Biography of Emiliano Zapata

Emiliano Zapata Salazar, was born in Anenecuilco,

Morelos, there is no exact date of his birth but the
most accepted is August 8, 1879, known as
Emiliano Zapata, he was one of the most
important military and peasant leaders of the
Mexican Revolution and a symbol of peasant
resistance in Mexico. As part of the revolutionary
movement, he was in command of the Liberation
Army of the South. He was also known as the
«Caudillo del Sur». Emiliano Zapata, was a
Mexican revolutionary, whose ideals were based
on social justice, social struggles and agrarian
demands, he dedicated his life to fight for the
rights of the peasants, freedom and avoid the
exploitation of the less privileged classes.

Emiliano was tall, mustachioed, with dark skin, thin, curly hair, bulging eyes, strong,
agile and young.
His childhood developed in the context of the Porfirian latifundismo in Morelos. He
made his first studies with Professor Emilio Vara, who had been an old Juarista
soldier.

He was then thirty years old and had a considerable charisma among his neighbors
for his moderation and self-confidence; He happened to be the best horse trainer in
the region, and many estates disputed him. In Anenecuilco, a dispute had begun with
the Hospital estate, and the peasants could not sow on the disputed lands until the
courts resolved. Emiliano Zapata made his first drastic decision: at the head of a
small armed group, he occupied the lands of the Hospital and distributed them
among the peasants. Zapata was appointed head of the Board of Villa de Ayala, a
town that was the head of the district to which he belonged to his hometown.

After the fall of the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, and already during the interim
presidency of León de la Barra, discrepancies quickly arose between Zapata, who
demanded the immediate distribution of the lands of the haciendas among the
peasants, and Francisco Madero, who for his part demanded the disarmament of the
guerrillas. Finally, Zapata accepted the discharge and disarmament of his troops, in
the hope that the election of Madero as president would open the doors to reform.