The EZLN (Ejerc&#237;to Zapatista de Liberaci&#243;n Naci&#243;nal or Zapatista Army of National Liberation) is a political movement dedicated to pressing the Mexican government for more rights and better conditions for Mexican Indians in the country's impoverished southern provinces. Emiliano Zapata is a national hero in Mexico who fought during the Mexican Revolution and attempted to introduce agrarian reform to benefit the lower classes; the EZLN maintains that they are Zapata's ideological heirs. In January 1994, the  EZLN launched a guerrilla war against the government, and has maintained a role on the fringes of Mexican politics ever since. The group is based in the state of Chiapas and has considerable support there. Dozens of villages have declared themselves under the control of the EZLN. <p><br />The EZLN was created on November 17, 1983 by a shadowy figure called Subcomandante Marcos, who remains the group's leader to this day. Allegedly a former teacher, Marcos fled to the jungle with a couple of followers to begin an armed communist revolt. His movement struggled to gain adherents until he dropped orthodox Marxism sometime around 1990 and focused on the specific grievances of the rural peasants and indigenous peoples of Chiapas. Marcos' anti-government, anti-globalization, and anti-American rhetoric took root amongst poor Chiapans. The group's membership expanded into the thousands with many sympathizers across the region. <p><br />The group launched its rebellion for democracy, equal rights, and better living conditions for Chiapans on January 1st, 1994. That date was chosen to coincide with the launch of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Approximately 150 people were killed in almost two weeks of clashes before a truce emerged. Since the uprising, the group has continued to agitate for native rights including negotiating with the government, publicly appealing to Mexican voters, organizing marches and political rallies, and threatening further insurgent violence. <br /><br /><br /><br />