Many of the names, places, and events in the book closely echo the actual political scenario involving the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, which is also based in Chiapas and also has Subcomandante Marcos as their leader.
The anarcho-socialist Zapatista revolutionaries in the book find it acceptable to use the tools of the capitalists against them, such as by riding in Coca-Cola trucks for transportation; however, they are content to steal drinks when they desire, thus harming the corporation.
The capitalists’ ultimate tool, Alice Irene, the artificially intelligent being created for the supervision of the Martian population program, was also the deus ex machina that allowed Starrchilde to take control of the ship.
The novel also contains references to Webster’s mother being addicted to living via interface in the world of the Dragons of Pern, where life itself is heavily genetically modified to defend human colonists.
The novel additionally alludes to The Postman with Kevin Costner, and notes the irony in that the viewers were living in the time of an apocalypse, even while the watching the movie, as the political implications of widespread capitalism had corrupted society to its core.
Arguably the greatest significance of the novel lies in its total disregard of the majority of the planetary surface and the inhabitants thereof while presuming to lay out the battle-lines for its lame Armageddon.
The exploited, oppressed, and ultimate saved are exclusively Latin-American, and no reference is ever made to alternatives in Eurasia, Africa, and Australasia to the heavy-handed developed-world bashing image of North America.