Chiapas
—  State  —
Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas
Flag Seal
Anthem: Himno a Chiapas
State of Chiapas within Mexico
Coordinates: 16°24′36″N 92°24′31″W / 16.41°N 92.40861°W / 16.41; -92.40861Coordinates: 16°24′36″N 92°24′31″W / 16.41°N 92.40861°W / 16.41; -92.40861
Country	Mexico
Capital	Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Largest City	Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Municipalities	118
Admission	September 14, 1824[1]
Order	19th[a]
Government
• Governor	Juan Sabines
• Senators[2]	Manuel Velasco María Elena Orantes Rubén Velázquez
• Deputies[3]	Federal Deputies • Roberto Albores • Sami David • Sergio Lobato • Julián Nazar • Hernán Orantes • César Augusto Santiago • Lucrecia Camacho • Ovidio Cortazar Ramos • Roberto Gil Zuarth • Gloria Luna Ruíz • José Manuel Marroquín • Carlos Martínez • Vladimir Ramos • Olga Espinosa • Ariel Gómez León • Sergio Gutiérrez • Luis Hernández Cruz • Juan Carlos López • Federico Ovalle • Magdalena Torres • Francisco Espinosa
Area[4]
• Total	73,289 km2 (28,297 sq mi)
	Ranked 10th
Highest elevation[5]	4,080 m (13,390 ft)
Population (2010)[6]
• Total	4,796,580
• Rank	7th
• Density	65/km2 (170/sq mi)
• Density rank	15th
Demonym	Chiapaneco (a)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	29 – 30
Area code	Area codes • 916 • 917 • 918 • 919 • 932 • 934 • 961 • 962 • 963 • 964 • 965 • 966 • 967 • 968 • 992 • 994
ISO 3166 code	MX-CHP
HDI	0.739 Medium Ranked 32nd
GDP	US$ 11,957,977.89 th[b]
Website	Official Web Site
^ a. By the will of the people of Chiapas expressed by direct vote for incorporation into the Federation. ^ b. The state's GDP was 153,062,117 thousand of pesos in 2008,[7] amount corresponding to 11,957,977.89 million of dollars, being a dollar worth 12.80 pesos (value of June 3, 2010).[8]

Chiapas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃjapas]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las Casas, Comitán, and Tapachula. Located in Southwestern Mexico, it is the southernmost State of Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest and Oaxaca to the west. To the east Chiapas borders Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean.

In general, Chiapas has a humid, tropical climate. In the north, in the area bordering Tabasco, near Teapa, rainfall can average more than 3,000 mm (120 in) per year. In the past, natural vegetation at this region was lowland, tall perennial rainforest, but this vegetation has been destroyed almost completely to give way to agriculture and ranching. Rainfall decreases moving towards the Pacific Ocean, but it is still abundant enough to allow the farming of bananas and many other tropical crops near Tapachula. On the several parallel "sierras" or mountain ranges running along the center of Chiapas, climate can be quite temperate and foggy, allowing the development of cloud forests like those of the Reserva de la Biosfera el Triunfo, home to a handful of Resplendent Quetzals and Horned Guans.

Chiapas is home to the ancient Mayan ruins of Palenque, Yaxchilán, Bonampak, Chinkultic. It is also home to one of the largest indigenous populations in the country with twelve federally recognized ethnicities. Much of the state’s history is centered on the subjugation of these peoples with occasional rebellions. The last of these rebellions was the 1994 Zapatista uprising, which succeeded in obtaining new rights for indigenous people but also divided much of the indigenous peoples of the state.

Geography[link]

Political geography[link]

Chiapas is located in the south east of Mexico, bordering the states of Tabasco, Veracruz and Oaxaca with the Pacific Ocean to the south and Guatemala to the east. It has a territory of 74,415 km², the eighth largest state in Mexico. The state consists of 118 municipalities organized into nine political regions called Center, Altos, Fronteriza, Frailesca, Norte, Selva, Sierra, Soconusco and Istmo-Costa. There are 18 cities, twelve towns (villas) and 111 pueblos (villages).^[9][10] Major cities include Tuxtla Gutiérrez, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Tapachula, Palenque, Comitán, and Chiapa de Corzo.^[10][11]

Geographical regions[link]

View of Sierra Madre de Chiapas. The clouds are from a front that extended from Tabasco to the central valleys but did not make it over this last barrier to the west coast

View of the Sumidero Canyon with clouds

Lake at the Parque Nacional Lagunas de Montebello

The state has a complex geography with seven distinct regions according to the Mullerried classification system. These include the Pacific Coast Plains, the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Central Depression, the Central Highlands, the Eastern Mountains, the Northern Mountains and the Gulf Coast Plains. The Pacific Coast Plains is a strip of land parallel to the ocean. It is composed mostly of sediment from the mountains that border it on the northern side. It is uniformly flat, and stretches from the Bernal Mountain south to Tonalá. It has deep salty soils due to its proximity to the sea. It has mostly deciduous rainforest although most has been converted to pasture for cattle and fields for crops. It has numerous estuaries with mangroves and other aquatic vegetation.^[12]

The Sierra Madre de Chiapas runs parallel to the Pacific coastline of the state, northwest to southeast as a continuation of the Sierra Madre del Sur. This area has the highest altitudes in Chiapas including the Tacaná Volcano, which rises 4,093 meters above sea level. Most of these mountains are volcanic in origin although the nucleus is metamorphic rock. It has a wide range of climates but little arable land. It is mostly covered in middle altitude rainforest, high altitude rainforest, and forests of oaks and pines.^[12] The mountains partially block rain clouds from the Pacific, a process known as Orographic lift, which creates a particularly rich coastal region called the Soconusco.^[13] The main commercial center of the sierra is the town of Motozintla, also near the Guatemalan border.^[14]

The Central Depression is in the center of the state. It is an extensive semi flat area bordered by the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the Central Highlands and the Northern Mountains. Within the depression there are a number of distinct valleys. The climate here can be very hot and humid in the summer, especially due to the large volume of rain received in July and August. The original vegetation was lowland deciduous rainforest with some rainforest of middle altitudes and some oaks above 1500masl.^[12]

The Central Highlands, also referred to as Los Altos, are mountains oriented from northwest to southeast with altitudes ranging from twelve to sixteen hundred meters above sea level. The western highlands are displaced faults, while the eastern highlands are mainly folds of sedimentary formations—mainly limestone, shale, and sandstone.^[14] These mountains, along the Sierra Madre of Chiapas become the Cuchumatanes where they extend over the border into Guatemala. Its topography is mountainous with many narrow valleys and karst formations called uvalas or poljés, depending on the size. Most of the rock is limestone allowing for a number of formations such as caves and sinkholes. There are also some isolated pockets of volcanic rock with the tallest peaks being the Tzontehuitz and Huitepec volcanos. There are no significant surface water systems as they are almost all underground. The original vegetation was forest of oak and pine but these have been heavily damaged.^[12] The highlands climate in the Koeppen modified classification system for Mexico is humid temperate C(m) and subhumid temperate C (w 2 ) (w). This climate exhibits a summer rainy season and a dry winter, with possibilities of frost from December to March.^[14] The Central Highlands have been the population center of Chiapas since the Conquest. European epidemics were hindered by the tierra fría climate, allowing the indigenous peoples in the highlands to retain their large numbers.^[15]

The Eastern Mountains (Montañas del Oriente) are in the east of the state, formed by various parallel mountain chains mostly made of limestone and sandstone. Its altitude varies from 500 to 1500 masl. This area receives moisture from the Gulf of Mexico with abundant rainfall and exhuberant vegetation, which creates the Lacandon Jungle, one of the most important rainforests in Mexico. The Northern Mountains (Montañas del Norte) are in the north of the state. They separate the flatlands of the Gulf Coast Plains from the Central Depression. Its rock is mostly limestone. These mountains also receive large amounts of rainfall with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico giving it a mostly hot and humid climate with rains year round. In the highest elevations around 1800 masl, temperatures are somewhat cooler and do experience a winter. The terrain is rugged with small valleys whose natural vegetation is high altitude rainforest.^[12]

