Emiliano Zapata

Mexican revolutionary leader who championed agrarian rights and inspired social justice movements worldwide

Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919), a central figure in the Mexican Revolution, fought for land reform under the slogan ¡Tierra y Libertad! (Land and Liberty!). His Plan de Ayala (1911) demanded the redistribution of hacienda lands to indigenous communities, challenging the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz and later the moderate government of Francisco Madero.

Zapata’s Liberation Army of the South, composed largely of peasants, seized estates in Morelos and Guerrero. Though assassinated in 1919, his ideals influenced Mexico’s 1917 Constitution, which incorporated agrarian reforms. His image as a folk hero persists in modern movements like the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN).

Unlike other revolutionaries, Zapata rejected political power, focusing solely on grassroots justice. His advocacy for ejidos (communal lands) reshaped rural Mexico and inspired global struggles against inequality.