d, the assembled chiefs finally declared themselves formally in rebellion against the federal government. Only through violence could they gain justice for the pueblos. To lead the Ayala revolution they called on a national hero, the chief who had emerged as the most famous Maderista commander in the earlier San Luis revolution and who was now the loyal but restless head of Chihuahua’s federal police, Pascual Orozco. “I am resolved,” Zapata wrote to Magana in Mexico City, “to struggle against everything and everybody…”
Emiliano Zapata also fought against the dictatorship of President Porfirio Diaz, a dictator who ruled for over three decades. During his reign, power was in the hands of a few and the people had little or no outlet to express their opinions or participate in the political process of selecting officials. Like most forms of government, wealth was also concentrated in the hands of the few and injustice was the norm not the exception. During the first part of the 19th century, a band of young leaders, among them Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, rose in opposition to the political structure of Mexico. They faced leaders who were firmly entrenched in the power of the status quo, leaders who were not about to give up any power or privilege. Men like Zapata believed they could assume a proper role in Mexican politics once leaders opened the way for democratic reforms. While the Mexican Constitution called for public election and other democratic structures of government, men like Diaz subverted the constitution to their own aims and remained in power. Basically, the Mexican Revolution, like the French and American before it, was a people’s revolution and efforts by men like Zapata and the Zapatistas were directed at putting more political power into the hands of the common people:
The Constitution of 1917 provided for a democratic political regime in Mexico, although at the same time it extended the...