The Gulf Coast Plains (Llanura Costera del Golfo) stretch into Chiapas from the state of Tabasco, which gives it the alternate name of the Tabasqueña Plains. These plains are found only in the extreme north of the state. The terrain is flat and prone to flooding during the rainy season as it was built by sediments deposited by rivers and streams heading to the Gulf.^[12]

Lacandon Jungle[link]

Jungle area near Group C at the Palenque archeological site

The Lacandon Jungle is situated in north eastern Chiapas, centered on a series of canyonlike valleys called the Cañadas, between smaller mountain ridges oriented from northwest to southeast.^[14][16] The ecosystem covers and area of approximately 1.9 million hectares extending from Chiapas into northern Guatemala and southern Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize. This area contains as much as 25% of Mexico's total species diversity,^[17] most of which has not been researched.^[18] It has a predominately hot and humid climate (Am w" i g) with most rain falling from summer to part of fall, with an average of between 2300 and 2600 mm per year. There is a short dry season from March to May. The predominate wild vegetation is perennial high rainforest.^[16] The Lacandon comprises a biosphere reserve (Montes Azules); four natural protected areas (Bonampak, Yaxchilan, Chan Kin, and Lacantum); and the communal reserve (La Cojolita), which functions as a biological corridor with the area of Petén in Guatemala. Flowing within the Rainforest is the Usumacinta River, considered to be one of the largest rivers in Mexico and seventh largest in the world based on volume of water.^[19]

During the 20th century, the Lacandon has had a dramatic increase in population and along with it, severe deforestation. The population of municipalities in this area, Altamirano, Las Margaritas, Ocosingo and Palenque have risen from 11,000 in 1920 to over 376,000 in 2000.^[20] Migrants include Ch'ol, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tojolabal indigenous peoples along with mestizos, Guatemalan refugees and others.^[21] Most of these migrants are peasant farmers, who cut forest to plant crops. However, the soil of this area cannot support annual crop farming for more than three or four harvents.^[14] The increase in population and the need to move on to new lands has pitted migrants against each other, the native Lacandon people, and the various ecological reserves for land.^[21][22][23] It is estimated that only ten percent of the original Lacandon rainforest in Mexico remains, with the rest strip-mined, logged and farmed. It once stretched over a large part of eastern Chiapas but all that remains is along the northern edge of the Guatemalan border.^[24] Of this remaining portion, Mexico is losing over five percent each year.^[25]

The best preserved portion of the Lacandon is within the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve.^[26] It is centered on what was a commercial logging grant by the Porfirio Díaz government, which the government later nationalized. However, this nationalization and conversion into a reserve has made it one of the most contested lands in Chiapas, with the already existing ejidos and other settlements within the park along with new arrivals squatting on the land.^[14][22]

Soconusco[link]

The Soconusco region encompasses a coastal plain and a mountain range with elevations of up to 2000 meters above sea levels paralleling the Pacific Coast.^[14][27] The highest peak in Chiapas is the Tacaná Volcano at 4,800 meters above sea level.^[28] In accordance with an 1882 treaty, the dividing line between Mexico and Guatemala goes right over the summit of this volcano.^[18] The climate is tropical, with a number of rivers and evergreen forests in the mountains. This is Chiapas’ major coffee producing area, as it has the best soils and climate for coffee.^[14] Before the arrival of the Spanish, this area was the principal source of cocoa seeds in the Aztec empire, which they used as currency, and for the highly prized quetzal feathers used by the nobility. It would become the first area to produce coffee, introduced by an Italian entrepreneur on the La Chacara farm.^[14] Coffee is cultivated on the slopes of these mountains mostly between 600 and 1200 masl. Mexico produces about 4 million sacks of green coffee each year, fifth in the world behind Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Most producers are small with plots of land under five hectares. From November to January, the annual crop is harvested and processed employing thousands of seasonal workers. Lately, a number of coffee haciendas have been developing tourism infrastructure as well.^[27]

Environment and protected areas[link]

View of the waterfalls at Agua Azul

Usumacinta River and Lacandon Jungle on Chiapas side

Chiapas is located in the tropical belt of the planet, but the climate is moderated in many areas by altitude. For this reason there are hot, semi hot, temperate and even cold climates. There are areas with abundant rainfall year round along with those that receive most of their rain from May to October with a dry season from November to April. The mountains areas affect wind and moisture flow over the state concentrating moisture in certain areas of the state. They also are responsible for some cloud covered rainforest areas in the Sierra Madre.^[12]

Chiapas' rainforests are home to thousands of unique animals and plants, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.^[11] Natural vegetation varies from lowland to highland tropical forest, pine and oak forests in the highest altitudes and plains area with some grassland. Chiapas is ranked second in forest resources in Mexico with valued woods such as pine, cypress, Liquidambar, oak, cedar, mahogany and more. The Lacandon Jungle is one of the last major tropical rainforests in the northern hemisphere with an extension of 600,000 hectares. It contsina about sixty percent of Mexico’s tropical tree species, 3,500 species of plants, 1,157 species of invertebrates and over 500 of vertebrate species. Chiapas has one of the greatest diversities in wildlife in the Americas. There are more than 100 species of amphibians, 700 species of birds, fifty of mammals and just over 200 species of reptiles. In the hot lowlands, there are armadillos, monkeys, pelicans, wild boar, jaguars, crocodiles, iguanas and many others. In the temperate regions there are species such as bobcats, salamanders, a large red lizard Abronia lythrochila, weasels, opossums, deer, ocelots and bats. The coastal areas have large quantities of fish, turtles, and crustaceans, with many species in danger of extinction or endangered as they are endemic only to this area. The total biodiversity of the state is estimated at over 50,000 species of plants and animals. The diversity of species is not limited to the hot lowlands but in the higher altitudes as well with mesophile forests, oak/pine forests in the Los Altos, Northern Mountains and Sierra Madre and the extensive estuaries and mangrove wetlands along the coast.^[12]

Chiapas has about thirty percent of Mexico’s fresh water resources. The Sierra Madre divides these into those that flow to the Pacific and those that flow to the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the first are short rivers and streams; most longer ones flowing to the Gulf. Most Pacific side rivers do not drain directly into this ocean but into lagoons and estuaries. The two largest rivers are the Grijalva and the Usumacinta, with both part of the same system. The Grijalva has four dams built on it the Belisario Dominguez (La Angostura); Manuel Moreno Torres (Chicoasén); Nezahualcóyotl (Malpaso); and Angel Albino Corzo (Peñitas). The Usumacinta divides the state from Guatemala and is the longest river in Central America. In total, the state has 110,000 hectares of surface waters, 260 km of coastline, control of 96,000 km² of ocean, 75,230 hectares of estuaries and ten lake systems.^[12] Laguna Miramar is a lake in the Montes Azules reserve and the largest in the Lacandon Jungle at 40 km in diameter. The color of its waters vary from indigo to emerald green and in ancient times, there were settlements on its islands and its caves on the shoreline. The Catazajá Lake is 28 km north of the city of Palenque. It is formed by rainwater captured as it makes it way to the Usumacinta River. It contains wildlife such as manatees and iguanas and it is surrounded by rainforest. Fishing on this lake is an ancient tradition and the lake has an annual bass fishing tournament. The Welib Já Waterfall is located on the road between Palenque and Bonampak.^[26]

Overlooking part of the Malpaso or Nezahualcoyotl Reservoir

The state has thirty six protected areas at the state and federal levels along with 67 areas protected by various municipalities. The Sumidero Canyon National Park was decreed in 1980 with an extension of 21,789 hectares. It extends over two of the regions of the state, the Central Depression and the Central Highlands over the municipalities of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Nuevo Usumacinta, Chiapa de Corzo and San Fernando. The canyon has steep and vertical sides that rise to up to 1000 meters from the river below with mostly tropical rainforest but some areas with xerophile vegetation such as cactus can be found. The river below is called the Grijalva, which has cut the canyon over the course of twelve million years. The canyon is emblematic for the state as it is featured in the state seal.^[12][29] The Sumidero Canyon was once the site of an epic battle between the Spainiards and Chiapanecan Indians. Many Chiapanecans chose to throw themselves from the high edges of the canyon rather than be defeated by Spanish forces. Today, the canyon is a popular destination for ecotourism. Visitors often take boat trips down the river that runs through the canyon and enjoy the area's natural beauty including the many birds and abundant vegetation.^[11]

