It is better to die on your feet, than to live on your knees.
—Emiliano Zapata
With his long black mustache, broad sombrero, and piercing eyes, rebel leader Emiliano Zapata (1879–1919) is one of the most famous faces in Mexican history. Leader of a large-scale peasant revolt from 1910 until his assassination, Zapata fought for a more equitable distribution of the nation’s farmland, making him an enduring hero to many Mexicans, especially the poor.
Zapata grew up during the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (1830–1915), who had seized power in an 1876 coup. For peasant farmers like Zapata’s family, the Díaz years were a disastrous period, as the government allowed large landowners to consolidate control over the countryside at the expense of the peasantry.
In 1909, Zapata was elected one of the guardians of his village, Anenecuilco, in the southern state of Morelos. When the Mexican Revolution began in 1910, Zapata supported the rebels, who toppled Díaz in 1911, forcing the dictator to flee to France.
The end of the Díaz regime, however, did not address Zapata’s land reform demands or end the revolution. Zapata detailed his proposals in the Plan de Ayala, a 1911 manifesto for land reform that would make it easier for poor farmers to own farms.
Over the next eight years, several different presidents ruled Mexico as rebel factions vied for power. Zapata drew his support mostly from southern Mexico, until he was assassinated in 1919 after being tricked into a meeting with his enemies. The war petered out after 1920; some of Zapata’s reforms were enacted, but rebel groups claiming to continue Zapata’s unfinished struggle are still in existence.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- Zapata was played by actor Marlon Brando (1924–2004) in a 1952 film about his life, Viva Zapata! which also starred Anthony Quinn (1915–2001) as the rebel leader’s brother. Quinn won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the film was nominated for four other Oscars. The screenplay was cowritten by John Steinbeck (1902–1968)—better known as a Nobel Prize–winning novelist.
- In 1994, a group of rebels calling themselves Zapatistas launched a revolt against Mexican land reforms and trade policy in the state of Chiapas.
- The anniversary of Zapata’s assassination, April 10, is often marked in Mexico with protests by various groups that claim the rebel as an inspiration.
