Chiapas

My trip began in the lowlands of Chiapas, the most southern state of Mexico. For me Chiapas is a spiritual place with beautiful scenery from the jungle of the lowlands to the mystic of the mountains. The people of Chiapas are beautiful and show an amazing resilience to the political problems that they face. Chiapas has the second largest indigenous population in Mexico and several different cultures with varying languages, customs, and clothing coincide within this state. Traditional lifestyle prevails in Chiapas with many indigenous communities relying on sustainable farming, at times without electricity or water. It is incredible to experience, but at the same time I am troubled on how tourism and my small part in it effects the community. Discrimination of indigenous populations in the region led to the Zapatista rebellion which began in Chiapas as the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion National (EZLN) stood up to demand better conditions for indigenous populations, highlighting the history of inequality and lack of power. Their first act was taking over several towns in Chiapas on January 1, 1994, the day that NAFTA began. Several days later this ended through conflict with the Mexican Army. Evidence of this rebellion continues to exist to this day. Even traveling through Chiapas we passed military checkpoints where the officials actually asked us questions about why we came, from where, occupation, etc. while checking out the car. Likewise, EZLN signs were everywhere.