The Montes Azules Integral Biosphere Reserve was decreed in 1978. It is located in the northeast of the state in the Lacandon Jungle. It covers 331,200 hectares in the municipalities of Maravilla Tenejapa, Ocosingo and Las Margaritas. It conserves highland perennial rainforest. The Jungle is in the Usumacinta River basin east of the Chiapas Highlands. It is recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme for its global biological and cultural significance. In 1992, the 61,874-hectare Lacantun Reserve, which includes the Classic Maya archeological sites of Yaxchilan and Bonampak, was added to the biosphere reserve.^[12][23]

Agua Azul Waterfall Protection Area is in the Northern Mountains in the municipality of Tumbalá. It covers an area of 2,580 hectares of rainforest and pine –oak forest, centered on the waterfalls it is named after.^[12] It is located in an area locally called the "Mountains of Water", as many rivers flow through here on their way to the Gulf of Mexico. The rugged terrain encourages water falls with large pools at the bottom, that the falling water has carved into the sedimentary rock and limestone. Agua Azul is one of the best known in the state. The waters of the Agua Azul River emerge from a cave that forms a natural bridge of thirty meters and five small waterfalls in succession, all with pools of water at the bottom. In addition to Agua Azul, the area has other attractions—such as the Shumuljá River, which contains rapids and waterfalls, the Misol Há Waterfall with a thirty meter drop, the Bolón Ajau Waterfall with a fourteen meter drop, the Gallito Copetón rapids, the Blacquiazules Waterfalls, and a section of calm water called the Agua Clara.^[30]

The El Ocote Biosphere Reserve was decreed in 1982 located in the Northern Mountains at the boundary with the Sierra Madre del Sur in the municipalities of Ocozocoautla, Cintalapa and Tecpatán. It has a surface area of 101,288.15 hectares and preserves a rainforest area with karst formations. The Lagunas de Montebello National Park was decreed in 1959 and consists of 7371 hectares near the Guatemalan border in the municipalities of La Independencia and La Trinitaria. It contains two of the most threatened ecosystems in Mexico the "cloud rainforest" and the Soconusco rainforest. The El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, decreed in 1990, is located in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in the municipalities of Acacoyagua, Ángel Albino Corzo, Monte Cristo de Guerrero, La Concordia, Mapastepec, Pijijiapan, Siltepec and Villa Corzo near the Pacific Ocean with 119,177.29 hectares. It conserves areas of tropical rainforest and many freshwater systems endemic to Central America.^[12] It is home to around 400 species of birds including several rare species such as the horned guan, the quetzal and the azure-rumped tanager.^[11] The Palenque National Forest is centered on the archeological site of the same name and was decreed in 1981. It is located in the municipality of Palenque where the Northern Mountains meet the Gulf Coast Plain. It extends over 1,381 hectares of tropical rainforest. The Laguna Bélgica Conservation Zone is located in the north west of the state in the municipality of Ocozocoautla. It covers forty two hectares centered on the Bélgica Lake. The El Zapotal Ecological Center was established in 1980.^[12] Nahá – Metzabok is an area in the Lacandon Jungle whose name means "place of the black lord" in Nahuatl. It extends oer 617.49 km² and in 2010, it was included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Two main communities in the area are called Nahá and Metzabok. They were established in the 1940s, but the oldest communities in the area belong to the Lacandon people. The area has large numbers of wildlife including endangered species such as eagles, quetzals and jaguars.^[31]

Flora and fauna of Chiapas
Cuniculus paca	Alouatta palliata	Eretmochelys imbricata	Pharomachrus mocinno	Tapirus bairdii
Panthera onca	Ramphastidae	Tayassu pecari	Leopardus pardalis	Boa constrictor
Ceiba pentandra	Abies religiosa	Cedrela odorata	Dysoxylum pettigrewianum	Bursera simaruba

Demographics[link]

General statistics[link]

As of 2010, the population is 4,796,580, the eighth most populous state in Mexico.^[32] The 20th century saw large population growth in Chiapas. From fewer than one million inhabitants in 1940, the state had about two million in 1980, and over 4 million in 2005.^[15][33] Overcrowded land in the highlands was relieved when the rainforest to the east was subject to land reform. Cattle ranchers, loggers, and subsistence farmers migrated to the rain forest area. The population of the Lacandon was only one thousand people in 1950, but by the mid-1990s this had increased to 200 thousand.^[34] As of 2010, 78% lives in urban communities with 22% in rural communities.^[35] While birthrates are still high in the state, they have come down in recent decades from 7.4 per woman in 1950. However, these rates still mean significant population growth in raw numbers. About half of the state's population is under age 20, with an average age of 19.^[36] In 2005, there were 924,967 households, 81% headed by men and the rest by women. Most households were nuclear families (70.7%) with 22.1% consisting of extended families.^[37]

More migrate out of Chiapas than migrate in, with emigrants leaving for Tabasco, Oaxaca, Veracruz, State of Mexico and the Federal District primarily.^[36]

While Catholics remain the majority, their numbers has dropped as many have converted to Protestant sects in recent decades.^[36]

There are a number of people in the state with African features. These are the descendents of slaves brought to the state in the 16th century. There are also those with predominantly European features who are the descendents of the original Spanish colonizers as well as later immigrants to Mexico. The latter mostly came at the end of the 19th and early 20th century under the Porfirio Díaz regime to start plantations.^[38]

Indigenous population[link]

Numbers and influence[link]

Over the history of Chiapas, there have been three main indigenous groups: the Mixes-Zoques, the Mayas and the Chiapa .^[36] Today, there are an estimated fifty six linguistic groups. As of the 2005 Census, there were 957,255 people who spoke an indigenous language out of a total population of about 3.5 million. Of this one million, one third do not speak Spanish.^[36][39] Out of Chiapas' 111 municipios, ninety-nine have significant indigenous populations.^[40] Twenty two municipalities have indigenous populations over 90 percent, and 36 municipalities have native populations exceeding 50 percent. However, despite population growth in indigenous villages, the percentage of indigenous to non indigenous continues to fall with less than 35% indigenous. Indian populations are concentrated in a few areas, with the largest concentration of indigenous-language-speaking individuals is living in five of Chiapas's nine economic regions: Los Altos, Selva, Norte, Fronteriza, and Sierra. The remaining four regions, Centro, Frailesca, Soconusco, and Costa, have populations that are considered to be dominantly mestizo .^[40][41]

The state has about 13.5% of all of Mexico's indigenous population,^[36] and it has been ranked among the ten "most indianized" states, with only Campeche, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Yucatán having been ranked above it between 1930 and the present.^[42] These indigenous peoples have been historically resistant to assimilation into the broader Mexican society, with it best seen in the retention rates of indigenous languages and the historic demands for autonomy over geographic areas as well as cultural domains. Much of the latter has been prominent since the Zapatista uprising in 1994.^[43] Most of Chiapas' indigenous groups are descended from the Mayans, speaking languages that are closely related to one another, belonging to the Western Maya language group. The state was part of a large region dominated by the Mayans during the Classic period.^[40] The most numerous of these Mayan groups include the Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Ch'ol, Zoque, Tojolabal, Lacandon and Mam, which have traits in common such as syncretic religious practices, and social structure based on kinship.^[44] The most common Western Maya languages are Tzeltal and Tzotzil along with Chontal, Ch’ol, Tojolabal, Chuj, Kanjobal, Acatec, Jacaltec and Motozintlec.^[40]

