The Zapatista National Liberation Army, the EZLN, was first recognized on the international scene on January 1, 1994.  Led by Subdcomandante Marcos, the Zapatistas staged a rebellion on behalf of the indigenous communities in Chiapas suffering from immense poverty and violence. They seized four Chiapas towns- San Cristobal, Ocosingo, Las Margaritas and Altamirano, sealing off the roads, cutting telephone wires, and calling for a revolt against the neoliberal economic system.  Ironically, January 1, 1994 was the same day that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into effect.  The Zapatistas were against the formation of NAFTA fearing it would exacerbate the already poor living conditions in their villages.

Below is an excerpt from "They Came to Us: Witness to the Rebellion in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas", by Robert Ovetz, that captures the plight of the Zapatistas, and the importance of their cause.

"In their declaration of war against the government of Mexico, which they
wheatpasted on walls and handed out around the zocalo, the EZLN declared that
"Today We Say Enough is Enough...To the people of Mexico: We, men and women,
full and free, are conscious that the war we have declared is our last resort,
but also a just one. The dictators have been carrying on an undeclared
genocidal war against our people for many years. Therefore we ask for your
participation, your decision to support this plan that struggles for work,
land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy,
justice and peace. We declare that we will not stop fighting until the basic
demands of our people have been met by forming a government of our country
that is free and democratic."

Marcos on horseback with his escort in the village of La Realidad- photo taken from http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ssady/politics.html
 

The Zapatista struggle, as outlined in their communiqués, aims at a restructuring of the current political situation in Mexico.  The Zapatistas fear the loss of their culture if the system remains the way it is, thus they are demanding that the government restructure democratically, and allow local autonomy in the indigenous villages. 
 

The Zapatistas and the Drug War:

According to Giordano's investigative report, "The Narco-State of Chiapas (2000)", the Zapatistas are uninvolved with the drug trade.

• "the antithesis of 'narco-guerilla' movements in other parts of the world, the Zapatistas have explicit revolutionary laws against drug use or trafficking.  They have, in fact, driven the drug cartels off their jungle and mountain lands-- where governments had previously failed to do so.  Alcohol, too is banned in their villages. Part V, p.2)" 
• "Before 1994, all of Chiapas was totally free to drug-trafficking.  It mainly came through the jungle, not through the coast. (Part IV, p. 2)"
• "Investigative journalist and columnist Jaime Aviles of La Jornada, the Mexico City daily, says that the Mexican government's actions in this region -- especially the construction of a new highway -- have virtually handed control of the region to the narco-traffickers.  And this is an intentional strategy aimed at eliminating the Zapatistas. (Part V, p. 3)"