The fall of the Mayan Empire began when the Spanish explorers, Henadez de Corboda and Herman Cortes, invaded Mexico in the early 16th century. By 1525 the Mayans had been defeated by the Spanish and by 1540 most of Mexico was under Spanish control. From the beginning of their rule, the Spanish have oppressed the Indigenous peoples, some considering them "natural born slaves", and taken from them their land and homes.

The Spanish used the stolen land to form large plantations to grow export crops, while the Mayan people were pushed onto unmanageable land and forced to work on the plantations. Starting in the early eighteen hundreds, due to disease, overwork and poverty, uprisings and revolts against the Spanish and the government have frequented Mexican history.

In 1910 a major revolt was led by Emiliano Zapata against the then current ruling party, headed by Francisco Madera and then against Victoriano Huerta, a rich landowner who overthrew Madera. Zapata's Liberation Army fought for "land and freedom".

Zapata and his army fought for almost ten years before Zapata was tricked into attending a meeting with the opposing party and was shot. Although his movement was lost at that time, his memory lives on in Mexican history. The Zapatista National Liberation Army was named after him and carries on many of his hopes and ideals for Mexico.

Following 1920, a new party was formed, the PNR, which later became the PRI (the Institutional Revolutionary Party). Under this one party system, oppression and changes in land reform have widened the gap between the rich and the poor.

A map of Mexico. Chiapas is highlighted in light green at the southeastern point of Mexico. The east of Chiapas is bordered by Guatemala. Chiapas used to be part of Guatemala until it was annexed by Mexico following independence.