Tesis para Optar al Título de Periodista / "Este movimiento apunta a la transformación de México", me dice Andrés Manuel López Obrador a fines de agosto de este año, mientras se abre camino entre un puñado de seguidores para alcanzar el camión que, apostado en el centro de la plaza del pequeño pueblo de San Gregorio Atzompa, en el Estado de Puebla en México, le servirá de escenario para hablar a la gente sobre "el fraude" de las elecciones del 2 de julio del 2006, de la "mafia" a cargo del país, de su idea de un cambio profundo y sobre la gira que realiza como parte de su "Gobierno Legítimo".

In August 2019 the indigenous social movement Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN), decided to deepen their autonomy project and thereby to intensify their conflict with the Mexican state. The group that emerged in 1994 has for almost three decades been in conflict with the Mexican government. In the last decade, the conflict has been on hold until the group announced their expansion with 11 new autonomous zones in the south of the county. This thesis puts that decision in a political opportunity structure framework; what aspects of the framework can explain the unexpected decision by the movement? A qualitative text analysis of EZLN communique's finds that the movement took advantages of several political opportunities. Most significantly, the construction of the Mayan Train constituted reasons for adopting a confrontational strategy towards the government. Changes in the level of repression towards the movement have facilitated the confrontative decision made by the movement. When controlling for two alternative explanation theories, this study establishes the political opportunity structure as having a stronger explanation factor. This thesis aims to contribute to the literature on political opportunity framework and to revitalize the interest in the EZLN.