RAINBOW AT MIDNIGHT
ZAPATISTAS, WOMEN, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
THE STRUGGLE FOR AUTONOMY FROM NEOLIBERAL GLOBALISATION

Patrick Cuninghame & Carolina Ballesteros Corona

June 1998

Abstract: This article seeks to explain the present intensification of the conflict in Chiapas by examining the clash between global neoliberalism's project for Chiapas and Mexico and the desire of the indigenous peoples and other social movements, particularly of women and the Zapatistas, for autonomy (but not separation), as well as radical social, economic and political change within the confines of the Mexican state and against the designs of the NAFTA free trade agreement. It analyses the origins of the Zapatistas' struggle, their social and political composition, their demands, the importance of the San Andrés Accords and the stance of the Mexican and international Left.

Introduction