But when petroleum deposits were discovered in Chiapas in the 1960s and 70s, the Mayans were suddenly the center of attention. They were run off their lands with little or no compensation, the profits sent back to Mexico City. There are a lot of natural resources. Large oil and uranium reserves that extend from Tabasco to Central America. Today, the Maya remain peasant farmers, growing coffee and sugar.
Poverty is rampant.
A low-intensity war that is doing away with the indigenous peoples of Chiapas. Hence the taking of Emiliano Zapata's name for the present-day revolution. While many movements in Mexican history have adopted the famous revolutionary, the Mayan struggle is one rooted in a bloody heritage, not merely abstract notions. An estimated 60,000 army soldiers are stationed in Chiapas. In the western Lacandon Jungle, there is one soldier for every three Mayan Indians.