Zapatista healthcare in a civilian targeted warfare zone: Chiapas, Mexico

Indigenous people in Chiapas, Mexico have endured hundreds of years of attacks on their cultures and life ways. They have been marginalized, excluded, and oppressed. They have experienced the loss of ancestral lands and the destruction of their natural resources and environment. They have been denied fundamental human rights including access to land, education, and healthcare. They have suffered disproportionately high infant and maternal mortality rates and deaths from curable, preventable disease. They have survived without access to clean water, sanitation facilities, or electricity. Finally in 1994 with the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and other Neoliberal economic projects on the horizon, over three thousand Indigenous people came together, called themselves Zapatistas, and declared war on the Mexican government. The world watched as the Zapatistas demanded basic human rights and the Mexican government promised reform. When the government failed to honor their promises, the Zapatistas responded by creating autonomous communities with their own form of government, education, and health care. The purpose of this study is to assess the autonomous Zapatista healthcare system in the Oventic caracole following the Zapatista rebellion using a political ecology theoretical approach. Specifically, does the Zapatista healthcare system operate successfully and how has this model changed healthcare access and well being of the people living in this civilian targeted warfare zone? What effect has the militarization had on health care? This research has the potential to provide valuable contributions to the Zapatista struggle as they continue to develop and improve the healthcare system in autonomous communities living in resistance. Additionally, this work may serve as a resource and guide for local and international non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, medical professionals, and Zapatista support groups who wish to contribute to the growth, sustainability, success, and autonomy of the Zapatista healthcare system.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Authors dc:creator

• Sullivan, Julie Ann Marie, author
• Sherman, Kathleen, advisor
• Magennis, Ann, committee member
• Valdez, Norberto, committee member
• Vernon, Irene, committee member

• Medical care -- Chiapas (Mexico)

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018381

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/234714