of the reforms to Article 27 in Chiapas and details the context in which their announcement was received. The chapter illustrates some of the limits to the policy of consensus building during the governorship of Patrocinio Gonzalez Garrido by describing the selective approach to land conflict resolution and the manipulation of the National Solidarity Program (PRONASOL). It describes the role of the Catholic Church in the defense of human rights and the political conflicts that led up to the January 1994 uprising. The chapter addresses the prospects for indigenous and campesino movements in Mexico in the light of the rebellion and the government's responses to the Zapatistas' demands.
