People's Republic of Alzamaya

The **People's Republic of Alzamaya** is a country located in Central America, bordering Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Founded on February 16, 1998, with the signing of the San Andres Peace Accords, Alzamaya remained unrecognized for more than 20 years by the majority of the world, until finally being voted into the UN in 2020 in an attempt to ease peace with Mexico. Led by Rafael Galeano (better known as Subcomandante Marcos) and the Communist Party of Alzamaya, the nation's foundations rely on strict anti-revisionism and Maoism, operating in small groups of "caracoles" that determine policy for local communities. As of 2023, Alzamaya is a member of the IML, alongside Peru, Ecuador, and Nepal.

## Zapatista Revolution (1994-1998)

Following widespread opposition to neoliberalism in the region, indigenous groups began to organize to spark a socialist revolution across Mexico. Maoist groups were heavily popular, organizing with peasant villages and creating councils called "caracoles".

The Zapatista army, or EZLN, had organized for years prior to sparking revolution across the region. The movement was named after Emiliano Zapata, who led the Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920. The Zapatistas and Maoists promised communal land ownership as a response to unpopular neoliberal policies, free and widespread healthcare, rights for indigenous peoples, promoting indigenous arts and language, free housing, women's rights, and free education. In the initial year of the uprising, organized insurgencies took place across the Chiapas and Yucatan region, slowly spreading westward and combating Mexican national forces.

During the revolution, the Zapatistas seized more than a hundred thousand acres of land from wealthy capitalists. The revolution was initially very successful, taking hold of most of southeastern Mexico. Although the United States heavily funded the Mexican government with funds and supplies to defeat the Zapatistas, most of Mexico's strategies were inefficient in slowing down the revolutionaries. Though the Zapatistas expected the revolution to spread across Mexico, uprisings eventually slowed, as skirmishes took place alongside Chiapas and neither side made major significant gains. The conflict ended after two years of stalemate, as Mexico finally agreed to a ceasefire on February 16, 1998, as the People's Republic of Alzamaya was soon declared.

## Alzamaya under Marcos (1998-2023)

Alzamaya remains the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Alzamaya, being seen as the de-facto head of state of Alzamaya, though is also seen to have relatively lower influence than other leaders. Alzamaya officially operates under Marxist-Leninist-Maoist policy, closely aligning with the IML and other socialist Latin American countries.

Up until 2019, Alzamaya was not recognized by a majority of countries, other than IML nations. Alzamaya faced heavy isolation, receiving most of its goods from Mexico and the socialist trading bloc under sanctions by the US. In 2019, Mexico finally announced plans to ease relations with Alzamaya and recognize it as an independent state, and that same year, it was voted on by the UN to be incorporated as an independent member state. Although Alzamaya remains a poor and stagnant economy, with sanctions placed upon it by the US, it does regularly trade with Mexico and other socialist nations across the world and seeks close military partnerships with the USSR and IML.