Zapaturismo or Zapatourism is a tourist phenomenon in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

, prompted by the presence of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). The area is visited by national and international tourists who are attracted by the message, policies, and image of the Zapatistas, who claim to provide

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

, and dignity to local indigenous communities. The

Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities (Spanish: ''Municipios Autónomos Rebeldes Zapatistas'', ''MAREZ'') are ''de facto'' autonomous territories controlled by the neo-Zapatista support bases in the Mexican state of Chiapas, founded followin ...

in the region act as a gateway to the movement, a tendency which has been referred to as "political tourism". The Zapaturismo phenomenon started in 1996 when the EZLN began inviting celebrities such as

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

, Edward James Olmos, and Danielle Mitterrand to visit the Lacandon Jungle in Chiapas. In recent years, however, the Zapatistas' support for Zapaturismo has waned. When Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador started pushing for the construction of

Tren Maya The Tren Maya (sometimes also Mayan Train or Maya Train) is a intercity railway in Mexico that will traverse the Yucatán Peninsula; construction began in June 2020 and is scheduled to be completed by 2024. The railway begins in Palenque in C ...

, a 948-mile railway which would connect archaeological sites along the Yucatán Peninsula and open up the region to further tourism, the EZLN denounced the project as "an open declaration of war". They explained that they felt the project served corporate interests rather than those of local communities, and that it would simply shuttle wealthy tourists from cultural site to cultural site without giving back to said communities. Any related jobs provided to locals, the Zapatistas argued, would not be "dignified", but would be focused on serving visitors. Concerns were also expressed regarding predatory commercial interests such as hotel chains seeking to profit off of indigenous cultures without genuine interest or commitment to them.

References

Sources

*
Nueva moda: el "zapaturismo"

Insurgencia y turismo: reflexiones sobre el impacto del turista politizado en Chiapas
{{Neo-Zapatismo Zapatista Army of National Liberation

See also

References

Sources