Plan of Ayala

[4] Prior to the Mexican revolution, much of Mexico’s farmable land was owned by large landowners and not by common people.

[5] Many of these farmers had to work for the large landowners for low wages and did not own land to grow food to feed themselves or their families.

[4] On November 28, 1911, Zapata issued the Plan of Ayala with the help of Otilio Montaño Sánchez.

[1] It detailed Zapata's ideology and vision succinctly in the cry "Reforma, Libertad, Justicia y Ley!"

[4] The Plan of Ayala helped raise support for Zapata by uniting smaller rebellions under the common banner of land reform.

[12] This was evident in increased membership to Zapata’s Ejército Libertador del Sur ("Liberation Army of the South").

[4] In 1914, the army allied with northern revolutionaries led by Venustiano Carranza and Pancho Villa to defeat Huerta and succeeded in the same year.

Zapata joined forces with Villa again to take on Carranza and Obregón because of disagreements over land reform outlined in the Plan of Ayala.

[14] The group began its rebellion after the Mexican government issued a series of economic reforms in preparation for joining the North American Free Trade Agreement, which the EZLN believed would negatively impact indigenous communities.