A Place Called Chiapas

Jan. 1, 1994, day one of the North American Free Trade Agreement: An army of predominantly indigenous Mayan peoples, lead by the mysterious Subcomandante Marcos, staged a revolt in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. The Zapatista National Liberation Army claimed that NAFTA meant an end to land distribution to poor Indian farmers, and their armed response to the Mexican government accompanied demands for social justice. It was the kind of action that barely registers on the global consciousness before it's squelched, but for one thing: Within hours, the first of dozens of Zapatista communiqués hit the Internet, high-tech statements of purpose straight from the C...