Twelve of Mexico's officially recognized native peoples live in the state have conserved their language, customs, history dress and traditions to a significant degree. The primary groups include the Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Ch'ol, Tojolabal, Zoque, Chuj, Kanjobal, Mam, Jacalteco, Mochó Cakchiquel and Lacandon.^[10][45] Most indigenous communities are found in the municipalities of the Centro, Altos, Norte and Selva regions, with many having indigenous populations of over fifty percent. These include Bochil, Sitalá, Pantepec, Simojovel to those with over ninety percent indigenous such as San Juan Cancuc, Huixtán, Tenejapa, Tila, Oxchuc, Tapalapa, Zinacantán, Mitontic, Ocotepec, Chamula, and Chalchihuitán.^[36] The most numerous indigenous communities are the Tzeltal and Tzotzil peoples, who number about 300,000 each, together accounting for about half of the state's indigenous population. The next most numerous are the Ch’ol with about 150,000 people and the Tojolabal and Zoques, who number about 45,000 each.^[38]

Although most indigenous language speakers are bilingual, especially in the younger generations, many of these languages have shown resilience. Four of Chiapas' indigenous languages Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tojolabal and Chol are high-vitality languages, meaning that a high percentage of these ethnicities speak the language and that there is a high rate of monolingualism in it. It is used in over 80% of homes. Zoque is considered to be of medium-vitality with a rate of bilingualism of over 70% and home use somewhere between 65% and 80%. Maya is considered to be of low-vitality with almost all of its speakers bilingual with Spanish.^[46] The most spoken indigenous languages as of 2010 are Tzeltal with 461,236 speakers, Tzotzil with 417,462, Ch’ol with 191,947 and Zoque with 53,839. In total, there are 1,141,499 who speak an indigenous language or 27% of the total population. Of these 14% do not speak Spanish.^[47] Studies done between 1930 and 2000 have indicated that Spanish is not dramatically displacing these languages. In raw number, speakers of these languages are increasing, especially among groups with a long history of resistance to Spanish/Mexican domination.^[42] Language maintenance has been strongest in areas related to where the Zapatista uprising took plaza such as the municipalities of Altamirano, Chamula, Chanal, Larráinzar, Las Margaritas, Ocosingo, Palenque, Sabanilla, San Cristóbal de Las Casas and Simojovel.^[48]

The state's rich indigenous tradition along with its associated political uprisings, especially that of 1994, has great interest from other parts of Mexico and abroad.^[38][40] It has been especially appealing to a variety of academics including many anthropologists, archeologists, historians, psychologists and sociologists.^[38] The concept of "mestizo" or mixed indigenous European heritage became important to Mexico's identity by the time of Independence, but Chiapas has kept its indigenous identity to the present day.^[40] Since the 1970s, this has been supported by the Mexican government as it has shifted from cultural policies that favor a "multicultural" identity for the country.^[49] One major exception to the separatist, indigenous identity has been the case of the Chiapa people, from whom the state's name comes, who have mostly been assimilated and intermarried into the mestizo population.^[38]

Indigenous communities have economies based on traditional agriculture: producing corn and beans for auto consumption and coffee as a cash crop. They also raise a certain amount of livestock. Tourism has provided a number of a these communities with markets for their handcrafts and folk art.^[36] San Cristóbal de las Casas and San Juan Chamula maintain a strong indigenous identity. On market day, many indigenous from rural areas come into San Cristóbal to sell and buy mostly items for everyday use such as fruit, vegetables, animals, cloth, and tools.^[44] San Juan Chamula is considered to be a center of indigenous culture, especially its elaborate festivals of Carnival and Day of Saint John. It was common for politicians, especially during Institutional Revolutionary Party's dominance to visit here during election campaigns and dress in indigenous clothing and carry a walking stick, a traditional sign of power.^[50] Relations between the indigenous ethnic groups is complicated. While there have been inter ethnic political activism such as that promoted by the Diocese of Chiapas in the 1970s and the Zapatista movement in the 1990s, there has also been inter-indigenous conflict as well.^[22][50] Much of this has been based on religion, pitting those of the traditional Catholic/indigenous beliefs who support the traditional power structure against Protestants, Evangelicals and Word of God Catholics (directly allied with the Diocese) who tend to oppose it. This is particularly significant problem among the Tzeltals and Tzotzils. Starting in the 1970s, traditional leaders in San Juan Chamula began expelling dissidents from their homes and land, amounting to about 20,000 indigenous forced to leave over a thirty year period. It continues to be a serious social problem although authorities downplay it.^[50][51]

Clothing, especially women’s clothing, varies by indigenous group. For example, women in Ocosingo tend to wear a blouse with a round collar embroidered with flowers and a black skirt decorated with ribbons and tied with a cloth belt. The Lacandon people tend to wear a simple white tunic. They also make a ceremonial tunic from bark, decorated with astronomy symbols. In Tenejapa, women wear a huipil embroidered with Mayan fretwork along with a black wool rebozo. Men wear short pants, embroidered at the bottom.^[52]

Tzeltals[link]

Tzeltal woman in Ocosingo

The Tzeltals call themselves Winik atel, which means "working men." This is the largest ethnicity in the state, mostly living southeast of San Cristóbal with the largest number in Amatenango.^[38] Today, there are about 500,000 Tzeltal Indians in Chiapas. Tzeltal Mayan, part of the Mayan language family, today is spoken by about 375,000 people making it the fourth-largest language group in Mexico. There are two main dialects; highland (or Oxchuc) and lowland (or Bachajonteco) .^[41] This language, along with Tzotzil, is from the Tzeltalan subdivision of the Mayan language family. Lexico-statistical studies indicate that these two languages probably became differentiated from one another around 1200^[40] Most children are bilingual in the language and Spanish although many of their grandparents are monolingual Tzeltal speakers.^[38] Each Tzeltal community constitutes a distinct social and cultural unit with its own well-defined lands, wearing apparel, kinship system, politico-religious organization, economic resources, crafts, and other cultural features.^[40][41] Women are distinguished by black skirt with a wool belt and an undyed cotton bloused embroidered with flowers. Their hair is tied with ribbons and covered with a cloth. Most men do not use traditional attire.^[38] Agriculture is the basic economic activity of the Tzeltal people. Traditional Mesoamerican crops such as maize, beans, squash, and chili peppers are the most important, but a variety of other crops, including wheat, manioc, sweet potatoes, cotton, chayote, some fruits, other vegetables, and coffee.^[40][41]

Tzotzils[link]

Tzotzil women in San Cristobal

Tzotzil speakers number just slightly less than theTzeltals at 226,000, although those of the ethnicity are probably higher.^[53] Tzotzils are found in the highlands or Los Altos and spread out towards the northeast near the border with Tabasco. However, Tzotzil communities can be found in almost every municipality of the state. They are concentrated in Chamula, Zinacantán, Chenalhó, and Simojovel. Their language is closely related to Tzeltal and distantly related to Yucatec Mayan and Lacandon.^[40][54] Men dress in short pants tied with a red cotton belt and a shirt that hangs down to their knees. They also wear leather huaraches and a hat decorated with ribbons. The women wear a red or blue skirt a short huipil as a blouse and use a chal or rebozo to carry babies and bundles. Tzotzil communities are governed by a katinab who is selected for life by the leaders of each neighborhood. The Tzotzils are also known for their continued use of the temazcal for hygene and medicinal purposes.^[53]

Ch’ols[link]

Ch'ol woman in Palenque

The Ch’ols of Chiapas migrated to the northwest of the state starting about 2,000 years ago, when they were concentrated in Guatemala and Honduras. Those Ch’ols who remained in the south are distinguished by the name Chortís. Chiapas Ch’ols are closely related to the Chontal in Tabasco as well.^[40] Choles are found in Tila, Tumbalá, Sabanilla, Palenque, and Salto de Agua, with an estimated population of about 115,000 people.^[53] The Ch’ol language belongs to the Maya family and is related to Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Lacandon, Tojolabal, and Yucatec Mayan. There are three varieties of Chol (spoken in Tila, Tumbalá, and Sabanilla), all mutually intelligible.^[54] Over half of speakers are monolingual in the Chol language. Women wear a long navy blue or black skirt with a white blouse heavily embroidered with bright colors and a sash with a red ribbon. The men only occasionally use traditional dress for events such as the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This dress usually includes pants, shirts and huipils made of undyed cotton, with leather huaraches, a carrying sack and a hat.^[53] The fundamental economic activity of the Ch’ols is agriculture. They primarily cultivate corn and beans, as well as sugar cane, rice, coffee, and some fruits.^[40] The have Catholic beliefs strongly influenced by native ones. Harvests are celebrated on the Feast of Saint Rose on 30 August.^[53]

