THE Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional, EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) is, more or less, the same age as I am. In 1994, two years after Francis Fukuyama prophesied the “end of history” and chronic renewal of Western liberal democracy, a body of mostly indigenous farmers from the Mexican state of Chiapas, led by a radical university professor, attempted to keep history afloat, at least for a while.

Though their imprint on Mexican politics has been dwarfed over the past two decades by the ascendance of the various narco-warlords, the EZLN embody a resounding refutation of globalised, corporate hegemonies and their branding, their holding-out against the Mexican army, their sustained control of Chiapas territories, goes to show how transformative a focused strategy of civil resistance can be.

Most Mexicans know two things about the Zapatistas. Firstly, that they aren’t easily pleased — the EZLN continues to criticise successive governments, including the current Obrador administration, for ignoring environmental issues.