The son of a 'strong farmer', Zapata grew up to become the most
famous leader of the Mexican Revolution. Like Connolly or the
Ladies' Land League in Ireland, Zapata is paid much lip service
by the Mexican establishment, but his revolutionary ideas are
ignored by those who inherited the power won in the Revolution.
A gifted organiser, Zapata also spoke Náhuatl, his local
indigenous language. Elected leader of his village in 1909,
Zapata began recruiting an insurgent army even before the
Revolution beginning in 1910 which overthrew the dictator
Porfirio Díaz. The links between the dictatorship and the
U.S.A., combined with Mexico's colonial past, gave rise to much
'revolutionary nationalism' - revolution as defence of the
nation - which is still a vibrant force today. Zapata's
Liberation Army of the South did not accept the new reformist
government under Francisco Madera. The Zapatistas fought on
against government troops lead by Victoriano Huerta, the general
who overthrew Madera in February, 1913, and was the