The EZLN (Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional) resistance in Chiapas, Mexico remade the image of San Cristobal, from a quaint tourist destination, to a location of adventure and social revolution. The Zapatista, and their ideas of Zapatismo, according to some North American social activists, was a keystone movement facing off against the pressures of neo-liberal capitalism. One of the most notable contributions has been the stimulation of an overwhelming rise in international solidarity actors to the area. These factors along with a proximity to popular Maya archaeological sites, a high population of Indigenous Maya, and pivotal Spanish history reflected in colonial architecture, combine to lure international tourists to the area. My intention for this project is to examine the confluence of tourist and host as they together set a tourist market based on many things, but in particular on the ongoing Zapatista revolution and how this social movement has become an invitation to perform as activists and humanitarians, as well as tourists.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 457-482).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 302-324). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thèse (M.Sc.Géogr. )--Université Laval, 2007. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 9 mai 2008). Bibliogr.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. / "August 2006." Title taken from title screen (viewed October 8, 2007). Includes bibliographical references and appendices.

This thesis studies the rhetoric of the Zapatista Revolution and social movement through the analysis of Zapatista messages using the method of cluster criticism. It explores changes in the rhetoric of confrontation and the rhetoric of peace used by the Zapatistas to further their cause during the last ten years of the revolution.

O trabalho tem o objetivo central de identificar como se construiu historicamente a figura do Subcomandante Marcos, na esteira do processo de formação do movimento zapatista em Chiapas. Marcos, cuja identidade era ocultada por si mesmo (embora o governo mexicano tenha declarado publicamente, em 1995, que ele era o professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), é o principal porta-voz do Exército Zapatista de Libertação Nacional (EZLN) e destaca-se como figura-símbolo do referido movimento. Diante disso, busca-se apresentar a importância chave do indivíduo para o movimento zapatista (no plano intelectual e político), bem como compreender como se deu a dissolução de sua própria individualidade no plano simbólico na medida em que Marcos pareceu encarnar o ideário revolucionário zapatista. A ênfase analítica, para tanto, recairá sobre os aspectos de messianismo inseridos nesse processo, assim como sobre os elementos que sinalizem em Marcos a representação da própria experiência utópica, para que então se compreenda as razões pela quais sua liderança pareceu ter uma dimensão sui generis. Tal análise, feita a partir do levantamento de fontes primárias e da revisão da literatura secundária, mostra-se necessária frente à constatação de que o zapatismo constituiu-se como um dos movimentos políticos mais relevantes da contemporaneidade. Assim, realizando um estudo sistemático desse conjunto de aspectos, busca-se articular os temas de modo pertinente, para que se compreenda, então, o significado histórico deste ator político contemporâneo. / This work aims to identify the historical construction of Subcomandante Marcos image, in the wake of the process of the construction of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. Marcos, whose real identity is hidden by himself (though the Mexican government publicly declared in 1995 that he is Professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), is the main spokesperson of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and stands as a symbol-image of the movement. Therefore, the dissertation seeks to present this individuals key importance to the movement (in the intellectual and political spheres), as well as understanding the dissolution of his own individuality (in the symbolic sphere) as Marcos seems to incarnate the revolutionary ideas of Zapatismo itself. The analytical emphasis, therefore, is on the messianist aspects inserted in this process, as well as on the elements that demonstrate representations of his own utopian existence, in order to understand the reasons why his leadership seems to have a sui generis dimension. This analysis, based on a thorough survey of primary and secondary sources, is relevant because the Zapatistas have established themselves as one of the most relevant contemporary political and social movements. Thus, conducting a systematic study of these aspects, it seeks to understand the historical importance of Subcomandante Marcos within the context of the rise of the Zapatistas.

