page_title: Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities
section_title: Government
hierarchical_section_title: Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities / Government
caption_attribution_description: English: This sign reads, in Spanish: Top sign: "You are in Zapatista rebel territory. Here the people command and the government obeys." Bottom sign: "North Zone. Council of Good Government. Trafficking in weapons, planting and use of drugs, alcoholic beverages, and illegal sales of wood are strictly prohibited. No to the destruction of nature." Polski: Znaki informują w jęz. hiszp.: (górny) "Jesteś na terytorium rebelii zapatystów. Tu rządzą ludzie a rząd przestrzega", (dolny) "Strefa Północna. Rada Dobrego Rządu. Handel bronią, sadzenie i używanie narkotyków, napojów alkoholowych i nielegalna sprzedaż drewna są surowo zabronione. Nie niszczeniu przyrody."
context_page_description: Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities are de-facto autonomous territories controlled by the Neo-zapatista support bases in the Mexican state of Chiapas, founded following the Zapatista uprising which took place in 1994 and is part of the wider Chiapas conflict. Despite attempts at negotiation with the Mexican government which resulted in the San Andrés Accords in 1996, the region's autonomy remains unrecognized by it.
  The Zapatista army, or EZLN, does not hold any power in the autonomous municipalities. According to its constitution, no commander or member of the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous Committee may take positions of authority or government in these spaces.
  These places are found within the official municipalities, and several are even within the same municipality, as in the case of San Andrés Larrainzar and Ocosingo. The MAREZ are coordinated by Autonomous Councils and their main objectives have been to promote education and health in their territories. They also fight for land rights, labor and trade, housing, and fuel-supply issues, promoting arts, and administering justice.
context_section_description: At a local level, people attend a popular assembly of around 300 families in which anyone over the age of 12 can participate in decision-making. These assemblies strive to reach a consensus, but are willing to fall back to a majority vote. The communities form a federation with other communities to create an autonomous municipalities, which form further federations with other municipalities to create a region. The Zapatistas are composed of five regions, in total having a population of around 360,000 people as of 2018.
  Each community has 3 main administrative structures: (1) the commissariat, in charge of day-to day administration; (2) the council for land control, which deals with forestry and disputes with neighboring communities; and (3) the agencia, a community police agency.
caption: The sign reads (top): "You are in Zapatista rebel territory. Here the people give the orders and the government obeys." Bottom: "North Zone. Council of Good Government. Trafficking in weapons, planting of drugs, drug use, alcoholic beverages, and illegal sales of wood are strictly prohibited. No to the destruction of nature." Federal Highway 307, Chiapas.
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