MEXICAN MAYAN ZAPATISTA COMMANDANTA RAMONA DIED
Born in 1959, near San Andrés de Larrainzer, Mexico, Commandanta Ramona (her nom de guerre), with Subcomandante Marcos, started the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) uprising in Chiapas. Ramona, 1 of 7 female commanders of an army that was 1/3 women, was the overall commander. In 1993, she helped write a “Revolutionary Law on Women.” On January 1, 1994, she led EZLN into San Cristóbal de las Casas demanding indigenous rights. After a 12-day war and 150 dead, she negotiated a peace with the government. Dubbed “Petite Warrior,” she became a figure of pride for indigenous women. Markets sold Ramona dolls. In October 1996, at the National Indigenous Congress in Mexico City, showered with flowers, she addressed 100,000 supporters asserting that with no hospital in San Andrés de Larrainzer, indigenous people walked up to 12 hours for treatment. Ironically, her kidney failed on the road from her town to the San Cristóbal hoapital. Her real name has not been revealed.
Sources: Phil Davidson, "Comandanta Ramona; Zapatista Rebel Leader,"The Independent, 1/9/2006. Retrieved 8/15/2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/comandante-ramona-6112340.html Wikipedia Photo: Herebuerto Rodriguez. Date unknown. Permissive Use.
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