Tojolabals[link]

The Totolabals are estimated at 35,000 in the highlands.^[55] According to oral tradition, the Tojolabales came north from Guatemala.^[40] The largest community is Ingeniero González de León in the La Cañada region, an hour outside the municipal seat of Las Margaritas.^[55] Tojolabales are also found in Comitán, Trinitaria, Altamirano and La Independencia.^[42] This area is filled with rolling hills with a temperate and moist climate. There are fast moving rivers and jungle vegetation.^[55] Tojolabal is related to Kanjobal, but also to Tzeltal and Tzotzil.^[42] However, most of the youngest of this ethnicity speak Spanish. Women dress traditionally since childhood with brightly colored skirts decorated with lace or ribbons and a blouse decorated with small ribbons and they cover their heads with kerchiefs. They embroider many of their own clothes but do not sell them. Married women arrange their hair in two braids and single women wear it loose decorated with ribbons. Men no longer wear traditional garb daily as it is considered too expensive to make.^[55]

Zoques[link]

The Zoques are found in 3,000 square kilometers the center and west of the state scattered among hundreds of communities. These were one of the first native peoples of Chiapas, with archeological ruins tied to them dating back as far as 3500 BCE.^[53] Their language is not Mayan but rather relted to Mixe, which is found in Oaxaca and Veracruz.^[42] By the time the Spanish arrived, they had been reduced in number and territory. Their ancient capital was Quechula, which was covered with water by the creation of the Malpaso Dam, along with the ruins of Guelegas, which was first buried by an eruption of the Chichonal volcano. There are still Zoque ruins at Janepaguay, the Ocozocuautla and La Ciénega valleys.^[40][53]

Lacandons[link]

The Lacandons are one of the smallest native indigenous groups of the state with a population estimated between 600 and 1000.^[56] They are mostly located in the communities of Lacanjá, Chansayab and Mensabak in the Lacandon Jungle. They live near the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan and local lore states that the gods resided here when they lived on Earth. They inhabit about a million hectares of rainforest but from the 16th century to the present, migrants have taken over the area, most of which are indigenous from other areas of Chiapas. This dramatically altered their lifestyle and worldview. Traditional Lacandon shelters are huts made with fonds and wood with an earthen floor, but this has mostly given way to modern structures.^[53]

Mochós[link]

The Mochós or Motozintlecos are concentrated in the municipality of Motozintla on the Guatemalan border. According to anthropologists, these people are an "urban" ethnicity as they are mostly found in the neighborhoods of the municipal seat. Other communities can be found near the Tacaná volcano, and in the municipalities of Tuzantán and Belisario Dominguez. The name "Mochó" comes from a response many gave the Spanish who they could not understand and means "I don't know." This community is in the process of disappearing as their numbers shrink.^[57]

Mams[link]

The Mams are a Mayan ethnicity that numbers about 20,000 found in thirty municipalities, especially Tapachula, Motozintla, El Porvenir, Cacahoatán and Amatenango in the southeastern Sierra Madre of Chiapas.^[49][57] The Mame language is one of the most ancient Mayan languages with 5,450 Mame speakers were tallied in Chiapas in the 2000 census.^[40] These people first migrated to the border region between Chiapas and Guatemala at the end of the nineteenth century, establishing scattered settlements. In the 1960s, several hundred migrated to the Lacandon rain forest near the confluence of the Santo Domingo and Jataté Rivers. Those who live in Chiapas are referred to localled as the "Mexican Mam (or Mame)" to differientiate them from those in Guatemala.^[49] Most live around the Tacaná volcano, which the Mams call "our mother" as it is considered to be the source of the fertility of the area's fields. The masculine deity is the Tajumulco volcano, which is in Guatemala.^[49][57]

Guatemalan migrant groups[link]

In the last decades of the 20th century, Chiapas received a large number of indigenous refugees, especially from Guatemala, many of whom remain in the state. These have added ethnicities such as the Kekchi, Chuj, Ixil, Kanjobal, K'iche' and Cakchikel to the population.^[38] The Kanjobal mainly live along the border between Chiapas and Guatemala, with almost 5,800 speakers of the language tallied in the 2000 census. It is believed that a significant number of these Kanjobal-speakers may have been born in Guatemala and immigrated to Chiapas, maintaining strong cultural ties to the neighboring nation.^[40]

History[link]

The official name of the state is Chiapas. The name derives from "Chiapan" or "Tepechiapan" the name of an indigenous population. The term is from Nahuatl and has been translated to mean "sage seed hill" and "water below the hill." After the Spanish arrived, they established two cities called Chiapas de los Indios and Chiapas de los Españoles, with the name of Provincia de Chiapas for the area around the cities. The first coat of arms for the state was created in 1535 as that of the Ciudad Real (San Cristobal de las Casas). The modern coat of arms was created by Chiapas painter Javier Vargas Ballinas.^[58]

Pre-Columbian[link]

Jaguar sculpture from Cintalapa, which dates from between 1000 to 400 BC on display at the Regional Museum of Anthropology and History of Chiapas.

View of the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque

Archaeological site of Palenque.

Hunter gatherers began to occupy the central valley of the state around 7000 BCE, but little is known about their lives.

The oldest archeological remains in the seat are located at the Santa Elena Ranch in Ocozocoautla whose finds include tools and weapons made of stone and bone. It also includes burials.^[59] In the pre Classic period from 1800 BCE to 300 CE, agricultural villages appeared all over the state although hunter gather groups would persist for long after the era.^[60]

Recent excavations in the Soconusco region of the state indicate that the oldest civilization to appear in what is now modern Chiapas is that of the Mokaya, which were cultivating corn and living in houses as early as 1500 BCE, making them one of the oldest in Mesoamerica.^[60][61] There is speculation that these were the forefathers of the Olmec, migrating across the Grijalva Valley and onto the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico to the north, which was Olmec territory. One of these people's ancient cities is now the archeological site of Chiapa de Corzo, in which was found the oldest calendar known on a piece of ceramic with a date of 36 BCE. This is three hundred years before the Mayans developed their calendar. The descendents of Mokaya are the Mixtec-Zoque.^[60]

During the pre Classic, it is known that most of Chiapas was not Olmec, but had close relations with them, especially the Olmecs of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Olmec influenced sculpture can be found in Chiapas and products from the state including amber, magnetite and ilmenite were exported to Olmec lands. The Olmecs came to what is now the northwest of th state looking for amber with one of the main evidences for this called the Simojovel Ax.^[62]

Mayan civilization began in the pre Classic period as well but did not come into prominence until the Classic period (300-900 CE). Development of this culture was agricultural villages during the pre Classic period with city building during the Classic as social stratification became more complex. The Mayans built cities on the Yucatán Peninsula and west into Guatemala.

In Chiapas, Mayas sites are concentrated along the state's borders with Tabasco and Guatemala, near Mayan sites in those entities. Most of this area belongs to the Lacandon Jungle.^[63]

Mayan civilization in the Lacandon is marked by rising exploitation of rainforest resources, rigid social stratification, feverent nationalism and waging war against neighboring peoples.^[60] At its height, it had large cities, writing and of sciences such as mathematics and astronomy. Cities were centered on large political and ceremonial structures elaborately decorated with murals and inscriptions. Among these cities are Palenque, Bonampak, Yaxchilan, Chinkultic, Toniná and Tenón.

The Mayan civilization had vast trade networks and large markets trading in goods such as animal skins, indigo, amber, vanilla and quetzal feathers.^[63] It is not known what ended the civilization but theories range from over population, natural disasters, disease and loss of natural resources through over exploitation or climate change.

