Chiapas is the southernmost state of Mexico and has a unique history of inequality, injustice and resistance. It's both the poorest state of Mexico and the one with the highest percentage of Indigenous people: 30% of the population. Centuries of displacing, enslaving and outright killing of Indigenous peoples has led to a climate of extreme poverty, racism, and tension.

On January 1, 1994, some of the most forgotten and exploited people in the Americas, Indigenous Mayans, marching together as the Zapatista National Liberation Army, declared Basta! (Enough!). They demanded land, education, democracy, justice and protection of Indigenous rights and culture. The first year of the conflict was bloody, and since then negotiation efforts on the part of the Mexican government have been half-hearted. The Mexican government has chosen violence (militarization, harassment, and lowintensity warfare) over peace by waging a war against the Zapatistas and their supporters.