¡Zapata vive! ¡La lucha sigue! Explaining the mobilizing activity of the Zapatista movement in Mexico, 1994--2001

The development of the Zapatista movement since the emergence of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) in 1994 occurred in highly complex circumstances. While the movement enjoyed popular support inside and outside their region of influence, the political context at the local and national levels has always been closed to their demands. This study investigates the local national and international factors that have allowed the Zapatistas to maintain their level of protest activity by looking at the three main theoretical streams in the study of social movements, namely the structure of political opportunities, the availability of mobilizing networks, and the type of demands' framing. Using an event history model, I analyze the ebb and flow of pro-Zapatista protests across the 111 localities (municipios) of Chiapas over an eight-year period (1994--2001). The results of this study show that at the local level the most influential factors triggering protest events are: (1) the closure of the political system to Zapatista demands; (2) the presence of other indigenous organizations prior to the emergence of the Zapatistas; and (3) both political and economic demands. At the national level electoral openings signaled opportunities for the movement to continue protesting, while international media attention proved to be more influential in triggering protests and constraining the national government efforts to suppress Zapatista mobilizing activity.