Nearly all Mayan cities collapsed around the same time, 900 CE. From then until 1500 CE, social organization of the region fragmented into much smaller units and social structure became much less complex. There was some influence from the rising powers of central Mexico but two main indigenous groups emerged during this time, the Zoques and the various Mayan descendents. The Chiapans, for whom the state is named, migrated into the center of the state during this time and settled around Chiapa de Corzo, the old Mixe–Zoque stronghold.^[60]

There is evidence that the Aztecs appeared in the center of the state around Chiapa de Corza in the 15th century, but were unable to displace the native Chiapa tribe. However, they had enough influence so that the name of this area and of the state would come from Nahuatl.^[11]

Colonial period[link]

16th century Spanish amour at the Regional Museum of Anthropology and History of Chiapas.

Facade of the cathedral of San Cristóbal de las Casas

When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, they found the indigenous peoples divided into Mayan and non-Mayan, with the latter dominated by the Zoques and Chiapa.^[60] The first contact between Spaniards and the people of Chiapas came in 1522, when Hernán Cortés sent tax collectors to the area after Aztec Empire was subdued. The first military incursion was headed by Luis Marín, who arrived in 1523. For three years, Marín was able to subjugate a number of the local peoples, but met with fierce resistance from the Tzotzils in the highlands. The Spanish colonial government then sent a new expedition under Diego de Mazariegos. Mazariegos had more success than his predecessor, but many indigenous preferred to commit suicide rather than submit to the Spanish. One famous example of this is the Battle of Tepetchia, where many jumped to their deaths in the Sumidero Canyon.^[40][41]

Indigenous resistance was weakened by continual warfare with the Spaniards as well as disease, and by 1530, almost all of the indigenous peoples of the area had been subdued with the exception of the Lacandons in the deep jungles who actively resisted until 1695.^[11][40][60] However, the main two groups, the Tzotzils and Tzeltals of the central highlands were subdued enough to establish the first Spanish city, today called San Cristóbal de las Casas, in 1528. It was one of two settlements initially called Villa Real de Chiapa de los Españoles and the other called Chiapa de los Indios.^[40][41]

Soon after, the encomienda system was introduced, which reduced most of the indigenous population to serfs and many even as slaves, paid as a form of tribute. The conquistadors brought previously unknown diseases. This, as well as overwork on plantations, dramatically decreased the indigenous population.^[60] The Spanish also established missions, mostly under the Dominicans, with the Diocese of Chiapas established in 1538 by Pope Paul III.^[41] The Dominican evangelizers became early advocates of the indigenous' plight, with Bartolomé de las Casas winning a battle with the passing of a law in 1542 for their protection. This order also worked to make sure that communities would keep their indigenous name with a saint’s prefix leading to names such as San Juan Chamula and San Lorenzo Zinacantán. He also advocated adapting the teaching of Christianity to indigenous language and culture. The encomienda system that had perpetrated much of the abuse of the indigenous peoples fell away by the end of the 16th century, and was replaced by haciendas. However, the use and misuse of Indian labor remained a large part of Chiapas politics into modern times.^[40][41][60] This treatment and tribute payments would create an undercurrent of resentment in the indigenous population that passed on from generation to generation. One uprising against high tribute payments occurs in the Tzeltal communities in the Los Alto region in 1712. Soon, the Tzoltzils and Ch’ols joined the Tzeltales in rebellion, but within a year, the government was able to extinguish the rebellion.^[40]

The Spanish introduced new crops such as sugar cane, wheat, barley and indigo as main economic staples along native ones such as corn, cotton, cacao and beans. Livestock such as cattle, horses and sheep were introduced as well. Regions would specialize in certain crops and animals depending on local conditions and for many of these regions, communication and travel were difficult.^[60] Most Europeans and their descendents tended to concentrate in cities such as Ciudad Real, Comitán, Chiapa and Tuxtla. Intermixing of the races was prohibited by colonial law but by the end of the 17th century there was a significant mestizo population. Added to this was a population of African slaves brought in by the Spanish in the middle of the 16th century due to the loss of native workforce.^[60][64]

Initially, "Chiapas" referred to the first two cities established by the Spanish in what is now the center of the state and the area surrounding them. Two other regions were also established, the Soconusco and Tuxtla, all under the regional colonial government of Guatemala. Chiapas, Soconusco and Tuxla regions were united to the first time as an "intendencia" in 1790 as an administrative region under the name of Chiapas. However, within this intendencia, the division between Chiapas and Soconusco regions would remain strong and have consequences at the end of the colonial period.^[60][61]

19th century[link]

Since the colonial period, Chiapas had been relatively isolated from colonial authorities in Mexico City and regional authorities in Guatemala. One reason for this was the rugged terrain but the other was that much of Chiapas was not attractive to the Spanish for its lack of mineral wealth or large areas of arable land.^[60] This isolation spared it from battles related to Independence. José María Morelos y Pavón did enter the city of Tonalá but incurred no resistance. The only other insurgent activity was the publication of a newspaper called "El Pararrayos" by Matías de Córdova in San Cristóbal de las Casas.^[65]

Comitán's declaration of independence from 1823

Copy of the 1825 state constitution

1856 map of the state

However, this isolation, along with strong internal divisions in the intendencia would cause political crisis after insurgents captured Mexico City in 1821 to end the Mexican War of Independence.^[60] During this war, a group of influential merchants and ranchers sought the establishment of the Free State of Chiapas. This group became known as the "La Familia Chiapaneca." However, this alliance did not last with the lowlands preferring inclusion among the new republics of Central America and the highlands annexation to Mexico.^[66] In 1821, a number of cities in Chiapas, starting in Comitán declared the state's separation from the Spanish empire. In 1823, Guatemala became part of the United Provinces of Central America, which united to form a federal republic that would last from 1823 to 1839. With the exception of the pro-Mexican Ciudad Real (San Cristóbal) and some others, many Chiapanecan towns and villages favored a Chiapas independent of Mexico and some favored unification with Guatemala. However, the elite in the highland cities pushed for incorporation into Mexico.^[40][60] In 1822, then Emperor Agustín de Iturbide decreed that Chiapas was part of Mexico. In 1823, the Junta General de Gobierno was held and Chiapas declared independence again.^[60] In July 1824, the Soconusco District of southwestern Chiapas split off from Chiapas, announcing that it would join the Central American Federation.^[40] In September of the same year, a referendum was held on whether the intendencia would join Central America or Mexico, with many of the elite endorsing union with Mexico. This referendum ended in favor of incorporation with Mexico (allegedly through manipulation of the elite in the highlands), but the Soconusco region maintained a neutral status until 1842, when Oaxacans under General Antonio López de Santa Anna occupied the area, and declared it reincorporated into Mexico. The elites of the area would not accept this until 1844.^[60][66][67] Guatemala would not recognize Mexico's annexation of the Soconusco region until 1895 even though a final border between Chiapas and the country was finalized until 1882.^[40][67] The State of Chiapas was officially declared in 1824, with its first constitution in 1826. Ciudad Real was renamed San Cristóbal de las Casas in 1828.^[61]

In the decades after the official end of the war, the Chiapas and Soconusco provinces became united with power concentrating into San Cristóbal de las Casas. The state's society evolved into three distinct spheres: indigenous peoples, mestizos from the farms and haciendas and the Spanish colonial cities. Most of the political struggles were between the latter two groups especially over who would control the indigenous labor force. Economically, the state lost one of its main crops, indigo, to synthetic dyes. There was a small experiment with democracy in the form of "open city councils" but it was short lived because voting was heavily rigged.^[60]

The Universidad Pontificia y Literaria de Chiapas was founded in 1826, with Mexico's second teacher’s college founded in the state in 1828.^[60]

