EMILIANO ZAPATA: BIOGRAPHY - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) was one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican Revolution, during which he formed the Liberation Army of the South. He was the inspirer of the agrarian movement called Zapatismo and the leader of the peasant revolution in the State of Morelos.

Zapata's first revolutionary years unfolded during the Porfiriato, the period in Mexico's history marked by the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. The peasants and indigenous people had been greatly affected by the boost to the large estates that the government developed. This marked Zapata's political vision.

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Still very young he began to get involved in politics, always in defense of the peasantry. Once the Revolution began, Zapata fought alongside Francisco I. Madero, although he always maintained a certain independence of judgment. This led him to antagonize his former allies when they did not fulfill the expectations created in relation to an agrarian reform.

After the Porfiriato and the subsequent dictatorship of Victoriano Huerta were overthrown, Zapata continued his agrarian struggle. He opposed Carranza, allying himself at the time with Pancho Villa. It was Carranza's successors who decided to end his life, tricking him into falling into an ambush and killing him with several shots.

Biography

Emiliano Zapata Salazar was born in Anenecuilco, Morelos, on August 8, 1879, into a very humble peasant family. His parents were Gabriel Zapata and Cleofás Salazar, and Emiliano was the ninth of 10 siblings, although only 4 survived.

As was usual in rural and poor environments, Emiliano could hardly receive an education. It is known that he attended up to the sixth grade of primary school and that his training was led by Professor Emilio Vara, a former Juarista soldier.

An anecdote shows his early understanding of the peasant problem. It is said that, at the age of 9, Emiliano saw an eviction of peasants by some large landowners. His father told him that nothing could be done against him and Zapata replied: “Can't you? Well, when I grow up, I will have them returned ”.

As a child, Zapata had to go to work as a laborer and sharecropper. When he was 13 years old, he was orphaned and, together with his brother Eufemio, received a small inheritance: a little land and a few head of cattle. With this they had to support themselves and their two sisters.

Youth

Emiliano, unlike Eufemio, decided to remain in Anenecuilco. There he worked his land and, apart from that, he had to work as a sharecropper on a neighboring farm. He also dedicated himself to trading horses and driving mule trains.

At 17, Zapata had his first run-in with the security forces. Some authors claim that it was due to an accusation of kidnapping a young woman. It would be the one who was his first wife, whose father had denounced the escape of the two young men, accusing Emiliano. Other sources, however, indicate that it was due to political factors.

For whatever reason, on June 15, 1897, he was arrested during the festivities of his town. The intervention of his brother, armed with a pistol, allowed his escape. The two brothers had to leave the state and Emiliano spent a whole year working on a farm in Puebla.

Social context

Emiliano Zapata began his political life very early. At the age of 23, he had a very prominent role in the Cuautla Peasant Board and began to fight against the abuses of the landowners.

To understand Zapata's claims and position, it is essential to know the time in which he lived. The agrarian policy developed by the Porfiriato (1876 - 1911) had very pernicious effects for the most humble.

Laws enacted by the government caused large companies and landowners to seize communal lands and small properties. Its former owners, peasants with few resources, were forced to move or work, with hardly any rights, in what had been their possessions.

The data indicate that, at the beginning of the Revolution in 1910, more than 90% of the peasants were landless. These were in the hands of around 1000 latifundistas who employed 3 million braceros.

Although this situation occurred throughout the country, it affected states such as Morelos in a special way. Sugarcane plantations had occupied the lands of smallholders.

Agrarian leader

A year before the revolutionary outbreak, in 1909, a new law was being prepared that was to make the situation worse. Given this, the inhabitants of the town of Zapata met and appointed him president of the Municipal Council.

From this position, Zapata began consulting with various lawyers. They studied in depth documents that supported the land ownership rights of the people and that contradicted the Reform Laws.

In the same way, he participated in many meetings held in Villa de Ayala, where the Plan that would be the basis of all his claims in the following years began to take shape. The Ayala Plan focused on a radical agrarian reform, under the slogan "the land belongs to those who work it."

Some authors claim that these activities provoked a reaction from the government, which ordered him to join the army. Zapata spent a little over a month in Cuernavaca, later obtaining a license to work as a groom in Mexico City.

Taking of the Hospital Treasury

Upon returning, shortly after, to Morelos, Emiliano returned to his fight for communal lands. In their locality of origin a legal conflict had broken out over the Hospital Treasury and the peasants could not cultivate in those lands until the judges pronounced themselves.

It is then when Zapata developed his first armed incursion. At the head of a group of armed peasants, he occupied the hacienda and distributed the lands among them. The repercussion in the neighboring towns was immediate and Zapata was appointed head of the Junta of the Villa de Ayala.

Mexican Revolution

After several decades under the presidency of Porfirio Díaz, it seemed that the 1910 elections were going to bring change to the country. The opposition had managed to organize itself and, in principle, the regime was willing to allow fair elections.

The politician chosen to face Díaz in those elections was Francisco I. Madero, of the Anti-reelection Party. However, shortly after the voting, Porfirio changed his mind and ordered the arrest of his adversary.

