emiliano zapata

The ninth child of a family of farmers in Morelos State in southern Mexico, Emiliano Zapata witnessed the depredations of an aristocratic elite whose vast haciendas encroached into the traditional lands of poor indigenous peasants. With the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, Zapata led an army in a struggle against exploitation and injustice. In particular, he demanded agrarian reforms that would respect the ancient lands of the common people and expropriate parts of the huge plantations in order to provide resources for those in need.

Through military victories and political setbacks, Zapata and his army sought to return to Morelos to put their reforms into action, to work their fields and feed their families. But, under constant pressure from the federal government, the “Zapatistas” had to fight on. Seeking to weaken and divide the government forces pursuing him, Zapata was lured into a trap - and his doom.

Attribution for music used in this episode:

Assassinations Podcast Theme Music (Intro, Outro, and Transitions) written and performed by Graeme Ronald

"Vera Cruz" by Scott Denhamis licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0/ A derivative from the original work

Viva Zapata! (1952) ORIGINAL TRAILER. Twentieth Century Fox (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (released by) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)