The Mexico-wide struggles between Liberals, who favored federalism and Conservatives, who favored centralized autocratic government did not lead to any military battles in the state but it strongly affected the local politics.^[60] In Chiapas, the Liberal-Conservative division had its own twist. Much of the division between the highland and lowland ruling families was for whom the Indians should work for and for how long as the main shortage was of labor.^[68] These families split into Liberals in the lowlands, who wanted further reform and Conservatives in the highlands who still wanted to keep some of the traditional colonial and church privileges.^[69] For most of the early and mid 19th century, Conservatives held most of the power and were concentrated in the larges cites of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapa (de Corzo), Tuxtla and Comitán. As Liberals gained the upper hand nationally in the mid-19th century, one Liberal politician Ángel Albino Corzo gained control of the state. Corzo became the primary exponent of Liberal ideas in the southeast of Mexico and defended the Palenque and Pichucalco areas from annexation by Tabasco. However, Corzo's rule would end in 1875, when he opposed the regime of Porfirio Díaz.^[60]

Liberal land reforms would have negative effects on the state's indigenous population unlike in other areas of the country. Liberal governments expropriated lands that were previously held by the Spanish Crown and Catholic Church in order to sell them into private hands. This was not only motivated by ideology, but also due to the need to raise money. However, many of these lands had been in a kind of "trust" with the local indigenous populations, who worked them. Liberal reforms took away this arrangement and many of these lands fell into the hands of large landholders who when made the local Indian population work for three to five days a week just for the right to continue to cultivate the lands. This requirement caused many to leave and look for employment elsewhere. Most became "free" workers on other farms, but they were often paid only with food and basic necessities from the farm shop. If this was not enough, these workers became indebted to these same shops and then unable to leave.^[70]

The opening up of these lands also allowed many whites and mestizos (often called Ladinos in Chiapas) to encroach on what had been exclusively indigenous communities in the state. These communities had had almost no contact with the Ladino world, except for a priest. The new Ladino landowners occupied their acquired lands as well as others, such as shopkeepers, opened up businesses in the center of Indian communities. In 1848, a group of Tzeltals plotted to kill the new mestizos in their midst, but this plan was discovered, and was punished by th removal of large number of the community’s male members. The changing social order had severe negative effects on the indigenous population with alcoholism spreadings, leading to more debts as it was expensive.^[68] The struggles between Conservatives and Liberals nationally disrupted commerce and confused power relations between Indian communities and Ladino authorities. It also resulted in some brief respites for Indians during times when the instability led to uncollected taxes.^[71]

One other effect that Liberal land reforms had was the start of coffee plantations, especially in the Soconusco region. One reason for this push in this area was that Mexico was still working to strengthen its claim on the area against Guatemala’s claims on the region. The land reforms brought colonists from other areas of the country as well as foreigners from England, the United States and France. These forieign immigrants would introduce coffee production to the areas, as well as modern machineray and professional administration of coffee plantations. Eventually, this production of coffee would become the state's most important crop.^[14]

Although the Liberals had mostly triumphed in the state and the rest of the country by the 1860s, Conservatives still held considerable power in Chiapas. Liberal politicians sought to solidify their power among the indigenous groups by weakening the Church. The more radical of these even allowed indigenous groups the religious freedoms to return to a number of native rituals and beliefs such as pilgrimages to natural shrines such as mountains and waterfalls.^[72]

This culminated in the Chiapas "caste war", which was an uprising the Tzotzils beginning in 1868.^[40][73] The basis of the uprising was the establishment of the "three stones cult" in Tzajahemal.^[73] Agustina Gómez Checheb was a girl tending her father’s sheep when three stones fell from the sky. Collecting them, she put them on her father’s altar and soon claimed that the stone communicated with her. Word of this soon spread and the "talking stones" of Tzajahemel soon became a local indigenous pilgrimage site. The cult was taken over by one pilgrim, Pedro Díaz Cuzcat, who also claimed to be able to communicate with the stones, and had knowledge of Catholic ritual, becoming a kind of priest. However, this challenged the traditional Catholic faith and non Indians began to denounce the cult.^[74] Stories about the cult include embellishments such as the crucifixion of a young Indian boy.^[66]

This led to the arrest of Checheb and Cuzcat in December 1868. This caused resentment among the Tzotzils. Although the Liberals had earlier supported the cult, Liberal landowners had also lost control of much of their Indian labor and Liberal politicians were having a harder time collecting taxes from indigenous communities.^[75] An Indian army gathered at Zontehuitz then attacked various villages and haciendas.^[67] By the following June the city of San Cristóbal was surrounded by several thousand Indians, who offered the exchanged of several Ladino captives for their religious leaders and stones.^[76] Chiapas governor Dominguéz come to San Cristóbal with about three hundred heavily armed men, who then attacked the Indian force armed only with sticks and machetes.^[77] The indigenous force was quickly dispersed and routed with government troops pursuing pockets of guerrilla resistance in the mountains until 1870. The event effectively returned control of the indigenous workforce back to the highland elite.^[67][78]

The Porfirio Díaz era at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th was initially thwarted by regional bosses called caciques, bolstered by a wave of Spanish and mestizo farners who migrated to the state and added to the elite group of wealthy landowning families.^[40][60] There was some technological progress such as a highway from San Cristóbal to the Oaxaca border and the first telephone line in the 1880s, but Porfirian era economic reforms would not begin until 1891 with Governor Emilio Rabasa.^[60][67] This governor took on the local and regional caciques and centralized power into the state capital, which he moved from San Cristóbal de las Casas to Tuxtla in 1892.^[67][79] He modernized public administration, transportation and promoted education.^[60] Rabasa also introduced telegraph, limited public schooling, sanitation and road construction, including a route from San Cristóbal to Tuxtla then Oaxaca, which signaled the beginning of favoritism of development in the central valley over the highlands.^[80] He also changed state policies to favor foreign investment, favored large land mass consolidation for the production of cash crops such as henequen, rubber, guayule, cochineal and coffee.^[60][81] Agricultural production boomed, especially coffee, which induced the construction of port facilities in Tonalá. The economic expanstion and investment in roads also increased access to tropical commodities such as hardwoods, rubber and chicle.^[80]

These still required cheap and steady labor to be provided by the indigenous population.^[80] By the end of the 19th century, the four main indigenous groups, Tzeltals, Tzotzils, Tojolabals and Ch’ols were living in "reducciones" or reservations, isolated from one another.^[51] Conditions on the farms of the Porfirian era was serfdom, as bad if not worse than for other indigenous and mestizo populations leading to the Mexican Revolution. While this coming event would affect the state, Chiapas did not follow the uprisings in other areas that would end the Porfirian era.^[82]

20th century to the present[link]

Sugar cane mill from Tapachula on display at the Regional Museum in Chiapas

In the early 20th century and into the Mexican Revolution, the production of coffee was particularly important but labor intensive. This would lead to a practice called "enganche" (hook) where recruiter would lure workers with advanced pay and other incentives such as alcohol and then trap them with debts for travel and other items to be worked off. This practice would lead to a kind of indentured servitude and uprisings in areas of the state, although they never led to large rebel armies as in other parts of Mexico.^[14]

A small war broke out between Tuxtla and San Cristobal in 1911. San Cristóbal, allied with San Juan Chamula, tried to regain the state’s capital but the effort failed. There were three years of peace after that until troops allied with Venustiano Carranza entered in 1914 taking over the government, with the aim of imposing the Ley de Obreros to address wrongs done to the state’s mostly indigenous workers. Conservatives responded violently months later as they were certain the Carrranza forces would take their lands. This was mostly in the way of guerrilla actions headed by farm owners who called themselves the Mapaches, which continued for six years, until Carranza was assassinated and Álvaro Obregón became president of Mexico. This allowed the Mapaches to gain political power in the state and effectively stop many of the social reforms happening in other parts of Mexico. However, these Mapaches would continue to fight against socialists and communists in Mexico from 1920 to 1936 to maintain their control over the state.^[61] In general, the elite landowners also allied with the nationally dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) so that they could block land reforms in this way as well.^[11] The Mapaches were first defeated in 1925 when an alliance of socialists and former Carranza loyalists had Carlos A. Vidal selected as governor, although he was assassinated two years later. The last of the Mapache resistance was over come in the early 1930s by Governor Victorico Grajales, who pursued President Lázaro Cárdenas' social and economic policies including persecution of the Church. These policies would have some success in redistributing lands and organizing indigenous workers but the state would remain relatively isolated fro the rest of the 20th century.^[60][61] The territory was reorganized into municipalities in 1916. The current state constitution was written in 1921.^[60]