Madero was forced into exile while Díaz returned to the presidency. In these circumstances, Madero launched the Plan of San Luis, calling on Mexicans to take up arms against the dictator.

Within the Plan presented by the politician there was a fundamental point for the rural areas and the peasants: the restitution of the lands from which they had been evicted.

Zapata had the opportunity to read the Plan of San Luis and, with special attention, the third article, the one that referred to the agrarian reform. He soon established conversations with personalities such as Pablo Torres Burgos, who was sent to meet with Madero to decide if they would lend him their support.

Armed uprising

The meeting between Torres Burgos and Madero ended with an agreement and part of his supporters joined the insurrection against Porfirio.

However, Emiliano Zapata did not quite trust the promises contained in the Plan. His intention was to ensure the distribution of land among the peasants before joining the rebels.

Madero appointed Torres Burgos head of the uprising in Morelos and this seems to have reassured Zapata. The revolutionary was appointed colonel and, after Torres' death, was promoted to "supreme head of the southern revolutionary movement" in March 1911.

With that rank, Zapata organized the capture of Cuautla in May, using this city as a base to extend his power throughout the rest of the state. Immediately, he put into motion land distribution measures in the areas he controlled, while the revolution was triumphing in the rest of the country.

The war against Porfirio lasted only six months. In May 1911, Díaz went into exile after leaving power. In his post, León de la Barra, in charge of preparing new elections, remained provisionally.

The Ayala Plan

Francisco I. Madero, with everything in favor, was elected president in November 1911. Zapata, in his southern fiefdoms, trusted that he would fulfill the commitments he had made regarding the lands that had been confiscated from the peoples of the area.

However, things were not so simple. Madero was soon under pressure from the army and the more conservative sectors, and his weakness did not allow him to carry out overly radical reforms.

The president and Zapata started talks again, without reaching any agreement. Given this, Zapata wrote in Plan de Ayala, with which he accused Madero of not fulfilling his promises and failing to fulfill the objectives of the Revolution.

The Plan announced that a third of all the lands in the possession of the landlords would be expropriated, either in exchange for financial compensation or by force if necessary. The Ayala Plan soon began to receive support.

Zapata and his supporters denied Madero's legitimacy and appointed Pascual Orozco as head of the revolution under the banner of agrarian reform.

Zapata's agrarian policy

Although he did not have many opportunities to put his proclamations into practice, during this time Zapata developed his policies in the areas he was taking. Thus, he distributed the lands of the haciendas, expropriating those whose owners did not want to reach agreements.

He was accused of being cruel in his tactics, and certainly on some occasions he did not hesitate to execute his enemies or burn their lands.

Zapata and his followers were not organized as a regulated army. They almost always used guerrilla tactics, coming to work in the fields with their rifles on their shoulders. When it was necessary to fight, they left their chores and returned to them when the battle was over.

To pay all his men, Zapata imposed a series of taxes on the wealthiest, extorting those who refused to pay them.

Victoriano Huerta

While Zapata was fighting in the south, a new change of government was taking place in the capital. In this case, through a coup led by Victoriano Huerta. He betrayed Madero and ordered his assassination. He soon established a fierce dictatorship that led the revolutionary leaders to unite against him.

Huerta, with an open war front in the north with Pancho Villa fighting him, sent Pascual Orozco's father south to try to convince Zapata to help him. At that time, the revolutionary controlled Morelos and part of the State of Mexico, the State of Guerrero, Puebla and Tlaxcala.

The Huertistas' attempt was in vain. Zapata did not want to agree with them, calling them "murderers of Madero." This seems to indicate that, despite their disagreements, he still respected the late politician.

After this, he reformed his Plan of Ayala, declaring Huerta unworthy of leading the country and ignoring his government. Likewise, he withdrew the position of revolutionary chief from Orozco, leaving Zapata as the sole chief of the Liberation Army of the South.

Union of revolutionaries

By this time, Zapata had become very suspicious. He had suffered several assassination attempts and ambushes. The revolutionary had always avoided them, but from that moment on it began to be rumored that he had a double to replace him in his public appearances.

In the rest of Mexico, most of the former fighters against the Porfiriato had banded together to face Huerta. Venustiano Carranza, governor of Coahuila, had led the opposition, with the intention of ousting him from power and restoring the Constitution.

In the north, Carranza got the support of Pancho Villa, while Zapata did it his way in the south. It should be noted that this support from the Zapatistas was contingent on the acceptance of the Ayala Plan, something that Carranza never promised.

In July 1914, Huerta was overthrown. Stability, however, did not reach the country, since the differences between the revolutionary leaders were many, both ideological and personal.

Aguascalientes Convention

In this way, there were three fundamental figures in Mexico at that time. The first, Carranza, who did not hide his intentions to be president and who intended to continue the reformist policy of Madero.

On the other, Pancho Villa, also with political aspirations and with more radical and agrarian ideas. The last figure was that of Emiliano Zapata, an agrarian and supporter of social measures but who, however, did not show any signs of being interested in the presidency.

To settle the differences, the Aguascalientes Convention was convened in October 1914. The meetings only served to unite Villa and Zapata. The Centauro del Norte accepted, unlike Carranza, the Plan of Ayala presented by Zapata.

