page_title: Chiapas conflict
section_title: March on the capital (March 2001)
hierarchical_section_title: Chiapas conflict / Timeline / PRI power downfall (2000–2001) / March on the capital (March 2001)
caption_attribution_description: Español: Subcomandante Marcos del EZLN durante la Marcha del Color de la Tierra. 23 comandantes del EZLN y el Subcomandante Marcos acompañados por la sociedad civil nacional e internacional recorrieron diferentes estados de México desde Chiapas al Distrito Federal .
context_page_description: The Chiapas conflict refers to the 1994 Zapatista uprising, the 1995 Zapatista crisis and their aftermath, and tensions between the indigenous peoples and subsistence farmers in the Mexican state of Chiapas from the 1990s to the present day.
  The Zapatista uprising started in January 1994, and lasted less than two weeks before a ceasefire was agreed upon. The principal belligerents of subsection of the conflict were the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and the government of Mexico. Negotiations between the government and Zapatistas led to agreements being signed, but were often not complied with in the following years as the peace process stagnated. This resulted in an increasing division between communities with ties to the government and communities that sympathized with the Zapatistas. Social tensions, armed conflict and para-military incidents increased, culminating in the killing of 45 people in the village of Acteal in 1997 by an anti-Zapatista militia. Though at a low level, rebel activity continues and violence occasionally erupts between Zapatista supporters and anti-Zapatista militias along with the government.
context_section_description: In March 2001, about 100,000 supporters of the Zapatistas and the rights of indigenous people mobilized in Mexico City to express their demands of the government; many of the rebels, led by Subcomandante Marcos, traveled for two weeks to reach the site of the political rally. This march was known as the "March of the Color of the Earth" (Spanish: La Marcha del Color de la Tierra) after a quote by Marcos. The Zapatistas expressed support for a Bill of Rights for the nation's minority Indian population and, in his speech to the crowds, Marcos demanded that President Fox "listen to us," despite Fox's vocal support for, and initial proposal of, the Zapatista-backed legislation. By the end of April 2001, the Bill was passed by Congress by a wide margin, with Fox's support, but underwent several amendments before it was passed that was criticized by a number of indigenous leaders. The Zapatistas referred to the final version of the law as a "betrayal" because of its failure to affirm the communal rights indigenous people had to land, other natural resources, and to have autonomous states within Mexico, contrary to the San Andrés Accords.
caption: Subcomandante Marcos at the March of the Color of the Earth.
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