There was political stability from the 1940s to the early 1970s; however, regionalism regained with people thinking of themselves as from their local city or municipality over the state. This regionalism impeded the economy as local authorities restrained outside goods. For this reason, construction of highways and communications were pushed to help with economic development. Most of the work was done around Tuxtla Gutiérrez and Tapachula. This included the Sureste railroad connecting northern municipalities such as Pichucalco, Salto de Agua, Palenque, Catazajá and La Libertad. The Cristobal Colon highway linked Tuxtla to the Guatemalan border. Other highways included El Escopetazo to Pichucalco, a highway between San Cristóbal and Palenque with branches to Cuxtepeques and La Frailesca. This helped to integrate the state’s economy, but it also permitted the political rise of communal land owners called ejidatarios.^[60]

Area of the Lacandon Jungle burned to plant crops

In the mid-20th century, the state experienced a significant rise in population, which outstripped local resources, especially land in the highland areas.^[83] Since the 1930s, many indigenous and mestizos have migrated from the highland areas into the Lacandon Jungle with the populations of Altamirano, Las Margaritas, Ocosingo and Palenque rising from less thatn 11,000 in 1920 to over 376,000 in 2000. These migrants came to the jungle area to clear forest and grow crops and raise livestock, especially cattle.^[20][60] Economic development in general raised the output of the state, especially in agriculture, but it had the effect of deforesting many areas, especially the Lacandon. Added to this was there was still serf like conditions for many workers and insufficient educational infrastructure. Population continued to increase faster than the economy could absorb^[60] There were some attempts to resettle peasant farmers onto non cultivated lands, but they were met with resistance. President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz awarded a land grant to the town of Venustiano Carranza in 1967, but that land was already being used by cattle-ranchers who refused to leave. The peasants tried to take over the land anyway, but when violence broke out, they were forcibly removed.^[84]

These events began to lead to political crises in the 1970s, with more frequent land invasions and takeovers of municipal halls.^[60][84] This was the beginning of a process that would lead to the emergence of the Zapatista movement in the 1990s. Another important factor to this movement would be the role of the Catholic Church from the 1960s to the 1980s. In 1960, Samuel Ruiz became the bishop of the Diocese of Chiapas, centered in San Cristóbal. He supported and worked with Marist priests and nuns following an ideology called liberation theology. In 1974, he organized a state wide "Indian Congress" with representatives from the Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Tojolabal and Ch’ol peoples from 327 communities as well as Marists and the Maoist People's Union. This congress was the first of its kind with the goal of uniting the indigenous peoples politically. These efforts were also supported by leftist organizations from outside Mexico, especially to form unions of ejido organizations. These unions would later form the base of the EZLN organization.^[83] One reason for the Church's efforts to reach out to the indigenous population was that starting in the 1970s, a shift began from traditional Catholic affiliation to Protestant, Evangelical and other Christian sects.^[54]

The 1980s saw a large wave of refugees coming into the state from Central America as a number of these countries, especially Guatemala, were in the midst of violent political turmoil. The Chiapas/Guatemala border had been relatively porous with people traveling back and forth easily in the 19th and 20th centuries, much like the Mexico/U.S. border around the same time. This is in spite of tensions caused by Mexico's annexation of the Soconusco region in the 19th century. The border between Mexico and Guatemala had been traditionally poorly guarded, due to diplomatic considerations, lack of resources and pressure from landowners who need cheap labor sources.^[85]

The arrival of thousands of refugees from Central American stressed Mexico's relationship with Guatemala, at one point coming close to war as well as a politically destabilized Chiapas. Although Mexico is not a signatory to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, international pressure forced the government to grant official protection to at least some of the refugees. Camps were established in Chiapas and other southern states, and mostly housed Mayan peoples. However, most Central American refugees from that time never received any official status, estimated by church and charity groups at about half a million from El Salvador alone.^[86] The Mexican government resisted direct international intervention in the camps, but eventually relented somewhat because of finances.^[87] By 1984, there were 92 camps with 46,000 refugees in Chiapas, concentrated in three areas, mostly near the Guatemalan border.^[88] To make matters worse, the Guatemalan army conducted raids into camps on Mexican territories with significant casualties, terrifying the refugees and local populations.^[89] From within Mexico, refugees faced threats by local governments who threatened to deport them, legally or not, and local paramilitary groups funded by those worried about the political situation in Central American spilling over into the state.^[90] The official government response was to militarize the areas around the camps, which limited international access and migration into Mexico from Central America was restricted.^[91] By 1990, it was estimated that there were over 200,000 Guatemalans and half a million from El Salvador, almost all peasant farmers and most under age twenty.^[92]

In the 1980s, the politization of the indigenous and rural populations of the state began in the 1960s and 1970s continued. In 1980, several ejido (communal land organizations) joined to form the Union of Ejidal Unions and United Peasants of Chiapas, generally called the Union of Unions or UU. It had a membership of 12,000 families from over 180 communities. By 1988, this organization joined with other to form the ARIC-Union of Unions (ARIC-UU) and took over much of the Lacandon Jungle portion of the state.^[83] Most of the members of these organization were from Protestant and Evangelical sects as well as "Word of God" Catholics affliliated with the political movements of the Diocese of Chiapas. What they held in common was indigenous identity vis-à-vis the non-indigenous, using the old 19th century "caste war" word "Ladino" for them.^[54][66][83]

The adoption of neoliberalism by the Mexican federal government clashed with the leftist political ideals of these groups, especially as the reforms began to have negative economic effects on poor farmers, especially small-scale indigenous coffee growers. This would coalese into the Zapatista movement in the 1990s.^[83] Although the Zapatista movement couched its demands and cast is role in response to contemporary issues, especially in its opposition to neoliberalism, it is one of a long line of peasant and indigenous uprisings that have occurred in the state since the colonial era. This is reflected in its indigenous vs. Ladino character.^[66][93] However, the movement was an economic one as well. Although rich in resources, much of the local population of the state, especially in rural areas, did not benefit from this. In the 1990s, two thirds of the states residents did not have sewage service, only a third had electricity and half did not have potable water. Over half of the schools offered education only to the third grade and most dropped out by the end of first grade.^[90] These grievances, which were strongest in the San Cristóbal and Lacandon Jungle areas, were taken up by a small leftist guerrilla band led by a man called only "Subcomandante Marcos."^[94]

Subcomandante Marcos

This small band, called the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN), came to the world’s attention when on January 1, 1994, the day the NAFTA treaty went into effect. On this day, EZLN forces occupied and took over the towns of San Cristobal de las Casas, Las Margaritas, Altamirano, Ocosingo and three others. They read their proclamation of revolt to the world and then laid siege to a nearby military base, capturing weapons and releasing many prisoners from the jails.^[40] This action followed previous protests in the state in opposition to neoliberal economic policies.^[50]

Although it has been estimated at having no more than 300 armed guerrilla members, the EZLN paralyzed the Mexican government as it could not afford the political risks of direct confrontation.^[93] The major reason for this was that the rebellion caught the attention of the national and world press, as Marcos made full use of the then new Internet to get the groups' message out, putting the spotlight on indigenous issues in Mexico in general. It was also actively supported by opposition press in Mexico City, especially La Jornada. However, these elements did provoke the rebellion to go national.^[95] Many blamed the unrest on infiltration of leftists among the large Central American refugee population in Chiapas,^[96] and the rebellion opened up splits in the countryside with those supporting and opposing EZLN.^[93] Zapatista sympathizers have included mostly Protestants and Word of God Catholics, versus those "traditionalist" Catholics who practiced a syncretic form of Catholicism and indigenous beliefs. This split had existed in Chiapas since the 1970s, with the latter group supported by the caciques and others in the traditional power structure. Protestants and Word of God Catholics (allied directly with the bisphoric in San Cristóbal) tended to oppose traditional power structures.^[50]