O trabalho tem o objetivo central de identificar como se construiu historicamente a figura do Subcomandante Marcos, na esteira do processo de formação do movimento zapatista em Chiapas. Marcos, cuja identidade era ocultada por si mesmo (embora o governo mexicano tenha declarado publicamente, em 1995, que ele era o professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), é o principal porta-voz do Exército Zapatista de Libertação Nacional (EZLN) e destaca-se como figura-símbolo do referido movimento. Diante disso, busca-se apresentar a importância chave do indivíduo para o movimento zapatista (no plano intelectual e político), bem como compreender como se deu a dissolução de sua própria individualidade no plano simbólico na medida em que Marcos pareceu encarnar o ideário revolucionário zapatista. A ênfase analítica, para tanto, recairá sobre os aspectos de messianismo inseridos nesse processo, assim como sobre os elementos que sinalizem em Marcos a representação da própria experiência utópica, para que então se compreenda as razões pela quais sua liderança pareceu ter uma dimensão sui generis. Tal análise, feita a partir do levantamento de fontes primárias e da revisão da literatura secundária, mostra-se necessária frente à constatação de que o zapatismo constituiu-se como um dos movimentos políticos mais relevantes da contemporaneidade. Assim, realizando um estudo sistemático desse conjunto de aspectos, busca-se articular os temas de modo pertinente, para que se compreenda, então, o significado histórico deste ator político contemporâneo. / This work aims to identify the historical construction of Subcomandante Marcos image, in the wake of the process of the construction of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. Marcos, whose real identity is hidden by himself (though the Mexican government publicly declared in 1995 that he is Professor Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente), is the main spokesperson of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and stands as a symbol-image of the movement. Therefore, the dissertation seeks to present this individuals key importance to the movement (in the intellectual and political spheres), as well as understanding the dissolution of his own individuality (in the symbolic sphere) as Marcos seems to incarnate the revolutionary ideas of Zapatismo itself. The analytical emphasis, therefore, is on the messianist aspects inserted in this process, as well as on the elements that demonstrate representations of his own utopian existence, in order to understand the reasons why his leadership seems to have a sui generis dimension. This analysis, based on a thorough survey of primary and secondary sources, is relevant because the Zapatistas have established themselves as one of the most relevant contemporary political and social movements. Thus, conducting a systematic study of these aspects, it seeks to understand the historical importance of Subcomandante Marcos within the context of the rise of the Zapatistas.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Social Anthropology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-150). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ67739.

A study of the process of technological change in contemporary Mayan agricultural systems was undertaken by an action research method that involved close collaboration with the rural development efforts of farmers in the northern highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Firstly, the socioeconomic context of technological change in Chiapas was described, with special reference to the effects of markets on agricultural development. Secondly, theta actors affecting the productivity and sustainability of the regions principal agricultural systems: maize and beans for subsistence and coffee for cash were described and measured. The use of traditional swidden methods of maize cultivation with shorter fallow periods was found to be causing a significant decline in the fertility of soils. Alternative, non-burning methods were found to be sustainable in terms of soil fertility, but required high labour inputs and were less productive during a 2-3 year transition period. Despite government programmes to promote the development of coffee plantations most farmers had adopted only ad hoc improvements, and coffee system productivities were found to be generally low. Models integrating dynamic and linear progranuning components of the improvement problem systems in maize and coffee production were constructed using evidence from the field studies. By examining a number of hypothetical scenarios, further hypotheses about the coffee and maize systems were generated. It was inferred that the relative scarcity of farm labour, cash or land resources would affect the optimum technical decisions of farmers. In particular, it was concluded that farmers with scarce cash resources would face most difficulty (in terms of loss of effective income) in adopting non-burning maize techniques and the promoted methods of coffee plantation improvement. On the basis of the evidence from the field studies and the modelling exercises a number of technical, project and policy recommendations were advocated. These were based upon the objective of maximising the potential competitive strengths of the peasant mode of production, including: the efficient use of marginal, dispersed and inaccessible resources and the production of a wide range of specialised agricultural and forestry products.