Emiliano Zapata

This clearly written and carefully argued narrative presents a less mythical and more human Zapata against the dramatic and chaotic background of the Mexican Revolution.

This essential volume recalls the activities of Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919), a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution; he formed and commanded an important revolutionary force during this conflict. Womack focuses attention on Zapata's activities and his home state of Morelos during the Revolution. Zapata quickly rose from his position as a peasant leader in a village seeking agrarian reform. Zapata's dedication to the cause of land rights made him a hero to the people. Womack describes the contributing factors and conditions preceding the Mexican Revolution, creating a narrative that examines political and agrarian transformations on local and national levels.

This thorough narrative examines Emiliano Zapata's life, his role in Mexico's revolutionary movement, and his true motivations and beliefs. Emiliano Zapata is regarded as among the most important figures of the Mexican Revolution. This book provides more than just a biography of a great leader; it enables readers to understand who Zapata was and the interests and ideologies he supported, emphasizing his ideals and distinguishing him from those who have used his name for their own purposes. Emiliano Zapata: A Biography is organized chronologically, detailing Zapata's youth and early adulthood in the years preceding the Mexican Revolution; his role in getting his home state involved in the Revolution; and his ascent to power in Morelos' revolutionary movement. The author elucidates Zapata's continual struggle to bring meaningful change to the lives of Mexico's poorest people, how his commitment to revolutionary reform came to define his existence, and how his ideals led to his own violent death as they had to the deaths of so many of his adversaries. A fascinating read for high school students as well as general readers, this biography tells an unforgettable story of one of Mexico's heroic figures.

Before there was Che Guevara, there was Emiliano Zapata, the charismatic revolutionary who left indelible marks on Mexican politics and society. The sequel to Samuel Brunk's 1995 biography of Zapata, The Posthumous Career of Emiliano Zapata traces the power and impact of this ubiquitous, immortalized figure. Mining the massive extant literature on Zapata, supplemented by archival documents and historical newspaper accounts, Brunk explores frameworks of myth and commemoration while responding to key questions regarding the regime that emerged from the Zapatista movement, including whether it was spawned by a genuinely "popular" revolution. Blending a sophisticated analysis of hegemonic systems and nationalism with lively, accessible accounts of ways in which the rebel is continually resurrected decades after his death in a 1919 ambush, Brunk delves into a rich realm of artistic, geographical, militaristic, and ultimately all-encompassing applications of this charismatic icon. Examining all perspectives, from politicized commemorations of Zapata's death to popular stories and corridos, The Posthumous Career of Emiliano Zapata is an eloquent, engaging portrait of a legend incarnate.

*Includes pictures *Includes Zapata's quotes and descriptions of his life and career *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Emiliano Zapata A little more than 100 years ago a Mexican peasant named Emiliano Zapata gathered a rural army from the plantations and villages of southern Mexico, seized the lands of the haciendas, and began to distribute them among the peasants of Anenecuilco, his hometown, in the state of Morelos. Outraged and impatient with the ceaseless destitution of the indigenous peoples at the hands of the landowners, he had decided to take justice in his hands. His flag was Liberty and Justice, the exact opposites of the two burdens that had tyrannized the rural population: work in semi-slavery conditions and immense inequality. Zapata, who in a few years assembled a popular army of 25,000, was a unique case in the history of Mexico. His country's past had consisted of opportunist generals revolting against the government seeking not to make justice, but to seize power. Conversely, Zapata was not interested in politics or power plays, except in their most practical and immediate form: to distribute land among the peasants; to allow them to work in peace; and to defend their gains by force of arms. Thus, it was only inevitable that in his time, he was seen as a menace, someone to get rid of in order to return to peace and order. Nearly a century after his death, Zapata remains an opaque figure. To call oneself a Zapatista in Mexico can get a person in trouble, yet he led one of the peasant rebellions most studied by scholars. Historians have produced biographies that portray him as a hero, such as John Womack in the 1960s, and that of his successor and closest aide, Gildardo Magana, who wrote one shortly after Zapata's death. More meticulous books have appeared in recent past, like the one by Samuel Brunk, who concedes that the press may have exaggerated Zapata's exploits, but not completely. Despite the debates, the caudillo of the south continues to shine for his clarity of principles and intransigence, his refusal to compromise with the powerful, and his refusal to be a subordinate. He remained faithful to the death in his struggle for the oppressed, and he always despised power. On those grounds, although surely it was never his intention, Zapata became an international symbol, and as a result, many Mexicans have chosen to remember him as one of the noblest, most honest and bravest figures in their nation's history. Emiliano Zapata: The Life and Legacy of the Mexican Revolution's Iconic Leader chronicles the life of one of Mexico's most legendary figures. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Emiliano Zapata like never before, in no time at all.

This thorough narrative examines Emiliano Zapata's life, his role in Mexico's revolutionary movement, and his true motivations and beliefs. Emiliano Zapata is regarded as among the most important figures of the Mexican Revolution. This book provides more than just a biography of a great leader; it enables readers to understand who Zapata was and the interests and ideologies he supported, emphasizing his ideals and distinguishing him from those who have used his name for their own purposes. Emiliano Zapata: A Biography is organized chronologically, detailing Zapata's youth and early adulthood in the years preceding the Mexican Revolution; his role in getting his home state involved in the Revolution; and his ascent to power in Morelos' revolutionary movement. The author elucidates Zapata's continual struggle to bring meaningful change to the lives of Mexico's poorest people, how his commitment to revolutionary reform came to define his existence, and how his ideals led to his own violent death as they had to the deaths of so many of his adversaries. A fascinating read for high school students as well as general readers, this biography tells an unforgettable story of one of Mexico's heroic figures.

"Emiliano Zapata was born in the state of Morelos exactly one hundred years ago; he was murdered just sixty years ago. Zapata has been described as a bandit--the greatest outlaw known to the Western Hemisphere--as well as the 'purest embodiment' of the Mexican Revolution. Who, and what, was Zapata? This short book attempts briefly to describe what Emiliano Zapata aimed to achieve--and just how much he and his companeros actually did achieve, in Morelos and southern Mexico, between 1910 and 1920. It also includes a short account of the evolution of the ejidos and common lands of that country."--

A Zapata legend -- Revolution! -- A deepening war -- The Zapata legacy