Major Ana María

Major Ana María is the nom de guerre of one of the first military leaders who led the Zapatista uprising in San Cristóbal de las Casas, in the Southwest of Mexico.[1]

Major

Ana María
Born1969 (age 53–54)
Chiapas, Mexico
Allegiance MAREZ
Service EZLN
RankInfantry Major
Known forWomen’s Revolutionary Law
Battles/warsChiapas conflict

Biography

In 1969, Ana María was born somewhere in the Chiapas Highlands,[2] into the Tzotzil, a Maya people group.[3]

She began participating in peaceful protests when she was only eight years old. After her brother joined the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), the thirteen-year-old Ana María also enlisted, becoming one of the first women to join. She joined the EZLN because she considered it necessary to hold land in order to ensure a better life, especially for indigenous woman.[4] It was within the EZLN that she acquired her political opinions and learned how to use weapons.[5] As one of the first women in the movement, she opened the path for others to join, which led some to create women-only groups of compañeras. To her, the main demands of the EZLN movement were democracy and liberty.[6]

During the Zapatista uprising in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Major Ana María commanded a battalion of 1,000 men and led the seizure of the Municipal Palace.[7] As an Infantry Major, she held the highest military rank in her area.[8]

She helped to conceive the Women's Revolutionary Law, a feminist law for both indigenous and peasant women. She was also a part of the Indigenous Clandestine Revolutionary Committee (Spanish: Comité Clandestino Revolucionario Indigena, CCRI). Among other things, she cosigned a CCRI communiqué addressed to the federal government calling for dialogue "if the Federal Government removes its troops from the lands controlled by the EZLN".[9]

In March 2011, Major Ana María joined the March for the Color of the Earth (Spanish: "La Marcha por el Color de la Tierra"). This march lasted 37 days, and went from San Cristobal de Las Casas to Mexico City. The delegation was made up of 24 EZLN delegates and representatives from many of the indigenous peoples of Mexico.[10] The aim of this march was to defend the San Andrés Accords which committed the Mexican government to recognize indigenous rights and autonomy in the Constitution. However, since the signing of the Accords in 1996, it has been up to each state whether or not to recognize indigenous autonomy.[11]

References
  1. Klein, Hilary (30 January 2008). "We Learn as We Go: Zapatista Women Share Their Experiences". Toward Freedom. Burlington. OCLC 180161608. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  2. Rovira, Guiomar (2000). Women of Maize: Indigenous Women and the Zapatista Rebellion. London: Latin American Bureau. p. 30. ISBN 1899365303. OCLC 45236376.
  3. Kampwirth, Karen (2002). "Also a Women's Rebellion: The Rise of the Zapatista Army". Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Cuba. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 83. ISBN 0271021853. OCLC 52907279.
  4. Rovira, Guiomar (2000). Women of Maize: Indigenous Women and the Zapatista Rebellion. London: Latin American Bureau. p. 40. ISBN 1899365303. OCLC 45236376.
  5. Comandanta Ramona; Major Ana María (8 March 1994). "Las demandas son las mismas de siempre: Justicia, tierras, trabajo, educación e igualdad para las mujeres". Enlace Zapatista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  6. Q (28 February 1994). "Interview with Major Ana Maria of the EZLN" (PDF). Schools for Chiapas. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  7. Subcomandante Marcos (2001). "Twelve Women in the Twelfth Year". In Ponce de Leyear=2001, Juana (ed.). Our Word is Our Weapon. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1-58322-036-4. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  8. Rovira, Guiomar (2000). Women of Maize: Indigenous Women and the Zapatista Rebellion. London: Latin American Bureau. p. 42. ISBN 1899365303. OCLC 45236376.
  9. Henríquez, Elio (13 February 1995). "Entrevista a la Mayor Ana María: Sobre las barbaridades y la guerra sucia del gobierno federal". Enlace Zapatista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  10. Pacheco Ladrón de Guevara, Lourdes Consuelo; Consuelo, Lourdes (2019). "Nosotras ya estábamos muertas: Comandanta Ramona y otras insurgentas del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional". Trayectorias Humanas Trascontinentales (in Spanish) (6). doi:10.25965/trahs.1881. S2CID 248842310. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  11. Gaspar; Fox; Jonathan; Stephen; Lynn; Rivera (March 1999). "Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination in Mexico". Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
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