Mexico marks 100 years since death of revolutionary Zapata

Mexico marked the 100th anniversary on Wednesday of the assassination of Emiliano Zapata, one of the main heroes of the 1910-1917 revolution who was gunned down by government soldiers over his unyielding defense of peasants.

President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador particularly identifies with Zapata. Both are from southern Mexico, in a country where politics have long been dominated by the north and center, and both viewed agriculture as the natural vocation for their region.

Speaking at a commemoration ceremony Wednesday, Lopez Obrador said it is important to “understand the importance that the land holds for the rural people . . .