Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, has a unique history of inequality, injustice and resistance. Chiapas is the poorest state of Mexico, 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.

Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, has a unique history of inequality, injustice and resistance. Chiapas is the poorest state of Mexico, 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.

Since the uprising and the inception of NAFTA (also 1994), the Zapatistas have become some of the most articulate critics of neoliberal economics. Chiapas has seen a tremendous growth in civil society and human rights and solidarity organizations. Initially, these organizations arose to monitor the peace processand military aggressions in communities. However, the struggles and the outright oppression Indigenous peoples faced from the army and Mexican government spurred a wave of inspired and concerned foreigners and Mexican nationals to come to Chiapas as volunteers in solidarity. The nonprofit sector and society at large, during these 10 years of resistance, have embarked upon the challenging and inspiring task of making the demands of indigenous peoples for rights, services and justice into a reality.