For his part, Carranza saw his intentions to be president were rejected and ended up retiring to Veracruz to prepare his next moves.

This allowed, at first, that Zapata and Villa entered Mexico City, although they were unable to form a government apparatus. Both, despite their coincidences, were quite different characters and Zapata ended up returning to Morelos.

Carranza and Villa began to fight in the north, without Zapata participating in the fight. The peasant leader was able, during 18 months of peace in his state, to develop a policy of reconstruction and agrarian revolution.

Labor in Morelos

As soon as he left Mexico City, Zapata headed for Puebla, the state taken in December 1914. However, in January of the following year, he was defeated by Obregón and marched back to Morelos.

There, without participating in the war between Villa and Carranza, he was able to implement a government of peasants advised by various intellectuals. This lasted almost a year and a half, and was a real social experiment for the time.

In March of that year, Zapata promulgated an administrative law for the state. Among his priorities was the reopening of schools, as well as the creation of institutions that would restart food production in the countryside.

On occasion, Zapata still carried out guerrilla actions in neighboring states, although that aspect was losing importance.

Attacks on Morelos

Villa's defeat allowed Carranza to direct his forces against Zapata. He placed Pablo González Garza in command of the army, who went to the Zapatista territory, even counting on the support of the aviation.

In this way, in May 1916, Cuernavaca fell into the hands of the constitutionalists, although Zapata managed to recover it temporarily.

In the end, in December of that year, González Garza definitely occupied the city. From there he could take in almost all the towns of the state in a short time. Zapata and his people noticed the lack of weapons and had no ally.

Still, in 1917, the Zapatistas launched a major counteroffensive. They managed to recover Jonacatepec, Yautepec, Cuautla, Miahuatlán and Cuernavaca, despite their weapons limitations.

Zapata's offensive did not last long. González Garza finished taking over the entire state. By 1918, Zapata's combat capacity was practically nil. In addition, Carranza promulgated an agrarian reform law that greatly pacified the peasants, leaving Zapata without much of his bases.

In this way, Zapatismo gradually lost its status as a mass rebellion and, as of 1918, could only present some resistance in the form of guerrilla attacks taking over the territory.

Zapata assassination

Despite having greatly reduced its military capacity and influence, the Carranza government still feared Zapata's popularity. To eliminate him, they devised a plan to kill him.

It was Jesús Guajardo, a supporter of González Garza, who contacted the revolutionary leader. Thus, he convinced him that he was willing to rise up against Carranza and requested his support. Distrustful at first, Zapata asked for proof of what he said.

Guajardo requested permission from Carranza and González and organized a shooting of federal soldiers to convince the revolutionary. This, then, on April 9, 1919, ordered that the Plaza de Jonacatepec be attacked, which Guajardo did without problems.

On April 10, 1919, Zapata and Guajardo had called a meeting in which the second would deliver ammunition to the first and, in this way, begin a campaign against the government. The chosen place was the Hacienda de Chinameca, Morelos.

At first, Emiliano Zapata camped outside the ranch. At Guajardo's insistence, he agreed to approach, accompanied by a small escort. As soon as they crossed the lintel, a bugle sounded three times. It was the signal for the shooters, in hiding, to open fire.

The traitor was rewarded with a promotion and a reward of 50,000 pesos, prizes that were awarded to him by order of Carranza.

Revolutionary myth

Zapata is said to have drew his pistol, but one of the bullets killed him. Guajardo collected the body and, on horseback, transported it so that his boss González could see it and so that it could be displayed in front of the Cuautla town hall. In the end, it was found that he had been hit by 20 bullets.

Despite his death, Zapata became a true myth among the peasants. His ideals continued, although his movement faded over time. Zapata was replaced by Gildardo Magaña Cerda as head of the Liberation Army of the South. A year later, several Zapatistas joined the government that emerged from Agua Prieta.

In Morelos, many peasants refused to believe that Zapata had died. Rumors surfaced that it was not him who was killed, but his double. However, his closest companions identified him without question.

Personal life of Emiliano Zapata

Apart from his life as a revolutionary, Zapata's personal experiences were also very remarkable. He had nine wives, the first being Inés Alfaro, with whom he had five children. Historians describe her as a sweet and somewhat resigned peasant girl, who forgave her husband for all his infidelities.

His second wife was Zapata's only official wife. Her name was Josefa Espejo and she was known as La Generala. She came from a rich family, which she abandoned to follow the revolutionary. He married Josefa in 1911, having two children who died while still children.

References

1. Biographies and Life. Emiliano Zapata. Obtained from biografiasyvidas.com
2. OACA Libertarian Portal. Biography of Emiliano Zapata. Obtained from portaloaca.com
3. The historian. The murder of Emiliano Zapata. Obtained from elhistoriador.com.ar
4. Biography. Emiliano Zapata. Retrieved from biography.com
5. Alba, Victor. Emiliano Zapata. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Minster, Christopher. The Full Story of Revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. Retrieved from thoughtco.com
7. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Zapata, Emiliano. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com