ABSTRACT
The Zapatista uprising and the civic insurgency in Chiapas in 1994 represent challenges for both political practice and theory. Until now most analyses have tended to explore the social and economic conditions that gave rise to the rebellion of January 1 and the local politics of agrarian struggles (Harvey 1994; Hernández 1994). Those who have sought to characterize the rebellion's broader political significance appear to be trapped by their own theoretical constructs that oversimplify quite complex and ambiguous historical processes. Hence the rush among some to define the EZLN as a postmodern political movement that seeks to go beyond earlier national liberation movements. 1
