Liberation Army of the South

The "Liberation Army of the South" was the name given to the forces led by Emiliano Zapata during the Mexican Revolution. Zapata, a champion of agrarianism, fought against the hacienda system, which concentrated land ownership in the hands of a few. His primary goal was land reform, advocating for the return of land to peasants and Indigenous communities, encapsulated in his slogan "Tierra y Libertad" ("Land and Liberty").

Zapata's movement was characterized by guerrilla warfare tactics. He supported Francisco Madero's challenge to dictator Porfirio Díaz but later broke with Madero when his demands for land reform were not met. Zapata then issued the Plan of Ayala, denouncing Madero and vowing to continue the revolution to redistribute land. His forces occupied Mexico City in 1914, and he continued to fight for agrarian reforms until his assassination in 1919. His efforts significantly influenced the inclusion of land reform in the Mexican constitution of 1917.12