Liberation Army of the South

Liberation Army of the South

"For the modern-day Zapatista army, founded in 1983, see: Zapatista Army of National Liberation."

The Liberation Army of the South (in Spanish "Ejército Libertador del Sur", occasionally abbreviated to ELS) was an armed group formed and led by Emiliano Zapata which took part in the Mexican Revolution. The force was commonly known as the Zapatistas.

The Zapatistas were formed in 1910 in the southern Mexican state of Morelos. Zapata's main cause was land reform. Zapata became one of the major figures of the Mexican Revolution.

The Zapatistas originally aligned with Francisco Madero in opposition to the regime of president Porfirio Diaz, who was soon after overthrown in 1911. After Madero's regime, too, proved uncommitted to the cause of land reform, the Zapatistas turned against him. Fighting continued against the successive leaders Victoriano Huerta and Venustiano Carranza. Zapata's assassination in 1919 struck a mortal blow to Zapatistas, and the army slowly disbanded afterwards.

The Zapatistas were mainly poor peasants who wished to spend much of their time working their land to produce an income. As a result, Zapatista soldiers tended to serve for several months at a time, and then return home to spend most of the year farming.

The structure of the Zapatista army was very loose and the rank system limited in scope. The Zapatista army was united entirely by the charismatic leadership of Zapata. It was divided into small, largely independent units rarely numbering more than one hundred men, each commanded by a chief ("jefe"). These units spent the overwhelming majority of their time separated from the other units. Officer ranks were eventually introduced to coordinate groups. The chief of a unit over about fifty men was, generally speaking, given the rank of general. Smaller bands were commanded by colonels and captains. Not all captains were "official", that is to say, recognised by Zapata and senior Zapatistas, some being "unofficially" proclaimed captains by their unit. Beyond Zapata's overall command and the leadership of bands, there was limited use of ranks or hierarchy. Sub-officer ranks were introduced late in the revolution in an effort to create a more disciplined force.

Notable members

*Emiliano Zapata
*Otilio Montaño Sánchez
*Genovevo de la O
*Cirilo Serna
*Nabor Mendoza
*Manuel Palafox
*Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama
*Gildardo Magaña Cerda


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Liberation Army — may refer to:General*Earth Liberation Army *National Liberation ArmyAfrica*Army for the Liberation of Rwanda *Azanian People s Liberation Army *Caprivi Liberation Army *Moroccan Army of Liberation *Sudan People s Liberation ArmyAsia*Arab… …   Wikipedia

  • Liberation Army (disambiguation) — Liberation Army may refer to:General*Earth Liberation Army *National Liberation ArmyAfrica*Army for the Liberation of Rwanda *Azanian People s Liberation Army *Caprivi Liberation Army *Karen National Liberation Army *Moroccan Army of Liberation… …   Wikipedia

  • Army of the Republic of Vietnam — The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam). Just after the end of the Vietnam War, after the fall of Saigon, it was dissolved, and while… …   Wikipedia

  • Ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy — The ships of the People s Liberation Army Navy number over a hundred combatant ships, organized into three fleets: the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet, and the South Sea Fleet. The People s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is the naval branch of… …   Wikipedia

  • People's Liberation Army Navy Organization — The People s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is the Naval branch of the People s Liberation Army (PLA). The PLAN force consists of approx. 250,000 men and over a hundred major combat vessels, organized into 3 fleets: the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea …   Wikipedia

  • Army for the Liberation of Rwanda — Hutu militants Rwandan Genocide (1994) Impuzamugambi Interahamwe Rwandan Armed Forces Refugee crisis RDR (1995–1996) 1st and 2nd Congo War …   Wikipedia

  • Naval weaponry of the People's Liberation Army Navy — The People s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is the naval branch of the People s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed forces of the People s Republic of China. The PLAN force consists of approx. 250,000 men and over a hundred major combat vessels,… …   Wikipedia

  • Army of the Republic of Macedonia — Template:Cleanup1 Army of the Republic of Macedonia Армија на Република Македонија Emblem of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia Current form 1991 …   Wikipedia

  • History of the People's Liberation Army — Military history of the People s Republic of China redirects here. The history of the People s Liberation Army began in 1927 with the start of the Chinese Civil War and spans to the present, having developed from a peasant guerrilla force into… …   Wikipedia

  • People's Liberation Army —   中国人民解放军   Emblem of the People s Liberation Army Founded August 1, 1927 Service branches …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”